Aria Brown from Belleville Designated a Gold Award Girl Scout
Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois congratulates Aria Brown from Belleville, Illinois for becoming a Gold Award Girl Scout—a designation she earned by creating a resource guide and community fair for residents of East St. Louis, Illinois.
Aria noticed that there needed to be more communication about community resources that are available in East St. Louis. She decided that a more readily available guide would be beneficial to residents, so she took action to compile, organize, and share this information.
Aria worked with the community to create a resource guide and design a website so that people in the East St. Louis area could find help in any way needed. She also collaborated with her high school counselor, Dr. Mateen, to secure funding to print and bind copies of the resource guide to distribute. The project culminated with Aria organizing resource fairs that were open to the public at East St. Louis Sr. High School and Mason-Clark Middle School. She also set up a plan to share resource guides throughout the community at various locations.
As they take action to transform their world, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they are the leaders our community and world need. The Gold Award is earned by girls in grades 9–12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership in developing sustainable solutions to local, national and global challenges. Since the highest award was established in 1916, Girl Scouts have answered the call to drive lasting, impactful change. The Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable.
Not only do Gold Award Girl Scouts better their communities through their projects, they often grow themselves through the process and learn skills they can take with them throughout their lives. “Through this project, I’ve learned just how many people there are out there that just want to help others. The more you look for the good, the more it will be found,” said Aria.
Aria is the daughter of Maria and Terrance Brown. She is a senior at East St. Louis Sr. High School. Upon graduation, she plans to study architecture at Ball State University. Aria is a Trifecta Girl Scout who has earned the Girl Scout Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards.
November 06, 2024
