They're as good as gold

On June 28, three local students were honored by the ELLM Association of Girl Scouts when they received their Gold Award. Amanda Eckert, Carrie Feltkamp and Sarah Kalny, all Lynbrook residents, completed the rigorous requirements to earn the highest honor in Girl Scouts.

The Girl Scout Gold Award, an achievement equivalent to the Eagle Scout rank in Boy Scouts, is the most prestigious award any Girl Scout can earn. The award is earned through the completion of an individually developed service learning project. Prior to beginning this project, however, several prerequisites were required. Each girl must not only earn Girl Scout Interest Project Awards related to the Girl Scout Law, but also complete 30 hours in a leadership role in their community, as well as 40 hours of career related exploration. With these prerequisites completed, each girl then independently worked a minimum of 65 hours on her project.

Amanda Eckert, a Lynbrook High School student, completed a project focusing on caring for others, as well as animals. Her project, “Caring for People/Caring for Pets,” was a program which she developed and delivered to her Girl Scout peers, as well as local kindergarten children. Through this program, Eckert taught kind and respectful ways to treat not only one another, but pets also. Eckert’s project engaged children in several activities with a focus of creating caring and responsible behavior, and the opportunity to donate to local animal shelters was incorporated.

Carrie Feltkamp, also of Lynbrook High School, developed a project used to demonstrate to the community of St. John’s Lutheran Church of Lynbrook the benefits of the internet. “St. John’s Goes Cyber” involved creating and implementing a web site for the church. Feltkamp not only researched and explained the benefits of “going cyber” to the community, but also planned and created the web site. As a result, St. John’s now has an easier way to inform and involve the community.

Sarah Kalny, a Sacred Heart University student, focused on writing for her service project. Kalny created a writing workshop, “Once Upon a Story,” for over 70 girls. She researched different forms of writing, such as poetry and and play-writing, as well as the inspiration of different writers. During her workshop, Kalny discussed this inspiration, as well as allowed the girls participating to try out different styles of writing. Each girl who attended also was able to earn their “Once Upon a Story Interest Project.”

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