Local Girl Scout teaches foster children lacrosse, earns Gold Award

Girl Scout Taffeta Burleson has earned the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.'s Gold Award by teaching basic lacrosse to a group of foster children.   The Gold Award is an honor that requires recipients to demonstrate outstanding leadership skills, career planning, community involvement and personal development. The requirements, which include planning and completing a project that is a service to the community, take more than 100 service hours and two to three years of intensive work to complete, and less than 5 percent of Girl Scouts achieve the national recognition.   "I chose this project because when I was younger, I did not know of the sport lacrosse until I was exposed to it in high school," Burleson said in a press release. "I would not want anyone else to go without knowing such an awesome sport."   Burleson led a team of volunteers in planning and hosting a skills workshop. The children learned stick skills and fundamental moves of the sport.   "Taffeta has grown and matured as a leader," Burleson's mother Cathy said in the press release. "Through the Gold Award process, she has learned that deadlines and commitments are important. She has also learned that others rely on you as a leader to follow through on all your promises and timelines. We are extremely proud of her."   Burleson was a member of Girl Scouts for 13 years and captain of the lacrosse team at Houston Christian High School. This fall, she will be attending Texas A&M University to study petroleum engineering.   For more information, visit www.gssjc.org.