Girl Scout Emma Lincks earns prestigious Gold Award

Rockville Centre resident Emma Lincks’ efforts to rescue animals have earned her Girl Scouting’s prestigious Gold Award.

She was one of 55 scouts throughout Nassau County this year to earn the Girl Scouts’ highest honor, a milestone that only about 5 percent of scouts attain.

Lincks said she was immensely proud of her achievement, describing it as a testament to all the hard work that she and a team of scout volunteers put into it.

“It feels amazing,” Lincks, who is now a sophomore at Wake Forest University, said. “I know there are not a lot of people that receive the award. I know how prestigious it is, and it feels good because I worked very hard for many years.”

A member of Rockville Centre’s Girl Scout Troop 829, Lincks has focused on animal abandonment, and created an Animal Rescue Club. The inspiration for her project was her love of animals. Growing up, she said, she got her dog from a pet store, but it wasn’t until she decided to start volunteering at an animal rescue in 2017 that she began to learn about puppy mills — dog breeding operations in which the health and living conditions of the animals are lower priorities than making a profit — and kill shelters. While there, she helped rescue three malnourished dogs, one of which was blind and very sick.

“I took home three dogs, and one of them was from a puppy mill,” Lincks recalled. “That was the first time I ever heard of one, so I wanted to educate my community on it, because none of my friends knew what a puppy mill was.”

She said that her friends would ask her questions like, “Where did you buy her?” She would always explain, “She’s from a puppy mill.” Because of the conditions in which the dog was raised, she suffered from a number of small disorders. Besides being blind, she had heartburn.

Lincks became determined to begin research animal rescues and to educate others about them, as well as the importance of spaying and neutering pets, the deplorable conditions in puppy mills and the cruelty many animals endure.

She started the Animal Rescue Club by assembling a group of high school students who volunteered to attend community events. Club members helped make blankets for rescued pets, hosted collection drives and talked with others who were involved in animal rescue efforts.

As part of her Gold Award project, Lincks made presentations, distributed educational brochures and created an Instagram page to help spread awareness of puppy mills.  She found a way to combine her passion for animal rescue with her dedication to the Girl Scouts, and learned that by committing to something she felt passionate about, she could make a difference in the community.

“Each of the Girl Scouts who earned their Gold Award this year showed fortitude, diligence and enthusiasm in creating and executing a plan to act on a societal issue,” Randell Bynum, chief executive of the Girl Scouts of Nassau County, said in a statement. “We are very proud and impressed by each of them for reaching their goals and leaving a legacy with their communities. Their dedication is evident and their hard work has touched countless lives.

“This year, we had Girl Scouts addressing real-life issues such as environmental justice and sustainability, mental and emotional wellness, gender equality in sports, and more,” Bynum added. “We commend each of them for their important work.”

Criteria for the Gold Award project include having a vision for change, and a minimum of 80 hours of work in planning and completing the project, with help from fellow troop members and others from the community.

“Being in a troop with a lot of girls made me feel empowered,” Lincks said. “They all came to help me every step of the way.”

Her fondest Girl Scout memory was of the warm welcome she received from Troop 829 leader Opal Ruiz and her scouts. “The troop that I was originally in kind of died out because of Covid,” Lincks explained. “It just wasn’t as active, so I was able to join a new troop, and everyone was very welcoming, and they were just very supportive.”

She said that Ruiz was always willing to help her with her project in any way she could. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Lincks couldn’t earn a bronze or silver award, but thanks to Ruiz’s help, she qualified to start the Gold Award process.

“I think we all wanted to get our Gold Award, so having that support system was very nice to have, especially at the end of Covid,” Lincks said.

She said she values her time in the Girl Scouts and encourages others to get involved in scouting, where they can learn the resourcefulness, tenacity and decision-making skills that can give them an edge both personally and professionally.

“It’s a time to make a difference and help with the community,” Lincks said. “It’s kind of rewarding and fun. (You will) definitely get to make a difference doing small weekly projects or big projects.”

She has continued her volunteer work with Wake Forest’s own animal rescue club, Woof Forest.