Walker earns Girl Scout Gold Award

STANHOPE — Danielle Walker, a 2009 graduate of Lenape Valley Regional High School, recently achieved her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn. The Girl Scout Gold Award requires the completion of leadership development, career exploration, and community service projects. The final component is a 65-hour leadership project that each girl plans and executes to benefit her community. For her leadership project, Walker taught jewelry workshops in her community and donated the completed pieces and jewelry-making kits to Project Self-Sufficiency of Newton. “I love making jewelry. It’s a fun and useful skill,” said Walker. “The women who received the pieces knew they were cared for and those who made the jewelry received the joy of giving.” Walker ran several of the free workshops, resulting in a number of donated sets of necklaces and earrings. She gift-wrapped the sets before donating them to the non-profit organization. “I learned leadership and perseverance,” Walker said. “Girl Scouts taught me skills that I will take with me on whatever path I choose to pursue in the future.” Walker has been a Girl Scout since first grade. She currently attends Drew University in Madison. 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.