Lelia Brady is creating a comic book, “The PMHS Survival Guide Book,” for freshman and new students making the transition to Pelham Memorial High School as her final project for the Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouts. She held a backyard fundraiser Sunday to raise money for the effort.

“It is for anyone who doesn’t have an upperclassman or older sibling (they) who can ask questions about the school,” said Brady, a PMHS junior. “I thought I owed it to them to create something that they could refer to and to sort of reduce the anxiety of coming to a new school.”

Brady started as a Daisy like many scouts and rose through the ranks.

The fundraising event featured crafts, outdoor games, a bake sale and performances by the Crimson Utopia and Brady’s band, The Heartbeats. She raised a total of $300 from admissions and the bake sale.

PMHS Principal Mark Berkowitz has been mentoring Brady through the process of publishing her book. Now that the money has been raised, Brady will print the book for next year’s incoming class of freshmen.

The Gold Award “is the highest honor a Girl Scout can get, so it is definitely a privilege that I have the opportunity,” said Brady. “It is really great all the support I have gotten from my friends, my family, Mr. Berkowitz and all my advisors, so I am really excited about it.”

(Leila Brady is a contributing editor for the Pelham Examiner.)