Gold Award, Silver Award, and Bronze Award

The bronze, silver, and gold awards are the highest awards for girls to earn in Girl Scouts:

• Bronze awards can be earned by Juniors (girls in 4th and 5th grade)
• Silver awards can be earned by Cadettes (girls in 6th, 7th and 8th grade)
• Gold awards can be earned by Seniors and Ambassadors (girls in high school -- grades 9-12)

Picking a Project. Be sure to pick a project that truly interests you. You will be working on it for 50+ hours, so it needs to be something you will like doing.

Find a mentor. Find an adult – a troop leader, parent, or teacher, for example – who can mentor you through your project. You are likely to need help with different aspects of your project, including transportation to/from special locations, purchasing materials, access to equipment (e.g., sewing machines), chaperoning, etc. They can help you decide if a proposed project is doable and age-appropriate.

Check first with relevant organizations. If your project involves donating items to a local charity or working with a local school or other organization, talk with them before your start. Some organizations may have special age requirements (e.g., you have to be over 14 to volunteer). Talk with those involved to make sure your project is something that your community and/or relevant organizations are interested in participating in. Maybe your local homeless shelter is more in need of blankets than food, or personal hygiene items than books. Maybe your local park already has a cleanup day planned, but could use some help with make a new hiking trail. Find out what their needs are and tailor your project to meet those needs.

Working in teams. If scouts are working in teams, they may need to expand on their ideas so that each girl has enough work to do to complete the full requirements.

Requirements

The first step to completing each of these awards is to complete one Journey badge set in the appropriate level.

Silver Award

From the Girl Scout Cadette handbook:

"Here are the steps you’ll take to earn your Girl Scout Silver Award:

1.  Go on a Cadette Journey.

2.  Identify issues you care about.

3.  Build your Girl Scout Silver Award team or decide to go solo.

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.

Once you complete your Journey, the suggested minimum time for earning your Girl Scout Silver Award is 50 hours. These suggested hours are a guide. You can start by planning the time in chunks, dividing it up by the steps."

Additional details about the Silver Award requirements are available at https://www.girlscouts.org/content/dam/girlscouts-shared/template/documents/about/silver-girls_01.pdf

Ideas for Award Projects

Honest and fair projects

• Anti-bullying and cyber-bullying campaign. Some groups of girls have started anti-bullying education campaigns for younger girls. This includes the idea that by being a by-stander that doesn't stop bullying, you are part of the bullying.

Friendly and helpful projects

• Student Mentoring. Setting up a high school mentoring program for incoming freshmen with upper classmen to show them the ropes, how to manage their new workloads, etc. Could also be done at the Middle School level. Massachusetts Girl Scout Launches Peer Mentoring Program
• Friendship Boxes. Collect items to fill Friendship boxes for a local or international charity. These are 8"X 3" X 2" boxes filled with health, educational, and recreational items to send to children in need. Items to fill include: pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, crayons, small rulers, small pads of paper, markers, stickers, small balls, yo-yos, marbles, beads, balloons, whistles, jump ropes, toy cars, hair ribbons and small puzzles. Also handmade cards, bookmarks, beanbags, and puppets.

Considerate and caring projects

• Ohio Girl Scouts Grows Garden for the Girl Scout Bronze Award. Two scouts in Bucyrus Ohio helped residents at a local nursing home set up and care for their own garden.
• Pajama party This troop held a pajama party -- not a sleepover, but fun activities that included snacks and making toys for animal shelters. Everyone wore pajamas. The “cost of admission” was a new pair of children/ teen pajamas to donate to a local agency that helps place foster children in new homes. Many of these children come to the agency with nothing of their own.
• Meals-on-Wheels Favors. Make a large assortment of tiny favors, crafts, and holiday or everyday cards for Meals on Wheels recipients. Make some for a variety of holidays or special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries or sympathy.
• Elderly Visits. Arrange a series of visits to the elderly, sick or homebound in your neighborhood or nearby senior center. Chat with residents, do simple errands, bring simple meals and treats, write letters to relatives, read books to them. Interview them about their lives, where they came from, how they grew up, what changes they have seen. Plan some fun events at a local senior center, such as a sock hop dance, Wii tournament, music concert, or cooking, nature, or arts and crafts classes.

Courageous and strong projects

• Violence Prevention. Set up a program at a local elementary school to show kids why violence is not the answer. Include activities in conflict resolution.

Responsible for what I say and do projects

• Use social media wisely. Related to the anti-bullying/cyber-bullying campaigns, hold an education program about how to use social media responsibly.
• Cultural Awareness Event. Plan an event that shows how much alike we all are. Bring together those with different racial, ethnic, religious, or other backgrounds. Include those with physical or mental disabilities.

Respect myself and others projects

• Positive body image. Some girls have worked on combating negative images in the media of women and girls, such as models that are excessively thin.

Respect authority projects

• Community Brochures. Research and produce a public service brochure for the community on a subject that is important to you: drug or alcohol abuse, smoking, literacy, peer pressure, fitness, teen pregnancy prevention, suicide prevention, or another subject. Produce and distribute this brochure to schools, churches, public libraries, youth and community centers, and other places.
• Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention. Organize and carry out a drug prevention program in your school, council or community. Write a skit to perform to teach kids about drug and alcohol abuse.
• Public Service Play or Skit. Write, cast, direct, and act in play or skit about an issue important to you, such as substance abuse, conflict resolution, peer pressure, etc. Put on the play for various youth groups or daycare centers.

Use resources wisely projects

• Make Bat Houses. Some girls have made bat houses in high mosquito areas.

• Collecting items for local charities.
  • Animal Needs Drive. Collect supplies needed by your local humane society, animal shelter, or pet rescue groups. This might include newspapers, towels, washcloths, blankets, pet treats, toys, and food, grooming supplies, detergent, bleach, paper towels, cotton balls, hydrogen peroxide, and rubbing alcohol. Also make pet blankets, beds, or toys to donate.
  • Art and Crafts Drive. Collect arts and craft supplies and prepare packets of different type crafts for children in shelters. Make and copy an activity or coloring book on happy themes. Distribute with crayons.
  • Baby Supply Drive. Collect baby supplies, clothing and furniture for womens’ and children's shelters. Include diapers, diaper bags, lotions, clothes, blankets, cribs, mattresses, strollers, sheets, and toys. Make baby baskets or attractive packages of baby supplies for new moms at shelters.
  • Blanket and Winter Clothing Drive. Hold a drive to collect new and barely used blankets, coats, hats, gloves and scarves for homeless people.
  • Book Drive. Hold a drive to collect used children's books that are in good condition. The donations can be distributed in a variety of ways. Make or refinish a bookcase and set it up with the books at a children's hospital or clinic waiting room, a women's shelters, or via your school PTA for a summer reading program. You might also want to create your own books for small children.
  • Food Drive. Have a food drive to collect canned and non-perishable food for a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Prepare a recipe booklet for recipients to show how to use the foods collected.
  • Halloween Drive. Collect or make simple Halloween costumes for children at a shelter. Include clothing, masks, and accessories. Collect or make Halloween bags and fill with treats. Also put on a Halloween party for residents of a shelter, or at a local community center.
  • School Supplies Drive. Collect paper, pens, pencils, backpacks, notebooks, and other supplies for schools in low income areas or shelters.
  • Sports Equipment Drive. Collect used sports equipment/uniforms for various sports. Donate to a community center to use so low income kids can participate in sports teams.
  • Toy Drive. Collect new toys and stuffed animals for the Red Cross, a local police or fire department, or other local charity to distribute to young fire victims after they lose everything in a fire, or are involved in domestic violence.
• Recycling Program. Start and arrange to sustain a recycling program at your school or in your community.

Make the world a better place projects

• Clean Up Day. If there is a park, stream, lake, empty lots, or other locations near you that really need to be cleaned up, organize community day(s) to get it done.
• Nature Trails. Arrange with a group to clean up and mark a nature trail, either a new one or one in need of repair. Make signs to show the names of trees and plants.
• Beautification Project. Plant flowers and plants in a public area that is an eyesore. Be sure to get approval for this project from the landowner.

Be a sister to every Girl Scout projects

• Help combat child labor. Some girls have worked on international campaigns to combat child labor, human trafficking, child marriages and other issues specifically affecting girls and women around the world.

• GoBabyGo. Just saw a presentation from this group. They modify kid toy cars to help kids with cerebral palsy and other mobility issues to use them to get around. Much cheaper than wheelchairs, and usable at a much younger age. Would be a great way for older scouts to help out at or set up workshops to do this in their local communities.

• Set up a MakerSpace. Help set up a local MakerSpace or Maker Club at your school, public library, or a Girl Scout Council location.
• Brownie or Junior Fun Day or Encampment. Plan, prepare and carry out a fun day for Brownies or Juniors. Have a theme and include earning at least one try-it or badge. Include lunch or refreshments and awards.
• Tutoring Program. Set up a peer tutoring program in your school or at an after school daycare center. Arrange for students to come on certain days of the week and help out. Tutor students in different subjects on a regular basis. Get others to help you.
• Teaching Video. Create a video or movie to teach a skill, Girl Scout tradition, or Girl Scout Law. Make copies and share them in your community or council, or post them on YouTube (with your parent's permission). You might also create a booklet to go with these.
• Comic Book. Write and draw a comic book story teaching about one of the Girl Scout Laws. Decide on your target audience and make the story and pictures appropriate for them -- for example, if you are writing for Daisies, make sure to use words kindergarten and first graders can read, and make the story something they can relate to. Print out copies to distribute and/or post a copy on a troop website.

Certificates

Many organizations and government agencies give out special certificates for Gold Awardees.

• NASA. NASA recognizes Girl Scouts earning the prestigious Gold Award. To receive a certificate of recognition from NASA commemorating this distinguished achievement, the Scout Leader, parent(s), or legal guardian(s) needs to send the full name and mailing address of the award recipient to the Public Communications Office. Details are available on the website.

Resources

• Bronze Award ideas from Troop 7728. Note that the requirements listed on this website are the older requirements for the Bronze Award.
• Check out Map It!, an interactive map that shows how Girl Scouts all over are changing the world! Whether it’s Gold Awards, Silver Awards, Bronze Awards, Forever Green, or Journey Take Action projects, browse what girls are doing to get inspiration and share your story.