Fountain Hills Ambassador Girl Scout Lauren Varanese is going gold.

She has set her sights on earning Girl Scout’s highest achievement, the Gold Award.

The final step to earning the Gold Award is to complete a “Take Action” project that identifies a community issue and address its root cause with a lasting, sustainable project.

Her passion is science research.

She and her Gold Award project advisor, John Nishan, attended a roundtable discussion at Translational Genomics Research Institute led by Dr. Bodour Salhia, assistant professor in the Integrated Cancer Genomics Division, to discuss possible projects.

At the meeting, Varanese met a courageous young woman, Ashley Martin, who battled cancer. She openly discussed her situation and shared her desire to make a difference by helping others dealing with the same issues.

Varanese was touched by Ashley’s positive attitude and left the meeting knowing her goal would be to make others aware of the special concerns/needs of young adults dealing with cancer.

About 70,000 adolescents and young adults (ages 15-39) in the prime of their lives are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States, Varanese learned.

“More research is needed to develop effective methods of diagnosis and treatment to assure longer and healthier lives for young people with cancer,” she said.

So Varanese is organizing a Young Adult Cancer Awareness Walk-A-Thon scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 3 at Fountain Park from 1 to 3 p.m. Registration and the start will be at the Kiwanis pavilion (near the playground).

All ages are encouraged to come and walk for Young Adult Cancer Awareness.

Entertainment, refreshments and raffle drawings will be held at the conclusion of the event.

Cost is $10 per adult/child 13 years or older and $5 per child 12 years or younger (cash payment only at registration on the day of the event). Pre-registration is required; go to http://cancerawarenessfh.eventbrite.com/ to sign up online.

All proceeds from the walk-a-thon will go to supporting Varanese’s three phases to her Gold Award “Take Action” project.

Besides the walk-a-thon, Varanese has plans for hosting a fun but informational meet-up event for young adults dealing with cancer and write an informative pamphlet to hand out to doctors, oncologists, hospital social workers and cancer research centers.

“We need to improve quality of life for the young adult cancer patients, build a strong peer community so they don’t feel isolated, help unite local resources and promote more research,” Varanese stated.

To go for “gold,” a girl must be in grades 9-12, a registered Girl Scout and have completed the Gold Award prerequisites consisting of: earn the Girl Scout Silver Award (second highest award in Girl Scouting), and one Girl Scout journey or earn two Girl Scout journeys.

Each journey takes numerous steps and several months to complete with each ending with a Take Action project benefiting the community.

Since 1916, one million girls have earned the Gold Award or equivalent.

A Gold Award recipient on average spends one to two years on their Gold Award from finishing all prerequisites through the completion of the project.

Gold Award recipients who join the armed services enter one rank higher than other recruits after completing basic training. University research indicates that adding the Gold Award to a college application is a critical element in the admissions decision process, and there are scholarships available to recipients of the Girl Scout Gold Award.

Help support Varanese with her Gold Award project by participating in the Young Adult Cancer Awareness Walk-A-Thon on Nov. 3. Make a difference – one step at a time.

For more information on the event, contact Pam Varanese at (480) 250-7986.