Cassie Wolfe of Harrison initially set out to combat childhood poverty but soon learned its connection to human trafficking. After discovering that girls wearing brand-name clothing are less likely to be targeted by traffickers, she partnered with her school, local churches and the Tennessee Bar Association to create new dresses for girls in Cuba and Liberia. Girls also received safety booklets created by Cassie and translated by her team members. To raise awareness, she led community presentations about the project and launched a website featuring resources, updates and ways for others to get involved. Cassie earned a prestigious Girl Scout Gold Award in 2025 for her Stitching Smiles project.

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 address a concern in their community. They plan and implement projects that produce lasting change in their region and beyond. The Gold Award is the Girl Scouts’ highest honor.

Cassie shares, “My project started as a way to help girls in poverty who needed clothing. I wanted to do something that would preserve their dignity and remind them that they deserve basic human rights like feeling confident, cared for and seen. The dresses were originally meant to help build self-confidence, because I believe confidence can change how a girl sees herself and how she lets the world treat her.

“I started learning more about human trafficking and I was devastated to realize just how widespread and targeted it is, especially toward young girls in areas of poverty. I realized I could refocus my project to include trafficking education and prevention. It felt like a way to build on the heart of what I’d already started to make an even bigger impact.”

Over 81 hours invested in Stitching Smiles, Cassie created 25 handmade dresses, designed and printed 25 booklets with essential trafficking info to accompany each dress, and, in addition to resources, her website offers a dress pattern so others can join the effort. She learned that time was one of her biggest challenges.

“There were a lot of moving parts. I had to be flexible when things didn’t go exactly as planned. For example, some of the groups I hoped to connect with were too busy or didn’t respond, so I had to adjust and find new ways to reach people. It taught me how to stay persistent and keep moving forward, even when things were frustrating.”

However, all of that work was well invested. She shares: “My favorite part was getting a picture of some girls who had received the dresses. Up until that point, everything felt kind of abstract. I was sewing, organizing and researching, but it was hard to see the impact. When I saw that photo, it finally became real. Knowing that something I made with my own hands had reached someone on the other side of the world and hopefully made them feel a little more seen and cared for – that was the moment it all felt worth it.”

She came away with many new skills. “I learned how to manage a big project from start to finish, which included a lot of trial and error,” Cassie says. “I also learned how to communicate more confidently, especially when reaching out to adults and organizations. But maybe the biggest thing was realizing how much of a difference one person really can make.”

She considers her Girl Scout troop to be a second family and enjoys that they’ve all grown up together. Cassie fondly remembers plays they would write, direct and act in while at camp. And the annoyance they had when the younger girls copied them has turned into memories that are sweet and hilarious as they’ve gotten older.

Cassie loves spending time with her family and close friends, including her parents, three younger siblings, two cats and a dog. She enjoys hiking, stand-up paddleboarding, reading and crocheting.

She hopes to earn an associate’s degree, then continue to a four-year university to get a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She’s interested in working in the ICU and ultimately has hopes to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.

Congratulations, Cassie! Visit girlscoutcsa.org to learn more.