For six Lawrence Girl Scouts who earned a scout’s highest honor Sunday, the award was more about the legacy their project leaves behind.

Kathleen Finnegan talks about her experience with Girl Scout Troop 623 during the Gold Award Ceremony for the troop members at the Lawrence Visitor Center on Sunday. Six scouts received the organization's highest award for collecting musical instruments for the Lawrence school district.

The six members of Girl Scout Troop 623 collected more than 35 musical instruments that will be refurbished and donated to Lawrence public schools for students to use.

“To know we have helped bring music to these children’s lives is a great feeling,” Girl Scout Cali Burke said.

Burke, Amy Coons, Kathleen Finnegan, Taylor Fulton, Michelle Jones and Paula Kyriakos received their Gold Awards on their vests and sashes Sunday afternoon during a ceremony in front of 50 people at the Lawrence Visitor Center, 402 N. Second St.

“I can see that all of our hard work was worth it,” Fulton said.

The troop members for several months organized the drive “Helping Through Harmony: Bringing Instruments Bach to Students.” In addition to helping out with Girl Scout cookie sales in Douglas County last year, they also had to publicize and organize the drive.

Finnegan said they all have an interest in music, so the topic for their project was an easy one to choose.

After a presentation to members of the Kaw Valley Girl Scout Council in November, the six troop members collected the instruments at several city and school concerts the last few months.

One man even donated a $2,500 clarinet to the effort.

The troop members congratulated each other for sticking with Girl Scouts for several years, even when it may not be “cool” to go to meetings in high school.

“I was going to stay in Girl Scouts because I was going to get my Gold Award,” Kyriakos said.

A small percentage of Girl Scouts make it this far, troop leaders said.

“You join a fabulously elite group of women who have gotten the Gold Award,” said Marcia West, coordinator for the Older Girl Scouts of Douglas County.

The scouts also thanked their leadership for keeping them on task through the process.

“Without Margaret Townsend, there is no way we could have done half the things that people recognize us for,” Finnegan said of the troop’s leader.

The scouts also recognized Sara Kyriakos, assistant troop leader, and former troop member Melanie Wiens-Kind, who had moved from Lawrence.

Burke, Coons and Fulton will be seniors at Free State High School in the fall. Jones and Kyriakos will be seniors at Lawrence High School.

Finnegan graduated from LHS in May and will attend Emporia State University in the fall.