MILESTONES

MILESTONES

SCOUTS

Girl earns Gold Award

Lauren Illencik, a senior at Cardinal Mooney High School, has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award.

The award is Girl Scouting’s highest honor, similar to the Eagle Scout for Boy Scouts.

She is the daughter of Joe and Sue Illencik of Boardman.

Lauren has been involved in scouting since kindergarten. She moved up the ranks from Daisy to Senior Girl Scout, now renamed Ambassador Scout.

Lauren has earned numerous badges as a junior, cadet and senior scout. She has logged pages of community- service hours helping schools, churches in activities such as canned-food drives, pancake breakfasts, Toys for Tots, giving tree, craft shows and can recycling.

As her Gold Award service project, she bought two rolling craft carts for Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley in Boardman. She took those carts, created 14-themed banners to be hung on the sides, added a chalk board to the front of one cart, and filled them up with crafts and toys to be given to the sick children.

She raised money for the project by selling Girl Scout cookies over the last few years and asking for donations from local organizations.

Lauren worked with Suzanne Heher, head of the hospital’s volunteer department, in making the project. Heher said the hospital’s current cart was too heavy and cumbersome for some of the volunteers to push around the facility. Lauren plans on attending the University of Findlay, where she hopes to study occupational therapy.

Milestones is a regular Sunday feature in The Vindicator. Articles must be submitted within 30 days of the Milestone event. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you want a picture returned. Pictures also may be picked up at the paper’s Front Street facility at the security guard station. Send items to: Milestones, c/o The Vindicator, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown 44501.