Manhasset residents Allison Pegno, Ava Malysa, Claire LaBenne, Olivia Aversano, Sophia Franchetti and Sophia Oliveri were among 51 Nassau County Girl Scouts honored in the 2024 Gold Scout Gold Award class.
The six teens were recognized for their positive impacts and for addressing causes they care about in their communities.
“Every Girl Scout who earned their Gold Award this year demonstrated remarkable resilience, dedication and passion in developing and implementing a plan to tackle a societal challenge. We are immensely proud and impressed by each one of them for achieving their goals and making a lasting impact on their communities,” Rande Bynum, CEO of Girl Scouts of Nassau County, said. “Their commitment is undeniable, and their efforts have positively affected countless lives. This year, our Girl Scouts addressed critical issues such as environmental justice and sustainability, mental and emotional health, gender equality in sports and more. We applaud each of them for their significant contributions.”
Girls in grades 9-12 begin their Gold Award journeys by identifying 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 in her community. Gold Award projects are coordinated so that they can continue long after girls earn their award by establishing nonprofit organizations, publishing books to be added to school library collections, implementing classroom lessons to be taught for years to come or other initiatives to create lasting change.
Through the process, Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers, while educating and inspiring others.
They learn resourcefulness, tenacit, 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.
To earn her Gold Award, Allison addressed the positive impact walking can have on mental health.
Through her research, hands-on experience, interviews and analysis, she outlined the physical and emotional benefits of walking.
She partnered with local women’s clubs by writing and distributing articles containing maps that outlined three walking routes and included the number of steps, their total mileage, and the time they’d take to complete.
Ally’s project is sustained by her high school website where a link is provided to access her information. She also presented her findings to several individuals within the community.
For her Gold Award, Ava implemented a composting system at her school to create organic fertilizer.
Noticing that the trash bins overflowed with wasted food after lunch periods made her realize that problems with food waste and water contamination were hitting close to home.
She experimented with repurposing organic food waste to engineer solutions for cleaning contaminated water. Every school nearby is close to water so the run-off from pesticides and fertilizers negatively impacts the ocean and bays.
Teachers and students learned to compost and, as a result, were learning how to reduce their own environmental impact.
Claire educated elementary school students about the benefits of gardening on their well-being and mental health.
She hosted workshops and presentations discussing the differences between physical and emotional health, suggested beneficial activities and also presented steps for planting a container garden.
Claire’s project will be sustained by the kindness club at her local elementary school, where they will continue to teach the importance of gardening for good mental health.
Olivia has a life-threatening food allergy and dedicated her Gold Award to raising awareness for this issue.
Working with her allergist, Dr. Robert Corriel, she created a brochure in four different languages with information about food allergies and anaphylaxis care.
Her mission was to increase awareness in young adults and parents on how to recognize and react to allergic reactions.
She created workshops where she presented skills and information to schools, libraries, and day care centers.
To sustain her project, Olivia trained a team to present her workshops in the future. She also shared her research on social media, and her brochures were displayed in various locations.
Sophia Franchetti’s Gold Award project focused on addressing the threats facing pollinators like bees and butterflies, which include climate change, the overuse of pesticides and loss of habitat.
She created a garden at the Science Museum of Long Island to educate visitors about the relationship between pollinating plants and various types of pollinating insects and animals.
Sophia hosted presentations at Munsey Park Elementary School, a community fun run and at the Manhasset Bay Yacht Club summer camp. She shared information about the benefits of a continuously blooming garden limiting the use of pesticides, and encouraged participants to grow pollinating plants by handing out seeds.
Sophia also created educational materials that will be incorporated into her elementary school’s unit on pollination which will ensure the longevity of her project.
Sophia Oliveri worked with a local preschool at Temple Beth Israel in Port Washington to encourage literacy and share her passion for reading with preschool-aged students.
Through creating a children’s book that she wrote and illustrated, she incorporated Girl Scout themes such as friendship, teamwork and kindness to teach the students life lessons and skills in an engaging way.
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.
ABout 87% of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally. Another 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, as 99% of Gold Award Girl Scout alums take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.
Girls in grades K-12 can begin their Girl Scout journey at any age. As girls grow with Girl Scouts, they learn hands-on leadership skills they’ll use to make their mark through the Gold Award and beyond. To join or volunteer, visit www.gsnc.org/join.