Return to Blog

Leadership in Action: Abigail’s Journey to Girl Scouting’s Highest Honor

Stories & Spotlights
Student Spotlight: Abigail's Passion Project

Power to the Period: How One Girl Scout Is Fighting Period Poverty  

When Abigail set out to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award, she chose a topic many people still find too taboo to discuss openly: periods. Her project, “Power to the Period,” covers female anatomy, menstrual cycles, hormones, and common but rarely discussed conditions like dysmenorrhea (painful periods), while also confronting the barrier period poverty creates for girls trying to get an education. 

What Is the Gold Award — and Why It’s Such a Big Deal 

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn, and it’s not handed out lightly. Fewer than 5% of Girl Scouts ever complete it. Earning it requires a rigorous project proposal, a minimum of 100 hours of hands-on work, and a final report demonstrating sustainable, lasting impact — not just a one-time service project. 

Abigail’s road to the Gold Award wasn’t quick or easy. She began working on it in November 2024, submitted her proposal in early 2025, and was approved in July 2025. 

Abigail has now earned Girl Scouting’s “trifecta” which includes earning the organization’s three highest honors: the Bronze Award (5th grade), the Silver Award (8th grade), and the Gold Award (11th grade), plus the Silver Trefoil Award, which is based upon sustained volunteer service across the Girl Scout community, national and global entities — four major honors in total, a rare combination that reflects years of sustained commitment to her community. 

Why Period Poverty Matters 

Period poverty — the lack of access to menstrual products, hygiene facilities, and education — is a bigger problem than most people realize, and it directly affects whether girls stay in school. According to the 2025 State of the Period study, one in four students have struggled to afford period products, and one in three report missing class because of it. Nearly 40% of teens say a lack of access to products has kept them from doing their best schoolwork, and 64% have had a “Code Red” moment — needing to ask a friend or classmate for a product because they had none. The same study found that 45% of teens admit to wearing a period product longer than recommended due to not having accessible products, with lower-income and Hispanic teens reporting this more frequently. 

What “Power to the Period” Actually Does 

Abigail had spent 12 years in Girl Scouts knowing the ultimate goal was to earn her Gold Award. That goal took shape unexpectedly when she started getting her own period and became very ill. A visit to her gynecologist revealed that she had dysmenorrhea, or painful periods, a condition she’d never even heard of. About nine out of 10 tweens and teens experience period pain. Curious whether other girls were also unaware, she started researching and discovered period poverty and the widespread lack of education around it. That was when she decided this would be her Gold Award project. 

Abigail’s project has three main pillars: 

  • A dedicated website where people can learn about the project, donate, and find resources on menstrual health. 
  • Period pantries — physical stations stocked with menstrual products for anyone who needs them, free of charge and without judgment. The first pantry is now up and running at Northern Virginia Family Services (SERVE) in Manassas. 
  • Educational workshops — Abigail has already led four sessions at the Central Library in Manassas, where she gives girls discreet pouches filled with period products and teaches them about menstrual health. 

The whole project ran on a budget of about $2,700, funded through Girl Scout cookie sales and donations Abigail collected. 

Built to Last 

One of the Gold Award’s core requirements is sustainability — the project has to keep running after the Girl Scout who created it moves on. Abigail designed “Power to the Period” with that in mind, so the pantries and workshops can continue supporting the community even after she graduates from VAVA. Looking further ahead, she hopes to eventually grow the project into a full nonprofit organization. 

How You Can Help 

If Abigail’s project resonates with you, there are simple ways to get involved: 

  • Donate through the Power to the Period website Contact Us form to help keep the period pantries stocked and fund future workshops. 
  • If you live in the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia and are interested in a workshop, reach out by using the Contact Us form. 
  • Drop off supplies — pads, tampons, and other menstrual products — at local school nurses’ offices or food pantries in your area. 

The connection between period poverty and education is well documented: when girls don’t have access to the products they need, they miss class, fall behind, and internalize shame about something that is a completely normal part of life. Abigail’s project is a meaningful step toward making sure no girl in her community has to choose between her education and her period.

Back to Blog