Girl Scouts of Western New York Online Girl

Girl Scouts of Western New York Online Girl Scout Gold Award Training

Please have the following ready for training: - GSUSA Go. Gold Award Guidelines packet - Gold Award Online Training Packet - GSUSA Project Proposal Packet - GSUSA Final Report Packet

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award that Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors can earn.

Since 1916, Girl Scout’s highest award has stood for excellence and leadership for girls everywhere. Soon, you will be joining the ranks of generations of young women who have made a difference in their communities and beyond. Around 1 million Girl Scouts have earned the Gold Award since 1916!

100 Years of Extraordinary Projects from Extraordinary Girls As a Gold Award recipient, you're part of an elite group of women. Starting in 1916, the best and brightest undertook projects that improved their communities—and the world. The Golden Eagle insignia, the highest award in Girl Scouting from 1916 to 1918, marked the beginning of a long tradition of recognizing the extraordinary efforts of extraordinary girls. In 1919 the Golden Eagle is changed to the Golden Eaglet. In 1938 First Class is introduced. From 1940 to 1963, the Curved Bar Award was the highest honor in Girl Scouting. From 1963 to 1980, the highest award was once again called First Class. And since 1980, the Gold Award has inspired girls to find the greatness inside themselves and share their ideas and passions with their communities.

What are the benefits of earning the Gold Award? Higher Education • Distinguish yourself among competition for college • Earn college scholarships for Gold Award Recipients • Enter the military one rank higher • Join an elite network of Gold 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 9 th, 10 th, 11 th, 12 th grade and a registered Girl Scout. B. Complete 2 Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador Journeys (level appropriate) ~OR~ Complete 1 Senior or Ambassador Journey & Earned the Silver Award ( A Journey is completed when the award(s) within the Journey have been completed. )

Seven Steps for Girls to earn their Gold Award 1. Choose an issue 2. Investigate 3. Get help 4. Create a plan 5. Present your plan and get feedback 6. Take action (Gold Award Project) 7. Educate and inspire

Step One: Choose an Issue Decision-Making Tips • What inspires you? • What skills/talents do you have to offer? • What would benefit your community immediately and long-term? • How do you want to make a difference?

Step One: Choose an Issue Use an issues chart to start tracking what is important to you. Use a Community Contact list to keep track of the places you go, and the people you meet. Is there a connection in what you care about and issues in your community. Now that you have explored your community, and you know what issues you are passionate about, it is time to choose an issue to work on.

Step One: Choose an Issue Page two of your Online packet is an Issues Chart Page three of your Online Packet is a contact list. You can use these as a tool to get you focused on an issue for your gold award.

Step One: Choose an Issue

Step Two: Investigate • 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 Tool • Mind Mapping is a great tool to break an Causes. issue down into Root • Mind Mapping can then also be used to break a root cause into a reasonable Take Action Project.

Step Two: Investigate • Mind Mapping Activity Here Mind Mapping is used to show Root Causes of Car Crashes.

Step Two: Investigate • Mind Mapping Activity Now Mind Mapping is used to show take action project ideas to address the issue of texting while driving.

Step Two: Investigate • Mind Mapping Activity

Step Three: Get Help • Leadership Characteristics • What skills do you have? • What skills can you improve? • Select a team and project advisor that will help strengthen your current skills and help you achieve skills you are lacking in. • Developing Leadership skills is part of the Gold Award Process!

Step Three: Get Help • Seek out and recognize the value of the skills and strengths of others. • Respect different points of view and ways of working. • Build a team and recruit a Project Advisor who to your action project. will bring special skills

Step Three: Get Help • Project Advisor • Your Project advisor is chosen by you to help guide you on your Take Action Project. • Your advisor should be there to provide experience and expertise as you work on your project. • You project advisor is NOT your mentor. • • Your parents or Troop Leader may NOT be your advisor. Note: Always be safe when you talk to new people! Discuss safety tips with your troop/group volunteer and family, and always go with an adult.

Step Three: Get Help • What are your leadership Characteristics? • Use the T-Shirt on page 9 of your online packet to create a “you” shirt. • Design a t-shirt that sells you as a leader. • What traits are you as a leader able to bring to a project?

Step Four: Create a Plan • Set goals • Is your project realistic • Create set steps to meet your goals • Develop a timeline • What insurance will you need for events • Think about money earning/set a budget • Establish a global link • Ensure your plan is: • Sustainable • Measurable

Step Four: Create a Plan • Follow the Standards of Excellence while completing ALL steps of the Gold Award. • Use the Project Planning Sheet in the online Packet to plan out your project. • Follow all Insurance Guidelines for your Gold Awards. • Follow all Financial Guidelines for your Gold Awards. • Sustainability and Measurability – How can I do this?

Step Four: Create a Plan 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

Step Four: Create a Plan 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. )

Step Four: Create a Plan 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?

Step Four: Create a Plan 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 750 lbs of trash from being left at the park over the last year. )

Step Four: Create a Plan 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. )

Step Five: Present Your Plan & Get Feedback Can you say yes? If the answer to all questions is yes, than you are ready to present a plan to Council for your Gold 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?

Step Five: Present Plan & Get Feedback • Project Proposal Packet – To Council • • Budget Sheet – For Final Packet There is a budget sheet in your online packet, as well as on the website. Hours Log – For Final Packet There is an Hours log sheet in your online packet, as well as on the website. • • • Make sure to complete both sheets as you work on your Take Action Project.

Step Five: Present Plan & Get Feedback • • • 1. Send a Project Proposal to your council that is concise, comprehensive, and clear. • Use the GSUSA project proposal packet. You will also need to include a budget sheet with your proposal. 2. Council will assign you a mentor at this time. 3. Work with your assigned GSWNY Mentor to schedule an interview. 4. Get Approval for your Take Action Project 5. Complete Your Gold Award!

Step Five: Present Plan & Get Feedback At an interview with your mentor, you will be expected to: • Describe your plan including: • The Girl Scout Leadership Outcomes you want to achieve. Your goals for personal growth and development. • The impact you plan to make on your identified community. • The sustainability factor of your project. • Your method to evaluate your project. • • Articulate your issue clearly and explain why it matters to you. Talk about the global links to your issues. • Accept constructive suggestions that will help refine your project. • After this meeting your mentor will approve your Take Action Project. You may NOT begin the project until this approval is given! • Proposal forms are on the council website – search “Gold Award”.

Girl Scout Leadership Experience Outcomes Discover: • Develop a strong sense of self. • Develop positive values. • Gain practical life skills. • Seek challenges in the world. • Develop critical thinking. Connect: • Develop healthy relationships. • Promote cooperation & team building. • Resolve conflicts. • Advance diversity in a multicultural world. • Feel connected to your community, locally & globally. Take Action: • Identify community issues. • Be a resourceful problem solver. • Advocate for self and others locally & globally. • Educate and inspire others to act. • Feel empowered to make a difference in the world.

Step Six: Take Action • Take Action to address the root cause of an issue, so your solution makes a measurable and sustainable impact. • Actively seek partnerships to achieve greater community participation and extend the impact of your Take Action project. • Challenge yourself to try different ways to problem solve. • Use resources wisely. • Speak out and act on behalf of yourself and others. The Take Action Project is the Gold Award Project!

Step Six: Take Action • When you are done your project you will need to turn in your Final Report. • You will need to include your budget and hours log. • Your final report can be turned into council or your mentor. • Your mentor approves the final project. • Please fill out all questions clearly and with adequate information.

Step Six: Final Interview Tips • At your final interview be prepared to: • Reflect on what you have learned. This is in your final report packet. • Summarize the effectiveness of your project and the impact it has had on you and your community. • the project beyond Explain how you shared your local community and inspired others to take action in their own communities. • Share details of your project through photos, video, journals, scrapbooking, etc.

Step Seven: Educate and Inspire • Tell your story and share your results! • CONGRATULATIONS! • Make sure to thank your mentor, advisor and all the other team members who helped you along the way with your Take Action Project. • You are now part of an elite group of Girl Scouts. Carry this proudly with you, and know you are making a change in your community. • Inspire others to make a change as well.

Gold Award Ceremony • All work must be completed, including your Final Report (with approval) by April 1, for participation in this year’s ceremony. • Award recipients will receive an invitation about 1 month before the ceremony, in June. • Award recipients will be asked to bring a display to share about their project. • If you are not done in time for the June celebration, you are automatically put into the next year’s award celebration.

Gold Award Ceremony • You will receive your pin and certificate from council at the award. • There are several outside community agencies that also send awards to celebrate your success. • Leaders / parents are not able to purchase a gold award pin. • If you are not at the banquet, your pin and awards will be available at council for you.

Points to Remember This award is individually completed. The award suggests a minimum of 80 hours from the start of step one to the end of your project. The Take Action Project focuses on the community (outside of Girl Scouting). The Take Action Project must have council 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 turn 18 and/or graduate from High School.

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QUESTIONS? ? Call Out Example

Visit Gold Award QUESTIONS? girlscouts. org. Call and gswny. org Out Example programs@gswny. org

Girl Scouts of Western New York Girl Scout Gold Award