Marlow on a mission
Hannah Marlow has looked forward to reaching the senior level of Girl Scouts since she was a Brownie.
Now a senior at Briarwood Christian School, Marlow has received the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve: the Girl Scout Gold Award. To receive the Gold Award, Marlow had to plan and execute a community service project.
“By earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, Hannah has become a community leader,” said Mary Charles, interim CEO of the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama. “Her accomplishments reflect leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart.”
For her leadership project, called “Blessings Both,” Marlow collected soccer equipment donations — including cleats, water bottles, clothes, books and other equipment — and distributed them to NorthStar Youth Ministries in Birmingham and a community in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She started the project in January 2014, went to Brazil that July and received her award in April 2015.
“It [this project] was feeling like I could do something that I thought I couldn’t,” Marlow said. “I could reach my goal and participate in the community and actually have a say.”
Marlow also developed a sustainability plan for the project. The donation drive will be held annually, corresponding with the Briarwood Soccer Club’s mission trip to Brazil.
Hannah Wallace, director of marketing and communications for the Girls Scouts of North-Central Alabama, said a Gold Award winner’s project must be sustainable for three years after she leaves. Wallace said the reach of Marlow’s project was one aspect that helped it stand out.
“I think Hannah’s project was really unique because she really had a global impact,” Wallace said. “She went to Brazil, and she helped kids all over the world.”
The goal of the Gold Award, Wallace said, is creating community leaders. Girls are encouraged to work on a project that will have a significant influence on the community. The lessons they learn through their project help girls become lifelong leaders, Wallace said, and often instill a desire to volunteer. About 60 percent of Gold Award recipients are currently involved in volunteer work.
“It kind of really proves that it gets girls involved and gives them experience in leadership that really lasts them a lifetime,” Wallace said.
Marlow joined Girl Scouts in first grade, as a Brownie. She said she enjoyed camping and the teamwork of a troop back then, and her journey with Girl Scouts has developed over the years.
Marlow’s troop earned its Silver Award in September 2012, a prerequisite for the Gold Award. The Silver Award recognizes a troop’s ability to work and lead as a team. A Gold Award project, however, must be completed by an individual. While her troop could not help plan or execute Blessings Both, Marlow said some girls from her troop helped the cause by donating items during the drive.
Marlow said she encountered a few difficulties during the project, but those issues helped enhance the experience and the lessons she took away.
“I think it taught me about leadership, that it isn’t always going to go your way and something you plan isn’t always going to work out,” Marlow said.
Gold Award winners receive recognition from the President, Congress and the U.S. Armed Services, Wallace said. There are also benefits, such as scholarships, for which Gold Award recipients are eligible.
“We do find that they are really successful,” Wallace said of Gold Award recipients.
While the Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can receive, Marlow said her journey with Girl Scouts is far from over. She plans to apply for the Girl Council, a group of senior-level Girl Scouts that helps plan programs and create online content for the Girls Scouts of North-Central Alabama. She also wants to be a troop leader in the future and help others along their journey with the Girl Scouts.
“I would definitely encourage [pursuing the Gold Award] because it makes you have to build connections, and it makes you have to step out of this huge group, and it’s definitely something to strive for,” Marlow said.