JEFFERSON PARK — Seven Far Northwest Side residents have received the Girl Scouts top honor, the Girl Scout Gold Award.
The Gold Award recognizes the work of Girl Scouts who spend at least 65 hours completing a service project after serving in a leadership role for at least 40 hours. The project must fulfill a need within the community, create change and is sustainable, scout leaders said.
The winners were:
• Clare Cullen-Conway, of Jefferson Park, who created a way to use social media to help people locate food pantries in need;
• Margaret Cullen-Conway, of Jefferson Park, who created a workshop for local elementary schools, organized volunteering opportunities and wrote a children's book in an effort to "change the perception of those with people of differing abilities;"
• Catherine Kells, of Portage Park, who created a library of resources for children who speak English as a second language;
• Julie Mangan, of Norwood Park, who taught workshops on sign language and Braille that also invited participants to see what it was like to try to maneuver a wheelchair;
• Katherine Oshinski, of Jefferson Park, who educated children and adults about hunger and poverty.
• Olivia Ottenfeld, a Portage Park resident, who raised awareness about epilepsy and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy through workshops and the creation of a quilt, which she presented to the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago;
• Clarice Swanson, of Jefferson Park, who used music to generate awareness about the needs of local food pantries;
• Claire Travers, of Norwood Park, who collected more than 4,000 items for teachers and students in Moore, Oklahoma, who were devastated by a tornado in 2013.
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