Elizabeth Margiloff of Great Neck is one of the 55 local Girl Scouts who recently received their Gold Award for addressing community issues through a sustainable impact. Her project, called the Keys to Success and Wellness, led workshops to help children K-12 educate themselves and cope with mental health and stress that was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In her project, Margiloff tackled specifically the negative effects that stress and anxiety have on the mental and social development of children and how this was worsened by the pandemic. She created presentations for elementary, middle and high school students to provide resources and strategies for combating anxiety, depression and transitional changes.
During her project, Margiloff partnered with the community center EPIC Enrichment in Great Neck, which hosted some of her presentations alongside their courses on life skills and tutoring. She also developed digital summaries of her presentations, which were distributed at a Brooklyn charter school to be used in school assemblies for larger outreach.
“Each of the Girl Scouts who earned their Gold Award this year showed fortitude, diligence and enthusiasm in creating and executing a plan to act on a societal issue. We are very proud and impressed by each of them for reaching their goals and leaving a legacy with their communities,” said Randell Bynum, the CEO of Girl Scouts of Nassau County.
Girls in grades 9 through 12 begin their Gold Award journeys by finding a civic or social issue that holds importance to them. Next, a Girl Scout builds a team to support her project with a mission to create a positive impact on her community.
“Their dedication is evident, and their hard work has touched countless lives,” said Bynum, “This year we had Girl Scouts addressing real-life issues such as environmental justice and sustainability, mental and emotional wellness, gender equality in sports and more. We commend each of them for their important work.”
Gold Award projects are coordinated so that they can continue long after girls earn their award by establishing lasting nonprofit organizations, publishing books to be added to school library collections, and implementing classroom lessons to be continued to be taught for years to come or other initiatives to create long-term change.
Through the process of achieving the Gold Award, Girl Scouts boast that the girls participating become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers, while educating and inspiring others. The orgaqnization says that the girls also learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally.
Girls in grades K-12 can begin their Girl Scout journey at any age. To join or volunteer, visit www.gsnc.org/join.
