Following the tragic loss of her brother and a total breakdown of communication during a severe hurricane in Fairview, 14-year-old Chloe Button dedicated her Girl Scout Gold Award project to building community resilience. She assembled waterproof natural disaster packs containing radios, chargers, flashlights, and maps of Fairview and North Carolina, distributing them to local churches and fire stations. To ensure the project's success, Chloe attended classes to earn her own official radio certification, providing her community with a reliable way to call for help and coordinate mutual aid when power grids and cell towers fail.

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I am a Freshman at AC Reynolds HS of Asheville. I have been a Girl Scout since kindergarten in GSCP2P. I successfully completed my Girl Scout Gold Award by developing "Communication Disaster Packs" with an action plan to assist my local fire stations and churches through any future natural disaster. During the course of my project I also became licensed by the FCC for Amateur and GMRS radio communications. I am currently ranked 3rd in NC State for Marksmanship through the American Legion and JROTC and CMP programs in the sporter class. I also raise chickens and placed 3rd at the WNC State Fair in 2025. Last, I am a 3 time Youth Fishing Champion for Biltmore Estate. After HS graduation in 2029 I hope to earn my Bachelors in Criminal Justice and Forensic Anthropology with a minor in Psychology then pursue a career as a Crime Scene Investigator.

Full transcript available on SubStack: https://substack.com/@sherylmrobinson

Nazeefa Loladia earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by designing a multi-layered project to address the digital divide. Locally, she organized an electronics donation drive that collected nearly $5,000 in devices for the Atlanta nonprofit Inspiredu to refurbish and distribute to underserved communities. She expanded her project's global impact by partnering with Leap to Shine, a sister organization in India, where she created 15 educational video tutorials to teach children and instructors how to navigate the newly provided tablets and academic software. Additionally, Nazeefa addressed community technology needs by leading cybersecurity and basic coding workshops that successfully educated 100 elementary and middle school students.

More from Nazeefa:

I've been a proud Girl Scout for the past nine years, earning my Bronze, Silver, and now Gold Award. Through Girl Scouts, I've developed a strong passion for leadership and community service, which has been recognized through honors like Council Woman of Distinction and a council scholarship. In high school, I've stayed actively involved in student council, National Spanish Honor Society, National Honor Society, DECA, and several marketing internships, all of which have helped shape my interest in business. While I haven't committed to a college yet, I plan to major in business and continue building on the leadership and service skills Girl Scouts has given me.

https://www.instagram.com/digitallaccess/

Hannah MacLean's Girl Scout Gold Award project focused on instilling patience, empathy, and understanding for neurologically diverse students within the Franklin Public School System. Motivated by the bullying and unfair treatment her younger sister faced, Hannah enhanced the district's anti-bullying curriculum and introduced a nuanced, Socratic-inspired curriculum focused on critical thinking. Her project involved three core components: collecting and distributing diverse books to middle schools, serving as an active student representative on local committees, and teaching her own educators how to incorporate neurological diversity into their classrooms. The curriculum she established remains a part of the school system's Mental Health Awareness Day.

More from Hannah:

In addition to my Gold Award, I have been a lifetime member of GSEMA since Daisies, and I recently worked as a camp counselor with the Girl Scouts of Northern California. Some of my favorite Girl Scout memories included selling cookies to fund a trip to the Grand Canyon with my travel troop, and discovering my interest in International Relations and Diplomacy through the annual Girl Scouts International Leadership Conference at Salve Regina. These successes I attribute to the incredible role models and leaders I had along the way, including but not limited to Roni Doherty, Joanna Lenahan, and Amy VanNederpelt, the lovely cookie Moms and role models of GSEMA, and the other incredible leaders who paved my way. Since this introduction to the accessible ways I could use my voice to make a change, I have graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics with a minor in Social Justice Theory from St. John's University in Queens, NY. Partly in thanks for my work with the Gold Award and Girl Scouts, I earned over $160,000 in scholarships and the privilege of traveling the world with the Vincentian Institute of Social Action through the Ozanam Scholars program.

Full transcript available on SubStack: https://substack.com/@sherylmrobinson