Local Gold Award Girl Scout earns national scholarship

Northwestern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Penninsula (July 26, 2023) — Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes (GSNWGL) proudly recognizes 13 Gold Award Girl Scouts in the 2023 class. Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award—the highest award in Girl Scouting—by developing and carrying out lasting solutions to issues in their neighborhoods and beyond.

Girl Scouts of the USA awarded 110 Gold Award Girl Scouts from across our Movement a $10,000 scholarship, made possible in part by the Kappa Delta Foundation in addition to funds from GSUSA and its National Board. This year, Elizabeth Heimerl, a GSNWGL Girl Scout from Appleton, WI, received a $10,000 scholarship for her work in bringing Read In Color® to her community. Elizabeth created Little Free Library® book-sharing boxes that feature books that provide perspectives on racism and social justice; celebrate BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other marginalized voices; and incorporate experiences from all identities for all readers. Realizing that not all children can access diverse books sharing BIPOC and LGBTQ+ issues and stories, Elizabeth aimed to tackle that issue in her community. Elizabeth referred to the recommended reading list by Little Free Library® to choose multicultural and inclusive books for all age levels.

Nationally, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) is recognizing nearly 3,200 members of the 2023 Gold Award Girl Scout class who identified issues in their communities, took action, and found or created solutions to earn their Gold Awards. This year’s class of world-changers raised $2.5 million in funding and invested over 300,000 hours to address real-life problems such as environmental sustainability, racial justice, mental and physical wellness, and gender inequality in STEM.

Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they take action to transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they’re the leaders our world needs.

According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally. Seventy-two percent (72%) said earning their Gold Award helped them get a scholarship. Changing the world doesn’t end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of Gold Award Girl Scout alums take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.

To view the list of the nearly 3,200 outstanding 2023 Gold Award projects, visit
girlscouts.org/goldawardclass.

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Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes (GSNWGL) partners with 5,000 volunteers and servesapproximately 10,000 girls, covering 58 counties across central and northwestern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. For more information on how to join, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, call
888.747.6945 or visit gsnwgl.org. GSNWGL is a proud United Way partner program.

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Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a
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