Way to Go: Jane Gurney of East Norwich

An East Norwich student has transformed a school project on guide dogs into a new patch for local Girl Scouts.

Jane Gurney, a fifth-grader at James H. Vernon Elementary School, recently created the “All About Guide Dogs Patch Program” in collaboration with the Girl Scouts of Nassau County.

Girls in local troops will be able to earn the patch starting this spring, with “hands-on materials and an easy-to-follow guide” developed to help volunteers deliver the program, Girl Scouts officials said. Girls will have to complete a series of activities, such as navigating a guide-dog obstacle course.

Jane, 11, was inspired after hearing stories about her father’s friend Jim Hughes, a teacher in the Farmingdale school district, who is blind. The idea started as an independent-study project last year, with her mother subsequently coordinating a meeting for Jane to present a slideshow to Girl Scouts representatives.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Jane said. “In the beginning, I didn’t really think it would come to this.”

To promote the patch, she will speak and host a booth at the Girl Scouts of Nassau County’s Family FunDay at Old Bethpage Village Restoration on April 22.

Jane plays percussion in her school’s band and is an alternate class representative in Student Council. She also is a competitive dancer at Gone Dancing in Oyster Bay.

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.