MINOT — Bailee Kinney, a 2018 graduate of Poland Regional High School, recently earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by raising awareness about eating disorders throughout the state of Maine.
The Gold Award is the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts of the USA, earned by Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts. Only 5.4 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award.
After being diagnosed with anorexia nervosa in 2015, Kinney recognized there were simply not enough available resources on an illness that affects roughly 24 million individuals in the United States alone. “Eating disorders are the deadliest mental illness, and I just couldn’t comprehend why the resources were lacking so significantly. It’s a genuine problem,” Kinney said.
Kinney began her campaign on the issue in her high school by holding training on eating disorders for her teachers. The training covered topics like how to appropriately approach a person who may be struggling with an eating disorder, and the warning signs to look for on a physical, emotional and behavioral level. She then created resources, such as slideshows and pamphlets designed for high school teachers and staff, and for health educators to use in their classroom to better address eating disorders in health education classes. She then distributed the resources to 176 guidance counselors in Maine high schools all across the state with instructions to distribute the resources throughout their schools.
“It’s really cool that schools all across Maine have access to resources that I created. I’m really hopeful that they can change the way our teachers and students are educated about eating disorders in our state,” Kinney said.
Kinney is now a first year student at Clark University, in Worcester, Mass., studying psychology and women and gender studies. She is continuing her Girl Scout journey as a leader of a Daisy Troop in Worcester.
Kinney will be recognized by Girl Scouts of Maine along with other Gold Award recipients at their annual meeting in Waterville in May.
