Do you have an elderly person in your life that you love and appreciate? National Grandparents Day, celebrated on the first Sunday after Labor Day each year since 1938, is the day to let them know how much you care. Grandparents Day is celebrated to honor the elderly people in your life celebrate the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren. 

Today, seniors are still active in their communities as well as continuing to have a strong presence in the workforce.  For all they do and have achieved for the good of their communities, senior citizens deserve our thanks!

Gulfcoast Girl Scout Tristan Blankenship decided to dedicate her 80-hour Gold Award project, “Tristan’s Blankets of Love,” to the cause of supporting and honoring senior citizens living in nursing homes. She was inspired to complete her project while visiting a family friend in a nursing home.

“I noticed everyone there looked sad and lonely. I wanted to think of a way to help, that is how my project came to be.”

Concerned about the increased levels of depression among residents in nursing homes as a result of loneliness, Tristan wanted to make nursing home residents feel loved. She did this by making individualized, hand-made blankets for each resident.

She also enlisted the help of her local Church Prayer Committee to distribute personalized prayer cards to the 70 residents at the State Veteran’s Nursing Home during their monthly birthday parties. The Prayer Committee has made a commitment to pray for each of the individuals in the nursing home.

“Because of this project, I have matured into a confident young woman, gained more self-assurance, and discovered that I really enjoy making other people happy.”

Tristan is a dual- enrolled junior at North Port High School and Suncoast Technical College for the Certified Nursing Assistant Program. She lives with her mother and step-father, their three cats, and eight chickens. She loves reading, roller and ice skating, and – of course – Girl Scouts.

Tristan said that the experience of earning has Gold Award has been “invaluable” to her career goal of becoming a nurse. “It has given me insight on the feelings of the residents in nursing homes.” She also said that completing her project helped her to “become a better nurse while I am at clinicals taking care of residents.”

Tristan earned her Gold Award in March 2023. She plans to finish the LPN program at Suncoast Technical College over the summer and go on to attend SCF for their Registered Nurse course for the next 4 years.

“Gold Award Girl Scouts are the dreamers and doers who take ‘make the world a better place’ to the next level,” said GSGCF CEO Mary Anne Servian. “These girls tackled issues that are important to them and their communities, and we congratulate them on this momentous accomplishment.”

The Girl Scout Gold Award acknowledges the power behind each Gold Award Girl Scout’s dedication to not only empowering and bettering herself, but also to making the world a better place for others. Through earning the Gold Award, Girl Scouts become innovative problem solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally.

By earning their Gold Awards, these young women have distinguished themselves as true community leaders and change-makers who have made a meaningful and sustainable difference in the world. Their accomplishments reflect leadership and social responsibility that set them apart from their peers.

According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers. Eighty-five percent of Gold Award Girl Scouts say that earning their Gold Award gave them skills to succeed in their daily lives, and eighty-seven percent say it gave them skills to help them succeed professionally.

As a bonus, the Gold Award opens doors to a variety of scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college, strong networking and amazing career opportunities, and much more. About 4,000 Girl Scouts earn their Gold Award every year, placing Tristan Blankenship among a prestigious community of change-makers who have achieved this honor. Since 1916, over 160,000 Girl Scouts have earned the Gold Award or its equivalent.