Two Cranston Residents Will Receive Girl Scout Gold Award

Girl Scouts of Rhode Island, Inc. (GSRI) is honored to present Rebecca Fruggiero and Amanda Way, both from Cranston, with the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest and most prestigious achievement in Girl Scouting. On Saturday, May 31, they will be among twenty four Girl Scout Gold Award recipients who will be honored during a ceremony at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet in Cranston, RI. Cierra Putnam, a reporter from NBC 10, will emcee the ceremony, which will feature the third annual Young Women of Distinction (YWOD) Awards.

• Rebecca Fruggiero: Rebecca made improvements to an outdoor play area at The Women’s Center of Rhode Island by painting new sidewalk games and a map of the United States. She also created and donated a book containing educational games, puzzles, and states and capitals to accompany the map. Rebecca has been a Girl Scout member for thirteen years and is a member of troop #106. She is a senior at Cranston High School West and will be attending Johnson and Wales University.
• Amanda Way: When Amanda was a volunteer at the Miriam Hospital, she noticed a need for different sorts of things for people to do while waiting or visiting. She came up with activities and items and found materials, so the activities are now available for patients and visitors to use. Amanda has been a Girl Scout member for fourteen years and is a member of troop #28. She is a freshman at Brown University.

"Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award designation is truly a remarkable achievement, and these young women exemplify leadership in all its forms," said Neil Stamps, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Rhode Island. "They saw a need in their communities and around the world and took action. Their extraordinary dedication, perseverance, and leadership is making the world a better place." 

At this year’s ceremony, GSRI will also recognize Girl Scout Silver Award recipients with a special salute.  The YWOD awards will be presented to top recipient Melissa Mirza of North Attleboro, MA, who will receive a $1,000 scholarship, and runners-up Angela Paoletta of Hope, RI and Haley Wohlever of Barrington, RI, will both receive $500. Their projects have been selected based on creativity, sustainability, and impact.

Currently, between 5-6% of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award annually. To be eligible, a girl must demonstrate leadership while spending a minimum of 80 hours assessing a need and designing a solution, finding the resources and the support to make it happen, completing the service project, and inspiring others to sustain it, all leading to making a measurable and sustainable difference in her community. Some universities and colleges offer scholarships unique to Gold Award recipients, and girls who enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces may receive advanced rank in recognition of their achievements.

About Girl Scouts of Rhode Island

Girl Scouts is the world’s preeminent girl leadership organization where, in an accepting and nurturing environment, girls build character and skills for success in the real world. Girl Scouts of Rhode Island, Inc., in partnership with 2,600 adult volunteers, serves 8,700 girls from Rhode Island, Pawcatuck, CT, and these communities in MA: Bellingham, Blackstone, Attleboro, Fall River, North Attleboro, Plainville, Somerset, Swansea, Westport, Wrentham, Millville, Rehoboth and Seekonk, MA.

For additional information on events happening in Rhode Island, please visit www.gsri.org, follow @GirlScoutsRI on Twitter, and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GirlScoutsRhodeIsland

About Girl Scout Gold Award

The Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting; it recognizes girls in grades 9 through 12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through sustainable and measurable Take Action projects. Since 1916, approximately one million girls have successfully answered the call to go gold, an act that indelibly marks them as accomplished members of their communities and the world.