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Change the world, Girl Scout
Gold Award Girl Scouts are rock stars, role models, and real-life heroes. How do they do it? By using everything they’ve learned as a Girl Scout to solve a problem in their community or make a lasting change in their world.
Seniors and Ambassadors who want to go for the Gold Award build a team of trusted adults, peers, and leaders in their community to guide them through challenges and support their success.
Plus? Nothing beats that feeling of seeing real, lasting, and sustainable change and knowing it was you who made it happen. It changes the way you see your place in the world—and how the world sees you.
You can become a Gold Award Girl Scout if you:
- Are in ninth, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade
- Are a registered Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador
- Have completed the Silver Award, a Senior/Ambassador Leadership Award, or a Senior/Ambassador Journey
Natalie Olinger 
Natalie Olinger
Spokane, WA
“Seeing the girls laughing and smiling showed me I could bring the magic of camp to others!”
Natalie Olinger’s Gold Award Project centered on offering young girls in the Spokane community (grades K-8) a healthy and safe environment to build friendships and learn outdoor and STEM skills through a 3-day summer evening camp called “Twilight.” Girls gained hands-on experience with principles such as Leave No Trace, knot tying, understanding moon phases, and exploring the scale of the solar system. The camp fostered confidence and helped girls develop meaningful new friendships in a supportive atmosphere. To bring this camp to life, Natalie created a detailed schedule, managed the budget, and recruited and trained volunteers to lead daily activities. Through surveying the girls, Natalie found she successfully provided a unique educational opportunity and a fun, safe space for girls to grow and connect with others.
Celeste Blair
Celeste Blair
Richland, WA
“Working to honor those who served our country and preserve their history earned me many “thank you’s.” But it was me that was honored by being allowed to tell their stories and witness the effects on everyday people.”
Celeste saw a need to help preserve the history of women’s contributions during WWII in the US Naval Reserves in the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pasco. Over time, the knowledge and understanding of WAVES has diminished, and only a few of the women who served remain alive today. Celeste’s Gold Award addressed the need to help preserve the history of these amazing women and the immense value of their service to the local community and future generations of Pasco. During their remodel, Celeste worked with the Pasco Aviation Museum to build a display that would educate the community on the history of WAVES and help preserve the few artifacts left from this time. Celeste also made documents and information about WAVES easier to access as well as creating an added feature in the museum that drove more engagement and attendance. Celeste ensured that the contributions of the women of WAVES would never be forgotten.
Julia Costello
Julia Costello
Mead, WA
“Not only did Senate Bill 5934 show me the impact on pollinators, but the community’s genuine excitement and willingness to help the next generation, much like myself, to not only follow my passions but make them a reality.”
Julia’s Gold Award project was designed to encourage communities to plant native plants in urban areas to increase the populations of pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and moths, which helps create plant diversity and a healthy environment. With 75% of the world’s crops dependent on pollinators, we need to create ways to help pollinators thrive. Incorporating pollinators into urban landscapes reduces water consumption and the need for chemical treatments on lawns and, in turn, helps grow pollinator populations. It is important that our communities develop healthy environmental practices. To help propel her project forward, Julia contacted Senator Mike Padden, Spokane Valley, with her proposal. Senator Padden saw the value in her idea and, with a little assistance, helped her proposal become a bill and advance through the Senate to become a state law.
Olivia Carlton
Olivia Carlton
Spokane, WA
“This project meant so much to me! I really enjoyed being able to assist this amazing program that means so much to the actors and actresses involved.”
Olivia Carlton’s Gold Award project focused on the value of live theater in helping individuals with different abilities build confidence. She began her initiative with a local nonprofit called “My Turn Theater,” aiming to create an acting support program. However, when “My Turn Theater” had to close its doors, Olivia did not let this setback deter her. Instead, she connected with CDA ACT (Celebrating Different Abilities Through Art and Community Theatre) and found an opportunity to help them sustain their nonprofit theater. This aligned well with her original Gold Award goals. Olivia developed a more efficient organizational system for costumes, stage props, and set designs. By using QR codes to track stored items, this system made it easier for the stage crew to know what resources were available. Additionally, it allows other nonprofit theaters to access this system and share resources, effectively reducing overhead costs.
Fundraising Bake Sale
Organizing Inventory
2023-24 Girl Scouts Gold Award Class
Elisabeth Bedard
Elisabeth Bedard
Omak, WA
“Just be a good person, love all, and be open to learning new things. We are all learning every day, just make sure to not put others down.”
Elisabeth’s Gold Award addressed understanding the importance of pronouns and how to educate the community on why it matters. Using correct pronouns helps individuals feel welcomed and safe. Elisabeth realized that not everyone understood this and wanted to provide tools to educate and inform leaders, students, and anyone interested in learning more about this topic. She did several presentations to various groups, along with creating a video about using pronouns on why it is essential and how to better understand the LGBTQ+ community. After her presentations, she followed up with a survey to get feedback to help her continue improving how she communicated this critical topic.
Mackenzie Goodsel
Mackenzie Goodsel
Pasco, WA
“There is at least a little bit of good in every situation, sometimes you just have to look a little harder to find it. When it rains, look for rainbows.”
With mental health being a struggle among youth globally, Mackenzie saw the need to create greater awareness, understanding, and support, especially for teens suffering from depression, anxiety, and stress. She wrote and published a book about her own journey with her mental health struggles. By telling her story, Mackenzie provided readers with a concrete demonstration of dealing with mental health, who to reach out to for help, and ways to cope. She also realized that every journey is different, but by telling her story, she was able to help others not feel alone in their struggles. Mackenzie book, “When It Rains,” has reached hundreds of people and has been sold and distributed throughout the U.S. and overseas with overwhelmingly positive reactions. It is available to over 400,000 schools, bookstores, and institutions through a self-publishing website.
Sophie Henderson
Sophie Henderson
Clarkston, WA
Sophie wrote a book on leadership for aspiring young leaders. Recognizing that many leadership resources are geared toward adults, Sophie created a modern, engaging, and relatable book on leadership tailored specifically to teenagers. Drawing from her own leadership journey, she aimed to empower young leaders by providing them with a book that was easy to understand, entertaining, and written with their age group in mind. Sophie’s project addresses the lack of accessible leadership guidance for youth by producing a resource that resonates with her peers and helps them embark on their leadership adventure and become the world changemakers of tomorrow
Sierra Livingston
Sierra Livingston
Post Falls, ID
For Sierra's Gold Award project, she updated and revitalized the grounds of the VFW Post 3603. This included the creation of a Reflection Garden aimed to providing aging veterans the opportunity to maintain, harvest , and enjoy the benefits of fresh produce and flower gardens. This garden also serves as a tranquil sanctuary for veterans, providing them with a serene space for contemplation and healing. Additionally Sierra raised money to purchase a bird bath and flag retirement bin. This essential addition now allows members of the community to respectfully dispose of old and unused flags. Working in collaboration with the VFW, these flags will undergo ceremonial retirement, ensuring they are honored with the reverence they deserve, thus preserving the dignity of our national symbol.
Allison Merritt
Allison Merritt
Dalton Gardens, ID
Allison’s Gold Award project focused on animal shelters’ challenges in providing adequate resources for their canine residents. Due to overcrowding and underfunding, shelters struggle to create comfortable spaces where dogs can feel safe and secure. Allison chose to craft and donate dog beds to the Spokane Humane Society to address this issue. Elevating dogs off the floor and providing a comfortable place to lie helps dogs feel less stressed and safer. Allison led two instructive workshops to help others learn how to make these much-needed dog beds. She also created a step-by-step slide show for the Spokane Humane Society to educate others in the community on how to continue the work of providing safe and secure spaces for dogs.
Alaura Miller
Alaura Miller
Spokane, WA
Alaura’s Gold Award project addressed access to mental health support for youth within the LGBTQIA+ community. Many youth in this community report lack of support from friends and family members, and statistics show they are four times more likely to commit suicide. Alaura created a safe place for open discussions that positively impacted the mental health of youth in the LGBTQIA+ community. She also developed a podcast called “Conversations Over LGBTea” with inspirational stories and advice. These efforts will create a safe place that provides lasting support for the LGBTQIA+ community where individuals will continue to be heard.
Faith Nolander
Faith Noland
Spokane, WA
Faith researched the impact that wildfires in Eastern Washington have on soil microorganisms. With current changes to the Earth’s climate, understanding the full impact that wildfires and carbon dioxide emissions have on ecosystems is increasingly important. The impact fires have on fine-scale microorganisms had not been fully documented previously. Faith worked to combine and improve preexisting laboratory techniques to study how microbe populations and carbon dioxide emissions are affected by wildfires in the area. Her research has laid the foundation for further exploration into this issue. Her work has been presented at various science fairs, documented, and will be used in her high school science classes.
Elizabeth Ophardt
Elizabeth Ophardt
Spokane Valley, WA
Elizabeth’s Gold Award focused on how to combat and create better awareness of mental health challenges. During the pandemic, anxiety, isolation, loss of loved ones, and financial battles took a toll on individuals and their communities. Through research, Elizabeth learned that holiday lights and decorations can have a positive psychological impact by boosting moods and fending off seasonal depression, so she created the Parade of Lights. Elizabeth promoted the Parade of Lights through social media and events such as PSSC (Prevent Suicide Spokane Coalition) Let’s Talk Suicide, where she could network and discuss the event’s purpose. The parade spanned several blocks in her Spokane Valley neighborhood, with over 1,500 attendees in the first year. There were resource booths along the parade route with trained professionals available to talk about mental health and provide literature. She also started a Hope Squad in her high school, a peer-to-peer suicide prevention program. Parade of Lights will continue for years to come as she trains younger Girl Scouts in her troop to take over.
Shelby Sandford
Shelby Sandford
Coeur d'Alene, ID
Shelby has had a passion for music since sixth grade. When moving from California to her new school, Lake City High School, she could not find information on their music program and assumed they didn’t have much available, causing her to lose interest in music. To her surprise, the programs at Lake City were amazing, and she joined several. Shelby realized that other students were in the same predicament and, unlike her, may have given up too soon. Shelby’s Gold Award focused on providing better, more accessible information to incoming students. She built a free website that could be easily maintained and connected with the school’s existing website to help incoming students understand what was available at their school. She provided all the needed information on music programs available at Lake City. She got the word out to middle school students entering high school so they, too, could continue with their passion for music.
Katie Strum
Katie Sturm
Spokane, WA
Katie wanted to help seniors enjoy their love of gardening without dealing with some of the physical challenges associated with it, such as constant bending to tend to plants. Katie decided to build raised garden beds for a local senior facility, Winchester Court. There were many benefits to her Gold Award project: because of the raised beds, it was easier to garden, plants were protected from pests and weeds, making it less laborious to care for them, and seniors could enjoy the fruits of their labor—literally. By giving these seniors access to gardening, Katie not only helped them by promoting mental well-being and staying active but also helped bring the diverse community of Winchester Court together to share in a positive activity.
How to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award
Find an issue in your community or the world that you care about.
Learn everything you can about that issue through research and trusted sources.
Form a team by identifying experts and people in your community who could help you.
Think about the root cause of an issue, then make a plan of how you could tackle it.
Lead your team and carry out your plan.
- Reflect on the change you’ve created in your community and the world, share your story, and inspire others to make a difference, too.
- If you have questions please contact us here.
Resources
Highest Award Prerequisites
Hey, grownups!
When you support Girl Scouts earning their Gold Award, you’ll help them see their own power and be by their side as they make a lasting change in their community. Download a guide to get started today.
Gold Award Resources
