Girl Scout brings all abilities together in sports program

Kaelyn Gagnon of Manchester earns Girl Scout Gold Award for Special Olympics New Hampshire project

We are delighted to share this story from Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains.

MANCHESTER, NH – Giving young children of all abilities a chance to participate in sports and recreational activities is important to Kaelyn Gagnon. She has now earned Girl Scouts’ highest honor, the Gold Award, for creating a Young Athletes Program through Special Olympics in Goffstown. The Gold Award is the pinnacle of the Girl Scout experience, earned by those in Grades 9-12.

As a dedicated athlete herself, Kaelyn, 16 and a junior at Trinity High School, knows the value of participating in sports and recreational activities.

“An often-overlooked area for young children with disabilities is their recreation time,” the Manchester teen wrote in her project report. “Parents spend so much time worrying about their child’s health-about IEPs, and education, that there isn’t much time or energy left for recreation time. Sports activities for disabled children can be hard to find. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics the participation of children with disabilities in sports and recreational activities promotes inclusion, minimizes deconditioning, optimizes physical functioning, and enhances overall well-being.”

With the help of her mentor, Bill Jones of Special Olympics, Kaelyn established a Young Athletes Program for children with and without disabilities, ages 2 to 7, which was designed to provide opportunities to learn foundational sports skills while having fun.

Parents spend so much time worrying about their child’s health-about IEPs, and education, that there isn’t much time or energy left for recreation time.

– Kaelyn Gagnon

“It was a huge success!” said Jones. “Kaelyn met with the Goffstown Parks and Recreation Department to secure gym space and they embraced her project as something wonderful for the Goffstown community.”

She was able to get the word out and register 15 children in the program, running it on a weekly basis in the fall, winter and spring terms at Goffstown Parks and Recreation Center.

Kaelyn’s mother works at a school with a special-needs program, which helped inspire her to begin the program.

“I would go into there, and I grew to love those kids,” she said. “They were really sweet. And so that helped me in the beginning to (think) this is what I want to do. And by going and observing these kids, I was able to figure out what needs there were.”

At the end of each eight-week session, Kaelyn surveyed the families and found that most wanted to come back and do it again.

The next step is reaching out to others to continue the program, which Kaelyn is working on, hoping to get other organizations, possibly local college students, to run it.

Along with her Young Athletes Program, Kaelyn designed a Girl Scout patch program meant to teach Girl Scouts to focus on what somebody can do, rather than what they can’t, to see each other’s gifts and value being together, whether disabilities are a factor or not. The patch program should soon be available on the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains website for members to earn.

Doing nearly 82 hours of work on her Gold Award project taught her leadership skills, planning, time management, and more, giving her greater confidence in her abilities.

Kaelyn is a lifelong Girl Scout, having started as a Daisy in kindergarten. Along the way she has earned the Bronze and Silver Awards, participated in Wreaths Across America for several years, and helped at National Night Out, among many other community service events. For her Bronze Award she collected leotards and sent them overseas for gymnasts to use, and for her Silver Award she worked with the Merrimack library to create Book and Baking Kits.

This accomplished Girl Scout is also a top achiever academically with a 4.06 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society, the National English Honor Society, the National Art Honor Society, and is on the yearbook committee. She was team captain for her volleyball team and has also played basketball as well as doing competitive gymnastics.

Kaelyn plans to attend college when she graduates with an eye toward becoming an athletic trainer, possibly for the WNBA.

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Gold Award Girl Scouts don’t just change the world for the better, they change it for good. The Gold Award is earned by girls in grades 9–12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership in developing sustainable solutions to local, national, and global challenges. Since 1912, Girl Scouts have answered the call to drive lasting, impactful change. They earn college scholarships, demonstrate high educational and career outcomes, and are active in their communities.

Kaelyn Gagnon has answered the call to drive lasting, impactful change, and her Gold Award is a testament to her remarkable dedication to improving her community and the world.

About the Girl Scout Gold Award

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains serves girls throughout New Hampshire and Vermont through volunteer-run troops, events, and virtual programs. Visit www.girlscoutsgwm.org to learn more.