GLEN CARBON – Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois proudly recognizes Lindsey Lankford from Glen Carbon, Illinois. She is a member of the 2023 Girl Scout Gold Award class and recipient of a $10,000 scholarship from Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) for her work on providing sensory support to students with disabilities. Lindsey worked in the special education classroom at her school for six years. She also joined Key Club, which planned community events – including events for students with disabilities. Lindsey noticed some struggles that students with special sensory needs faced, so she centered her Gold Award project around making these students feel supported.
Nationally, GSUSA is recognizing nearly 3,200 members of the 2023 Gold Award Girl Scout class who identified issues in their communities, took action, and found or created solutions to earn their Gold Awards. This year’s class of world-changers raised $2.5 million of support for their projects and invested over 300,000 hours to address real-life problems such as environmental sustainability, racial justice, mental and physical wellness, and gender inequality in STEM. Lindsey, and all the 2023 Gold Award Girl Scouts, demonstrate the breadth of issues American teens feel are most prevalent in society today.
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This year Girl Scouts of the USA awarded 100 Gold Award Girl Scouts from across the Movement a $10,000 scholarship, made possible in part by the Kappa Delta Foundation in addition to funds from GSUSA and its National Board.
Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, 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.
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. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally. Seventy-two percent (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. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of Gold Award Girl Scout alums take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.
To view the list of the nearly 3,200 outstanding 2023 Gold Award projects, visit girlscouts.org/goldawardclass.
Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois serves over 6,150 girls and engages nearly 3,000 adult volunteers in 40 counties in Southern Illinois. Join Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois today! Adult volunteers and girls in K-12 are welcome. Call 800-345-6858 or email customercare@gsofsi.org. Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois is a not-for-profit organization supported by various United Ways, businesses and individual donors throughout the region.
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