On April 30, three Girl Scouts from Golden will receive the Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts. Danielle Clark, Rachel Cresswell and Elise Gray have demonstrated exceptional dedication to the Girl Scout Law's commitment to "making the world a better place" through their community service. Mile Hi Council will honor 33 Gold Award recipients, including these young women, in a special ceremony at 7 p.m. at the El Jebel Temple in Denver.

"Out of the thousands of Girl Scouts in Mile Hi Council, only 33 girls have earned the highest level of distinction in Girl Scouting this year - the Gold Award," said Jean C. Jones, president/CEO of Girl Scouts - Mile Hi Council. "These girls are leaving a Girl Scout legacy by meeting a need within the community for which they have a personal passion. They have also gained valuable leadership skills to last them a lifetime."

Through living in a homeless shelter for ten days in Washington, D.C. during a program with her school, Danielle Clark learned first-hand about the struggle for the shelters to provide necessities such as soap and toothpaste to residents. "Most organizations are trying just to shelter and feed people that come in," she said.

Clark decided to assist with this problem by creating 200 toiletry boxes to split between the Denver Rescue Mission and the Safehouse, a shelter for battered women. The boxes contained a washcloth, a comb, a bar of soap, shampoo, a toothbrush and toothpaste.

"Homelessness is twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, all year long," Clark said. "Most people forget that the shelters need help all year long (not just during the holidays)."

For her Gold Award Project, Rachel Cresswell coordinated volunteers to create 40 baby blankets, 40 baby hats and 40 "Build-A-Bear" friends for the infants at Avista Hospital. The hospital welcomes more than 200 newborns to the world each year, and Cresswell aimed to make their entrance even happier.

Cresswell led a Junior Girl Scout Troop in creating the bears, secured the support of a family friend to knit the baby hats and donated her own time in creating the blankets.

Cresswell enjoyed the experience of leading a group of volunteers in a project.

She hopes that her donations will have an impact on the families she touched and create a spirit of service within her community.

To bring the joy of reading to children at Fletcher-Miller School, a school catering to special needs students, Elise Gray took on a unique project. She created a small audio book library by reading books out loud and recording them using tools and software specifically designed for that purpose. Gray collected more books than she had time to record, so she also donated many paperback and hardback books to the school in addition to her audio library.

"This experience has helped me rediscover the joy of reading for fun and pleasure, something that was lost in my latter months of high school," Gray said. "I am also proud to have been able to help share stories with a group that is often ignored by the general public."

As the highest award a teen Girl Scout can earn, the prestigious Gold Award is the single most demanding award that a Girl Scout strives towards, and it's not unusual for a girl to put in more than 200 hours to fulfill the requirements. Leadership, determination, perseverance and creativity - skills developed through the progressing levels of the Girl Scout program - are necessary to successfully complete the project. The essence of the Gold Award is a personal challenge for a girl to stretch her skills and abilities and step forward as a leader to meet a community need for which she has a passion and a will to create a sustainable change.

Girl Scouts - Mile Hi Council is where girls in Denver and 13 surrounding counties gain courage, confidence and character alongside a group of girls who will be their friends for life. It's a safe place for girls to explore their world, develop an understanding and empathy for others and take action to make the world a better place. Girls are guided by committed, caring adults who make learning fun. No other activity helps each girl achieve her personal leadership pathway like Girl Scouting. Girl Scouts has been the nation's leading expert on girls for nearly 100 years. For more information or to volunteer, visit us at www.girlscoutsmilehi.org or call 303-778-8774.

By Joan Harrold, Girl Scouts - Mile Hi Council