CLEVELAND — When high school senior Sarah Friedlander realized the picnic table at her grandmother’s assisted living facility wasn’t wheelchair accessible, she knew she had to do something about it.
It’s a project more than a year in the making that will help her achieve the highest honor in Girl Scouts, the Gold Award.
“I'm building an ADA-accessible picnic table, cornhole, and I also have a few yard games,” said Friedlander, who has been a Girl Scout for 12 years.
She knows the benefits of being outdoors, especially for senior citizens, and wants all people, despite their limitations, to receive the benefits.
“I saw, especially with my grandma, you know, being cooped up inside isn't really great for your mental and physical health,” Friedlander said. “I wanted to help my community because I really saw that there's a problem and I wanted to fix it because I like fixing things.”
Friedlander’s project is just one example of the many unique ways a Girl Scout can earn her Gold Award. Each project is as different as the girls themselves. Some are more hands-on, while others are more program-focused.
“We really ask the girls to identify an issue in their community, we want it to be local and something that they care about,” said Jane Christyson, CEO of Girl Scouts of North East Ohio. “They need to create a plan that deals with that issue and really deals with the root causes, and then create and lead a team of volunteers to address that issue, and really make lasting change.”
Christyson said there are about 70,000 Girl Scouts in Ohio and only about 150 earn the Gold Award each year.
“So you can see how elite this group really is, and how challenging the process can be in order to really conceptualize and make lasting change in a community,” Christyson said.
Girls who earn the Gold Award can win academic scholarships, stand out on college and job applications, and even enter the military at a higher rank. It’s a prestigious award yet isn’t as well-known as the Eagle Scout is for Boy Scouts. Christyson said that’s because of inconsistent marketing.
“The Boy Scouts have always had the name Eagle," Christyson said. "The Gold Award has had five different names over its lifespan. So people get confused about what it is. I would say because our requirements for the number of hours actually exceed what Eagle Scouts have to do, I think in many ways the Gold Award is harder to get than the Eagle Scout.”
She aims to put the Gold Award on the map so people can give much-deserved credit to Girl Scouts like Friedlander who have the courage, confidence and character to create positive change.
“I would love to see more love for the Girl Scouts who earn their Gold Awards and really understand how difficult this is to do, what a great asset they are to the community, how they are the changemakers of the future,” Christyson said.
Christyson said Girl Scouts have until Sept. 30 of the year they graduate high school to complete their Gold Award. For more information on the Girl Scout Gold Award you can visit here.