Girl Scout Silver Award. © GSUSA. All rights reserved.Girl Scout Silver Award
Highest Award for Girls 11-14

Have you ever looked around your neighborhood or school and wondered how you could make a change for the better? Going for the Girl Scout Silver Award—the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn—gives you the chance to show that you are a leader who is organized, determined, and dedicated to improving your community. Download the Silver Award Guidelines to find out how.

You can choose to use either the summer 2009 Girl Scout Silver Award guidelines or the previous guidelines to earn your award during the two-year transition period (summer 2009 through September 2011). Keep track of the date and check with your Girl Scout council if the you have any questions.

The steps you'll take to earn your Girl Scout Silver Award

  • 1Go on a Cadette journey.
  • 2Identify issues you care about.
  • 3Build your Girl Scout Silver Award team or decide to go solo.
  • 4Explore your community.
  • 5Pick your Take Action project.
  • 6Develop your project.
  • 7Make a plan and put it into motion.
  • 8Reflect, share your story, and celebrate.

The Girl Scout Silver Award represents a girl's accomplishments in Girl Scouting and her community as she grows and works to improve her life and the lives of others. The first four requirements of the Girl Scout Silver Award help girls build skills, explore careers, gain leadership skills, and make a commitment to self-improvement. The Girl Scout Silver Award Project can be undertaken when the first four requirements are completed. It can be done as an individual or with a group. If done with a group, a girl must be responsible for a specific part of the project and evaluate her contribution to the project and the group.

Requirements for the Girl Scout Silver Award

A girl must be 11 or going into the sixth grade to begin work on STEPS 1-4 of her Girl Scout Silver Award. She must be 12 or going into the seventh grade to start work on STEPS 5 and 6 of the Girl Scout Silver Award Project. She must complete STEPS 5 and 6 by age 14 or before the start of the 10th grade.

STEP 1: GET READY

  • Read Go for It! The Girl Scout Silver Award STUDIO 2B insert.
  • Meet with advisor and develop a timeline for STEPS 2-4.
  • Make an agreement with adult advisor.

STEP 2: GIRL SCOUT SILVER LEADERSHIP AWARD (charm)

  • Earn three Interest Project Awards found in Interest Projects for Girls 11-17 related to parts of the Girl Scout Promise and Law.
  • Earn the STUDIO 2B Focus: uniquely me! The Real Deal charm.
  • Put leadership into action: spend 15 hours in a leadership role.
  • Use the Go for It! The Girl Scout Silver AwardSTUDIO 2B insert to keep records and a journal for discussion with advisor.

STEP 3: THE GIRL SCOUT SILVER CAREER AWARD CHARM

  • What's Out There?
  • Who's Out There?
  • Be Your Own Boss—Earn "Your Own Business" Interest Project Award
  • Use Go for It! The Girl Scout Silver Award STUDIO 2B insert to "journal it" for discussion with advisor.

STEP 4: THE GIRL SCOUT SILVER 4Bs CHALLENGE CHARM

  • Become: Set goals for self-improvement.
  • Belong: Earn the charm from the STUDIO 2B Focus book: Looking in, Reaching Out.
  • Believe: Identify an issue in school or community that you feel strongly about. Find out more about it. Use your voice to address it.
  • Build: Focus on coming up with a solution to address a problem.

Use Go for It! The Girl Scout Silver Award STUDIO 2B insert to "journal it" for discussion with advisor.

Note: Planning hours for the Silver 4Bs Challenge may be applied to the Girl Scout Silver Award hours in STEP 5.

STEP 5: THE GIRL SCOUT SILVER AWARD PROJECT

  • Plan It
  • Know More About It
  • Choose It
  • Map It
  • Adjust plans if necessary
  • Do It! The project should:
    • Take approximately 40 hours to complete (including planning time)
    • Provide community service, but can be done inside or outside of Girl Scouting
    • Be approved by your leader or advisor.

Note: Permission for any money-earning related to project must be obtained from Girl Scout council.

STEP 6: THINK ABOUT IT

  • After reading Go for It! The Girl Scout Silver AwardSTUDIO 2B insert, evaluate your project with your advisor.
  • Optional (check with your council): Submit the Girl Scout Silver Award Final Report (Word doc, 224KB) to your council and use it as an evaluation guideline.

Do's and Don'ts

 

DODON'T
  • Ask your advisor or a council-approved adult to be your project advisor.
  • Find out if your council has a schedule for submission of reports for award ceremonies and plan accordingly.
  • Follow all national and council guidelines for fundraising.
  • Follow all safety-guidelines found in Safety-Wise.
  • Be able to document your unique role, hours, and accomplishments if working with a group on the project.
  • Be afraid to do an individual project following your own interests.
  • Be afraid to use resource people whose knowledge or careers can make your Girl Scout Silver Award the best that it can be.
  • Submit a plan to the council for council approval—your project can be approved by your troop/group advisor or Girl Scout Silver Award project advisor.
  • Feel you need to have earned the Girl Scout Bronze Award in order to work on this award.
  • Feel like you have to complete the Girl Scout Silver Award in order to "go for the Gold" at the next age-level.

Completion

Evaluate your project with your Girl Scout Silver Award advisor. You may need to fill out the Girl Scout Silver Award Final Report form (Word doc, 224KB), have your advisor sign it, and submit it to your Girl Scout Council office. Many Girl Scout councils honor Girl Scout Silver Awardees at a special ceremony in the spring of the year. In order to be eligible for the award, find out what the submission deadline is for your council. Ceremonies can also be planned by individuals, groups, or service units to honor girls upon completion of their award.

Inspiration Corner

Need inspiration? Here are some sample projects to get you thinking.

  • Clean up a polluted stream for wildlife
  • Create a "science nook" at a school
  • Work with a federal natural resource agency on a Linking Girls to the Land project.
  • Establish a sustainable food pantry in your community
  • Host a walker "pit stop" for an extended breast cancer walk
  • Learn to be clowns and visit hospitals or senior centers
  • Make puppet boxes to accompany stories for Daisy and Brownie Girl Scouts
  • Plan and coordinate a math day for younger girls
  • Put on a bicycle safety fair in your community
  • Start a sustainable recycling program at school
  • Write and perform a puppet play to teach children safety tips they can use when not in school.
 
ALSO SEE:
>Girl Scout Silver Award FAQs (PDF, 113KB)
>Benefits of Earning the Girl Scout Silver Award (PDF, 21KB)
>From Good to Great: Successful Girl Scout Silver Award Projects (PDF, 18KB)
>Interest Form for Girl Scout Silver Award and Gold Award Project Advisors (Word doc, 224KB)
>Money and Your Leadership Project (PDF, 39KB)
>Ways Parents/Guardians Can Support Girls Working on Girl Scout Silver Awards (PDF, 28KB)
>Girl Scout Silver Award Final Report Form (Word doc, 224KB)
>GS Central: New Awards for Girl Scouts 11-17
>GS Central: Where to Place the Girl Scout Silver Award on a Uniform
>STUDIO 2B Web site

OUTSIDE LINKS:
>Adobe Reader (for PDFs)


 
Make a Free Website with Yola.