Girl Scouts honored by City Council

DOWNEY – Sarah Bischoff and Giselle McAllister were honored Tuesday night at the Downey City Council meeting for receiving the Girl Scout Gold Award. Both girls are Downey residents and have been Girl Scouts for 11 years.

The Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouts.  This large-scale project requires a minimum of 80 hours of planning and implementation and must have a lasting impact on its targeted community.

Sarah Bischoff, 16, is a Downey resident and sophomore at Valley Christian High School.  She sings in the Women’s Ensemble and was the captain on her basketball team.  She also loves animals.

For her Gold project, she created a Pet Rescue Club at school, posting pictures of needy pets for adoption and holding meetings to raise awareness about pet issues.  Together with her club, she created 35 cat cubbies and 75 blankets for the Long Beach SPCA and the Downey Animal Care Shelter.

She also helped create 10 dog-cooling jackets for certified search and rescue dogs in the Los Angeles area. Sarah plans to continue on with her Pet Rescue Club next year as a junior.

Giselle McAllister, 16, is a Downey resident and junior at the Orange County School of the Arts. She has a passion for museums, art and is an accomplished singer. She is also a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, playing piano, guitar, harp, ukulele and drums. Giselle toured with the British Symphony in England in 2012.

For the Gold Award, Giselle taught a music appreciation class with an emphasis in theory and elements of contrasting musical styles. These classes were given to the senior occupants of the Villa Senior Assisted Living Center in Downey. She also performed at the home with friends from school.

She plans to continue a musical relationship with Villa Senior Home in the coming year.

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Published: July 10, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 13