2013 Gold Award Projects
Lexi Evans: Troop 1952 " Welcome to the Pride"
Lexi's project benefited students in Chatham learning English as a Second Language (ESL). She created a club called "Language without Borders" at Chatham High School. The club meets regularly and helps the students in all subjects at CHS
Raleigh Heap: Troop 1982 "Crafts for Kindness"
Raleigh developed the the Crafts for Kindness Club at CHS. The club was born from Raleigh's passion for knitting. She wanted to get her peers involved in her passion and help those less fortunate. She held knitting sessions teaching all levels how to knit. The group donated 34 hand knitted projects to the Jersey Battered Womens' Service, a shelter for domestically abused women.
Allison Kurlak: Troop 1982 "Refurbishing the Milton Butterfly Garden"
Allison restored the Butterfly Garden at Milton Ave School. She created a system to keep the garden maintained throughout the year. She enlisted the help of the Milton Environmental Committee to ensure the Garden continues to be maintained.
Joanna Miller: Troop 1982 "The Backpack Program"
Joanna was inspired to develop the Backpack project after observing First Hand the nutritional needs to children in neighboring communities. She assembled 150 bags filled with healthy snacks and staples. They were delivered to Fellowship II Preschool in Paterson, NJ to supplement weekend nourishment for the children and their families.
Madeline Rea: "Homeless Solutions"
Madeline worked closely with a local Homeless Shelter in Morristown called Homeless Solutions. They provide year-long transitional housing for families in need. Madeline's goal was to sponsor a picnic for the families. She spent time babysitting so the parents could attend educational meetings, finding volunteers and collecting donations. She has also established a plan to keep the picnic going for years to come.
Morgan Sullivan: Troop 2243 "Horticulture Therapy"
Morgan created a Horticulture therapy flower bed at King James Care Center in Chatham. Horticulture therapy is the use of plants and gardens for human healing and rehab. The flowerbeds are interactive as plants were chosen to attract butterfly's and hummingbirds. The residents now have a beautiful new outdoor seating area.
2013 Silver Award Projects
Troop 1240 - Sarah Abbott, Nicole Goldschmidt, and Jocelyn Hughes:
At the suggestion of the Manager of Patient Experience at Overlook Hospital, the Cadettes made 44 fleece blankets and some doll clothes to cheer up patients in the otherwise sterile hospital environment. The blankets went to patients of all ages, while the doll clothes were for the dolls that the pediatric staff give out to teach children about operations and healing. The girls wanted to help patients, and also give the message to child patients that someday they can help out a stranger in a difficult situation. The Cadettes held two fundraisers to obtain materials and to educate the public about their project. The fundraisers were a caramel apple sale at the Chatham Farmer’s Market and a taffy-pulling workshop for Chatham Brownie scouts.
Troop 1240 - Nishita Sinha and Aislin Black:
Safe Routes to School Mapping, Painting and Promotion:
The scouts provided important help to the Chatham Safe Routes to School Committee by painting several cougar paw stencils on key walking paths for students at Chatham public schools. They also used a GPS device to mark the walking paths and sent the data to the non-profit TransOptions to make Chatham Safe Routes to School walking maps. The girls also promoted two Walk to School Days at Chatham Middle School by making posters that encouraged walking and biking.
Troop 1240 - Meghan Maguire:
Meghan's project made 1000 origami cranes for the non-profit organization "Cranes for Cancer." This organization sends baskets of 1000 cranes to cancer patients to bring them hope and uplift their spirits. See website, http://cranesforcancer.blogspot.com.
The gesture is based on an ancient Japanese legend that promises that anyone who folds 1,000 paper cranes within a year will be granted a wish, or, in some stories, eternal good luck. The crane in Japan is a mystical creature and some believe that they live for 1000 years.
To publicize her project, Meghan visited Overlook Medical Center, attended the Relay for Life and connected with the ECLC in Chatham.
Troop 944 - The "Get Unplugged" Challenge - Zoe Kraus, Kelly Krincek and Ellie Walker
The girls addressed the issue of kids not getting enough exercise, partly due to personal electronics and video games. They came up with a challenge to encourage Lafayette 4th and 5th grade students to get "unplugged" from their electronic devices and get physically active for at least 60 minutes a day for a two week period. Participants recorded their hours on a log sheet which was turned in and prizes were awarded individually and classes competed against each other. Prizes were funded by a bake sale that the girls held at the Chatham Middle School and through soliciting local sponsors. To keep the idea of the challenge going they submitted an instruction folder on how to organize another challenge to the Lafayette PTO and the Chatham library.
Troop 944 - Kids Helping Kids - Thea Dekker, Kate Mirabelli and Kate Purschke
The girls addressed the issue of homelessness. The girls worked with a local shelter "Homeless Solutions" to understand their needs and to educate the community on how everyone can help. The girls created a video, a bookmark and brought attention to the issue at the Chatham Middle school, The Chatham Green Fair and and the Girl Scout Day of service. The girls raised funds through a bake sales and used these funds to support Homeless Solutions by buying Christmas gifts, holding a game night for kids and cleaning up the shelter's storage closet. To keep the assistance going the girls created bookmarks with suggestions on how everyone can help and placed them at the Lafayette and Chatham libraries.
Troop 944 - Project "Animal Shelter" - Kendall Cree, Holly Fullman, Stephanie Gilsenan and Olivia Rondepierre
The girls project addressed the issue of uninviting animal shelters that in turn reduce adoptions. To minimize the problem, the girls made seasonal cut-outs to put on the cages at St. Hubert's Animal Shelter. In addition, the group held a movie night for younger Girl Scout troops to raise awareness. The night also raised funds to cover costs of supplies and in addition they collected donations of blankets and animal toys for the shelter.
2012 Gold Award Projects
Skyler Browning- Doorn - Troop 1952 - Food Allergy Survival Guide
Skyler’s Gold Award project was inspired by her own experiences with life threatening food allergies. Skyler put together a slide show presentation about food allergies to educated other living with food allergies how to stay safe and enjoy their lives. Skyler’s project offers “Tips and Tricks” to navigate the world of food allergies.
She gave a public presentation at Chatham Library and posted her slide show at blogspot.com.
Katie Collington - Troop 1956 - Environmental Protection
Katie’s project addressed that need the “Most people was to do something to protect and improve the environment, but don’t know where to start.” To help solve the problem Katie designed, wrote, filmed and produced an instructional video series program. Her videos provide short simple steps that people can take right away to “go green”.
Patricia Crigler - Instruments for Schools in Need
Patricia was inspired to create the organization Instruments for Schools in Need by her love of music. She asked for donations of musical instruments that were no longer being used. These instruments came from high school alumni around the area and totaled 26 instruments. With the help of grants from the Chatham Jaycee’s and Girl Scouts of Chatham, she was able to have the instruments refurbished. Once the instruments were in working order Patricia donated the instruments to Jersey City, North Plainfield and Newark High Schools.
Sophie Kapica - Troop 1968 - Saving the Environment One Sheet At a Time
Sophie’s project was geared toward helping the environment, specifically by reducing paper usage in Chatham. Her project consisted of creating an educational video that is posted on many community websites, having a booth at the Green Fair of Chatham and negotiating with and convincing Dyson Co. to donated, completely free of charge, 8 brand new hand dryers that have been installed at Chatham High School.
Sarah Lamb - Troop 1968 - Jumpin’ Juniper
Sarah’s project addressed the lack of community involvement in Assisted Living Centers. From her own experience she found that family members could be neglected when left at an Assisted Living center. By engaging the residents of Juniper Village she hoped to entertain the residents and provide meaningful experiences to them. She partnered with various local organizations to provide entertainment and all of these groups have committed to continue their participation in years to come. The events held at Juniper Village include: Board Games, Ornament Making, Bingo, Political Debate and Musical Performances.
Diana Singh - Troop 1952 - Senior Prom
Diana wanted her project to impact the citizens of Chatham. She chose to hold a Senior Prom because she felt the Seniors don’t always receive the recognition they deserve She felt the Prom would be a great way for them to socialize while spending time with other seniors. The guests enjoyed food and live music. The event was held at Chatham High School and Diana utilized decorations from past Chatham High School dances. She also created a website for the prom to share the event with the community. http://seniorpromseniorcitizens.blogspot.com/
Lauren Teague - Troop 1952 - Project Connect: Connecting Schools, Connecting others, Connecting You
Lauren created her program to help 5th grade girls from Lafayette prepare for their move to Middle School, both in getting used to the building itself and boosting their self esteem. Forty 5th grade students attended the event. They participated in a scavenger hunt, decorated flowerpots and planted an Alyssum flower, which means “worth beyond beauty”. A skit emphasizing the presence of peer- pressure and being yourself followed this. The girls each wrote positive things about each other on index cards. Lauren collected the cards and after the event mailed each of the girls a letter telling them all of the nice things their friends said about them and wishing them well in Middle School.
2011 Gold Awards
Chelsea Bennington - The Healing Jar
Chelsea created a journal workbook for grieving teens as her Gold Award project.
She conceived the idea from her own personal experience with grief. Her oldest brother died when she was 13. It was difficult when she went back to school to always be pulled out of class to talk to counselors. And that is how she came up with the idea to give kids something they could take home and work on when they felt the need.
She researched and created a journal workbook. She held workshops with friends to help design the cover, create art therapy projects, and to collate, bind, and package the journals.
The journals were distributed to Chatham Middle and High School, Westfield High and Teaneck High School counselors. Lisa Athan, the director of Grief Speaks, also distributes the journals to those who need them when she speaks at area schools. Lisa was Chelsea’s advisor for this project.
The Healing Jar was a project borne out of a need, created with compassion, and completed with a sense of satisfaction of not only helping others but taking a few more steps ahead in her own journey of grief.
Allison DePasquale - Head Start
For her Gold Award project, Alison chose to renovate the Head Start preschool of Morris County’s Morristown location which is located among Morris County institutional buildings. The students who attend this preschool must meet the criteria of low income by the federal government. Funding for the school comes from the federal government and donations. Due to budgetary constraints, many of the aesthetic needs of the school could not be met.
Alison’s Gold Award project consisted of designing and constructing shelving for books in the student’s library, which were originally stacked in plastic baskets. She also designed, built and installed a sign and shrubbery for the entryway for a cheery “Welcome” for the students and staff. Shrubs were installed around the playground to soften the institutional look around the playground. Shelving was installed in the storage room to enable teachers to access all their supplies more easily. Alison hopes that the many students who go through the school will enjoy the beauty for many years to come.
Paulette Ericksen - Art from the Heart
Inspired by Paulette's passion for art and for working with children, Art From the Heart, a non-profit studio art school for children ages seven through eleven, was created to bring quality, affordable art lessons to her local community and to a nearby underprivileged community. The donations that were collected were used to provide free art lessons to underprivileged children in a neighboring community. Classes were held at the Library of the Chathams in Chatham, New Jersey, and at the Neighborhood House, in Morristown, New Jersey. Paulette created her own lesson plans and art projects based on the works of Faith Ringgold, Eric Carle, Leo Lionni, and Peter Max. The children we able to learn about various techniques, such as collage and acrylic painting, and about various art movements, such as "Pop Art." As Secretary of the Chatham High School chapter of the National Art Honor Society and as a student in the two-year AP Art program at CHS, she was able to share her knowledge about different art techniques with the children in her program.
This past fall, the children's work was displayed in the Children's Room at the Library of the Chathams.
Her mission was to teach art to children and to share with them a love of art and community. With this program, she hoped to empower them to share their art and their opportunities with others.
Claire Teague - Kids on a Mission
During a mission trip to Malawi, Africa, Claire met a mission partner who was building a community center in a very remote region. That day, with just the mud-brick walls standing, she shared her dream of having a library full of books that would help the local people live better lives, but books and money were hard to come by.
Claire created “Kids on a Mission” and spent a year raising awareness of the needs in Malawi by meeting weekly 5th and 6th grades at our church’s Youth Club. Together they raised $700 to send to Malawi for books. She also ran a book drive which collected hundreds of books.
She had to overcome many obstacles to get those books to Africa. Using diligence and creativity, she worked with another U.S.-based mission partner, Y-Malawi, to create a program where every mission team sent to Malawi brings books with them in their luggage. The first year they brought 150 pounds of books! She worked Y-Malawi to create a page on their website explaining the need and the program, and this summer another 100lbs of books are on their way!
Bianca Weber - Teaching Teachers
To achieve the Girl Scout Gold Award Bianca elected to run CPR and AED classes for teachers in the Chatham School District. Bianca used her knowledge and resources as an EMT with the Chatham Emergency Squad to put together a learning program, and employ instructors to hold the CPR and AED classes. The classes were held at Chatham High School and Chatham Elementary Schools. Within a few weeks, 50+ teachers earned their CPR and AED certification.
Bianca worked diligently, coordinating schedules, presenting her project to the principals and staff at CHS, as well as organizing and supervising the classes.
The valuable skills and precise actions learned from CPR and AED classes greatly benefit all the Chatham schools and the community. Bianca has given teachers, important members of our community, the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to act in an emergency or in a situation where a life can be saved.
2011 Bronze Awards
Troop 248 - Brownie Sleepover
Troop 248 ran two library sleepovers for the 2nd grade Brownies in Chatham. This event had previously been a Leader run event, but the girls decided to take it on – and take it to a whole new level. They planned out all the details of the event, from activities to keep early arrivals entertained right through to the check out procedure the following morning. In preparing for the events, the girls learned about individual responsibilities as well as working together as a team. They also learned about the importance of planning, organizing, budgeting, smart shopping and meeting deadlines. While running the event, they overcame the challenges of wrangling over 75 very excited 2nd graders and reaped the rewards of teaching others what they had learned throughout their years as Girl Scouts.
Troop 1685 - Eva's Village
Troop 1685 earned their Bronze Award by raising funds to help Eva's Village, a Catholic homeless and recovery facility in Paterson. The girls raised funds through Cookie Sales and a special afternoon Movie Event and used the proceeds to purchase supplies to create "welcome" kits for the families at Eva’s Village, which consisted of toiletries and personal notes of encouragement. They also purchased and delivered diapers, wipes, toiletries, and other small items to the facility. In addition, the girls solicited cookie box donations through the annual Girl Scout Cookie sale and crafted original artwork to hang in the Eva's Village gallery.