Earning the Gold and Silver awards

   The Gold Award 

     Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award is a mighty achievement. Here are tips for you to make the journey manageable, rewarding and fun.
     The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. A girl who has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award can look forward to greater access to college scholarships, paid internships, and community awards. Over 3,500 Senior Girl Scouts design, implement, and complete Gold Award projects every year...wow! The Girl Scout Gold Award is within reach for any registered Senior Girl Scout, provided she fills the five requirements.
     From start to finish, it usually takes more than one year to complete the extensive prerequisites and the final requirements. The Gold Award project must fulfill a need in the community and take at least 50 hours to develop, plan, carry out and evaluate. It is an extraordinary opportunity for Senior Girl Scouts to put their leadership skills, career interests, and personal values together to serve their community.
     Each year, GSBC offers a workshop to give you an opportunity to ask all your questions. Special do-it-yourself activities designed to help you get started will be provided. Adults advising/working with Senior Girl Scouts to help them get started are encouraged to attend. Topics will include requirements, recording your hours, how to choose the best project for you, and the project advisor. Dates for workshops will be posted as they become available.

     Here are five tips to as you begin on your path to the Girl Scout Gold Award:
     1. Harness your passions. Get in touch with your own interests before settling for a project similar to what other girls have done or one suggested by others. The key is to match something you are passionate about with a need you identify in the community.
     2. Expand your horizons. Consider the Girl Scout Gold Award a great opportunity to expand your social network and the knowledge you possess about your community. It takes courage to get out and talk to new people or visit new places. Ask adults to introduce you to other adults in the community. Ask for feedback on ways you can implement or improve on your project.
     3. Mind the rules. Make all the appropriate adults aware of your plans before you act upon them. Also, don't start working on a project or idea before having it approved by your council's Girl Scout Gold Award committee.
     4. Keep track of time. A Girl Scout Gold Award project is not like a paper for school: you can't complete it by staying up for a couple of nights in a row. Use a calendar to set the date for the final event. Then plan backwards, breaking the project into steps that will get you to that final date on time!
     5. Practice, practice, practice. Talking about your idea in a comfortable setting can give you the confidence you need to go into the community to gain support for your project.

The Silver Award 

     The Silver Award, the highest award for Cadette Girl Scouts. In the Girl Scout tradition of providing progressive opportunities for girls to develop their skills, abilities, and interests, this award is frequently a stepping-stone to future Gold Awards, but is not a requirement. 

The Silver Award

    Unlike the Gold Award, the Silver Award may be perused as a Troop or individual girl. Prerequisites challenge the Troop (or girl) to earn Interest Project Patches, develop leadership skills, explore future career paths, identify her own strengths, abilities, and interests and define a need within her community. 
     Each year GSBC offers a workshop to give you an opportunity to ask all your questions. Find out how to get started on your Silver Award project. Bring all your questions! Adults advising/working with Cadette Girl Scouts on their projects are encouraged to attend. We will talk about pre-requisites, selecting to the right projects, and more. Dates for workshops will be posted as they become available.

Silver & Gold Award Reports & Rehearsal

     Congratulations! Now that you've earned your Silver or Gold Award, you need to submit your final report for committee approval and you are also are required to attend a rehearsal. The Older Girl Awards & Recognition Ceremony is scheduled on Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at the Holy Cross Hospital's Sister Innocent Conference Center. If you cannot attend rehearsal, you must make alternative arrangements with the Silver & Gold Award staff liaison. Questions? Contact Judy Maxwell at 954-739-7660, ext. 217.

Silver Award Final Report Deadline: 2009 Date...TBA

Gold Award Final Report Deadline: 2009 Date...TBA

Rehearsal for Gold and Silver Awardees: A2009 Date...TBA