First Lady Michelle Obama supports Girl Scouts

Local Girl Scout Making a Difference for Humankind

A 32 billion dollar global business is sure to draw some attention. It has captured the focus of a Girl Scout of Tropical Florida named Andrea Diaz-Ariza. “Teens Against Trafficking” is the Girl Scout Gold Award project for Andrea who is a member of Troop 532 and a 10th grader at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. Andrea is doing her part to stop the world-wide epidemic of human trafficking.

 

Andrea has developed a teen-friendly presentation that educates the next generation on the facts of human trafficking and how to help prevent it. “By teaching teens that they truly can make a difference and help fight human trafficking, I hope that together we can all help reduce the number of victims in our community and in the world,” states Andrea. Her hometown of Miami, Florida is one of the largest cities in the United States affected by this form of modern slavery. Andrea is in the process of producing her presentation in Spanish and Creole to reach a larger audience within the multi-cultural Miami.

Others have taken notice of Andrea’s efforts. Recently, she appeared on NBC 6 South Florida’s, 6 in the Mix with Roxanne Vargas to promote her cause. The video replay can be found here. Andrea is a national semi-finalist for the Peace First Prize. She is the inspiration for the first Florida statewide Girl Scout Advocacy Conference taking place Presidents’ Day weekend 2014, and is a valuable member of the Girls’ Advisory Board. “Teens Against Trafficking” has earned Andrea her Girl Scout Gold Award, which is the highest level of achievement in Scouting.

Girl Scout Gold & Silver Awards

The Girl Scout Gold and Silver Award Ceremony is being held Sunday, May 5, 2013 at First United Methodist Church in Coral Gables at 3 o'clock pm, and is open to the public. The Girl Scout Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. This award challenges girls in high school to tackle a community problem and find a way to solve it, not only for today, but into the future. The girls must complete a seven step process:

1. Identify an issue
2. Investigate it thoroughly
3. Get help and build their team
4. Create a plan
5. Present your plan and gather feedback
6. Take action
7. Educate and inspire

The Girl Scouts highest achievement award has been awarded to an elite group of girls since 1926. The name of the award may have changed over the years, but its purpose of inspiring girls to find the greatness in themselves and share their ideas and passions with their communities has never changed. Gold Award recipients do well in life, and reach the goals they set in higher education and career, life skills, and in the community. 

Gold Award			Silver Award
Andrea Diaz-Ariza			Adina Kruijssen
Brenee Miller			Aileen Francisco
Briana del Valle			Alissa Dobrinsky
Camille Gladieux			Annie Farrell
Camille Plunkett			A'Rawni McPhee
Carolyn Pacheco			Bria Renna
Catherine Roen			Brianna Placide
Elaine Ubals			Caitlyn Chong
Elise Avdakov			Callie Hill-Tarves
Elizabeth Evans			Camila Romero
Elizabeth Eversole			Carolina Mallar
Emily De Aguiar			Cassie Plunkett
Emily Mendez			Courtney Sever
Emily Mungul			Dionne Mapp
Francesca Castan			Hannah Dodge
Gabriella Montes			Isa Corzo
Giuliana Sarto			Jennifer Perla
Grace DeWitt			Julia Rothfield
Hannah Kealy			Julia Walsh
Imani Johnson			Katherine Duarte
Julia Telischi			Kayla Baker
Karina Pietra			Lauren Abraham
Kaylee Scott-Pennington			Lauren Goldberg
Kelly Lashbrook			Luch Walsh
Kendall Armstrong			Lucy Farrell
Kimberly Ann                 Gonzalez			Lucy Kealy
Kirby Landon			Maria Pardo
Kristine Diaz			Mary Adams
Mariana Gonzalez			Monica Moscoso
Marianna Keene			Natalie Nieves
Marily Molina			Paige Honecker
Rachel Forment			Patricia Smith
Rachel Oei			Rachel Collins
Renee Dobrinsky			Rachel Mazyck
Rowan Holzberg			Rachel Zapala
Sapphira Lurie			Raquel Cholodofsky
Stephanie Diaz			Rebecca Zappala
Stephanie Torre			Roselyn Castilo
Yasha Duggal			Samantha Cisneros
			Samantha Romero
			Shikivia Taylor
			Stephanie Diaz
			Tamia Johnson
			Timaya Everett
			Victoria Ramirez
			Ximena Sakay

Having It All - Girls & Financial Literacy

A-1 Fargo Key Player in Girl Scout Cookie Distribution

Ever wonder how all those delicious Girls Scout cookies get all over the country? Well, the Girl Scouts use a series of distribution centers that allow for local distribution and nationwide enjoyment! For the Miami-Dade area, A-1 Fargo, a local Miami moving company has been acting as a hub for the local Girl Scouts. They serve as a centralized location for Girl Scouts to pick up their cookies and in some cases A-1 Fargo even delivers the cookies, distributing 15,000 to 20,000 cases of cookies annually. The profits from these sales help fund:

• Troop Activities
• Field Trips
• Service Projects
• Outreach Programs
• Camps
• Adult Development
• Scholarship Programs

A-1 Fargo works with Eva Prada, Product Sales Director for the Girl Scouts here in Miami. "We have a great relationship with A-1 Fargo," commented Eva. "They have been instrumental in the success of our annual cookie sale for the past ten years. Their location has been very convenient to the hundreds of cookie moms who come by to pick up their orders six days a week and Lynda and her staff bend over backwards for our volunteer moms and are greatt o work with!"

Commissioner Bell Presents Community Service Badges to Girl Scout Troops

As a result of their hard work distributing food to needy families during Commissioner Lynda Bell's 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Food Giveaway, Commissioner Bell recently presented members of local Girl Scout Troops 756, 975, 466, 623, and 307 with Community Service Badges for their dedication and selflessness to our community. 


"I am so grateful to have received the invaluable help of these young ladies who gave so much of themselves that day that I felt it fitting and proper to officially recognize their commitment to themselves and the communities they serve," said Commissioner Bell.