Melville Girl Scout awarded scholarship for supporting family caregivers
After watching members of her own family care for loved ones battling Parkinson’s disease and cancer, Suffolk County Girl Scout Samaya Syali saw firsthand the emotional and physical toll that caregiving can take.
Their experiences inspired Syali to create “Care for Caregivers,” her 2026 Girl Scout Gold Award project, designed to raise awareness of caregiver burnout, connect caregivers with resources and remind them that caring for themselves is important, too.
“My uncle has Parkinson’s and for the last 20 or so years, my aunt has dedicated her life to caring for him as he battles this truly debilitating disease,” Syali said. “While she does this with grace, the work does take a toll on her.”
Syali also saw other relatives struggle with the guilt and burnout that can accompany caring for a loved one with a serious illness. Through research, she learned more about caregiver syndrome and discovered what she believed was a need for greater awareness, recognition and support for caregivers.
Syali first submitted her Gold Award proposal to Girl Scouts of Suffolk County in the summer of 2024 and received approval to begin the project in May 2025. Over the following months, she devoted more than 80 hours to developing Care for Caregivers, a website that provides information and resources to help caregivers better understand burnout and find ways to practice self-care, completing the project in September 2025. The Gold Award is the highest achievement in Girl Scouting and challenges Girl Scouts to identify an issue, develop a sustainable solution and take action to create meaningful change.
Syali also developed and distributed informational brochures and conducted surveys to better understand caregivers’ needs, using that information to organize an event specifically for caregivers. Through donations and support from members of the community, Syali assembled care baskets and secured donated gift cards.
“At the event, we gave out the care baskets and had many activities to make them feel seen, which truly felt rewarding,” Syali said.
The project’s impact will continue even after the completion of Syali’s Gold Award. This fall, Samaya will attend Vanderbilt University, where she hopes to continue exploring caregiver burnout through research, service initiatives and potentially a student organization devoted to the issue.
“I’d love to conduct research on caregiver syndrome and the best ways to bring awareness and combat this,” Syali said. “I’d love to continue this project in college, possibly through service initiatives and starting a club. I hope to build on what I did with Girl Scouts’ help.”
For more information about Care for Caregivers and to access caregiver resources, visit careforcaregiversawareness.net.
