Hurricane Relief, Prom Dresses for All, Helping Students Learn: Elmhurst Teens Go for the Gold

Information provided by Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.

Anneliese Chiappetta, Miranda Deane and Melissa Rohman, all of Elmhurst, received Girl Scout Gold Awards, the organization's most prestigious national honor, after completing a complex series of requirements, including the implementation of a significant community service project.

Chiappetta, 17, earned her Gold Award by initiating “Change For Change.” Over the course of three months, Chiappetta was able to raise more than $3,000 by collecting spare change. With the funds, she organized a trip to the Gulf Coast to provide relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina. The funds were used to purchase supplies and cover labor costs for home renovation.

“Simple fixes can go a long way,” Chiappetta said. “Something as simple as fixing a toilet that leaked for 10 years brought a smile to the homeowner.”

Through her Gold Award project, “Pay Less for the Dress,” Deane, 17, collected more than 250 prom dresses for her school’s first-ever prom dress resale event. She also enlisted the support of local merchants to provide discount coupons for dry cleaning, tuxedo rental and flowers. To ensure the continuation of her project, Deane also recruited the help of the high school PTSA to run the event in the future.

“This project showed me the importance of diversity in a community, as well as improved my organization and professional skills,” Deane said.

Teaming up with local nonprofit Friends of Elmhurst, Rohman, 18, organized the “Lara Academy Book Drive.” With the help of many in her community, Rohman collected more than 2,000 books for students at Lara Academy in Chicago. 

“Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award is an immense accomplishment which requires girls to use the leadership skills they developed in Girl Scouting to affect positive change in their communities,” said Maria Wynne, CEO of Girl Scouts GCNI. “These young trailblazers create a legacy of social impact with their projects and learn a lot about the strength of their abilities in the process. They lead by example, and are helping to move the needle on gender inequities in leadership.”

The leadership skills, organizational skills, sense of community and commitment required to complete the projects set the foundation for a lifetime of active citizenship. Girls put in 65 hours or more towards their service project, with at least 40 hours in a leadership role before embarking on the final project.

Girl Scouts of the USA recently launched The Gold Award Alliance, a group of women who have earned Girl Scouting’s highest awards since 1916. Recipients from any year are encouraged to get connected to other award recipients by visiting girlscouts.org/goldawardalliance.

As awareness of the Girl Scout Gold Award continues to grow, an increasing number of colleges are offering financial incentives to those who earn Girl Scout Gold Awards, and admissions counselors view it as a sign of a girl’s ability to lead.

Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana impacts the lives of nearly 84,000 girls and 24,000 adult members in 245 communities. For more information, visit www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org.