Baldwin Girl Scouts honored for community projects

Courage, confidence and character. These are the qualities that members of the Baldwin Association of Girl Scouts aspire to in everything they do. Through the association, they take on a mix of traditional and more up-to-date civic duties. They will celebrate their accomplishments at the association’s annual awards ceremony on June 13.

Delia Serrano, a service team member, explained that the scouts are evaluated based on their volunteer service during the 2015-16 school year. The awards recognize girls who demonstrate extraordinary leadership and take on projects that have a sustainable impact.

“We are a very proactive organization,” Serrano said. “We’re a very involved association that participates in a wide range of activities.”

Serrano, who is also a leader of the Girl Scouts in Troop 2518, said that there are four different awards that they can receive: Gold, Silver, Bronze and the Community Service Bar. They must volunteer for at least 20 hours for an organization of their choosing. The awards are given to girls from the elementary level to high school, whose ranks range from Daisy to Ambassador.

“We’re giving back to communities through these awards,” Serrano said.

The scouts work on leadership building, workshops and technology programs like STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) during the school year. There are a total of 36 Girl Scout troops in Baldwin, and scouts from 11 of them will receive awards.

Yvette Gorman-Holmes, leader of Troop 2144, has several girls who will receive Bronze Awards for their volunteer service. Last month, the scouts visited the Henry Viscardi School in Albertson, for students with physical disabilities. Scouts calling themselves the People Group gained a better understanding of those who are physically challenged. Gorman-Holmes said that the girls made her proud.

On May 17 they visited Plaza Elementary School in Baldwin, and talked with disabled students about what it’s like to be different. They also educated the kids about bullying and tolerance. “I’m so impressed with their level of maturity,” Gorman-Holmes said of her scouts. “They have such pure hearts, and they really want to help.”

The People Group created a multimedia project that they called the Disability Awareness Project, and used skits to depict real-life scenarios of some of the daily challenges that disabled people face. They shared their project during an assembly at the Viscardi School with more than 150 students in attendance. Members of the People Group are looking forward to sharing their experiences with their classmates at their respective schools to raise awareness about disabled people.

“Their willingness to get that message out and to step out of their comfort zone — that’s the definition of commitment,” Gorman-Holmes said.