Girl Scouts of the United States of America – Making a Big Impact on Their Communities

Girl Scouts can make a difference in their community in many ways: whether it’s a sustainable large-scale Gold Award Project or a one-time pet food drive, every moment girls spend thinking and acting for others makes our world a better place.

Daisies, Girl Scouts in Kindergarten and first grade, and Brownies in second and third grades, learn the basics of what it means to be a good neighbor and how they can be helpful to others. By participating in simple community service projects like the One Warm Coat Drive, and Make a Difference Day, girls start to learn how to make a big impact in their local community.

Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards for community service projects

As girls get older, they have the opportunity to earn Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards, the highest honors a Girl Scout can earn. These are awarded to girls who take action through coordinated projects.

Though it’s not uncommon for youth to participate in a donation drive through school or volunteer with  local organizations when they are younger, it’s rare that they take the extra steps to gain in-depth understanding of the community they’re serving — but that’s exactly what Girl Scouts do.  By earning these higher awards, girls expand their personal knowledge of what’s going on in the community, build their critical thinking skills, and develop a stronger sense of commitment to the issue at hand.

Starting in fourth grade, Junior Girl Scouts can earn the Bronze Award by teaming up with other girls in their troop for their project. Earning the Bronze Award involves a  minimum of 20 hours building their team, exploring their community, choosing the project, planning it, putting the plan in motion, and spreading the word about their project. Bronze awards can be seen all over your town from recycling bins along your river trails to bat houses in the parks. One exceptional recent Bronze Award was when Anderson Troop 70033 researched, educated and donated pet CPR masks to the Anderson Fire Department.

Going for the Silver Award — the highest award sixth through eight graders (Cadettes) can earn, girls get the chance to show they are leaders who are organized, determined, and dedicated to improving their community. Working in groups of three-four girls, for at least 50 hours, local Silver Award projects have ranged from making over a hospital waiting room, educating the public on K-9 service dogs and building and installing Little Libraries.

Sarah helped complete a safe, ADA-compliant pathway at the Chico GSNorCal Program Center

Claire helped build a wellness room and juice bar for the Shasta High School counseling center.

Gold Awards go to girls whose actions have made them real-life heroes

All of this culminates when girls in high school can earn the Girl Scouts’ highest award — the Gold — by tackling issues they are passionate about to drive lasting change, while they learn essential skills that prepare them for all aspects of life. As a bonus, the Gold Award opens doors to a variety of scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college, strong networking and amazing career opportunities. Gold Award Girl Scouts truly are the world changers, rock stars, role models, and real-life heroes we all look up to.

Local Ambassador Girl Scouts, Claire with Troop 70002 and Sarah with Troop 70018, have recently completed their Gold Award Projects in Redding and Chico. Claire completed her project by working in conjunction with Shasta High School, focusing on mental health and wellness to build a wellness room, complete with a juice bar in the school counseling center.

Sarah contributed to the construction and site improvements at the new GSNorCal Program Center on Floral Ave in Chico by adding an ADA-compliant pathway on the property. Kath Erickson, Sara’s mother and a Troop Leader, says, “By completing her Gold Award project, not only did she provide a safe pathway for girls and adults who use the program center, but she learned the valuable lessons of planning a project, working with others, and the satisfaction of a much needed project well done.”

How to join

Want to help your girl with her big vision for a better world? Get more information at http://www.gsnorcal.org and join a local troop at http://www.gsnorcal.org/join or call (800)447-4475.  We’re here to help her create lasting memories and make the world a better place — we can’t wait to see all she’s going to accomplish!