After learning that resettled families frequently arrive with few possessions, but are federally required to have new beds, Orly Berry of Knoxville worked to improve conditions for refugee children in Knoxville. She partnered with Bridge Refugee Services to raise awareness and funds and her Rest for Refugee Children project earned her a prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award in 2024. 

Gold Award Girl Scouts are rock stars, role models and real-life heroes who address issues they’re passionate about by using everything they’ve learned as a Girl Scout to solve an issue. They plan and implement projects that produce lasting change in the community and beyond. It is the Girl Scouts’ highest honor.

Orly describes herself as “motivated,” and it certainly rings true, as she activated, educated and gained skills while helping the community in a meaningful way. By partnering with Bridge Refugee Services, she learned of the need for new beds for roughly 200 refugees who arrive in Knoxville from around the world each year.

Her fundraising impact totaled almost $11,000 that led to the purchase of 40 new beds with her investment of 80 hours of work toward the project. She made the donations even more meaningful by including a bedtime storybook with custom bookplates.

Additionally, she was able to raise awareness about resettled families through education within the community including other Girl Scouts, church groups, a Rotary Club, school administrators, friends and family members.

“In a small way, I was able to help bring dignity, safety and rest to refugees arriving in my city,” Orly shared. “My favorite part was delivering the books to the children right after they arrived. It really hit me that they had just arrived with very little, but a small gesture and welcoming smile was helpful.”

Orly also utilized Google Translate to say “Welcome, here’s my favorite bedtime story” in their native language. “It was great to see their smiles!”

Through working on this Gold Award project, Orly learned more about the plight of refugees and gained confidence by speaking in front of groups. She also sought to increase her skills, such as how to use the design app, Canva, for social media and presentations through working with members of Kappa Delta sorority.

She applied for and received the Joyce Maienschein Leadership Grant, which allowed her to purchase an additional bed to donate and to print education materials for presentations. She certainly grew from being nervous at the onset of her project in her initial interview to a confident achiever in her final interview, sharing, “It felt so good to talk about my project and answer the questions!”

Orly has fond memories of her years in Girl Scouts, including when her troop hiked and camped in Cades Cove when she was in middle school. It happened during a stargazing event when the girls were able to look through telescopes on the clear, starry night.

In her free time, Orly enjoys playing the guitar, going to the beach and spending time with her friends and family. She’s a senior at Christian Academy of Knoxville and hopes to join the swim team in college and pursue pre-med. Congratulations, Orly!

Visit girlscoutcsa.org to learn more.