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Girl Awards & Scholarships

Girl Scout Gold Award

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award in Girl Scouting. It symbolizes outstanding accomplishments in the areas of leadership, community service, career planning and personal development. A girl must be a registered Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador and have successfully completed specific requirements before she may begin working on the Girl Scout Gold Award project. This special project is an extension and a compilation of all that she has learned in Girl Scouting.

2009-2010 Award Recipients

• Amanda Carnahan, Rachel Curtis, Natalie Lilienthal, Emily Sullivan, Hannah Weber and Allison Walters
  Troop 7028 restored Baum Park in Manchester to earn their Gold Award. These girls turned an old, seldom used park that was recently flooded into a great place for  families to play for years to come.
• Alice Klinkhammer
  When Alice heard about the needs of children who stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Iowa City, she knew she needed to help out. Alice secured donations of fabric and taught friends how to make quilts and teddy bears. Several of the girls Alice taught to make these items have decided to continue the tradition and make more each year.
• Jill Heinrich
  Jill determined the need for programs in her area that teach kids about the benefits of healthy eating. Jill planned and implemented a program for over 80 kids that eating healthy and being active can be fun. She also created a recipe/activity book for the kids to take home.
• Jessica Cary & Lindsey Oetken
  These girls from troop 9061 recognized the need for a place to discard old US flags as well as the need for a ceremony to retire these flags. The girls planned and implemented a large community wide ceremony and retired over 130 flags.
• Erin Gehn
  Erin pulled from her passion of history and culture of Native Americans to complete her Gold Award project. She taught girls on this subject, educated community members on the    issues faced by today’s Native Americans and collected donations which she then arranged to be delivered to a struggling reservation.
• Laura Beck
  Laura recognized a need in her school to help new students feel welcome. She organized a group of student mentors at Bettendorf High School who help make new students feel comfortable. She also organized several events for these students and has compiled all the information for her school to continue this program in the years to come.
• Kaley Werger
  After visiting a local nursing home, Kaley new she wanted to help. Kaley talked to staff and found out that one of their biggest needs they have is the need for blankets. Kaley purchased fabric and utilized the help of family members to create blankets for the elderly residents of the nursing home.

Girl Scout Silver Award

The Girl Scout Silver Award is the highest award you can earn as a Girl Scout Cadette. To attain this award, a young woman works to complete a series of leadership challenges and an extensive service project in her community.

• A BIG “Thanks!” and congratulations goes out to: Girl Scout Cadette Troop 3138: Paige M., Hannah L., Emma A., and Talia W. For their Girl Scout Silver Award project, the girls took action to improve the training resources available to new Girl Scout volunteers by making videos of various songs (with movements) and ceremonies. Check out the videos!

Girl Scout Bronze Award

The Girl Scout Bronze Award is the highest recognition a Girl Scout Junior can achieve. It helps girls improve the community around them while building leadership skills. To earn this award, a Girl Scout Junior will do a project that shows she understands and lives by the Girl Scout Promise and Law. If a girl decides to earn the Bronze Award, she must complete it before she bridges into Girl Scout Cadettes.

GSEIWI Awards Girls of Courage, Confidence and Character Scholarships

GSEIWI honored three Girl Scouts with the Girl of Courage, Girl of Confidence and Girl of Character Scholarship at the 2010 Volunteer Appreciation Event in Coralville, Iowa. The $1,000 scholarships were funded by an anonymous donor who believes in the work of GSEIWI and wanted to be able to give something back to the girls. The scholarships will be available for the Girl Scouts to use toward higher education after they complete high school.

2009-2010 Award Recipients

• Girl of Courage ~ Kyla Noble
  Kyla Noble has been a Girl Scout for 12 years and is a high school senior in Burlington, Iowa. Kyla has been nominated GSEIWI’s Girl of Courage for 2010.  Kyla is   independent, has strong morals, and is true to herself.  Even when Kyla was in middle school, she already was showing leadership capabilities, and seemed to have a knack for ensuring everyone was included. On a trip to Washington, D.C., and New York City, she seemed to notice girls who seemed shy and unsure of themselves, and strove to include them in all the activities. On another trip to Mexico City, she took on a leadership role with girls from all over the world, helping younger girls feel they were included in all activities. Kyla is able to show an amazing amount of courage by telling her non-Scouting friends that she is in Girl Scouts and explain how much it means to her. She is an excellent role model for all young girls and women and our GSEIWI’s Girl of Courage.
• Girl of Confidence ~ Carly Bormann
  Carly Bormann is a high school senior, and has been a Girl Scout for seven years where she lives in Charlotte, Iowa. Carly has been nominated as GSEIWI’s Girl of Confidence for 2010. Her confidence in herself and her abilities is exemplified by her desire to pursue a non-traditional career as a female industrial engineer. During her high school career, she has taken many upper level classes and is active in many organizations, while still maintaining a high grade-point average. Carly plans to attend Iowa State University in the fall and become active in the “Women in Science and Engineering” club that collaborates with Girl Scouts to encourage girls to take the road less traveled. Carly is determined to make a  difference in her own life and beyond, as she continues to make the world a better place, and is GSEIWI’s Girl of Confidence.
• Girl of Character ~ Leah Miller
  Leah Miller lives in Coralville, Iowa, where she is a freshman in high school, and has been in Girl Scouts for nine years. Leah has always been a leader and doing the right thing is of utmost importance to her. In   kindergarten, Leah quickly showed her   character when she befriended a boy in her class named Tyler. She didn’t know he had Down’s syndrome; she just knew his brain worked different than hers. Leah has been involved in every aspect of school and her community from Student Council, to volunteering at the Coralville Library, to helping with charity fundraisers. Recently, she participated in a Kids Against Hunger food-packaging event as a service project that sent 4,200 meals to Haiti.  From a very young age, she was different than her peers; always wanting to right a wrong, fix a problem, or make someone feel better that needed her help. Her actions truly exemplify GSEIWI’s Girl of Character.

Doneta Schaeffer Scholarship Award

Doneta Schaeffer was a Girl Scout volunteer and council staff member who believed that there was always something new to learn, different things to see, and more fun to experience. The annual Doneta Schaeffer Memorial Scholarship was established to help all girls and adults remember and renew this legacy at least once a year. Designed to help the recipient further her education, the $1,000 scholarship is given to a Girl Scout who exemplifies the ideals that Doneta held dear.

2009-2010 Award Recipients

• Haley Chapman
  Haley Chapman is this year’s recipient of the Doneta Schaeffer Scholarship Award. She is a high school senior from Clinton, Iowa, and has been in Girls Scouts for 12 years. Her goal is to pursue pediatric nursing to make a positive impact on a child’s life. The majority of Haley’s volunteer work experience is with children, however, she also has helped at the Animal Shelter, the local Arboretum, and cleaning up community streets. As a teen girl, she witnessed the awful way girls treat each other and for her Gold Award, organized an overnight camping event, “Discovering the E.S.P. in You.” The event allowed girls to make a connection with each other on an emotional, spiritual, and physical level.
• Jill Heinrich
  Jill Heinrich is this year’s recipient of the Doneta Schaeffer Scholarship Award. Jill has always challenged herself to find ways to impact her community. Through her Gold Award project, “Taking the CHIP (Choosing Healthy Snacks and Increased Physical Activity) Challenge” she reached more than 80 kids teaching them about healthy eating habits and active lifestyles. Jill has gained self-confidence and leadership skills through Girl Scouts and knows their value in her future. She plans on being a Girl Scout lifetime member and will encourage her children to be active Girl Scouts, too.

New~ Wings to Grow Scholarship

Wings to Grow is a foundation dedicated to assisting women and girls with education expenses.

Wings to Grow offers a $1,000 scholarship for a graduating high school senior who is a registered Girl Scout in Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. This is a non-traditional scholarship in that materials are due on July 15, 2010, with a notification following shortly after that. The applicant must be a resident of Iowa and must be enrolling in an educational institution in Iowa. All applications require a 1,000-word essay on Courage, Confidence and Character, references and verification of Girl Scout membership and proof of acceptance at an educational institution in Iowa.

Wings to Grow also offers a $1,000 scholarship to an adult female volunteer of Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa & Western Illinois who is returning or continuing their education at any institution in Iowa. This scholarship is non-traditional with materials due on July 15, 2010. All applications require references and verification of Girl Scout membership and proof of acceptance at an educational institution in Iowa.

Applications are available at the Waterloo Area Service Center of Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa & Western Illinois. For information, contact Jamie at 319-232-6601.

For any further questions regarding criteria for the application or to submit the application, please contact Karen at wingstogrow@hotmail.com.

The Soroptimist Violet Richardson Award Program

The Violet Richardson Award program begins at the local Soroptimist club level, where the type of award varies. Club level winners then become eligible for one of 28 $1,000 awards. In addition, $1,000 will be contributed in honor of these winners to their volunteer organizations. One finalist will be chosen from among the 28 winners for an additional award, including a contribution of $2,500 to the finalist's volunteer organization.

If you think you would make a good Violet Richardson Award candidate, please complete the application (Deadline: December 1, 2009) and tell us about your volunteer action. Send it to the local Soroptimist club listed on the application. Good luck! And, even if you don't win a Violet Richardson Award, we applaud your efforts to make your community and the world a better place.

Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award for Iowa High School Juniors

The Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award, a $5,000 scholarship program for Iowa juniors, does not evaluate grades, test scores, or essays. Applicants propose a project they want to accomplish. Approximately 15 juniors are chosen in April to participate and then complete their projects. In the fall of the senior year they make presentations about their projects at the Hoover Presidential Library-Museum in West Branch, near Iowa City. Each student receives a $1,000 stipend. Three are chosen to win $5,000 scholarships for a two or four year school anywhere in the nation. More information: www.hooverassociation.org, 800-828-0475 or scholarship@hooverassociation.org.

Applications and letters of recommendation must be mailed by March 31, 2010.