Frequently Asked Questions
Silver Award
Adults:
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Who can be an advisor on the Silver Award project?
Who approves the Silver Award?
What if the Troop Leader approves the Silver Award and it is not acceptable?
Deadlines:
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When do I have to finish my Silver Award?
If I am in a troop with girls that are in a grade behind me, can I get an extension to do
a Silver Award project with them and turn it in after the deadline?
General:
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How do I get started on the Silver Award?
Where can I find information about the Silver Award specific to the Girl Scouts of
Northern California?
Where can I find a training to listen to about how to do the Silver Award?
Is training for the Silver Award mandatory?
Do I have to turn in paperwork for the Silver Award?
Does the final report have to be typed?
What is the difference between a Journey Take Action project and an Award Take
Action project?
What is the difference between Community Service and a Take Action Project?
What if my entire troop wants to do a Silver Award project together as one project
and we have more than 4 girls in the troop?
Can the project volunteer hours be counted in the girl hours for the project?
When did the Girl Scouts of Northern California adopt the current requirements for
the Silver Award?
Prerequisites:
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Do I have to finish the prerequisites before beginning the Silver Award project?
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There are only 2 Journey books listed in The Girl Scout Silver Award Guidelines for Girl
Scout Cadettes, does that mean the third one does not count?
Is the Journey the only thing I have to do before starting my Silver Award project, just
one book?
For the Silver Award, do I have to complete an entire Journey, including the Journey
Take Action project before I can formulate my project and get started?
If I complete the entire Journey, including the Journey Take Action Project, and then
complete an Award Take Action Project, then I will be doing two Take Action Projects!
Adults:
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Who can be an advisor on the Silver Award project?
o Troop Leaders or Community Members who specialize in the topic of the Take
Action project. Parents cannot be the Silver Award Advisor even if the troop
leader is also the parent of an individual working on the project. Parents have
the important role of supporting a girl through her project.
Who approves the Silver Award?
o The Troop Leader approves the Silver Award.
What if the Troop Leader approves the Silver Award and it is not acceptable?
o The Troop Leader should be fully prepared and understand the rules and
regulations of the Silver Award according to the packet of information given as
well as the What Not To Do with the Silver Award guide. They should not begin
to mentor a group of Girl Scouts without knowing the base requirements of an
award project.
Deadlines:
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When do I have to finish my Silver Award?
o The Silver Award project must be finished by September 30th following the
completion of the 8th grade. (That is September 30th of the beginning of the 9th
grade.) Completion means the final report is turned in to the council office.
If I am in a troop with girls that are in a grade behind me, can I get an extension to do
a Silver Award project with them and turn it in after the deadline?
o No. If you are in a mixed grade troop you should either plan to begin and end
the project earlier or split into two groups allowing the older girls to complete
their Silver Award before the deadline.
General:
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How do I get started on the Silver Award?
o Start by visiting our website and reading The Girl Scouts Silver Award Guidelines
for Girl Scout Cadettes, which will explain how to start as well as all the steps
involved. Take the online training course if needed.
Where can I find information about the Silver Award specific to the Girl Scouts of
Northern California?
o Visit our website at girlscoutsnorcal.org/girls/awards/silver-award and it will
give you all of the information that you need to start and complete the Silver
Award.
Where can I find a training to listen to about how to do the Silver Award?
o An online Silver Award Training is available on our website at
girlscoutsnorcal.org/girls/awards/silver-award
Is training for the Silver Award mandatory?
o Silver Award Training is not mandatory. You can get all of the information
needed to start and complete the Silver Award through reading the available
materials on our website. If you choose to skip the online training, please read
all of the materials provided to educate yourself before beginning.
Do I have to turn in paperwork for the Silver Award?
o Yes, the Silver Award final report is required to be submitted for approval once
the Silver Award project is complete. You cannot purchase the Silver Award Pin
for your uniform until the project has been accepted by the council and your
name has been added to the official completion list.
Does the final report have to by typed?
o Yes, the Silver Award final report must be typed and printed in black ink.
What is the difference between a Journey Take Action project and an Award Take
Action project?
o The Journey Take Action project is formulated as a team and based on the topic
of the Journey. It is done within the Journey to complete and earn the Journey
Awards. The Journey Take Action project may be done by a group of girls or an
individual girl. It has no specified number of hours to earn it and may be focused
within Girl Scouts.
o The Silver Award Take Action project is based on the interest of the girls in the
Silver Award team of no more than 4 girls, and also on the needs of the
community. The Silver Award Take Action project has a suggested minimum
number of hours to earn of 50 per girl. They must develop a team of volunteers
to assist them in the project.
What is the difference between Community Service and a Take Action Project?
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o Being of service to others means being helpful – doing the right and kind thing.
Serving is often the immediate, and much needed, response to tragedy. But
service is also an everyday kindness. We are of service when we feed the
hungry, offer clothing to the homeless, or simply help a friend with a tough
homework assignment. In serving, we are most mindful of basic human needs:
food, clothing, shelter, care. Being of service is a vital way to help and care.
Collecting and donating items to an organization is a service and not a Take
action project.
When we move beyond immediate and necessary service to understand the
root causes of a problem, we move toward action. When we team up and
mobilize others in our efforts to find ways to solve that problem, we are taking
action. Action can happen in many ways – from partnering with your town or
school to organize more sports events for girls to getting the local toy store to
stop following stereotypes when selecting its inventory of merchandise for girls
to holding “Take Back the Night” events where teens have a safe and fun place
to hang out together once a month.
Service makes the world a better place for some people “right now.” Action
strives to make the world better for more people for a much longer time.
Sometimes, service and action can naturally blend together into one sustainable
effort. As a Girl Scout, you use both service and action to live out the Girl Scout
Law and “make the world a better place.”
What if my entire troop wants to do a Silver Award project together as one project
and we have more than 4 girls in the troop?
o The Silver Award team is no more than 4 girls per team with additional
volunteers to help them carry out their plan. It is a progression from doing the
Bronze Award as a troop or large group, to the Silver Award as a small team, to
the Gold Award as an individual. At the Silver Award level, you should be
stepping up to the challenge of taking on greater responsibility in your project
and smaller teams ensure that this will happen. Plan to do separate projects and
help each other as volunteers so you are still all working together and supporting
each other as Girl Scouts do.
Can the project volunteer hours be counted in the girl hours for the project?
o No, the 50 hours need to be that of each of the girls on the Silver Award Take
Action project team. The volunteer hours are nice to track to see how many
hours went into the project overall, but they cannot count other people’s hours
as their own.
When did the Girl Scouts of Northern California adopt the current requirements for
the Silver Award?
o The Girl Scouts of Northern California changed to the current requirements to
the Silver Award October 1, 2010.
Prerequisites:
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Do I have to finish the prerequisites before beginning the Silver Award project?
o Yes, that is why they are called prerequisites – “pre” meaning before and
“requisites” meaning requirements. They are required to be completed before
beginning the project.
There are only 2 Journey books listed in The Girl Scout Silver Award Guidelines for Girl
Scout Cadettes, does that mean the third one does not count?
o All Cadette Level Girl Scout Journeys available to date are acceptable Silver
Award prerequisites.
Is the Journey the only thing I have to do before starting my Silver Award project, just
one book?
o No. Once you complete the Journey, you must use The Girl Scout Silver Award
Guidelines for Girl Scout Cadettes to go through the process of formulating a
Silver Award project, and gain approval to begin the project from your troop
leader.
For the Silver Award, do I have to complete an entire Journey, including the Journey
Take Action project before I can formulate my project and get started?
o Yes, you must complete the entire Journey. You will know you have completed it
when you have earned every award offered in the Journey.
If I complete the entire Journey, including the Journey Take Action Project, and then
complete an Award Take Action Project, then I will be doing two Take Action Projects!
o Yes, to earn the highest award as a Cadette Girl Scout, you will be helping the
community two separate times.