Gold rush: 4 seniors earn prestigious honor

MODESTO -- Spreadingthe message

Three Rivers Service Unit built a float for the 2012 Turlock Christmas parade on a subject that's near and dear to the Girl Scouts — cookies. The girls wore cookie costumes and carried banners alongside their float, much to the delight of paradegoers. The girls want to remind everyone that cookie preorders started in January, and booth sales start this month.

Four members of Girl Scout Troop 352 of Modesto recently earned their Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouting. To help raise money for their projects, the girls held a garage sale in the summer. Following are synopses of the Gold Award projects.

Bekah Goldman: Senior, Enochs High School. Girl Scout since first grade

• Other Girl Scout awards: Silver Award, Leadership Award

• "For my Gold Award project, I established a library at the Redwood Family Center, which is a drug rehabilitation facility for mothers and their children. The library contains over 650 books for all ages, as well as parenting, health and child care magazines. Books were collected from book drives, and furniture, bookshelves and paint supplies were paid for with funds I raised by collecting recyclables."

Karina Redding: Senior, Downey High School. Girl Scout since kindergarten

• Other Girl Scout awards: Bronze Award, Silver Award, Leadership Award

• Karina's project focused on making her high school campus more eco-friendly. She worked with faculty and the Downey High environmental club to plant ginkgo trees. She helped organize the painting and dispersal of recycling bins on campus and promoted an environmentally friendly atmosphere.

Emily McKenzie: Senior, Beyer High School. Girl Scout since kindergarten

• Other Girl Scout awards: Silver Award, Leadership Award

• Emily developed and ran a health and fitness day camp for an after-school program at University Charter School and created a nutrition game that was part of a health and fitness Saturday program for the elementary school.

Emily Webber, Senior, Enochs High School. Girl Scout since third grade.

• Other Girl Scout awards: Bronze Award, Silver Award.

• "For my Gold Award, I helped the Stanislaus Family Justice Center create their ARK room, which stands for Art Restores Kids. The Family Justice Center helps victims of domestic violence and the ARK room promotes healing through art. I purchased the various furniture pieces that were needed for the ARK Center to continue helping the children heal from their traumatic situation."