Three Girl Scouts earn Gold Awards

Three Houston Girl Scouts have earned Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.'s Gold Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout can receive, according to a news release.

For her project, 12-year Girl Scout Lauren Tucci collected more than 30 used bicycles, repaired them in a workshop with the help of volunteers, and donated them — along with helmets — to Mission Centers of Houston's Gano Street Center and the St. Vincent de Paul Resale Store.

The St. Agnes Academy senior said she chose the bike repair project as a way to help her community fight childhood obesity, according to the release.

"I wanted to combine my concern for this issue with my passion of recycling and exercise," Tucci said in the release. "Recycling used bikes definitely involves all of these."

Besides her involvement in Girl Scouts, Tucci is a member of her school's water polo team, Amigos de las Americas, the National Honor Society and the cross country squad. After graduation, she plans to study biology in college.

Meredith Gregory, another 12-year Girl Scout, earned her Gold Award by teaching children and adults with disabilities how to ride horses at SIRE, an equestrian center that offers therapeutic horseback riding and related activities, according to the release.

Gregory volunteered 80 hours teaching horseback riding at SIRE and created a brochure for the organization as well as alphabet cards for the horse-riding arena.

The Lamar High School graduate was a member of varsity water polo and swimming teams and is attending Texas A&M University to study petroleum engineering, the release stated.

Eight-year Girl Scout Emma Barr earned her Gold Award by creating enrichment toys for Houston-area animal shelters, according to the release.

The Houston Christian High School senior said the experience taught her how to organize a large event and plan projects, according to the release.

"I chose this project because I am deeply concerned about the lack of enrichment (for shelter animals), and I wanted to do something to help homeless animals and educate people," she said in the release.

Besides her involvement in Girl Scouts, she is a member of her school's varsity softball team. After graduation, she plans to study psychology and art in college.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is earned by only 5 percent of Girl Scouts, according to the news release. Recipients must show leadership skills, career planning and community involvement through more than 100 service hours and two to three years work to complete the award requirements, which include a community service project.

Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council is one of the largest Girl Scout councils in the country, with more than 70,000 girl members and 19,000 adults in 26 southeast Texas counties, according to the news release.

For more information, call 800-392-4340 or visit gssjc.org.