| | Published June 8th, 2011
| Gold Awards - Girl Scout Troop 30215
| | Submitted by Linda Lim |  | | Pictured from left: Alexa Smith, Andie Nishimi, Valerie Su, Kanani Okamitsu, Kate Cooper and Marissa Cunha. Photo provided
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Troop leaders Lori Edelstone and Dayle Okamitsu of Girl Scouts Troop 30215 are proud to announce the following Ambassador Girl Scouts have completed the requirements for the Gold Award, the highest award given by the Girl Scouts of America. The Girl Scout Gold Award symbolizes outstanding accomplishments in the areas of leadership, community service, and commitment to excellence as each girl scout develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges. Each of the girl scouts previously achieved the Silver Award, the second highest Girl Scouts award.
Kate Cooper: To earn her Gold Award, Kate developed a project to assist families at the Monument Crisis Center in Concord. She also contributed to the Blue Star Mom's Operation Pillowcase which sends patriotic pillowcases, cards of appreciation, and other items to U.S. troops overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations. Kate also received the U. S. Presidential Award for Volunteerism during her junior year and the U. S. Congressional Award for Community Service and Personal Growth in her senior year.
Marissa Cunha: Marisa's Gold Award was for making "Buddies" for children undergoing surgery. She organized a group of people to sew 100 dolls for a local hospital. The dolls had embroidered faces and yarn for hair. The project goal was to make children happy when going through very difficult times. A child getting surgery is often in pain and emotionally hurting. The doll can make the child feel like they have a friend alongside them and help them feel more comfortable and secure when facing their tough situation.
Andie Nishimi: Andie earned her Gold Award by leading a collection drive of toys that were donated to Oakland Children's Hospital. She drew her inspiration for "Project Emily" from a five-year-old girl diagnosed with Beckwith-Weidemann Syndrome who undergoes periodic diagnostic tests at the hospital's radiology department to scan for potential diseases With strong support from Brownie and Junior Girl Scout troop members from Moraga, and local students, Andie collected a large number of toys that were organized into gift bags for the hospital's young patients.
Kanani Okimitsu: During the summer of 2010, Kanani and friend Valerie Su completed a project called Einsteince Camp. They went to Contra Costa Interfaith Housing (CCIH)-a housing complex for families who would be homeless if this place did not exist-for a week to teach the children living there science through experiments. Each day they provided 3 simple, exciting experiments on a different science subject.
Alexa Smith: Alexa completed her Gold Award project for the Contra Costa Interfaith Housing Apartments in Concord. She ran a weeklong dance class for the children living in the apartment complex. She taught them a dance routine and other fun dance activities over the course of the week. At the end of the week, the children performed their routine for their parents in costumes that Alexa collected from her dance studio, California Academy of Performing Arts, and donated to the children. Alexa also left the Apartment Complex recreation room with two boxes of dance costumes and every child took home a CD of dance music as well as a costume.
Valerie Su: Valerie worked with girl scout friend Kanani Okimitsu on their Gold Award project, a science camp for disadvantaged children. The camp, dubbed "Einsteince Camp", took place at the Contra Costa Interfaith Housing Development in Concord for a week. Nearly everyday over the summer, the girls met to plan the camp, deciding that each day would have a certain theme: Physics, Chemistry, Weather, Environment, and Food. They determined that the goal would be not only to educate the kids, but also to show them that learning can be fun and rewarding. They planned hands-on projects, ranging from making straw towers to making ice cream.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA