Scouts earn Gold Award
BY NICOLE M. ANLLO Staff Writer

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - Their work at a Toms River youth shelter has resulted in the highest achievement for two local Girl Scouts.

Nicole Dombrowski, 18, and Kristin Lindquist, 18, both of Freehold Township, have each earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor that can be attained in Girl Scouts.

Dombrowski and Lindquist completed a community service project together in Toms River as part of the requirements for the award.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the top award for girls between the ages of 14 and 18. In order to earn the award, a service project must be completed that addresses a need in the community and creates long-term change. Not only do the young women need to show service skills, but they must also demonstrate leadership, organization and networking skills.

Dombrowski, a student at West Chester University, West Chester, Pa., and Lindquist, a student at Kutztown University, Kutztown, Pa., organized the remodeling of Ocean's Harbor House in Toms River. According to the shelter's Internet Web site, the facility serves as a safe haven for youths between the ages of 10 and 21 who have run away from home, been abused or neglected, or are currently homeless.

Dombrowski has been a Girl Scout since the first grade and described the Gold Award as the culmination of all her hard work. In order to prepare for her Gold Award project at Ocean's Harbor House, Dombrowski said she needed to earn a certain number of badges, complete 30 hours of leadership and fulfill a requirement of 40 hours of community service.

Together, Dombrowski and Lindquist renovated the dining space in the shelter by repainting the room blue and adding new window treatments.

In a press release from the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore, Lindquist said, "The new curtains and color scheme in the dining room helped create a nicer environment instead of the 'institutionlike' atmosphere it originally presented,"

Lindquist emphasized the importance of giving the shelter a more "homey" atmosphere for youths who find themselves there for a period of time.

Dombrowski took a multistep approach to her service. In addition to remodeling the dining space, she constructed and finished a desk and hutch for the shelter's office supplies and donated a new light fixture. The young woman also said she organized the center's craft supplies.

"This way it was easier for the kids to use the things available to them," she said.

For Dombrowski, the center, which provides shelter for runaway youths, had great personal significance.

"I had a friend who ran away. If kids knew about a shelter like this, they would have a place to go," she said.

After all of the hard work, Dombrowski identified the best part about working with the shelter as the opportunity to give something back to the community. She believes the project will make a difference for Ocean's Harbor House and the people who avail themselves of its services.