After completing a series of requirements, senior Karen Evanovich has received the Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouts.

To qualify, girl scouts must accumulate volunteer hours and educate others on something that will benefit themselves and the community. Evanovich used her passion for knitting to accomplish this by hosting knitting classes in the high school last year and at Whitehall library over the summer.

Through the classes, she managed to knit and donate 19 bunnies, four bears, three baby blankets, and two baby hats to Project Linus, an organization which distributes the knitted items to critically ill children.

“My passion is knitting, and I’ve been knitting for almost 10 years now,” Evanovich said. “I want to share my passion with other people while benefitting the community.”

Evanovich said that, through the classes she taught, she wanted to instill a spirit of giving into the people who attended.

Senior Olivia Altivilla, who attended the class at the high school last year, said she developed just that.

“It didn’t only teach me a new skill, but it showed me that I can make someone else happy with just a small gift you make,” Altivilla said.

Altivilla used the knitting skills she learned to make scarves and other small homemade gifts for her family.

Along with the Gold Award, Evanovich will also be receiving a certificate and a special banquet to commemorate her achievement.