Wayland Girl Scout Earns Gold Award

The information below was submitted by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts.

Wayland Girl Scout Christine Cocce received her Girl Scout Gold Award pin on Wednesday, June 20 at a ceremony at the Boxborough Holiday Inn. The event was attended by family, friends and Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts' CEO Ruth N. Bramson and Board President Peggy Stevens.

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 whether local or global; creates change; and becomes ongoing. To earn the award, girls must complete the Silver Award and a minimum of 80 hours of service. The project is more than a good service project—it encompasses organizational, leadership and networking skills. Only about five percent of all Girl Scouts earn this award each year.

Cocce’s project, Letters for Liberty, resulted from a conversation she had with the mother of a U.S. soldier, who explained that her son’s biggest fear is that troops overseas are forgotten by the American people. With the help of numerous volunteers, Cocce created Letters for Liberty, a nonprofit organization that encourages Americans to send hand-written letters of support and encouragement to soldiers overseas and to provide unique stationery to sustain the correspondence.

The hand-written notes are sent with two pieces of stationery and two envelopes to remind the soldiers to keep their faith and to give them an opportunity to write back home. To get involved, visit www.lettersforliberty.org.