Girl Scouts of Larchmont Mamaroneck is pleased to announce the awards and honors recently received by both Girl Scouts and Adult volunteers in our local Girl Scout community. Five Ambassador level (11th and 12th grade) Girl Scouts in the Larchmont-Mamaroneck-Rye Neck community earned their Gold Award this year. The Gold Award is the highest award that girls can earn in Girl Scouting and represents at least 80 hours of work towards a project that makes a sustainable impact, continuing to make a difference even after the girls go on to college. 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 are the leaders our world needs. These Gold Award Girl Scouts identified issues in their communities that they personally cared about, took action, and found or created solutions that addressed real-life problems. Recipients of the Gold Award include Sophie Greenspan (Troop 2463), Bláthnaid Grenouillon (Troop 2624), Ariana Hammer (Troop 2621), Annika Lee (Troop 2463) and Noe Winter-Hamaoui (Troop 2624). 

Sophie Greenspan decided to raise awareness about the importance of eye care and eye protection after participating in a medical health program in the Dominican Republic with a group of ophthalmologists. She collected sunglasses and made educational materials in Spanish for children and adults when she returned to the DR in 2023 and 2024. In her community back home, she met with other Girl Scout troops to distribute sunglasses and talk about eye safety. Through posters, pamphlets, and presentations, she educated the public about preventing eye diseases that can affect vision later in life. 

Bláthnaid Grenouillon wanted to educate the public on the importance of trees and of staying on trails to preserve nature. Walking off trail has been a major issue at Rye Nature Center so she put wood chips on the trails so hikers would be encouraged to stay on the trail. In addition, she made a tree nature walk and installed tree ID signs around the park. Since laying the wood chips, she has noticed the growth of plants next to the trails where people no longer walk, which will help protect animal habitats.

Ariana Hammer’s Gold Award project focused on the mental health of children in elementary school. At Bellows Elementary School she painted and cleaned all the benches and wrote positive phrases on them. Having these “Mindful Benches” in the playground area provides kids with a special place to sit if they are having a rough day or just need a relaxing place to sit with a friend. 

Through poetry, music, and theater, Annika Lee created events in our local parks for residents of all ages to enjoy the arts and engage with nature, care for our environment, and build community. She also founded and continues to lead the Larchmont Mamaroneck Teen Native Plant Collective, sending teens into local parks to restore the native ecology within a larger multigenerational community. They are currently revitalizing Kane Park into a native plant sanctuary for pollinators. 

Noe Winter-Hamoui created a project aimed at reducing the 500,000 to 1 million tons of monofilament fishing line that is discarded in the ocean each year. Monofilament fishing line is not biodegradable and takes 500 years to decompose. If it ends up in the ocean, marine life can become entangled in it, causing starvation and death. Noe installed four monofilament fishing line recycling containers at Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck as well as signs that explained the need for recycling fishing line. Noe partnered with the Marine Education Center in the Village of Mamaroneck to install the recycling containers.

In addition, four girls from Troop 1833 earned their Silver Award, which requires at least 50 hours of work, and is the highest award for Cadette Girl Scouts. Elle Barker and Brooke Marchese put together a Back-to-School school supply drive for the Don Bosco Community Center in Port Chester. For Melanie Kramer’s Silver project, “Spring Into Snacks,” she coordinated with the Harrison Food Pantry to provide healthy snacks that children could take to school. Rachel Roberts focused on childhood obesity prevention, including the importance of exercise and nutrition.

It’s not only the girls in the local Girl Scout Community who are doing great things, but also the adult volunteers. This year, Pat Allen, Service Unit Manager for Girl Scouts in Larchmont Mamaroneck was presented with the Thanks Badge II at the Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson Awards and Recognitions Ceremony in March. This award recognizes Girl Scout volunteers who have already received the Thanks Badge and continue to go above and beyond in their role and impact the entire Girl Scout movement, Council, or organization. Pat also serves on the Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson (GSHH) Board of Directors and has represented GSHH as a National Delegate at the past three GSUSA National Council Sessions, most recently in July of 2023 in Orlando, Florida.

Three local leaders were also presented with the “Volunteer of Excellence” award at the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Girl Scout Leader-Daughter Appreciation Event on June 1. These leaders have distinguished themselves with exemplary service to their troops, engaging both girls and their families in meaningful activities. Recipients included Alicia Blittner, Leader of Daisy Troop 2549, Sandra Luk-Doherty, Leader of Cadette Troop 2772, and Rachel Martensen, Leader of Brownie Troop 2622.

In addition, Troop Leaders Sarah Constantine and Deborah Maher were each presented with a pin recognizing five years of volunteer service to the Girl Scouts.

The Larchmont-Mamaroneck-Rye Neck Girl Scouts are thriving and currently have close to 600 girl members in 50 troops. For more information on Girl Scouting in our community, visit www.girlscoutslm.org.