Girl Scout reaches out to orphans in Haiti

     Release Date: 5/16/2007
     Press Contact: Lori Ebinger Sullivan, 954-739-7660, ext. 219
     
     Oakland Park, FL --- On May 7, at their annual recognition ceremony, the Girl Scouts of Broward County, honored eight Girl Scouts with the Gold Award. The Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. From start to finish, it takes more than one year to complete the extensive prerequisites and the final project requirements. The Gold Award project must fulfill a need in the community and take at least 60 hours to develop, plan, carry out and evaluate. It is an extraordinary opportunity for Senior Girl Scouts to put their leadership skills, career interests, and personal values together to serve their community.
     
     Senior Girl Scout, Erica Blonde, from Weston partnered with local religious leaders in Broward county to help supply critically needed baby supplies to aid orphans in Haiti for her Gold Award project entitled, “Raising Global Awareness Through Families Helping Haiti.”
     
     “I chose this project I because saw that my community needed to open their eyes and see that not everyone is as fortunate as we are,” Blonde said at the ceremony, “and that countries like Haiti need our help. And of course, I wanted to help the children of Haiti, who were born into these terribly unfortunate circumstances.”
     
     To reach out to Haiti, Blonde held local drives with the Honor Society at her high school, Cypress Bay, to collect items needed at a therapeutic feeding center for hundreds of children orphaned because their parents have died from AIDS. More than 250 packages were filled with Tylenol, diapers, baby formula, pacifiers, baby eating utensils, jar baby food, baby wipes and baby lotion.
     
     “The impact this project had was felt by not only the children in Haiti but by the students here in South Florida. I hope that I showed others that all it takes to make a difference is dedication, perseverance, and hard work,” she said.
     
     In order to raise the money to ship the supplies to Haiti, and ensure their proper and timely delivery, she coordinated fundraisers, such as a car wash and yard sale, with the Spanish Honor Society at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
     
     Blonde finished her speech by thanking Aaron Jackson and Rabbi Alan Tuffs, from Temple Beth El, for their inspiration and tireless efforts to better the conditions in Haiti – as well as the Cypress Bay National Honor Society and Stoneman Douglas Spanish Honor Society.
     
     Blonde summed up her presentation by saying, “I’ve been in Girl Scouts for eleven years and it has changed my life. It has instilled in me a want to always reach out and help others, and has taught me so much about myself and my potential – for that I am eternally grateful.”
     
     Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Locally, Girl Scouts of Broward County serves more than 8,000 girls and 4,000 adult volunteers annually. For more information about the Girl Scouts of Broward County, including adult volunteering opportunities and girl registration, contact Lori Ebinger Sullivan, Vice President of Marketing at 954-739-7660; ext. 219 or lsullivan@browardgirlscouts.org. Visit www.browardgirlscouts.org.
     
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