Friendswood Girl Scout earns Gold Award

Girl Scout Carolyn Phelps is the recipient of the Girl Scouts of the USA's Gold Award for her organization of a series of health workshops for girls.

Girl Scout Carolyn Phelps earned the Girl Scouts of the USA's Gold Award after completing a series of health workshops for girls.

The Gold Award project consisted of two workshops aimed toward younger girls, focusing on nutrition, healthy eating and exercise. Through separate workshops for ages 5-7 and 9-10, Phelps addressed positive body image and the effects of children's food advertising. Carolyn's workshops reached 20 area girls, according to a press release.

"I chose this project because of the increasing epidemic of childhood obesity in this country," Phelps said in the press release. "I wanted to promote healthy lifestyles and healthy body images among girls in my community."

The achievement of the Girl Scouts of the USA Gold Award requires several hurdles. Scouts take two to three years to meet the award prerequisites and spend more than 100 hours on community service work. The final project requires candidates to plan and carry out a community service benefit. Less than five percent of Girl Scouts obtain the Gold Award, according to the release.

A graduate of Clear Springs High School in Friendswood, Phelps has been a Girl Scout in the San Jacinto Council for 13 years. She was a member of the high school's tennis, National Honor Society, and My Alpha Theta programs and served as president of the Aquatic Science Club. She will attend Texas A&M University in the fall to study food science and technology.

For more information on the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council, visit gssjc.org or call 1-800-392-4340.