Three girls from Greater Peoria have each earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouting, for their service work across their communities.
Keira Henneise of Pekin, Neethra Venkatesh of Dunlap, and Wren Davis of Chillicothe each earned the Gold Award. The award is for girls in grades 9-12 who demonstrate leadership and create sustainable positive change in a community.
Henneise, Venkatesh, and Davis are three of just 11 Gold Award recipients in Central Illinois this year.
These young women have completed over 1,000 hours of service combined to causes they are passionate about.
Henneise's project focused on encouraging youth to be active outdoors by revitalizing a storybook archery trail at Camp Tapawingo in Metamora.
“I spent hours working on many details in order to create an enchanting environment for the trail and to ensure the stories and pictures were entertaining for the children and people using the trail,” said Henneise.
Venkatesh partnered with Aquatots Swim School in Peoria and dedicated her project to raising awareness of the importance of water safety and learning to swim.
“My goal for this project was and continues to be to spread awareness of the dangers of the water in my community, and spread the word throughout my community,” stated Neethra. “I want to make more people well versed in this life skill, so that less people are put at risk when near the water,” said Venkatesh.
Davis earned her Gold Award in part by increasing awareness of Chillicothe’s Root Cemetery Prairie natural area conservation.
“Few natural areas have an in-depth write-up of the various types of mammals, insects, birds, and plants that can be found at them,” said Davis. “I am satisfied that my project has helped fill some of the need for that type of resource.”
Gold Award Girl Scouts address the root cause of a problem, plan and implement solutions to create permanent changes, all while leading a team of people to success.
“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,” said Katrina Steubinger, marketing manager for Girl Scouts Central Illinois.
Girls in grades K–12 can join Girl Scouts any time during the year.
To join or volunteer, visit GetYourGirlPower.org.