Advocating for Veterans

Advocating for Veterans was a Gold Award Project done by Girl Scout Melissa McHenry and earned in 2015.

Knowing that a fire had destroyed much of the interior of a local VFW Post, Melissa wanted to fill the walls with artwork full of American pride. She spent time interviewing and working with veterans to learn about the different branches of the armed forces and the service some of the veterans provided for the nation. She also developed an educational component to her art project to help inform others about her project and the veterans’ contribution.

Melissa chose the VFW and all the Veterans to help achieve her Gold Award in the Girl Scouts by combining her love of art and her desire to give back to veterans. She made a presentation to the Veterans of Lynbrook and painted this beautiful painting that now hangs proudly in the Lynbrook VFW post.

On May 9, 2016, Melissa died suddenly at her home in Lynbrook, New York, just after she finished her first year of college at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts at the age of 18.

On January 3, 2018, the Girl Scouts of Nassau County paid a tribute to Melissa at the Friendship Tree Ceremony - Melissa McHenry.