Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines has presented AnnaKate Gilchrist of Clayton with a Gold Award, a designation she earned by creating gifts that can be distributed to hospital-bound children on special occasions. For her project, Love in a Bag, Gilchrist created bags containing treats, prizes, personal hygiene items, and school supplies that can be distributed to sick children on special occasions. Gilchrist hopes her project will brighten the children’s days and help makes sure they have something to look forward to during a difficult time.
The Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable—earned by a high school Girl Scout who works to address an issue she’s passionate about in a way that produces meaningful and lasting change. Whether it’s on a local, national, or global level, Gold Award Girl Scouts provide innovative solutions to significant challenges.
“Gold Award Girl Scouts don’t just change the world for the better, they change it for good—and AnnaKate embodies everything this achievement stands for,” said Lisa Jones, chief executive officer, Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines. “AnnaKate addressed an issue that’s important to her—patient comfort— for her Gold Award, and we congratulate her on this momentous accomplishment.”
Gilchrist is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jamey Gilchrist and she is a senior at Cleveland High School. She has been in Girl Scouts since 2006 and is in Girl Scout Troop #768 led by Holly Patton. In addition to Girl Scouting, Gilchrist is a member of her school’s varsity softball and tennis teams, the Cardinals 18U Travel Softball Team, and the Praise Band at Crosspoint Community Church.
By earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, Gilchrist has become a community leader. Her accomplishments reflect leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart. Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award is no easy feat as a girl demonstrates significant leadership, planning, networking and organizational skills as girls spend, on average, one to two years working to complete her project. Girls must follow the steps of identifying an issue, investigating it thoroughly, getting help and building a team, creating a plan, presenting your plan, gathering feedback, taking action, and educating and inspiring others.
Since the council unification in 2007 through 2018, 698 Girl Scouts have earned their Gold Award as a result of their efforts to transform an idea and vision for change into an actionable plan with measurable, sustainable, and far-reaching impact. Girls and families interested in learning more about the Girl Scout Gold Award can visit www.nccoastalpines.org.
