Rockville Centre Girl Scouts take a golden travel opportunity

Delays at local area airports didn’t stop 150 girls from traveling to countries around the globe late last month — without ever leaving Rockville Centre. A Girl Scout Gold Award Project called “International Day - Where East Meets West” was presented by village resident Caitlin Morahan, a Holy Trinity High School senior. Held at the St. Agnes Parish Center, 15 troops hailing from South Side middle and high schools, Hewitt, Wilson, Watson, Riverside and Covert elementary schools participated in the event. Each scout attending received a Girl Scout badge.

Caitlin worked on her Gold Award project for over a year, meeting with each troop that participated, attending troop meetings, conducting research and working at the Girl Scout Council with her Gold Award Mentor. At the troop meetings, months earlier, girls were encouraged by Caitlin to learn about other cultures and traditions. Culminating in the event at the Parish Center, 15 countries were represented, ranging from Israel to China and including Greece, France, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Mexico, Italy and others.

In keeping with the tradition of Girl Scouts helping others, troops were encouraged to bring canned goods, cereals and pasta to help stock the shelves of local food pantries. Four cases of food items were collected and donated locally to those in need.

Local area vendors were generous in their support of Caitlin’s efforts: Greek Town with Greek pastries, Chat Noir with dozens of warm scones and Palace of Wong for Chinese specialties. Generous donations were also made by King Kullen and Cedarhurst Paper to help offset the cost of the event.

The official Gold Award Ceremony will be held on June 13 at Adelphi University. The highest award earned in Girl Scouting, fewer than 2 percent of all girls nationally complete its difficult and lengthy requirements. Caitlin’s troop leaders, village residents Maribeth Schumacher and Kathi Collins, have consistently encouraged girls to“go for the Gold.”