Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • June 20, 2012 Upper Saddle River Gold Award project benefits Nyack Hospital Nyack Hospital recently benefited from a project organized by Northern Highlands Regional High School senior Taylor Ibelli as she completed her Girl Scout Gold Award. Ibelli, who is a resident of Upper Saddle River, developed an informational brochure for this New York hospital and then held a collection drive for CDs, DVDs, and gaming systems for the hospital’s pediatric floor. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout can earn and requires the completion of a leadership project of at least 80 hours. Each girl must discover an issue in the community, connect with experts and community members, and take action to effect positive change. The project should both reflect the girl’s passions and interests and fulfill a need in her community. “I chose this project because it would be useful over time and I wanted to do something that involved patient care,” Ibelli explained. She also donated a bookcase her brother built so she could organize all the movies, CDs, and games at the hospital. The project provides pediatric patients with enter- Taylor Ibelli tainment while they are healing. Ibelli’s project will also be implemented hospital-wide in the future to benefit more patients. At school, Ibelli is a member of the Chemistry Club, Multicultural Task Force, Animal Conservation Club, and the debate and cross country teams. She has been a Girl Scout since first grade and is currently a member of Girl Scout Troop 913. She said the experience has helped her make plans for the future. “Girl Scouts helped me recognize a need for assisting and implementing health care for so many diverse people,” she said. The Gold Award recipient plans to attend college to become a physician for military personnel. The Girl Scout Gold Award combines leadership development, career exploration, and community service. Within Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey, 12 percent of eligible girls earn their Girl Scout Gold Award, compared to the national average of six percent. Girl Scouts is the premier leadership development program for girls. In Girl Scouts, girls discover themselves, connect with others, and take action to create positive change in their own communities. For more information about Girl Scouts, call Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey at (973) 248-8200. Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey serves 20.5 percent of girls ages five through 17 in 160 municipalities including all of Bergen, Morris, Passaic, and Sussex counties and the northern half of Warren County. There are currently 34,399 girl members and 17,745 adult members.