Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan honors Elizabeth Mulvaine with the most prestigious award in the world for girls: the Girl Scout Gold Award. Elizabeth, of Shelby Township, is among 13 young women who have taken the initiative to bettering their communities through sustainable community change projects. The time and commitment they’ve dedicated towards these projects prove they’re true leaders and exceptional examples for all girls to look up to.

The Gold Award is Girl Scout’s highest honor and is presented to Girl Scouts who address a community issue or problem they are passionate about. They’re required to spend a minimum of 80 hours investigating the problem, creating a plan, and implementing it.

For her Gold Award project, Elizabeth focused on siblings of Type 1 diabetics. She noticed that in her community, siblings were not being supported as much or as often as the actual Type 1, or their parents. Siblings of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) don’t have a support group of their own. They often feel isolated and left out when families are dealing with the overwhelming needs of a child with T1D, which can be around-the-clock monitoring and care. It’s a devastating disease and it affects the entire family. Many times, siblings feel left behind, scared and lonely, as the family navigates the ever-changing management and care of their brother or sister. With the help of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and Project Blue November, Elizabeth created online sibling support groups via social media sites: Facebook and Instagram. Now there is a place for siblings to feel supported and have a network people all across the county for support.

“I am a leader and I can lead a crowd if I put my mind to it.”