The Girl Scout Silver Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn. It is indicative of your commitment to the Girl Scout movement and to your community. Earning the Silver gives you the chance to show that you are a leader who is organized, determined, and dedicated to improving your community.
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PREREQUISITES TO WORKING ON
THE GIRL SCOUT SILVER AWARD
Girls must have:
* Completed the Fifth Grade and be registered as a Girl Scout Cadette
* Completed one Girl Scout Cadette Journey
Fulfilling the requirements for the Girl Scout Silver Award starts with completing one Girl Scout Cadette journey. Each journey you complete gives you the skills you need to plan and implement your Take Action project.
After you have completed your journey, 50 hours is the suggested minimum time for earning your Girl Scout Silver Award. These suggested hours are a guide. You can start by planning the time in chunks and dividing it up into steps.
Giving girls the opportunity to explore and strive toward lasting change is a great learning experience that stays with them—even if the end result is not all they hoped for. For example, if Cadettes on the aMAZE journey decide to advocate for a new board of education policy that would benefit girls, it would be wonderful if that policy were adopted. But even if it is not, what the Cadettes did was important: They spoke up and networked, and now they understand what it takes to influence change.
Girls can identify community needs.
To have an effective Take Action project, girls must first find out what the community needs.
Girls are resourceful problem solvers. Girls will learn how to
identify the root cause of the issue
they choose to address. In addition, girls will undoubtedly face roadblocks during their projects, which means they will need to come up with creative ways to solve the problems that arise.
Note: A root cause is the origin of the problem. Take Action always attempts to identify the root of a problem, instead of simply addressing the symptoms.
Girls advocate for
themselves and others,
locally and globally
. As they learn about the issues in their community and work to solve them, girls stand up for issues they believe in, influence policy, and identify ways to continue their project goals into the future.
Girls educate and inspire others to act.
Girls educate others about issues that are important to the community and inspire others to act.
Girls feel empowered to make a difference in the world. Girls develop leadership skills and use the knowledge they gain through their experiences to improve their community . . . and the world!
Like so many other areas of Girl Scouting, Take Action increases in complexity from the youngest grade levels to the oldest. At the Girl Scout Cadette level, a girl is expected to understand the difference between a quick fix and a long-term solution; independently think through steps of an action plan; speak out for themselves and others; tailor messages to various audiences; provide/receive input from community members on community issues
Here are some things to keep in mind before you begin the process:
A girl must have completed 5th grade to begin working on the Silver Award and registered as a Girl Scout Cadette.
Girls may work on the Silver Award as a single Girl Scout or in a group of 4 Girl Scouts or fewer.
If the project is done as a group, each girl must complete a minimum of 50 hours and be responsible for a specific part of the project and evaluate her own unique contribution to the project and group.
Girls may not begin their Silver Award project until a Cadette Journey has been completed.
Silver Award projects are approved by your Silver Award Advisor. Once your advisor has approved your final report, please submit that report to the GSLE Program Specialist in your Program and Learning Center’s office.
All requirements, including the project itself and all paperwork must be completed by September 30th of the beginning of the girl's 9th grade school year.
Final reports must be received by March 1st at your local Program & Learning Center for them to be reviewed/approved in time to be included in that year's cluster celebrations
We cannot guarantee that there will be pins and certificates available for projects received after that date or that they can be included in the ceremony.
If you choose to have your own ceremony, please allow 2-4 weeks for project approval. Certificates and pins will be available after that time
The current requirements were introduced in 2009 to align with the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Projects earned in 1990, 2000 and even 2010 may not meet today's standards
Sustainability Power Point
See the Resources Section of the GSK website for Volunteer Essentials, Safety Activity Checkpoints and the Blue Book of Basic Documents 2012 or your Girl Scout Troop/Volunteer Advisor
Click on the words below for more details about these topics:
GS Photo Release/Photography Materials Release & Customization Guidelines
Sample Photo Releases
MONEY and the Girl Scout Silver Award Project
Remember that in Girl Scouts, girls cannot ask for donations.
You can describe your project to others, write a letter or create a PowerPoint presentation, but an adult has to do the actual “ask” and sign any documents
Need more than $250.00 in cash or materials?
consult with Chief Development Officer Jennifer Wilcox before making the ask
Progression of Take Action - Example
Service vs. Take Action PowerPoint
Silver Award Ceremony
Our Silver Award honorees are celebrated by family, friends, volunteers, staff, and special guests at regional events. To qualify for participation in the regional Ceremony, girls must meet the March 1 deadline for submitting their final report.
One Ceremonies –
Owensboro, Saturday, May 10, 2014
Paducah, Sunday, May 18, 2014
Cluster Two Ceremony – Sunday, May 4, 2014
Cluster Three Ceremony – Friday, May 23, 2014
Cluster Four Ceremony – Saturday, May 17, 2014
Guidelines, Paperwork and Other Resources
Silver Award – Guideline for Cadettes
Silver Award - Final Report
Silver Award – Adult Volunteer Guide
Girl Scouts Highest Awards - Frequently Asked Questions
Girl Scout Highest Awards At A Glance
Girl Scout Silver Award - Information
Benefits of Earning the Girl Scout Silver Award
Adult Roles/Volunteer Position Descriptions
Silver Award Parent
Silver Award Troop Leader
Phone: 502-276-9732-or 888-771-5170, ext. 22900