Metro Roundup: Trussville senior completes Girl Scout Gold Award

If you have seen the movie titled "A Dog’s Purpose," it most likely tugged your heartstrings. Throughout the film, Bailey, the protagonist puppy, brings love and companionship to all his owners, especially during their loneliest hours.

For Joriann Lee, a senior at Hewitt-Trussville High School and an Ambassador in Girl Scout Troop 872, this film not only moved her, but also provided her with the inspiration for her capstone project, which won her the Girl Scout Gold Award.

According to the organization, the Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award that Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors can earn. This award stands for excellence, leadership and is awarded to a Girl Scout who has successfully completed a project that is measurable, sustainable and has an impact on the community outside of Girl Scouts. Not only should the project be something that a Girl Scout is passionate about, but also fulfill a community need, create change and be sustainable.

The project itself is time consuming and encompasses organizational, leadership and networking skills, while requiring a minimum of 80 hours of community service. This prestigious award stands out in the college admissions process, often leading to scholarships.

“I looked into several topics, but after watching the movie 'A Dog’s Purpose,' I knew this was the direction I wanted to take,” said Lee. “There were many scenes in the film when I felt people weren’t clear about animal abuse or neglect.”

Two scenes in the movie inspired Lee, including one of a dog left inside a hot car and another of a dog chained to a pole outside during the snow.

“It was so sad,” Lee said. “I cried during the movie.”

“The root cause of the issue — abuse and neglect of animals — is due to people not realizing it is a problem,” she said. “They see it as normal treatment of animals. Animal abuse/neglect isn’t necessarily just intently causing harm to an animal, but it is also not taking them to the vet to get their vaccines, feeding them too much food, feeding them certain human foods that could lead to death, or other things.”

Lee’s two dogs, Jacie (4 years old) and Joker (10 years), are a big part of her family and the 92-hour project, titled "A Promise 4 Paws."

Being an active member of the Girl Scouts since first grade, Lee developed a website (apromise4paws.weebly.com) to inform the community of different types of abuse and neglect. Lee includes personal educational videos with her pooches illustrating preventative measures for your pets.

“The website includes a little bit about me and the project,” Lee said. “I included some definitions about animal abuse and animal neglect. There are also other tabs that defines certain kinds of abuse/neglect.”

“Part of the preliminary paperwork I had to submit included a mind map of the project’s topic,” she said. “Here is the main topic, main causes of abuse/neglect, and different things that can contribute to abuse/neglect. I also had to include how to inform people about this topic of animal abuse/neglect, which is where I got the idea of developing a website. I don’t want this to just be centered in informing people of Alabama, but other parts of the country.”

Lee hopes that through her website and educational videos she will continue raising awareness in the community about the neglect and abuse of dogs and cats while providing various ways to properly care for pets.

“I have grown up with a lot of animals,” Lee said. “The passion for animals is deep down in my heart, so I feel if I told the world about it, maybe I can help save a pet’s life.”