Gold Award Girl Scout Creates Service Animal Education Program
MULVANE, Kan. — Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland congratulates Natasha B. for becoming a Gold Award Girl Scout, a designation she earned by creating an educational program to inform community members about service dogs.
The Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable—earned by a high school Girl Scout who works to address an issue she’s passionate about in a way that produces meaningful and lasting change. Whether it’s on a local, national, or global level, Gold Award Girl Scouts provide innovative solutions to significant challenges.
“Gold Award Girl Scouts don’t just change the world for the better, they change it for good—and Natasha embodies everything this achievement stands for," said Liz Workman, chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland.
“Natasha addressed an issue that’s important to her— building awareness and education about service animals—for her Gold Award, and we congratulate her on this momentous accomplishment.”
Natasha witnessed an awareness gap in the knowledge differentiating service dogs, emotional support animals, and facility dogs. She noted this lack of understanding caused confusion for local businesses over which animals could be allowed into their establishment. Deciding to take action, Natasha worked with the Kansas Specialty Dog Service on a community education program aimed at increasing familiarity with state and federal regulations. Her work led to the creation of a recorded presentation that was made available to the Mulvane Public Library and will be disseminated nationally at conventions KSDS attends. She also created small cards with quick information that could be kept in a wallet and handed out as needed.
“The skills I was able to practice and improve upon were my decision making skills, my time management skills, and delegation,” said Gold Award Girl Scout Natasha. “I learned that I have strong leadership skills, can lead huge projects, and keep my nerves under control during a presentation.”
