Check out our 2008 GOLD/SILVER AWARDEES!
Learn about SCHOLARSHIPS for girls who have earned the Gold Award!
A Tradition of Honoring Girls
The Golden Eagle of Merit, the highest award in Girl Scouting from 1916 to 1919, marked the beginning of a long tradition of using prestigious awards to recognize girls who make a difference in their communities and in their own lives. From 1940 to 1963, the Curved Bar Award was the highest honor in Girl Scouting. From 1963 to 1980, First Class was the highest award.
To achieve First Class meant that a girl was an "all-around" person with some skills in many fields an a proficiency in one.
|
|
Gold Award
Highest Award for Girls Ages 14-18
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award that a Girl Scout 14-18 may earn. Someone once described the Girl Scout Gold Award as being "what you really want to be remembered for" in Girl Scouting. For many, the leadership skills, organizational skills, and sense of community and commitment that come from "going for the Gold" set the foundation for a lifetime of active citizenship.
The Gold Award project is the culmination of all the work a girl puts into "going for the Gold." It is something that a girl can be passionate about—in thought, deed, and action. The project is something that fulfills a need within a girl's community (whether local or global), creates change, and hopefully, is something that becomes ongoing. If it is an event, the event should be something that people will want to continue for the next year; if it is a service, it should be something that creates change or action with long-term possibilities, empowering others besides just the girl; if it is something tangible, it should come with a plan for use and maintenance within the community. The project is more than a good service project—it encompasses organizational, leadership, and networking skills. If a group of girls work on the project together, each girl must be responsible for a specific part of the project and must evaluate her participation as an individual and a member of the group. For more info click here.
Good versus Great!
A Girl Scout Gold Award project is different from a good community service project. It should involve girl planning,
leadership and decision making and focuses on addressing a real need in your community. When working as a group,
each girl needs to play an individual role. Here are several examples of good service projects that have expanded
into great Girl Scout Gold projects.
| Good Service Project |
|
Great Girl Scout Gold Award Projects! |
Volunteering many hours at a Park Service site picking up litter. |
|
Reseeding an area with native vegetation and ridding area of non-native vegetation. Creating an interpretive guide on what the area was like 50 years ago and why it is important to preserve native species. |
Working at the local library doing children's story hours or conducting a book drive for the juvenile detention center. |
|
Creating a reading program for a migrant work camp in the summer. Assuring that each child receives a book (bilingual) of their own. Matching young children with volunteer tutors from the high school Spanish club to create an ongoing service project. |
Volunteering to collect games and food at the mall for a teen center. |
|
Creating a health access booklet for teens in the community; culminating with a teen health fair with various organizations presenting their services. Admission is canned goods for a teen center. |
Acting in a play to commemorate the 100th anniversary of a community. |
|
Researching and writing a script for a cemetery tour focusing on the founders of the community. Casting parts, creating costumes and arranging for a series of evening cemetery tours to kick off the founding of the community. |
Planting flowers in a park during a community service day. |
|
Working with the city parks department to start a public gardening project in your community. Providing food to a food bank from the garden. Using a greenhouse at a school to start plants yearly with kids and retired folks as mentors. |
For more information regarding the GOLD AWARD, please contact
Kathi Day
(562)860-9237
*******************************************************************************
Silver Award
Highest Award for Girls 11-14
The Girl Scout Silver Award represents a girl's accomplishments in Girl Scouting and her community as she grows and works to improve her life and the lives of others. The first four requirements of the Girl Scout Silver Award help girls build skills, explore careers, gain leadership skills, and make a commitment to self-improvement. The Girl Scout Silver Award Project can be undertaken when the first four requirements are completed. It can be done as an individual or with a group. If done with a group, a girl must be responsible for a specific part of the project and evaluate her contribution to the project and the group.
A girl must be 11 or going into the sixth grade to begin work on STEPS 1-4 of her Girl Scout Silver Award. She must be 12 or going into the seventh grade to start work on STEPS 5 and 6 of the Girl Scout Silver Award Project. She must complete STEPS 5 and 6 by age 14 or before the start of the 10th grade. For more information click here.
*******************************************************************************
Bronze Award
Highest Award for Junior Girl Scouts
The Girl Scout Bronze Award, the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can earn, requires her to learn the leadership and planning skills necessary to follow through on a project that makes a positive impact on her community. Working towards this award demonstrates her commitment to helping others, improving her community and the world, and becoming the best she can be.
Girls may work on the award individually or in a group. All of the requirements for the Bronze Award must be met before leaving Junior Girl Scouts. However, earning a Bronze Award is not a prerequisite for the Girl Scout Silver Award (for Girl Scouts 11-14) or the Girl Scout Gold Award (for Girl Scouts 14-17). For more information click here.
|
