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Community Corner

Laura White Receives Girl Scout Gold Award

Spreading Shakespeare.

The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts are proud to announce that Reading Girl Scout Laura White received her Gold Award on Sunday, Oct. 28 in a ceremony at Camp Rice Moody. The event was attended by family, friends, teachers and many Reading Girl Scouts. Nancy Lewis, CFO of Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts made the presentation on behalf of Girl Scouts.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award that a Girl Scout can achieve, and it recognizes a service project that fulfills a need within a girl's community (outside of Girl Scouts) whether local or global, creates change and becomes ongoing.

To earn the award, scout must complete a number of pre-requisites and a minimum of 80 hours of service. The project is more than a good service project—it encompasses organizational, leadership and networking skills. Approximately five percent of all Girl Scouts earn the award each year. 

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White’s project, Spreading Shakespeare, was inspired by her own love of Shakespeare and her belief that, “for too many students, the name Shakespeare incites a “groan of boredom or agony.”

Through the “Spreading Shakespeare” project, White’s goal was to provide more opportunities for the Reading community to be exposed to Shakespeare, to teach those who are not very well versed in Shakespeare “the basics”, and to see greater attendance at Shakespearean performances, which would demonstrate a higher level of appreciation.

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“Due to a lack of exposure to Shakespeare’s plays, many see his classic works as boring, pointless, or too difficult to understand. But Shakespeare’s works are among the most important works ever written in the English language, and more people should be exposed to his works and learn to appreciate them,” White said.

Completing the “Spreading Shakespeare” project involved a number of different steps and activities. Laura and her team of volunteers held workshops at the Reading Public Library for the teen summer reading program, worked with four to six year old Girl Scouts at an event at Camp Rice Moody and performed Twelfth Night for the entire community at the Reading Performing Arts Center.  The performance was recorded and is available at the Reading middle schools, high school and public library.

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