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 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, size of the team, and 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 can 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. Only if they have met all Pre- Requisites
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 work flexibly 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 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 projects 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 various 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 “IGM” earn the Girl Scout Gold Award?
Yes. Girls who meet 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 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 an 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 knowledgeable about the issue and 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?
Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Gold Award Committees will support Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors as they go through the process of earning their Gold Awards. Girl Scout Gold Award Committees typically comprise 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 the 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 GSACPC 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.
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 must 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.
