Girl Scouts of Maine Celebrates International Day of the Girl by Honoring Local Gold Award Girl Scouts
October 11, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laura Genese
lgenese@gsmaine.org
207-772-1177
Local Gold Award Girl Scouts Charlena LaVallee, Mikaela Spooner, Ayla Clark, and Kimberley Spears earned the highest award in Girl Scouting for creating lasting change in their local communities.
SOUTH PORTLAND, ME—Girl Scouts of Maine (GSME) is proud to recognize Charlena LaVallee from Gray, Mikaela Spooner from New Sweden, Ayla Clark from Biddeford, and Kimberley Spears from Sidney, the latest Gold Award Girl Scouts in Maine who identified the root cause of pressing issues in their communities, created sustainable solutions, and took action to earn the Gold Award: Girl Scouts’ highest achievement.
Charlena LaVallee created her Gold Award Project, Come Play N Learn, after volunteering at the Fiddlehead School in Gray. She observed that the school valued both being outside and learning through play, taking this into consideration she created a playground with four sections: water play, arts and crafts, dramatic play, and an area for sports. The playground also includes typical playground elements like swings and a climbing dome.
Mikaela Spooner created her Gold Award Project, Bringing A Historical Museum into the 21st Century, to help preserve the history of the Swedish Colony. She created an audio tour of the Lindsten Stuga, which is easily accessible to the public and can be shared with other historical societies and the Maine State Library.
Kimberley Spears created a brochure, pledge card, video, and online presentation for her Gold Award project, Teen Distracted Driving Awareness. The materials she created contain different information about the types of distracted driving, ways to avoid them, and statistics about distracted driving. She reached over 200 teens across her presentations and many more through indirect contact.
Ayla Clark’s Gold Award Project, Love Your Attire (L.Y.A), aimed to address the lack of access to clothing for youth in Biddeford schools. Ayla created a boutique in the Biddeford Middle School that is stocked with various types of clothing and shoes, all of which were donations or items that were purchased by request. The goal of her project was to get 50 items taken from the boutique, and by the end, over 150 items of clothing were taken.
“I learned that by doing good for the school made me feel good as well. I learned that I could improve my leadership skills by putting them to use and that leaders do not just give orders, but rather are involved in the work and can lead by doing,” said Gold Award Girl Scout Ayla Clark.
“Charlena, Mikaela, Ayla, and Kimberley created and executed remarkable Gold Award projects. All of them embody the Girl Scout mission and take the saying “make the world a better place” to the next level. We are so proud of how they took action and have made meaningful impact in their communities,” said Mara Moorhead, Girl Scouts of Maine CEO.
Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they take action to transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they’re the leaders our world needs.
According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally. Seventy-two percent (72%) said earning their Gold Award helped them get a scholarship. Changing the world doesn’t end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of Gold Award Girl Scout alums take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.
To learn more about Highest Award projects from Girl Scouts across Maine, visit www.girlscoutsofmaine.org/girlstories.
Girls in grades K–12 can join Girl Scouts any time during the year to begin their Girl Scout journey. As girls grow with Girl Scouts, they learn hands-on leadership skills they’ll use to make their mark through the Gold Award and beyond. To join or volunteer, visit www.girlscoutsofmaine.org/join.
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Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs across the state of Maine and beyond, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. To join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, visit girlscoutsofmaine.org. For the latest updates follow us on Facebook @GirlScoutsofMaine and Instagram @girlscoutsofmaine.
