Five Local Girl Scouts Receive Top Honors

The Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore presented five Howell-area Girl Scouts with the Gold Award during a special ceremony last month.

The Gold Award is the higest honor that can be bestowed on a Girl Scout. Nationwide, only five percent of all eligible Girl Scouts earn this prestigious award.

In addition to the Gold Award, each recipient received special commendations from President Barack Obama, their senate and congressional representatives, Governor Chris Christie, and in many cases, from their county and state elected officials, the release says.

In order to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, girls must use the leadership skills learned through Girl Scouting to address and raise awareness of a specific issue or issues within her community. Each recipient is required to complete at least 80 hours on a project that combines organizational leadership and networking skills with community service. This year’s projects included renovations of a church, generating Autism awareness, book swaps, lending a hand during and after Hurricane Sandy, and renovating hospital rooms, the release says.

Below are the descriptions of the projects each girl completed for her Gold Award: 

Renee Cavezza, Howell

Renee renovated an educational and daycare room at Immanuel Bible Church. She collected books and toys to restock the room. In addition to that, she painted the room and added shelves. She wanted to make a happier and educationally-rich place for the children to learn and play. She also involved her troop and explained to them why this was such an important undertaking, and why giving back is essential, the release says.

Anna Donio, Farmingdale

Anna’s project was designed to provide information about Autism Awareness. One key component of the project was the 5k that was held at her high school. She collected over 100 items for the program that they still use today. Anna continues to work with the Autism Program, and continues to educate people about the effects of Autism on a person. Her advisor was John Hein, who she would like to thank, as well as her troop and her leaders, Donna Tornich and Karen Adams, the release says.

Amanda Fee, Howell

Amanda focused on the value of reading, and organized a book swap where participants of all ages were able to take home new books as well as donate some to charity. Over 1,500 books were collected and distributed to 13 locations. Amanda hopes to have instilled a love of reading in the children who received the books and reminded adults that they too, should continue to exercise their minds with a good book. She believes that the most important aspects of this project were the team management and the book collection, the release says.

Gabriella Manetta, Howell

Gabriella worked with the organization, ARMS. ARMS is the American Recreational Military Services, they support and provide assistance to soldiers and their families. She worked with ARMS for their annual holiday gift drive called, “Project Little Soldier”. She also helped ARMS in the Disaster Relief effort, by helping military families that were affected and displaced by Hurricane Sandy. Gabriella collected donations at various events to create care packages for deployed soldiers overseas, the release says. 

Kimberly Priante, Howell

Kimberly rebuilt and created activity rooms at the Jersey Shore Medical Center Pediatric Wards. She provided the children with enjoyment and entertainment. She also brought awareness to the community about the importance of making donations to the hospital. When she received toys she could not use, she donated them to Linkages, which is a safe haven for women and children of domestic abuse. The success of the project was shown by a filled brand new activity room, and a restocked playroom, the release says.