Local Girl Scouts heralded for community service

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Fourteen local Girl Scouts were honored during the annual Awards Ceremony at the Elmont Memorial Library on May 8. Troops 1308, 1335 and 1092 leaders and local officials recognized the scouts for their community service work and presented them with the Bronze and Gold awards. Elmont Girl Scout Troop 1335 co-leader Jennifer Marsh explained that the bronze award presented to the 11 Junior Girl Scouts recognized them for their initiative to take action and help their community.
“It’s the highest honor for the girls in their age group,” Marsh said. Scouts in grades four through five are eligible for the Bronze Award.
While Troop 1335 focused their community service on fundraising for and donating supplies to the Pets4Luv Foundation, which offers rescue and adoption services for pets on Long Island, Troop 1308 put their efforts into helping expand their local schools’
anti-bullying campaigns. Troop Co-Leader Marie Santvil said that two of her scouts, Gabrielle Lewis and Karena Powell, spoke with Dutch Broadway School Principal Amy Buchanan to transform the school’s Anit-Bullying Week into an Anti-Bullying Month event.
“All the girls also had signs placed outside their schools and had the administration make announcements through the PA,” Santvil said.

As the scout leaders likened the girls’ service to the work of miners, who go deep into the earth to bring up and polish valuable resources to their community, the scouts were presented with a Bronze Rock to
sign their names on and officiate their status. And while no Silver Awards were given out this year, three senior scouts were
presented with the Gold Award, which requires the completion of two leadership journeys and 80 hours of community
service.
The Junior Girl Scouts will be able to move up to Cadette Scouts and earn the Silver Award once they complete 50 hours of community service.