Sarasota Girl Scout Ambassador and Booker High School student Raven Peters has earned Girl Scouting’s highest honor – the Gold Award – with her project entitled, Break the Bonds.

Raven was shocked to learn that Florida is the third most at-risk state in the U.S. for human trafficking.  She developed her Gold Award project to make the community more aware of this issue, while providing support and resources to survivors and current victims.

Raven organized and hosted a public symposium, created a service project to assemble toiletry kits for local shelters, published a brochure of local resources for victims, and worked with New College of Florida to implement a human trafficking clause into the school’s Title IX (sex discrimination) policy.

“I wish to become an international human rights lawyer,” Raven said. “This project has given me the ability to identify an issue and take action to do my best to address it.”

The Girl Scout Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. Open only to girls in high school, this prestigious award recognizes girls who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through remarkable Take-Action projects with sustainable impact in their communities. 2016 marks the 100^th anniversary of the Girl Scout Gold Award.

Be inspired and learn more about Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida’s other 2016 Gold Award recipients.

~Lori Tomlinson is the Manager of Communications and Marketing for Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc.