Thursday, October 1, 2026
It was an hour of honors. On May 22, 93 Rockville Centre Girl Scouts received honors for outstanding community service — the highest number earned by any Girl Scout Association in Nassau County this year. Seventh-three girls from seven troops from local elementary schools earned Bronze Awards. Two 9th grade troops of 18 girls from South Side High School earned Silver Awards. The highest award, the Gold Award, was earned by two Ambassador Girl Scouts, Dana Glick and Alison Bartoldus.
The presentation took place at Central Synagogue, which sponsored this year’s program. Rabbi Marc Gruber gave the invocation, and Mayor Mary Bossart, Trustee David Krasula, Parks and Recreation Superintendent Anthony Brunetta and the Executive Director of Girl Scouts of Nassau County Donna Ceravolo congratulated the girls. A dessert reception provided by Girl Scout families followed the brief ceremony that highlighted the contributions the girls have made to the community. On display were tri-fold stands that illustrated the projects of each troop, documenting how they spent countless hours of research, planning and effort. All of the projects were impressive for the awareness they raised about serious issues of our times.
Bronze awards
Bronze Awards were earned by many elementary school junior troops. Hewitt Troop 804 helped children and families in need by hosting food drives and participating in the Pajama Program which provides children’s books and new pajamas to youngsters in shelters or temporary homes. Hewitt Troop 808 helped animals in local shelters by raising money through bake sales and hosting an animal adoption campaign. Wilson Troop 819 performed musical concerts for seniors living at the Maple Pointe Assisted Living Facility, and the girls also provided crafts and decorations for the holidays. Covert Troop 847 hosted a series of events for Diabetes Awareness to educate others about this disease. Covert Troop 930 raised funds to help an animal shelter feed, house, spay and medically treat feral cats. Riverside Troop 960 focused on communication. They created and crafted a book specifically for special needs children, and also learned how to raise awareness and funds for the Girl Scout Japan Relief Fund. South Side Middle School Troop 809 (SSMS) worked with a local soup kitchen to provide meals, clothing and toiletries. These girls cleaned, painted and refurbished part of the soup kitchen for meal preparation.
Silver awards
South Side High School Troop 830 received its Silver Award from working with the Child Life Center in Baltimore, which helps children and their families deal with rare diseases. Members of the troop created “learning” dolls for doctors to point and explain medical treatment to young children. They also created many “sibling packets” to preoccupy brothers and sisters of children undergoing treatment. Troop 830 also raised money through car washes, bake sales and a garage sale to fund these efforts. They have just completed construction of a puppet theater for the Child Life Center and plan to bring it to Baltimore.
A Silver Award was also received by South Side High School Troop 833, which ran any organized three-day camping trip for the entire RVC Girl Scout Association. The girls reserved the weekend campgrounds, then signed up other troops to participate. Each troop volunteered to host an activity, and every participant could rotate around organized sports, arts and crafts, nature hikes, organic ice cream making and campsite cooking. At nightfall there were four different campfires, where groups could enjoy singing and making s’mores under the stars.
And the Gold went to ...
Two South Side High School students were honored with the Gold Award this year. Senior Dana Glick, from Troop 805, chose her project out of her concern over the rise in childhood obesity and the increase in diabetes. She prepared a series of presentations to inform and educate children about nutrition and healthy choices. Dana visited many elementary schools and presented a program called “Turn Over A New Leaf.” She taught youngsters how to read food packaging labels to find hidden sugar and fat content. She discussed how exercise and sports activities can prevent obesity and keep diabetes in check. Dana showed the children how fresh fruits and vegetables deliver more nutrition than prepared and processed foods, and discussed the better choices that maintain healthy body weight. Dana also worked with the school district’s head of Health and Nutrition about the foods it offers and the incorporation of nutrition into the curriculum.
The second Gold Award recipient, Alison Bartoldus from Troop 834, is finishing her junior year at South Side High School. Alison wanted to do something for the Chinese Center on Long Island, a community center for families interested in learning Chinese dialects, tradition and culture. In addition to studying Mandarin and Cantonese, Alison is a leader of the Chinese Lion Dance Troupe, which performs at local community events. This year she was co-captain of the Dragon Boat Racing Team, competing in traditional Chinese rowing boats. Because of her involvement with the CCLI, Alison wanted to give back to the center she loves. She painted a wall mural that focuses on Chinese numbers, systems of counting, as well as a concept in the Chinese language called “measure words” and featured traditional Chinese calligraphy and colorful groupings of fruits and vegetables. Completed in March, the mural decorates part of the school where the families gather for learning and classes.
