The Girl Scouts Gold Award is the highest pillar of achievement and service a troop member can obtain. This award is one many strive for from the beginning of their time involved in Girl Scouts. To earn the Gold Award, a Girl Scout must identify a community issue, research it, build a team, and develop a sustainable, measurable solution, requiring a minimum of 80 hours of work. Junior Lyla Gaffoor, described by her troop leader Debbie Prial as “an effervescent and delightful young woman”, proves to be no exception. “I have been in Girl Scouts for around eight years, and I knew I wanted to complete my Gold Award project soon after I completed my Silver Award in middle school,” said Gaffoor. Her Silver Award consisted of her “donating crocheted graduation caps and crocheted plants to [neonatal intensive care unit] NICU graduates at Maimonides Children’s Hospital.” This inspired Gaffoor to incorporate the art of crocheting, one of her passions for which she is exceptionally skilled, into her Gold Award project.
To make her project possible, Gaffoor worked with the NICU staff at Cohen Children’s Medical Center but was originally inspired by the NICU at Maimonides Children’s Hospital in Brooklyn, NY, which already had a system for donating handmade crafts. After realizing there was not a system like this anywhere, Gaffoor began to create “graduation packages” for NICU babies’ departures. Gaffoor explained that “each package would have lasting keepsakes to remember these special milestones like a graduation certificate, welcome-home banner, some handmade stuffed animals (one for the graduate and one for their sibling), a crocheted graduation cap, and more.” She added, “These packages would be donated to the NICU, where they would be given to an infant that graduates from the NICU. I have also been going around to local crafting groups to gain volunteers and to raise awareness for my initiative.”
In May of 2025, Gaffoor began working on drafting her project’s proposal, which needed to be approved by the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Council (GSNC) before being allowed to begin. Following her proposal, Gaffoor found a project advisor who would help her pursue her project, the certified child life specialists (CCLS) from Cohen Children’s Medical Center, and also built a team of volunteers that would assist her in carrying out her project. Her GSNC Gold Award Mentor Cheryl Hatala worked with Gaffoor to guide her in meeting deadlines and executing her project. She expressed much praise for Gaffoor’s choice to work in the NICU, and appreciated her focus on preemie babies. “I had twins and went through this experience. It is a wonderful project to acknowledge that so many go through this, and celebrate when the babies come home,” said Hatala. She added that Gaffoor truly wanted to make an impact with her project, and shared, “Lyla sought out a situation where her project would be valued and welcomed. She approached several hospitals to try and partner. She chose the one she is using as the best place to do the most good.”
A major component of the Girl Scout Gold Award is sustainability. Gaffoor made sure to account for this by creating a website and digital guide for other people to make these NICU packages on their own. Furthermore, after her website launch, Gaffoor has continued to visit local groups to gain donations and raise awareness about her project and usually garners volunteers from these trips. As she wrapped up her project, which will finish in “early 2026”, Prial reflected that Gaffoor has grown in “confidence and tenacity” since working on this task. Additionally, Gaffoor is the youngest member of Girl Scouts Troop 2168 and will be the first member to achieve the Gold Award. To visit her website, click here. https://sites.google.com/view/bright-beginnings-nicu/home.
