Julie Averbach Named 2016 National Young Woman of Distinction by Girl Scouts of the USA

WESTFIELD, N.J. - Sept. 20, 2016 - PRLog -- Today, Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey announced that Julie Averbach was named by Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) as a 2016 National Young Woman of Distinction, the organization's most prestigious honor. Annually, GSUSA selects ten National Young Women of Distinction among Girl Scout candidates who have earned their Gold Award, which represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting.

Nationwide, thousands of Girl Scouts in grades 9–12 have earned their Gold Award as a result of their efforts to transform an idea and vision for change into an actionable plan with measurable, sustainable, and far-reaching impact at the local, national, and global levels. Approximately 5 percent of all Girl Scouts earn their Gold Award each year—and just ten girls in this already-high-achieving group receive the National Young Woman of Distinction honor. Applications are judged by previous National Young Women of Distinction, female leaders from a range of fields, GSUSA executives, and a representative from the Kappa Delta Foundation, which provides the honorees with college scholarships.

For her Gold Award project, Julie created a comic book called Adventures From My World . The book features six unique stories and is a way to help support siblings of individuals with special needs. Through her project, Julie wanted to make sure that these siblings always feel comforted and reassured that they are neither alone nor forgotten.

"What makes AFMW unique and innovative is that it was both written from the point of view of a teenage sibling and presents real issues in a visually appealing comic book format," Julie says. "Due to the overwhelming response and demand for the comic book, I ordered an additional 8,000 copies to continue distributing to siblings, special needs groups, educational institutions, hospitals, and clinics around the country."

Julie decided to pursue this project after she noticed that there was a lack of understanding, awareness, and support in her community regarding the struggles that special needs siblings face on a daily basis.

"My initial goal for AFMW was to provide siblings with a useful tool to help communicate their emotions, brainstorm solutions, and to seek out help," Julie says.

Julie joins 2009 NYWOD Shannon McNamara of Basking Ridge and 2013 NYWOD Nicole York of Montgomery – both Girl Scout alumnae from GSHNJ.

To learn more about Julie and Adventures From My World, please visit her website at http://www.adventuresfrommyworld.com/about.html

About Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey

Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey (GSHNJ) builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place by providing girls access to premier leadership programs and mentors throughout New Jersey.  GSHNJ provides leadership experiences to nearly 18,000 New Jersey girls each year.  For more information about the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey, please visit www.gshnj.org.

About Kappa Delta

Kappa Delta Sorority is a national organization for women with more than 230,000 members, 163 active collegiate chapters, and more than 500 chartered alumnae chapters nationwide. Kappa Delta is active in a number of philanthropic endeavors, including the prevention of child abuse in partnership with Prevent Child Abuse America and confidence-building programming with Girl Scouts of the USA. In 2009, the sorority created the Confidence Coalition to promote confidence in girls and women. In 2010, Kappa Delta established International Girls Day to empower girls to reach their potential. It also created International Women's Friendship Month for women everywhere. Kappa Delta's national headquarters is in Memphis, Tennessee. For more information, visit www.kappadelta.org.