Tewksbury High senior Ann Pastorello has been a Girl Scout for the past 12 years in Troop 60363. This year she has been working on her last project before gaining elegibility to earn her Gold Award.

For Girl Scouts, the Gold Award is the equivalent to earning an Eagle Award in Boy Scouts. 

While volunteering as a dog walker at the Methuen Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center [MSPCA-Angell], Pastorello asked staff there if they needed any help.

"They said why don't you make cat blankets," said Pastorello, who took the idea and turned it into her Gold Award project.

"It's a good cause, and I think she learned a lot," said Ann's father Charles Pastorello. "She got a lot of people involved in bringing a project, so it was good learning experience for her."

Planning to drop off around 50 blankets to the MSPCA next week, Pastorello feels it is an honor to give her blankets to the organization so cats can stay warm this winter.

"I'm very proud of her," said Ann's mother Joan Pastorello. "It's a higher level in girlscouts. It's the highest level you can go, so I'm very proud of her. Not many people reach that level."