Bloomingdale High School junior Shea Polley has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award — the Girl Scouts of the USA’s highest honor — through The S.H.E.A. Project, an initiative rooted in sea turtles, healing, empowerment and awareness. By blending her passion for marine life with a desire to uplift others, Polley created a meaningful project that brought comfort, creativity and conservation education to children and families served by the Children’s Cancer Center.
A member of Girl Scout Troop 33018, Polley is a third-generation Girl Scout and a third-generation Gold Award recipient, continuing a family legacy of leadership and service. Her project focused on children in survivorship and their siblings, offering moments of joy while teaching lessons that extend far beyond the classroom.
At the heart of The S.H.E.A. Project were 81 sea-turtle-themed ‘Shell Buddy Boxes,’ each thoughtfully assembled to encourage and comfort young recipients. Every box included a soft stuffed turtle, pop-its, cozy socks, coloring pages, crayons and handwritten notes designed to spark smiles and provide reassurance during difficult days.
In addition to delivering the boxes, Polley led hands-on workshops at the Children’s Cancer Center, where children created sea turtle ornaments, bracelets and. During these sessions, she shared information about the seven species of sea turtles and introduced simple conservation actions, such as reducing plastic use and keeping beaches clean, empowering children to make a difference for wildlife.
Polley personally dedicated 150 hours to the project. She was supported by a 26-member volunteer team known as the Clutch Crew, who contributed an additional 262 hours, bringing the total to 412 service hours. Together, they organized donations, assembled supplies and delivered each Shell Buddy Box with care.
Her leadership also extended to advocacy. Polley submitted a proclamation request to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis seeking recognition of April 12 as Florida Sea Turtle Day. Financial support from a Jane Goodall Institute Roots & Shoots grant and a Gulf Youth Ambassador stipend enabled her to invest more than $4,000 into the initiative.
“It feels amazing knowing what I created with the S.H.E.A. project brought smiles to healing children and more attention to protecting sea turtles,” said Polley.
Through The S.H.E.A. Project, Polley demonstrated how one young leader — guided by compassion and purpose — can create waves of healing and awareness that touch both hearts and oceans.
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