Local Gold Award Girl Scouts, from left, Charlena LaVallee, Mikaela Spooner, Kimberley Spears and Ayla Clark, earned the highest award in Girl Scouting for creating lasting change in their local communities.

In celebration of International Day of the Girl, Girl Scouts of Maine in South Portland recognized Charlena LaVallee from Gray, Mikaela Spooner from New Sweden, Ayla Clark from Biddeford, and Kimberley Spears from Sidney.

They identified the root cause of pressing issues in their communities, created sustainable solutions, and took action to earn the Gold Award, Girl Scouts’ highest achievement, according to a news release from Laura Genese, marketing and communications director.

Charlena LaVallee Submitted photo

LaVallee created her Gold Award project, Come Play N Learn, after volunteering at the Fiddlehead School in Gray. She observed that the school valued both being outside and learning through play. Taking this into consideration she created a playground with four sections: water play, arts and crafts, dramatic play, and an area for sports. The playground also includes typical playground elements like swings and a climbing dome.

Mikaela Spooner Submitted photo

Spooner created her project, Bringing A Historical Museum into the 21st Century, to help preserve the history of the Swedish Colony. She created an audio tour of the Lindsten Stuga, which is accessible to the public and can be shared with other historical societies and the Maine State Library.

Kimberley Spears Submitted photo

Spears created a brochure, pledge card, video, and online presentation for her project, Teen Distracted Driving Awareness. The materials she created contain different information about the types of distracted driving, ways to avoid them, and statistics about distracted driving. She reached more than 200 teens across her presentations and many more through indirect contact.

Ayla Clark Submitted photo

Clark’s project, Love Your Attire (L.Y.A), aimed to address the lack of access to clothing for youth in Biddeford schools. She created a boutique in the Biddeford Middle School that is stocked with various types of clothing and shoes, all of which were donations or items that were purchased by request. The goal of her project was to get 50 items taken from the boutique; by the end, more than 150 items of clothing were taken.

“I learned that by doing good for the school made me feel good as well. I learned that I could improve my leadership skills by putting them to use and that leaders do not just give orders, but rather are involved in the work and can lead by doing,” said Clark.

“Charlena, Mikaela, Ayla, and Kimberley created and executed remarkable Gold Award projects. All of them embody the Girl Scout mission and take the saying ‘make the world a better place’ to the next level. We are so proud of how they took action and have made meaningful impact in their communities,” said Mara Moorhead, Girl Scouts of Maine CEO.

To learn more about projects from Girl Scouts across Maine, visit girlscoutsofmaine.org/girlstories.

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