Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • July 31, 2013 Area Girl Scout earns Gold Award recognition Lauren Richardson of Allendale recently received her Gold Award by organizing a Book Drive for school chil- dren in New Orleans. 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 address an issue, connect with experts and community members, and take action to effect positive change. Pursuit of the Gold Award promotes leadership, career exploration, and community service. After visiting New Orleans on a youth mission trip last summer, Richardson was inspired to help the local chil- dren, who are still suffering from the devastation of Hur- ricane Katrina. “After discovering how limited their resources were and Lauren Richardson with some of the books she collected for children in New Orleans. being a very avid reader myself, I wanted to expose the chil- dren to more books and an awareness of the world around them,” Lauren said. “The books will aid in both education and entertainment and the citizens of New Orleans should enjoy them for generations to come.” Richardson set up collection sites at the Hillside and Brookside schools in Allendale. She spoke with local com- munity groups and made posters and flyers to advertise her collection. Richardson has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten and is a member of Troop 94126. This fall, she will be a senior at Northern Highlands Regional High School, where she is a member of the marching band and the varsity swim team. Within Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey, 12 percent of eligible girls earn their Girl Scout Gold Award, com- pared to the national average of six percent. Girl Scouts is the premier leadership development pro- gram for girls. In Girl Scouts, girls discover themselves, connect with others, and take action to create positive change. 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 coun- ties and the northern half of Warren County. There are currently 33,968 girl members and 17,463 adult members.