Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast Honors Local 2024 Gold Award Girl Scout Scholarship Recipient
Lily Pemble Earns National Scholarship for “Camp Day Kits” Project
MILWAUKEE – (June 27, 2024) – In May, Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast proudly honored 17 members of the 2024 Girl Scout Gold Award class who earned the highest award in Girl Scouting: the Gold Award. Gold Award Girl Scouts make positive impacts on our local communities by addressing some of our most pressing issues, including environmental efforts, mental and physical health challenges, and educational access. Today, Gold Award Girl Scout Lily Pemble was announced as a recipient of a national $5,000 scholarship for her work bringing free, enriching summer day camps to students with special needs in the Muskego School District. Lily is among just 110 Gold Award Girl Scouts across the nation receiving the $5,000 scholarship from Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), made possible by funds from GSUSA and its National Board.
An avid summer camp participant and Counselor-in-Training (CIT) at GSWISE’s Day Camps by Community, Lily recognized the way camp builds outdoor skills, as well as critical soft skills, like leadership, resilience, and creativity. She also observed that there were no summer camps offered exclusively for children with disabilities in her community. Working with the Muskego School District, Lily developed two Camp Day Kits and donated them to Lakeview Elementary School and Bay Lane Elementary School, providing a free summer camp experience to students with special needs. She created arts and crafts, outdoor games, and song resource binders, as well as a variety of activities with adjustable options to suit different accommodations. Lily handcrafted several large wheelchair accessible tents fashioned from pop-up canopies and tarps, donated outdoor blankets, and designed tent wall murals for the campers to customize each year with their own handprints. She also stocked the kits with musical instruments, mock campfires, craft items, wagons, and picnic blankets. Lily attended both camps and had the opportunity to talk to both campers and staff about their camp experiences. Lily’s goal is that these Camp Day Kits will be replicated not just in her community, but nationally and globally.
"Earning my Gold Award has always meant so much to me. I was able to make an impact on my community and have a lot of fun doing so. I learned a lot in the process, and very much feel it shaped who I am today – teaching me the importance of confidence, communication, and teamwork,” said Lily Pemble. “The leadership skills I learned are absolutely invaluable, and I will carry that with me through higher education, my career, and my personal life. This scholarship will greatly help with college and is something I will always be grateful for."
This year, GSWISE recognized 17 Gold Award Girl Scouts who identified issues in their communities, took action, and found or created solutions to earn their Gold Awards. This year’s class of world-changers invested nearly 1,400 hours to address real-life problems such as environmental sustainability, STEM education, gun safety, and mental health. The 2024 Gold Award Girl Scouts demonstrate the breadth of issues American teens feel are most prevalent in society today.
Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they take action to transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they’re the leaders our world needs.
According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally. Seventy-two percent (72%) said earning their Gold Award helped them get a scholarship. Changing the world doesn’t end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of Gold Award Girl Scout alums take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.
“Gold Award recipients like Lily exemplify what it means to be a Girl Scout: dedicated, resilient, and resourceful,” said Ana Simpson, CEO of Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast. “Earning the Gold Award is no small feat. Lily’s project demonstrates her commitment to making a positive change in her community and beyond. Congratulations, Lily!”
This year, Girl Scouts of the USA awarded a scholarship to one Gold Award Girl Scout from each council across the Movement.
To learn more about GSWISE’s 2024 Highest Awards recipients and projects, visit www.gswise.org/highestawards.
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About Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast (GSWISE)
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. We serve approximately 11,700 girls in grades K5-12, and 5,800 adults who believe in our mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. With programs in Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha counties, we give every Girl Scout in our council the chance to reach their full leadership potential. To volunteer, reconnect, donate, or join, visit gswise.org, email customercare@gswise.org, or call 800-565-4475.
