FREEPORT – A Freeport teenager is going for the gold.

Deidre Sachs, 15, is working toward a Girl Scout Gold Award – the equivalent of an Eagle Scout Award for Boy Scouts. As part of that effort, she has just completed a one-week performing arts camp for seven young girls in a Freeport Housing Trust complex.

And she’s also set her sights on another Girl Scout honor – she is one of only 16 girls worldwide to be selected for the Girl Scout Destinations trip to Patagonia.

“Stage Right” not only represents her application for the Gold Award, but also the experience gave Sachs a great deal of satisfaction.

“For a lot of these kids, this was their first experience with performing arts,” Sachs said last Friday, following the final day of “Stage Right.” “I felt extremely honored to have worked with these girls. They were wonderful. When we left today we got a little bit teary. I said, ‘I’m going to miss these kids.’”

The Gold Award is given to a Girl Scout who develops a sustainable project focused on a community issue. The recommended minimum for hours spent on the project is 80. The topic is chosen by the girl, and can be almost anything, so long as it fits the requirements. A Girl Scouts committee will determine who wins the Gold Award. Applications are due on March 1, and the committee will announce the winners within a few weeks, Sachs said.

A sophomore at Freeport High School, Sachs is the daughter of Andrew and Melanie Sachs, the executive director of Freeport Community Services. Her high school activities include Model UN, WorldQuest Team, RSVP team, membership in the Women’s Ensemble, chorus and band. Sachs competed in District III and All-State Chorus competitions, played the lead in this year’s “Boys of Syracuse” school musical and is on the one-act-play drama team.

She is no stranger to volunteerism – an integral part of scouting.

“I remember when she was in kindergarten, age 4 and just starting out in Girl Scouts, when she heard about the Gold Award and told me quite firmly that she was going to ‘get a Gold some day,’” Melanie Sachs recalled. “It is amazing to see her develop this program, and to see her lead every aspect of it. She truly hopes to make a difference in the lives of these young girls.”

Sachs conceived, organized, devised program content and even identified staffing for “Stage Right.” It was all free for the young girls, with lunch and snacks provided. Three adults and a high school student provided the staff for the February vacation fun.

On Monday, Sachs created the choreography for a musical. Sachs did the singing, and conducted auditions.

Improvisation was the theme on Tuesday.

“It was making things up on the spot, which is huge in theater,” said Sachs, who has also performed with the Freeport Players and Midcoast Youth Theater.

The children had fun on Wednesday with physical comedy, and the exaggerated body movement that goes with it.

On Thursday, the girls learned about behind-the-scenes matters such as set and costume design.

The grand finale came on Friday, as parents were invited to a show.

“We highlighted the week’s activities,” Sachs said. “They made up their own choreography. The parents loved it. The kids got T-shirts.”

Guest speakers, arranged by Sachs, included local actors and play directors, a stunt man and women who do sound effects for shows. They came in every day to teach the campers further skills.

Sachs logged more than 50 of her total hours needed to be considered for the Gold Award.

“I had a wonderful staff that made this all possible,” she said. “They were very supportive. Alone, I would not have been able to run the camp. It’s as simple as that. The kids absolutely adored them.”

The Gold Award would be nice, of course. Even more exciting, perhaps, will be a week-long trip the the Southern Patagonia region of Chile. Sachs is one of only 16 girls worldwide to be selected for the Girl Scout Destinations program to the “bottom of the world,” from Dec. 27-Jan. 4, 2015. She will be among a select group of girls between the ages of 15 and 18 to explore and learn about that part of the world.

Her trip will involve outdoor activities and adventures, including kayaking through the Straits of Magellan, local sea life and shipwrecks, a horseback ride through the wetlands and forests outside Punta Arenas, hiking through Pali Aike National Park, a full-day glacier cruise to the Serrano Glaciers and a zodiac trip to Marta and Magdalena Islands to see the Magellanic Penguins and sea lions.

In her application to the Girl Scout Destinations program, Sachs detailed what she does in her spare time, hobbies, school activities and her scouting experience.

“I was told about it two days before my application was due,” Sachs recalled. “My parents said, ‘Oh, let’s see if you can get your application in on time.’ I handed it in the day of.”

Sachs said she can’t wait for the trip.

“I am so excited for this trip,” she said. “I’m still kind of saying, ‘What am I doing?’”

Sachs hopes to share what she learns on her journey with other girls and community organizations in Freeport and across the region upon her return.

Sachs joined the Girl Scouts when she was living in Hampden. When her family moved to Freeport, there was no Girl Scouts troop there, so her mother started one. Troop 116 has since disbanded, but Sachs remains a Girl Scout.

“Once you reach a certain level and there’s no troop in your area, you can ask to be a Juliette (individually registered Girl Scouts not connected to a troop),” she said. “My mother is still the leader.”

So Sachs, whose future plans include college, is in her 11th year of scouting.

“I really love the community service aspect of Girl Scouts,” she said. “I’m very, very community-oriented.”

Deidre Sachs