Why are Journeys prerequisites to earning the Girl Scout Bronze,
Silver, and Gold Awards?
The Journeys let girls
experience what they’ll do as they work to earn Girl Scouting’s
highest awards. The skills girls gain while working on Journeys will
help them develop, plan, and implement Take Action projects for their
Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award.
How do girls know when a Journey is
"completed?"
A Journey is completed when a girl
has earned the Journey awards, which include creating and carrying out
a Take Action project.
What makes the guidelines for Girl Scouting’s highest awards
different from those for the Journeys?
In contrast to
Journey Take Action projects, which give girls themes on which to base
their projects, Girl Scout Gold Award Take Action projects to have no
predesigned theme. A girl selects her own theme, and then designs and
executes a Take Action project.
What are the suggested hours for earning each of the
awards?
Not all projects will require the same length of
time to move from planning to sharing and celebration. The time it
takes to earn the awards will depend on the nature of the project, the
size of the team, and the degree of community support. Quality
projects should be emphasized over quantity of hours. After Journey
requirements are fulfilled, the suggested minimum number of hours to
use as a guide is:
- Bronze Award: 20 hours
- Silver Award: 50 hours
- Gold Award: 80 hours
Can a troop work toward an award together?
Each award
level brings a new progression of leadership development and each
award level has different group guidelines. At the Bronze level, girls
must work together in a team setting. When girls work on their Silver
Award, they have the option to work individually or in a small group
setting. The Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl
Scouting, which girls must earn as individuals.
Can girls begin working on their awards the summer after they
bridge (transition) from one Girl Scout level to the next?
Yes. Girls can begin to earn the awards over the summer.
Can Take Action projects for the Girl Scout Bronze, Silver, and
Gold Awards focus on Girl Scouting?
Take Action projects
for the Girl Scout Bronze Award may focus on service in support of the
Girl Scout movement, while Take Action projects for the Girl Scout
Silver Award and Gold Award are expected to reach into the community
to "make the world a better place." The award progression is
planned to offer younger girls the opportunity to develop their
planning and leadership skills within the comfort and familiarity of
Girl Scouting. As they mature in Girl Scouts, Cadettes, Seniors, and
Ambassadors are ready to move beyond the Girl Scout family to share
their leadership skills with the wider community. It is in fully
exploring their communities that older girls exemplify the Girl Scout
mission to "build girls of courage, confidence, and character,
who make the world a better place."
If a girl starts working on her Take Action project and moves, can
she still earn her award?
Councils and Overseas
Committees are encouraged to be flexible to work and serve girls’ best
interests. If a girl moves, she should work with her council and/or
Overseas Committees to complete her project.
Who are the adult guides for council staff, parents, or
volunteers?
Any adult is welcome to use the adult guides.
The guides were designed for volunteers working directly with girls
who are earning their awards.
Do we need a different set of requirements for girls with
disabilities to earn the Girl Scout Bronze, Silver, and Gold
Awards?
No. Girl Scout Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award
work is done to the best of a girl’s ability. There is no need to have
special requirements for girls with disabilities—encourage flexibility
and the recruitment of advisors that can work with the girl individually.
Can a troop or group work toward a Gold Award together?
The Gold Award is an individual girl’s journey. The Gold Award
process requires a girl to take control of her leadership development
and grow in new ways that a group setting cannot provide. This is a
commitment she makes and completes as an individual.
Is sustainability differentiated at each grade level?
The guidelines give girls tools to examine the underlying root
cause of issues, develop sustainable project plans, and measure the
impact of their projects on their communities, target audiences, and
themselves. There is progression. While Girl Scout Juniors working on
their Girl Scout Bronze Awards will reflect on how their projects
could be kept going, Girl Scout Cadettes plan for sustainability.
Seniors and Ambassadors work to ensure the sustainability of their
project in order to meet Gold Award standards of excellence.
While Juniors explore an issue that affects their Girl Scout
community, Cadettes create a community map of their neighborhood or
school. Meanwhile, Seniors and Ambassadors earning the Gold Award
assess an issue and its effect more broadly by interviewing community
leaders, researching using a variety of sources, and investigating
other communities’ solutions to similar problems.
Who can earn the Girl Scout Gold Award?
A girl must be a
registered Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador.
Can
individually registered girl members or “Juliettes” earn the Girl
Scout Gold Award?
Yes. Any girl who meets the grade-level
and membership requirements can earn her Girl Scout Gold Award.
Does a Senior or Ambassador need to complete the two Journeys in
any particular order?
No. She can complete either two
Girl Scout Senior-level journeys, two Ambassador-level Journeys, or
one of each.
How can we make sure that Girl Scout awards represent quality
projects?
The best way to make sure a girl is working at
the best of her ability is to ensure that both she and her project
advisor receive orientation about the award and understand the
difference between a one-time community service opportunity or event
and a Girl Scout Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award Take Action project.
It’s the responsibility of the troop/group volunteer, council staff
member, or Gold Award committee to work with the girl to ensure she
meets the quality requirements of the award.
What is the difference between a troop/group volunteer and a Girl
Scout Gold Award project advisor? Do girls need both?
A troop/group volunteer is the adult who works with Girl Scouts.
Once a girl identifies her issue, the troop/group volunteer might help
her identify a person in the community who could be a great project
advisor.
A Girl Scout Gold Award project advisor is a
volunteer who guides a girl as she takes her project from the planning
stage to implementation. The project advisor is typically not a girl’s
parent or a Girl Scout troop/group volunteer. The project advisor is
typically someone from the community who is knowledgeable about the
issue and who can provide guidance and expertise along the way.
Why can’t a parent be a Girl Scout Gold Award project
advisor?
Girls are encouraged to connect with others in
their communities when earning the Girl Scout Gold Award. That means
working with a project advisor who is not her parent.
At what point should a Girl Scout Gold Award project advisor be
identified?
The project advisor should be identified in
the planning phase before the Girl Scout Gold Award project proposal
is turned in to the council. The project advisor expands the network
of adults and provides expertise for a girl’s project. If a girl has
an idea before she starts any work on her Gold Award, she might want
to identify her project advisor at the very beginning.
What is the role of a council’s Girl Scout Gold Award
committee?
Some councils have developed Girl Scout Gold
Award Committees to support Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors as they
go through the process of earning their Gold Awards. Girl Scout Gold
Award Committees are typically comprised of community members,
educators, key volunteers, and young women who have earned their Girl
Scout Gold Awards. The committee works with designated council
staff.
The committee’s role is to ensure girls’ projects
meet the national guidelines. Generally, the committee reviews Girl
Scout Gold Award project proposals makes recommendations for project
development and resources, reads the final reports, and makes
recommendations to the council on whether to approve the projects. In
some councils, the committee approves the projects. If a girl’s
project has not yet achieved its goals, the committee provides
suggestions and tips to help her develop a high-quality Gold Award project.
When will I hear back from the Girl Scout Gold Award committee?
The committee meets during the second week of the month to
review initial submissions. You should hear back from the committee no
later than the third week of the month after you submit.
What does it mean to have a sustainable project?
A
sustainable project is one that lasts after the girl’s involvement
ends. A focus on education and raising awareness is one way to make
sure a project is carried on. Workshops and hands-on learning sessions
can inspire others to keep the project going. Another way to create a
sustainable project is by collaborating with community groups, civic
associations, nonprofit agencies, local government, and/or religious
organizations to ensure the project lasts beyond a girl’s involvement.
How does a girl measure project impact?
Girls identify
their project goals in relation to their communities, target
audiences, and themselves by developing success indicators using a
matrix provided in the Gold Award guidelines.
Can a
girl earn the Girl Scout Gold Award even if she hasn’t been in Girl
Scouts very long?
Yes! She just needs to be a registered
Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador to begin her Gold Award project.
What if a girl is 18 and graduating? Can she complete her project
when she is in college?
A girl has until she turns 18 or
until the end of the Girl Scout membership year (September 30) when
she is a senior in high school.
What if a girl graduates and is 18 and doesn’t have her project
completed?
In this case, a girl would have until
September 30 of the year she graduates.
What if a girl’s project is not completed by the time of her
council’s ceremony?
This is up to the girl. She might be
recognized among her peers for her work-in-progress at her council’s
Girl Scout Gold Award ceremony, be honored in a separate ceremony, or
come back for the following year’s ceremony. If the council has a set
time for honoring Girl Scout Gold Awardees, girls should be notified
when they begin their project. Girls and their project advisors are
encouraged to work within the council’s timeline. Ceremony time should
not dictate whether or not a girl is able to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award.
Do girls working on Gold Award projects need to submit a pitch?
When can they do so?
Yes, girls wanting to earn the Gold
Award will also be required to submit a pitch. If a girl or Take
Action group would like to do Gold Award project that has aspects
focused on Girl Scouts or the Girl Scout community, they will need to
submit a pitch and get it approved before submitting their project proposal.
Does the time spent working on the pitch count on a girl’s project
hours?
Yes, the pitch is considered a part of the
planning process and can, therefore, be included in a girl’s final
hour tally. Please keep in mind that the maximum amount of planning
hours allowed in the final time tally is 10 hours.
What if a girl/Take Action group wants to hold a service unit event
or complete their project on a service unit level?
We
encourage our Service Unit teams to allow girls or Take Action teams
to pitch their events to them. All girls will still need to submit a
pitch and get it approved by the Higher Awards Specialist before
beginning their project. If a girl or Take Action group has any
questions about the pitch process, contact the Higher Awards
specialist at awards@girlscoutshcc.org for guidance and support.
