Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • May 29, 2013 Ramsey Erin Flanagan of Ramsey recently completed her Girl Scout Gold Award by refurbishing carnival games to provide a Carnival Day at Camp Acorn, a summer/winter camp for children with multiple disabilities at Calvary Lutheran Church in Allendale. 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. “My brother has been a camper at Camp Acorn for as long as I can remember, and I have volunteered there for years,” Flanagan said. “I wanted to do something for them and also bring awareness to autism and other mental disabilities.” She recruited volunteers to help run the Carnival Day in an effort to educate more people about autism and other mental disabilities. The event is planned to be an annual day of fun at Camp Acorn. Flanagan is a senior at Ramsey High School, where she is a member of the National Honor Society, the World Languages Honor Society, Math League, Science League, Latin Club, German Club, and STAND (anti-genocide) Club. She has been a Girl Scout in Troop 963 since kindergarten. She plans to study neuroscience in college and continue on to medical school. She plans to become a psychiatrist focusing on helping those with autism. The Girl Scout Gold Award combines leadership development, career exploration, and community service. It culminates in a leadership project that each girl plans and executes according to her own interests. Within Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey, 12 percent of eligible girls earn the 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, Local teen earns Gold Award; helps Camp Acorn Erin Flanagan at work on her service project at Camp Acorn. connect with others, and take action to create positive change in their communities. Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey serves 20.5 percent of girls ages 5-17 in 160 municipalities.