Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida proudly celebrates Ava Williams, a senior at Gulf Coast High School in Naples, for earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouting. Ava devoted over 80 hours to her project, Threads of Comfort, which focused on supporting children in need while fostering intergenerational community connections.
Through her project, Ava created a crochet and craft club that brought together Youth Haven teens and local older adults to make handmade blankets, stuffed animals, and other comfort items for children experiencing illness, trauma, or other challenging circumstances. The intergenerational club provided opportunities for participants to learn new skills, share experiences, and collaborate to create meaningful, lasting support for children in the community.
Youth Heaven is Southwest Florida’s only emergency shelter for neglected, abused, and homeless children and teens. The stuffed comfort items the club created were donated to the shelter.
Ava also developed resources to ensure her project’s sustainability, including a guide for future club leaders on organizing crafts, sourcing materials, and facilitating meetings. She donated supplies and educational materials to Youth Haven, enabling the residents to continue the club’s activities and benefit from her program…