Yorktown Girl Organizes Halloween Party at Country House for Girl Scout Gold Leadership Award

Allyson Pitzel, a junior at , likes to plan and organize events. She also stays plenty busy with school events, her science project and volunteer work in the community. 

The 16-year-old girl has organized a Halloween Dance and Party for the residents of The Country House Retirement Residence in Yorktown, to be held this evening. She raised money to support the party through tag and bake sales and fundraising with the high school's Key Club. Some of her friends will also be helping.

The night of the party, the Yorktown High School dance team will perform for the senior citizens. There will be arts and crafts, Halloween Bingo and prizes and picture frames given out as a souvenirs. Crompond School students helped her make those picture frames, she said. 

"I think they don't get a lot of freedom," she said of the home's residents. "I love old people and I thought I could bring their childhood back by them creating crafts."

The party is part of Allyson's work toward the highest Girl Scout award, the Gold Leadership Award. The project would fulfill a need in her community and it requires to leave a lasting impression. Allyson said the Yorktown High School Key Club will continue the event in future years.

"It has to encompass organizational, leadership and networking skills," she said. 

Girl Scouts usually work on their projects their junior and senior year in high school, but Allyson said she got an early start. She has been a girl scout since first grade, when she was in a Daisy Troop.

"If I receive this award, I would feel very fulfilled because I've been doing it for such a long time," she said. 

The high school student aspires to become a teacher one day. She is currently working on her science research project about children personalities through the high school's Science Research Program. She said she will be sending out surveys to parents throughout Westchester for further research. She said she hopes her work would "create better classrooms."

Allyson said although being involved in so many activities can be stressful at times, she loves doing what she does.

"If I wasn't doing this, I'd be bored," she said. "I like helping people. To make others feel happy, makes me feel good inside."

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