Silver Award TrainingGirl Scouts of Southeastern New England

Why earn the Silver Award?

• It is the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn.• It gives you the chance to do big things and make your

community better in the process.• You can work on an issue you care about.• You will build leadership skills.• You will be recognized as a future community leader.

You can pursue your Silver Award if:

• You are in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade (or equivalent).• You are a registered Girl Scout Cadette.• You have completed a Cadette Journey. • You have completed the Silver Award Training.• Your project has been approved by the GSSNE staff member

responsible for Highest Awards.

Steps to earning your award:

1. Go on a Cadette Journey.2. Identity an issue you care about.3. Build your Girl Scout Silver Award team or

decide to go solo.4. Explore your community.5. Pick your Silver Award project.6. Develop your project.7. Make a plan and put it into motion.8. Reflect, share your story, and celebrate.

Go Online!

• You’ll find the platform for your proposal and your project on our website!www.gssne.org > About > Our Program > Highest Awards > Silver > Steps to Silver• At the bottom, under “Next”, you’ll find the link to the proposal!• Then when you’re ready to write up your final report, you’ll find that link under

“Finally”• It’s super easy to use, just remember to keep a Word document of your

answers as well!

1. Go on a Cadette Journey• Complete a Cadette Journey

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• Each Journey ends with a Take-Action Project, this will be a warm-up for your Silver Award.

2. Identity an issue you care about.• Start by completing the Issues Chart on page 3 in “The Girl

Scout Silver Award Guidelines for Girl Scout Cadettes”• Girls, take time to think about what really matters to you.

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

• You can work with a small team of 2 to 4 girls.•Each girl pursuing her Silver Award must play an active role in

choosing, planning, and developing the team’s project.•Note: Each girl must submit her own Project Proposal and Final

Report.

• You can work on your own. •Build a team of friends, family, and community partners.

• No matter the size of your team, remember to “be a sister to every Girl Scout.”

4. Explore your community• What does your community need and what will improve

lives?• Where do your interests overlap with community needs?• Places to look: community center, school, police station, or

biking around your neighborhood.• Interview experts who may help identify what your

community needs.• Attend a town meeting to find out what concerns people in

your community.• Take time to see the world around you from different

perspectives.

5. Pick your Silver Award Project.• Before you pick your project:

•Review your Issues Chart, interviews, and notes.•Can’t decide? Make a pro/con list for each project.•Choose a project based on what matters most to you, the

community needs, and where you can make positive change.

• After your choose your project answer these questions:

•What is the project?•Why does it matter?•Who will it help?

5. Pick your Silver Award Project.• A Silver Award Take Action Project is bigger than a Journey

Take Action Project and bigger than a Community Service Project.

• A Silver Award Project addresses the root cause of a problem in your community and brings lasting change.

Journey Take Action ProjectPlan →Organize → Implement → Evaluate

Silver Award ProjectPlan →Organize → Implement → Evaluate+ research + recruit volunteers/experts+ make sustainable

Service ProjectGo → Do → Leave

Seriously Sustainable!• Two Silver Award Girl Scouts, Sam and Sierra, decided that for their project,

they wanted to make something that was great for the environment, and going to help people for a very, very long time!

• Over the course of one whole year, they collected 1,500 plastic bottles to be recycled into the walls and roof of a greenhouse!

• Their greenhouse – which is entirely constructed of plastic bottles – is now used by a local church to grow food which is then distributed to homeless shelters!

• They saw a need in their community, and not only addressed it – but did it in an environmentally sustainable way!

6. Develop your project.• Make a plan. Refer to page 8 in “The Girl Scout Silver Award

Guidelines for Girl Scout Cadettes” for guidance.• Make it last. Develop your project in such a way that it keeps

going even after you are done. Sustainability!• Find a project advisor who is an expert and can answer

specific questions about the issue you are addressing. Please do not pick your troop leader or family member as your project advisor.

• Make a global connection. • Are others dealing with this issue? • Can you learn from them? • Can others learn from you?

• Take one last look. Review your plan, fine-tune the details, ask people for feedback. Don’t be afraid to change the plan if necessary.

Submit Your Proposal

• Follow the steps:www.gssne.org > About > Highest Awards > Silver > Steps to Silver > Next• Answer the questions as

completely as possible – think of it as though you were writing an essay for school!

• These will go straight to the person in charge of Highest Awards at council, and they aim to get back to you within 3 days!

• They’ll review it, give you some feedback and either approve it or give some advice for editing!

7. Make a plan and put it into motion.

• Build a list of what needs to be done, how it will be done, and who will do it.

• Fill out the Make a Plan Chart on page 11 in “The Girl Scout Silver Award Guidelines for Girl Scout Cadettes.”

• Once the plan is complete, do it! • Remember, help is always available at council if you need it!

8. Reflect, share your story, and celebrate.• Reflect on your completed project.

•See page 12 in “The Girl Scout Silver Award Guidelines for Girl Scout Cadettes” for some helpful reflection questions.

• Share your story:•Write an essay or article for your local or school newspaper.•Present at a community meeting or to a younger troop.•Put out a press release!

• Celebrate your accomplishments.

Complete your final report

• Head back to:• www.gssne.org > About > Our Program > Highest Awards > Silver > Steps to Silver >

Finally!• Answer the questions thoughtfully – this is a big deal!

• Just like with your proposal, the Final Report will go straight to the GSSNE Highest Awards coordinator, and they’ll respond within 3 days with either your approval, or some questions that they’d like answered!

Timelog

Date Description Length

10/9/2016 Researching adult literacy rates in low-income families (online)

1.5 hours

10/14/2016 Phone call with sociology professor at URI to discuss reasons for low literacy

18 minutes

10/17/2016 Draw up a map of the areas I hope to impact with my project

45 minutes

Total: 2 hours, 33 minutes

• Creating a timelog as you go makes it super easy to keep a record of your hours!

• Don’t forget, even this training counts as time spent! • You can use up to 15 hours of the 50 required before your project is approved.

Money and Donations:• You can use money or donations to support your project!

•Use troop funds from Fall Product sale or Cookie sales.•Do neighborhood chores, hold a garage sale, etc.•Ask for donations or host a fundraiser. Before you request donations

of either money or supplies, please seek approval from council using the appropriate form – get in touch with your GSSNE Highest Awards contact (Erin) for the form!

•Girl may not engage in any direct solicitation of money or in-kind donations. Girls should tell potential donors about their project, adults must ask for the donation.

•Money earned/raised should not exceed your project’s needs.

• Please note that your project cannot raise funds for another organization.

FAQs and things to remember:

• Follow the Girl Scout Promise and live by the Girl Scout Law.• Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE)

•When Discover, Connect, and Take Action activities are girl-led and involve learning by doing and cooperative learning, girls achieve the desired and expected short-term outcomes. This ultimately results in Girl Scouting achieving its mission of building “girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.”

• Take Action Projects for the Girl Scout Silver Award are expected to reach beyond Girl Scouting to "make the world a better place."

• Girl Scout Cadettes plan for sustainability. A sustainable project is one that lasts after the girl’s involvement ends.

FAQs and things to remember:

• Get approved. • It is a good idea to type your proposal in a Word doc first. Have an

adult or teacher edit the first draft of your proposal. • Submit the online Project Proposal Form at www.gssne.org (About Our Program Highest Awards Silver Steps to Silver).

• 50 hours is suggested minimum time; keep track as you go.• Send hand written Thank You! notes to everyone who

helped. • Take photos, lots of photos!• Complete your Final Report Form

• (About Our Program Highest Awards Silver Steps to Silver).

•Each girl must complete her own report.• Deadline: September 30th of the year following 8th grade.

Got questions?

• If you missed something, you can review these slides again and/or use your Cadette binder as a guide.

• Contact the GSSNE staff member responsible for Highest Awards at highestawards@gssne.org

• Find the links to the Silver Award Project Proposal and Report at www.GSSNE.org (About Our Program Highest Awards Silver Steps to Silver).