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Girl Scouts of Western Washington Silver Award 101 Participant Workbook ~ November 2014

Girl Scouts of Western Washington Silver Award 101 Participant Workbook ~ November 2014 Page 1

The Girl Scout Highest Awards Program is a leadership program where girls learn about problems in their community and exercise their creativity and project management skills to make our world a better place. The Bronze, Silver and Gold Award are each part of the program.

The Silver Award is the highest award Cadettes can earn after completing at least one Cadette Journey; it involves a Take Action Project that benefits the local community (outside of Girl Scouts), and is completed individually or in a small group.

For more information,

See https://www.girlscoutsww.org and type “Silver Award” in the search engine, or

Contact [email protected]

https://www.girlscoutsww.org/

mailto:[email protected]


Write down the first thing that pops into your mind when you read these questions.

Three super powers that I wish were real. 1. 2. 3.

If I had 4 free hours and could volunteer for anyone, anywhere, what would I do?

Three Skills that I have:

1. 2. 3.

(Not sure? These could be things that your family/friends say you are good at)

If I were a super hero I would:

Now think about your interests.

When I am not in school I like to… (hobbies? favorite activities?)

My Girl Scout Experiences are… (Journeys I have completed? Trips

my troop has taken? Bronze Award? Anything else?)

Other groups or organization that I belong to and/or Sports that I

play?

Favorite Classes in school and Careers that I am interested in?


Creates an innovative solution to a problem

Establishes long term change

Allows other people to continue benefiting for years to come

Creates opportunities for other people to be involved in working towards the solution (even when you are “done” with your project)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Have you ever heard of “Pay It Forward?

Have you heard of a video “going viral” on the internet? Have you heard about chain letters, chain emails or phone trees?

With all of these examples, one person or a few people get the ball rolling,

but very soon there are lots of people all over the world who are involved!

Reflection: Think of yourself as the person who starts the snowball at the very top of the hill…how can you get enough people involved so that when you let go, the ball keeps rolling and keeps getting bigger?


When your plan is measurable, it means that you can use numbers, facts and figures to demonstrate your success.

What are some aspects of a project you could measure? – Number of people or animals who directly received your

support or who attended your event – Number of volunteers who joined your efforts

– Geographic diversity of your participants – Opinions about your project via a survey

– Amount of money/resources your project saved others

Have you ever seen one of these goal thermometers when your school or Girl Scout troop is raising money, selling

cookies or collecting donations? This is one way to keep track of your progress!

Reflection:

Working in a group of no more than four people, pick one of the cards and

identify ways to measure the goals for the project?

Be prepared to describe the project and one goal that you could measure.


Think about the root of the problem. What is causing the problem to

continue happening over and over?

If there are too many unwanted animals ending up in shelters, what is creating all of the unwanted animals? Can the underlying problem be fixed

by donating toys to the animal shelter?

If there is too much litter at a local park, why does that keep happening? Can the underlying problem be fixed by picking up the trash?

Reflection:

Working with a partner, discuss possible root cause for one of the scenarios

described above. Remember to keep asking “Why?”


The following are the steps Girl Scout Cadettes will complete to earn the Girl Scout Silver Award, Use these tips along with the Silver Award Girl Guidelines and Workbook for the Girl Scout Silver Award, which is posted on the Girl Scouts of Western Washington website at: www.GirlScoutsWW.org

Step 1: Go on a Cadette Journey

Step 2: Assess your community to learn about needs (problems or aspects of

your community that could be improved) and resources (people, places or things that

are successful or helpful) that exist near you.

Step 3: Decide if you want to go solo or work with a small group of other Cadettes.

Step 4: Figure out what you care about and narrow down your choices.

Step 5: Do your research.

Step 6: Build your team.

Step 7: Think outside the box to develop a plan that is sustainable, measurable and targets the root cause of your community issue.

Step 8: Take Action!

Step 9: Reflect on your project.

Step 10: Share your story.

Step 11: Submit your Girl Scouts of Western Washington Final Report Form.

Step 12: Celebrate!

http://www.girlscoutsww.org/


Complete a Cadette Journey first.

The project needs to benefit those beyond the Girl Scout community.

Your team can be made up of no more than 4 Cadettes.

Researching, planning and doing your project should take about 50 hours.

Projects involving money earning or in-kind donations have set guidelines, ie:

you can solicit donations of goods or services, but not money; find the guidelines

and related forms online.

Your Final Report needs to be submitted before September 30th of your ninth

grade year.

Troop Leaders and parents and guardians advise only – this is YOUR project!

Many resources are available on the Girl Scouts of Western Washington website:

https://www.girlscoutsww.org/highestawards

OR

From the GSWW home page, click on ‘Things To Do’, then ‘Awards & Scholarships’

o Click on ‘Take Action Process’

o We recommend you start by exploring this page, including the interactive module. Once you have an idea of the Take Action basics, you're ready to:

o Complete your prerequisite by earning a Cadette Journey

o Click on ‘Silver Award’

o Review the following resources: Silver Award Workbook – Girls Edition Silver Award Final Report Form (PDF) Silver Award Final Report Form (Word.doc)

o Also helpful are: Silver Award Requirements at a Glance Silver Award Workbook – Volunteer Edition Frequently asked Questions about earning the Bronze, Silver and

Gold Awards All questions can be addressed to [email protected]

https://www.girlscoutsww.org/highestawards

https://www.girlscoutsww.org/current-volunteers/Online-Learning/Captivate%20Online%20Learning/Take_Action.htm

https://www.girlscoutsww.org/current-volunteers/Online-Learning/Captivate%20Online%20Learning/Take_Action.htm

mailto:[email protected]


As a Girl Scout volunteer, you are choosing to use your experience and time to help girls learn about themselves and the world around them, gain new skills, overcome challenges, and make a difference in their community. In doing so, you are preparing them for a lifetime of caring about others in their community and the world. You’ll guide girls and make going for their Girl Scout Silver Award a fun and fulfilling experience. Plus, girls earn the highest award for a Girl Scout Cadette! The primary role of a troop/group volunteer, parent or guardian of a girl earning her Silver Award, is to support the Girl Scout Cadette as she completes a Cadette Journey and creates a Take Action project that improves her neighborhood or local community. ADULTS, while the girls are busy on an activity, take the time to discuss these questions together, and jot down a few notes.

1. How can you support girls and still make it girl-led?

2. How can you guide girls if all 8 members of a troop want to do the same project?

3. What if some girls want to earn their Silver Award and others do not?

4. What advice would you give a girl if she can’t find a community need that interests her?

5. Who should decide about an appropriate celebration?


ADULTS, please look over these questioning strategies and discuss

them before joining the girls for the Out of The Box activity

Getting the Conversation Started

Do you need help deciding on an issue? Where are some places that we can look for ideas? How can we map out all of the needs and resources in our community?

If they give you a deer-in-headlights look, proceed with some more concrete questions like these:

Did you look in the newspaper? Have you heard anything on the radio? What are people talking about during lunch or recess at school? What did you discover?

(for older girls) Is there anything you hear or see of Facebook, Twitter or other websites?

If they are still having a hard time thinking of something, you can ask them more basic questions about where they go and what they do on an average day:

What does your average day look like? What do you see? Who do you meet with? When you look at each part of your day (at home getting ready for school; traveling to school; during class; playing at recess; afterschool clubs and activities; time with your family), is there anything that is a big challenge for you or someone you hang out with?

What are all of the communities you are a member of? What are the positive aspects of these communities? What are some challenges in these communities?

Is there anything that you felt might interest you or that you would like to find out more about?

Taking the conversation to a deeper level once they have a basic idea…

Why are you interested in this issue? Who would benefit?

What are your personal skills and passions? How can those be incorporated?

How can you find out more about this issue? Are there any agencies, organizations or people we can ask for more information?

Would the project be measurable? In other words, can we use numbers to count how many people/animals benefit from our project? What is our goal and how will we know we have achieved it?

Would it be sustainable? In other words, would this project be able to continue on after you have gotten it started? Will people/animals continue benefitting from your work for years to come?


Can we set up our project in a way that lets other people volunteer with us or pick up our work when we move on to a new project?

Who would be the best community person to work with to complete your project?

How can you move forward to get this project going and completed?

(if it is a group project) Will each girl in our group play an important role?


Date of Workshop_________ Facilitator(s)_______________________ I am a Girl Member____ (grade___) a Leader_____ and/or a parent_____.

1) This workshop was helpful to me.

1 2 3 4 5 Disagree Neutral Agree

2) I can describe measurability, sustainability and target the root cause.


3) I understand the steps to earn the Silver Award.


4) I am confident that I will be able to develop a Silver Award project that

is right for me. (girls only)


5) My favorite part of this workshop was…

6) I suggest the following changes and/or additions to the workshop…

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