Rachel Andronowitz, 2011 graduate of Narragansett High School, wanted to end her Girl Scout career with a bang, so she reached for the gold and she got it! 

“I really wanted to finish girl scouts and be able to say that I had done all that I could do,” Rachel said. “The gold award is definitely optional and only a small percent of girl scouts try to achieve it.”

The gold award is the highest honor in Girl Scouts and is achieved by completing a community service project, which must better the local community. The process of receiving it begins by filling out paperwork and having the project approved by the local Girl Scout Counsel.

After receiving approval, the Girl Scout then spends 65 to 80 hours on the service project, while documenting how each hour is spent and each step that is taken to complete the project. 

Rachel decided to create school kits for the preschool kids who are involved in the Jumpstart program through the University of Rhode Island. The Jumpstart program is designed to prepare preschoolers from low-income families to be successful in Kindergarten.

“I started out with an idea to make kits for people in the hospital but it got very complicated and when I decided to begin making kits for kids, I got more and more attached to the project as it went along,” Rachel said. 

In each kit were school supplies, blankets, backpacks, stuffed animals and other goods. 

Rachel was one of three Girl Scouts from Narragansett to receive the gold award. Her two friends, Tess McNamara and Rachel Gouveia, also decided to complete a service project to get the gold award. 

For her project, Tess did a presentation for juniors and seniors at the high school on distracted driving – texting, smoking, drinking and applying make-up while driving, for example. 

Rachel Gouveia made emergency to-go kits for Senior citizens and put extra bottles of prescriptions, extra pair of glasses and flashlights, among other things in the kits.