Girl Scouts of Western New York
Girl Scout Silver Award
Online Training
Please have the following ready for
the online training session:
-
GSWNY Silver Award Packet
- GSWNY Silver Award Paperwork
- GSWNY Online Training Packet
The Girl Scout Silver Award is the
highest award that Girl Scout
Cadettes can earn. The Silver Award
has been around for 35 years. It was
introduced in 1980.
What are the benefits of
earning the Silver Award?
Higher Education
• Distinguish yourself among competition for college
• Join an elite network of Silver Award recipients
• Scholarship opportunities for Silver Award recipients
Life Skills
• Be a role model
• Empower yourself to lead
• Enhance self-worth/confidence
Community
• Tackle an issue, locally or globally
• Learn to provide a sustainable solution to the
community
• Establish a lifetime network of peers and advisors
Prerequisites
A. Girls must be in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade
and a registered Girl Scout.
B. Complete 1 Girl Scout Cadette
Journey:
Amaze, Breathe, or Media
( A Journey is completed when the award(s)
within the Journey have been completed.)
The Silver Award Take
Action Project:
A leadership-based Take Action Project that:
Requires 50 hours of your participation
Should be approved by your leader or advisor before you begin
Can be implemented either individually or with a small group of
2-4 girls
Focuses on addressing a community need outside of Girl Scouts
Should be Sustainable and Measurable addressing a root cause
Eight Steps for Girls to
earn their Silver Award
1. Go on a Cadette Journey
2. Identify Issues You Care About
3. Build Your Girl Scout Silver Award Team
4. Explore Your Community
5. Pick Your Take Action Project
6. Develop Your Project
7. Make a Plan and Put It Into Motion
8. Reflect, Share Your Story, and Celebrate
1. Go On a Cadette
Journey
There are Three Cadette Journeys
2. Identify Issues
You Care About
Decision-Making Tips
• What inspires you / what matters
most to you?
•
What skills/talents do you have to
offer?
•
What would benefit your
community immediately and longterm?
•
How do you want to make a
difference?
2. Identify Issues
You Care About
•
•
You can use the Issues Chart in the
Silver Award Packet to begin
brainstorming Issues you care
about.
This is not your project, just a list
to help get you started with
thinking about issues, and where
you can make a difference in your
community.
2. Identify Issues
You Care About
2. Identify Issues
You Care About
3. Build Your Girl
Scout Silver Award
Team

No more than 4 girls to a project.

Silver Award can be earned as an individual.

Seek out and recognize the strengths of others.

Respect different points of view and ways of working.

Communication and Cooperation are key to a successful team.

Recruit a Project Advisor who will bring special skills to your project.
3. Build Your Girl Scout
Silver Award Team
Use the following tips to create a great team whose members are
committed to:
• Respecting different points of view and ways of work
• Contributing to the project—everyone needs to help out! All girls
need to put in 50 hours
• Accepting constructive suggestions
• Working together to create and develop a plan
• Resolving conflicts
Team members don’t always agree, but leaders know how to help
others get along. When disagreements arise, remember:
• To be considerate and respectful of your fellow teammates
• To be a sister to every Girl Scout on your team
• That communication and cooperation are very important when
working with others
4.Explore Your
Community
• What is a community you belong to?
• Every Community has its own needs. Looking at the
needs will help you gain a better understanding of your
community as well as help make a decision about your
priorities for improvement.
• Problems are a part of life, every community has
problems too. Like people communities try and solve
their problems. Analyzing problems helps find
solutions.
• No one knows you community better than you do!
4.Explore Your
Community
• Make a List of issues in your community.
• Use the Community Contact List in the Silver Award
Packet to start listing individuals that can help with
issues in your community.
• These are great individuals to contact as project
advisors later down the road.
• You can start comparing the issues you care about and
the issues in your community.
• Do any of the issues overlap? Is there an issue you
are passionate about that is also a need in your own
community?
• How can you make a lasting difference?
4.Explore Your
Community
5. Pick Your Take
Action Project
• Now that you have explored your community, and you
know what issues you are passionate about, it is time to
choose a take action project.
• Your team and you need to review what you have
learned, and pick a project, where you think you can
create change.
• Several issues are big and complicated – and hard to
fix! You will need to narrow down the issue, and focus
on ONE root cause, and create a project to address that
specific aspect of the problem.
• Mind Mapping
• Mind Mapping is a great tool to break an issue down into
Root Causes.
• Mind Mapping can then also be used to break a root
cause into a reasonable Take Action Project.
5. Pick Your Take
Action Project
• Mind Mapping Activity
Here Mind Mapping is used to show Root Causes of
Car Crashes.
5. Pick Your Take
Action Project
• Mind Mapping Activity
Now Mind Mapping is used to show take action
project ideas to address the issue of texting while
driving.
5. Pick Your Take
Action Project
• Mind Mapping Activity
6. Develop Your
Project
•
Set goals
•
Develop a timeline
•
Think about money earning & set a budget
•
What insurance will you need for any events
•
Is the project realistic
•
Get your project approved by your Leader
•
Log your hours
•
Ensure your plan is:
• Sustainable
• Measurable
6. Develop Your
Project
•
What Talents do you bring to the project
•
What issues could arise – how will we
work to solve the problems
•
Who can help us with our project
•
Does this issue reach out nationally or
globally
•
Ensure your plan is:
•
•
Sustainable – Make it last!
Measurable – How can you tell you
made a difference
Take Action vs Community Service
6. Develop Your
Project
Ensure your plan is:
Sustainable – Make it last!
What does it mean to have a sustainable project?
To be sustainable, you must ensure that your project
creates lasting change after your involvement ends. A
sustainable project is not a one-time event.
Measurable – How can you tell you made a difference?
How does a girl measure project impact?
The success of a project should be measurable based on
the number of people the project helped, the number of
people who were involved, a reduction in the community’s
need, or other concrete numbers.
Take Action vs Community Service
6. Develop Your
Project
Example #1
Community Service Project: A troop held a clothing drive to help the homeless.
What is the problem? Homeless do not have clothing to stay warm.
What is a root cause of the problem? There is not a set place for homeless to turn to for
clothes and needed supplies to stay warm.
What is a Take Action Project that is sustainable and creates a lasting difference? Work
with the community to set up a clothing closet that they would be open all year, to help
support the homeless.
How can you measure the impact of the Take Action Project? You can keep track of how
many individuals you are able to provide clothing to over a set period of time. (We were
able to provide clothing to 250 individuals over three months.) You can keep track of
how much clothing you were able to provide. (We were able to provide over 1500 items
of clothing to homeless in the community over a 60 day period.)
6. Develop Your
Project
Example #2
Community Service Project: A troop held an Earth Day Clean-Up event.
What is the problem?
What is a root cause of the problem?
What is a Take Action Project that is sustainable and creates a lasting
difference?
How can you measure the impact of the Take Action Project?
Example #3
Community Service Project: A troop held a book drive for children who don’t
have books at home.
What is the problem?
What is a root cause of the problem?
What is a Take Action Project that is sustainable and creates a lasting
difference?
How can you measure the impact of the Take Action Project?
6. Develop Your
Project
Example #2
Community Service Project: A troop held an Earth Day Clean-Up event at the
park.
What is the problem? Litter/trash in the community.
What is a root cause of the problem? No access to trash bins for proper
disposal at the park.
What is a Take Action Project that is sustainable and creates a lasting
difference? Work with your local government to set up trash cans/recycling
and trash pick-up at the park.
How can you measure the impact of the Take Action Project? You can track
how much garbage is kept out of the park. (We were able to keep 750lbs of
trash from being left at the park over the last year.)
6. Develop Your
Project
Example #3
Community Service Project: A troop held a book drive for children who don’t
have books at home.
What is the problem? Kids don’t have access to books at home.
What is a root cause of the problem? The families do not have the funding to
provide books for kids at home.
What is a Take Action Project that is sustainable and creates a lasting
difference? Create a semi-yearly book drive with a community based agency,
which can ensure to continue the book drives yearly for children.
How can you measure the impact of the Take Action Project? You can track
how many books you are able to provide. (We provided children with 3500
books this year.) You can track how many children you help. (We provided 375
children with books for home.)
7. Make a Plan and
Put It Into Motion
CAN YOU SAY YES?
The answers to all of the questions below should be yes before you begin your
Silver Award Take Action project.
• Will your project demonstrate your leadership skills?
• Have you set your project goal and identified what you would like to learn?
• Have you chosen your Take Action team? Have you discussed the project with
them?
• Have you created a budget for the project?
• Have you created a plan to raise funds, if necessary?
• Have you made a timeline for your project?
• Does your project address a need in the local community and have you found
national and/or global links?
• Can your project be sustainable?
• Does your project challenge your abilities and your interests?
7. Make a Plan and
Put It Into Motion
I can say yes!, Now What?
It is time to get started!
• Use the Make a Plan Worksheet in the Silver
Award Paperwork to outline your plan.
• You will be including this sheet when you turn in
your Silver Award Paperwork to Council.
• Make sure to keep track of the time spent while
working on the project in the hours log.
• When you have identified all your steps and goals
– get to it!
• Complete your Silver Award Take Action Project.
• Make sure to document your progress to
share.
• Take pictures or videos or make a story.
7. Make a Plan and
Put It Into Motion
8. Reflect, Share your story
and Celebrate Your Project
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reflect on what you have accomplished!
What impact have you made?
Share what you have learned to help inspire others to make a
difference as well.
Thank the people that have helped you on your Silver Award
journey.
CELEBRATE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!
Submit your Final Project Report to GSWNY by September 30th of
the year you enter 9th grade including:
•
•
•
•
Log of Hours
Advisor’s signature
Project Short Answers
Make A Plan Worksheet
8. Reflect, Share your story
and Celebrate Your Project
Points to Remember
Suggested minimum of 50 hours from the start of
planning to the end of your project.
Your Take Action Project must focus on the
community (outside of Girl Scouting).
The Take Action Project must have your leader’s
approval.
The project must be sustainable and measurable.
All requirements are completed and submitted to the
council by September 30 of the year that you enter
9th grade.
[email protected]
QUESTIONS?
Call Out
Example
Girl Scouts of Western New York
Girl Scout Silver Award
Online Training