On April 27 th, Shanlie Anderson, Juliana Burton, Kelsey Coker and Nicole Conklin who are girl scouts in Boulder County received the Silver Award. It is the highest earned award for Girl Scouts ages 12-14 and the second highest in Girl Scouting.

The Girl Scout Silver Award represents a girl's accomplishments in Girl Scouting and her community as she grows and works to improve her life and the lives of others. The first four requirements of the Girl Scout Silver Award help girls build skills, explore careers, gain leadership skills, and make a commitment to self-improvement. After the first four requirements are completed, the final step is a service project with a minimum of 40 hours.

Each girl spent the last two years logging more than 100 hours working towards this goal. In the fall of 2007, they began planning a Cookie Rally where more than 140 area girl scouts attended. At the rally each girl was responsible for running a station where they taught younger girls about cookie facts, selling skills and goal setting. The highlight of the event was "Cookies! The Musical." The girls wrote, directed, choreographed and performed this amazing play celebrating the Girl Scout Cookie Season. After the Cookie Rally was over, the real hard work began. They put their marketing plan into action and sold 2,855 boxes of cookies between the four of them. Their sales effort generated a total of $5,110 for Girl Scout of Colorado. At the end of the cookie activity, they submitted this project to Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) Dare to Share Contest where their entry was selected as one of only three national winners. During this project, they learned and practiced valuable leadership skills such as teamwork, motivation, communication, coordination and delegation. Please visit GSUSA website to view their winning report http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/cookie_winners.asp.

Upon completing the first four requirements of the Silver Award, Troop 1753 was ready to begin the final phase of the Silver Award, the community service project. At a church service, one member was touched when she heard a visiting evangelist share about the people of Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the world. She also learned about the Goldstone School of Hope worldwide (GSHW) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The school's mission is to establish a leading, free private school in Cambodia dedicated to academic excellence English and computer proficiency, student alumni-unity, Christian moral values and leadership training. Church members helped Troop 1753 make the initial contact with the school's director. They learned that the Cambodian students would like to practice reading and writing English with students from the USA. The idea of working with teens in another part of the world sounded very exciting and the idea of the "Colorado to Cambodia Pen Pal Program" was born. Upon receiving a list of 43 Cambodian students, Troop 1753 began to design the details of the program and recruit their friends as pen pals. In November, 2008, the first package of letters was sent to Cambodia with subsequent mailings in December, February and April. The Goldstone School was so excited upon receipt of the first package that they asked for an additional 22 pen pals in December.

Collecting and distributing letters to 65 students for four separate mailings who were scattered all over the north Denver metro area was not easy task. Perseverance and determination paid off. Over the course of the past 7 months, students learned about each other's interests, holidays, traditions and cultures. An amazing bond developed between the United States and Cambodia students. The letters, pictures, artwork and trinkets which were exchanged are treasured by all. Shanlie, Juliana, Kelsey and Nicole wish to thank all of their friends from Louisville Middle School, Monarch K-8, Fariview High School, Coal Creek Elementary and Denver Church of Christ (DCC) for participating in this project. The Goldstone School students are so grateful for your letters and friendships. Special thanks go to the DCC for making it all possible. Learn more about the Goldstone School at www.gshw.org.