Girl Scout Senior and Ambassador Self-Study

Transcription

1 Girl Scout Senior and Ambassador Self-Study

2 Table of Contents Gold Award History 3 Prerequisites 4 5 Characteristics of a Stellar Gold Award Project 4 Gold Award Process Overview 5 Step 1: Choose an Issue 7 Decision-making Tips 7 Step 2: Investigate 7 Interview Tips 7 Mind-mapping Tool 8 Making Your Pitch 8 Step 3: Get Help 9 Step 4: Create a Plan 10 Step 5: Prepare Project Proposal 11 Leadership Outcomes 11 Step 6: Present Project Proposal 12 Step 7: Take Action 12 Community Service versus Take Action 13 Evaluating Project s Impact 14 Leadership Process 14 Step 8: Final Report 15 Step 9: Educate and Inspire 15 Other Awards 16 Resources 18

3 Girl Scout Gold Award Guidelines For Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors Welcome to the Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council's self-study training for the Girl Scout Gold Award Guidelines. This self-study course is designed to familiarize a Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador on the guidelines and processes you need to pursue your Gold Award. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award that Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors can earn. Since 1916, Girl Scout's highest award has stood for excellence and leadership for girls everywhere. Soon, you will be joining the ranks of generations of young women who have made a difference in their communities and beyond. The primary tool you will need to get started on your way to earning the Gold Award is the Gold Award Guidelines for Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors. The guidelines include a toolkit for you to use in earning the award. The objective of the toolkit is to help you lead a team from the community in project that will have a lasting impact. The guidelines can also be found in the Senior and Ambassador Girl Guides. You can download the guidelines at For girls Gold Award

4 Prerequisites There are certain prerequisites you must fulfill before beginning your Gold Award. You must either complete two Journeys and accompanying take action projects, or you must complete one Journey and have earned the Silver Award. 5 Characteristics A successful Gold Award project has five characteristics: Vision, passion, longevity, connection and community impact. Vision - It is about looking within the community and seeing a need--a need that is not being met. Passion - It is the difference between doing a project just to get it done and doing a project that comes from the heart. What are you passionate about? Longevity - The project should have ongoing effects or be able to be continued or repeated after your involvement. Connection - Making a connection to those being served and to those who volunteer is another key ingredient to a successful Gold Award project. Community Impact - Your project should affect a larger community and have a positive impact. How will you make the world a better place? Take a moment now to review what you have learned so far by answering questions 1 5 in your self-study quiz booklet.

5 Process Overview Let's now take a look at the Girl Scout Gold Award process. As you saw earlier, to earn the Gold Award, you can complete one Senior or Ambassador Journey and have earned the Silver Award or complete two Journeys - - any combination of Senior and Ambassador Journeys. The suggested minimum hours to complete the project are eighty. The new guidelines for the Gold Award set standards of excellence. You are asked to meet these standards in a step-by-step fashion. With these standards, you are challenged to think deeply, explore opportunities, and challenge yourself. You are also asked to identify the leadership outcomes you aim to achieve and to assess your own leadership learning when you have completed your Gold Award Take Action Project.

6 Let's first take a quick look at an overview of the Gold Award Process. When trying to decide what your Gold Award project will be, use your values and skills to identify a community issue you care about. Thoroughly investigate and research the issue. Even though a Girl Scout Gold Award project is to be completed by a single girl, you are encouraged to invite others to support and take action with you! You must create a project plan that achieves a sustainable and measurable impact. After you have an idea for your project and have researched it, you should complete a project proposal and submit it to the Gold Award Committee for feedback and approval. Wait for approval to begin your project, then take the lead and carry out your plan. Once again, a minimum of 80 hours is suggested for your Gold Award Project. Finally, you should develop a plan to share the results of your project beyond the local community. You should educate and inspire others by sharing what you have learned!

7 Step 1: Choose an Issue Let's now take a closer look at the steps you need to follow to complete your Gold Award project. The first step is to choose an issue. Take time to reflect and get inspired. Do you need some inspiration? You can use the links on page nine of the tool kit found in the Gold Award Guidelines for Seniors and Ambassadors. What else can you do to decide on your project? I can t wait to get started! Decision-making tips What inspires you? What skills/talents do you have to offer? If you are undecided, take a walk within the community and identify some community needs. What would benefit the community immediately and long-term? How do you want to make a difference? How can you live the Girl Scout Promise and Law? Step 2: Investigate The second step is to investigate. Research everything you can about the issue. You should use a variety of resources: interview people, read books and articles, find professional organizations online. Evaluate each source's reliability and accuracy, and document your source. When conducting interviews, be sure to stay safe at all times by telling a trusted adult who the interview subjects are and where they will be meeting with you. Do you need help conducting an interview? Below, you will find helpful interview tips. Make Arrangements - Decide on the interview subject. Contact the person and set up a date and time for the interview. Select a safe and quiet place. Be sure your troop leader and parent/guardian knows who you are interviewing and where you are meeting. Preparation - Gather information to formulate interview questions. The Interview - Bring a notebook or audio recording device to take notes. Start by thanking the person for meeting with you. Keep questions simple and to the point. Reviewing/Follow-up - Send a "Thank You" note to the interview subject. Compile the information gathered for your project. Sift through the interview notes to find information that is relevant.

8 Demonstrate courage as you investigate your issues, knowing that what you learn may challenge your own and other's beliefs. Be sure to speak with your leader about any questions or concerns that may arise. You will also want to identify national and/or global links to your community issue. Has this issue been addressed in other area? How have they approached the issue? What can you learn from that approach? What might you do differently? A tool you might find helpful in digging toward the root cause of an issue is mind-mapping. Place the community issue in the middle. Add some causes of the issue. In this example, one of the main causes is bad weather. Try to connect the different causes to each other and to the main issue. This will help you come up with different ways to approach a problem, as well as different ways you might go about addressing the issue. You can create your own mind map on paper, or you can down load a free mind-mapping tool at Making Your Pitch Now that you've chosen your issue, think of a way that you can let people know about it. You've seen the advertisements and most times you even remember the slogans. What makes them memorable? It could be because they're clever or catchy or funny Think Small! Think Big! Just Do It!

9 You should be able to describe the issue you've chosen in about 15 seconds. Below, you will find tips to help you do just that. Make it memorable: Develop a slogan. What makes you remember the slogan in those commercials on TV? How can you incorporate that into your pitch? Target your audience: Who are you trying to reach? If you are aiming for kids, think of a story or riddle that would relate this to them. Young kids love to rhyme. If you re reaching out to adults, no cute stories! Think about your audience and try to tailor your pitch so that it connects with them. How you will help: You ve gotten their attention with your story. Now tell them what your project will do to make their lives better. Personalize it: Why this project? Why this target audience? How will doing this make you a better person? Do it: Put it all together. Explain your idea in a short and motivating way that clarifies for you, your potential team, target audience, and supporters. Remember, 15 seconds. Go! Step 3: Get Help The third step toward completing a Girl Scout Gold Award Project is to get help! Think about the people who might be able to help you put your project into action. You should seek out and recognize the value of the skills and strengths of others. How can they help? What resources could they provide for your project? Respect different points of view and ways of working. Although this is an individual project, other Girl Scouts, neighbors, church members, classmates and friends can help. Build a network with community organizations and leaders who can help you achieve your goal. Working with a group will help you make a bigger impact and cover more ground you would on your own. You must also recruit a project advisor who will bring special skills to your Take Action project. The project advisor should be someone within your community who is knowledgeable about the issue and should not be your troop leader or parent.

10 Step 4: Create a Plan Now that you have your idea, have investigated the issue and recruited help, what is next? Step four is to create a plan. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to create a project proposal plan to submit for council approval Set Goals - Ask: o What is the project? o Why does it matter? o Who will it help? o The difference she intends to make in the world is.... Steps to meet the goals - List step-by-step what it will take to reach her goals. Be as specific as possible. o Develop a timeline - Ask: o How much time is allotted to each task? o Who will complete the task? o When will the task be completed? Budget - How will the project be funded? Make sure that your ideas are in line with Girl Scout policies. All money earning must have council approval. Complete the budget sheet found on page 16 of the toolkit. Global - Consider how to connect the project to an issue that affects people in other parts of the country or the world. Sustainable - Perhaps one of the most important steps of the Gold Award Project is sustainability. How will the project continue after your involvement? Look at the examples on pages of the toolkit. Checklist - Be sure all the questions on the Project Planning Checklist on page 18 of the toolkit can be answered "yes" before submitting the plan for council approval Take a moment now to review what you have learned by answering questions 6 12 in your selfstudy quiz booklet.

11 Step 5: Prepare Project Proposal Step five is to prepare the project proposal. You should use the project proposal form found on our website under For Girls--Girl Scout Awards--Gold Award. Do not use the form found on the GSUSA website. Be sure your proposal is concise, comprehensive and clear. Double check your spelling and grammar. Be sure to articulate the issue well and explain why it matters to you. The project proposal form can be found at Award. Be sure to read the form carefully. It requires a number of dates and signatures in addition to narrative information. You will also need to complete an estimated budget sheet. There is a time log for you to record the number of hours you have invested in the project. Describe your plan including the Girl Scout Leadership Outcomes you want to achieve and the impact you plan to make on yourself and the community. Discover o Develop a strong sense of self. o Develop positive values. o Gain practical life skills. o Seek challenges in the world. o Develop critical thinking. Connect o Develop healthy relationships. o Promote cooperation & team building. o Resolve conflicts. o Advance diversity in a multicultural world. o Feel connected to community, locally & globally. Take Action o Identify community issues. o Be a resourceful problem solver. o Advocate for self and others locally & globally. o Educate and inspire others to act. o Feel empowered to make a difference in the world.

12 Step 6: Present the proposal : It's now time to submit the project proposal to the Gold Award Committee for approval. Be sure you have articulated your issue clearly and explained why it matters to you. Double check for spelling, grammar and clarity, as well as all required dates and signatures before submitting the proposal. The Gold Award committee meets once a month and will provide feedback on the project proposal. Accept any constructive suggestions from the Gold Award Committee that will help refine your project. The proposal must be approved before starting your project. An approved Gold Award Project Proposal that has had no activity for 6 months from the date of approval may expire Take a moment now to review what you have learned about preparing and presenting the Gold Award Project Proposal by answering questions in your self-study quiz booklet. Step 7: Take Action! You have received approval of your project from the Gold Award committee. Now it is time to Take Action! Take action to address the root cause of an issue, so that your solution has measurable and sustainable impact. Use the mind mapping tool presented earlier to help identify the root cause. Remember to take pictures during the process and document the wonderful things you are doing!

13 Actively seek partnerships to achieve greater community participation and impact for your Take Action project. Challenge yourself to "think outside the box" and try different ways to solve problems. During your Take Action project, become empowered to speak out and act on behalf of yourself and others. Follow the Girl Scout Law by using resources wisely. Community Service Project versus Take Action Project Be sure you determine the difference between a short-term community service project and a longterm Take Action project. An easy way to remember the difference is by determining whether or not the project is being done FOR the community or WITH the community. If you are doing something FOR the community, most likely you are working on a short-term community service project. A community service project addresses an immediate need in the community. For example you may collect clothing for needy families. Although the project addresses a need in the community, it is only for a short period of time.

14 If you are doing something WITH the community, you are working on a Take Action project. A Take Action project picks up from where a short-term project leaves off. For example, after organizing the clothing drive, you could start a Take Action project by creating a clothes closet for the community. Evaluating the effectiveness of the project How will you evaluate your project? How will you measure the impact your project has had on the community? Some suggestions are to create a pre and posttest to give at presentations or create a survey following an event. How will I evaluate my project? Leadership Process You should engage in the Girl Scout Leadership Processes while completing your project. The Girl Scout Leadership Experience is not only about the activities you do. It is also the processes you use to do them that builds leadership. Through the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, you gain specific knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviors, and values in Girl Scouting. Girl-Led - You play an active part in figuring out the what, where, how and why of your activities. Learning by Doing - You use a hand-on learning process that engages you in continuous cycles of action and reflection that results in a deeper understanding of concepts and mastery of practical skills. Cooperative Learning - Through cooperative learning, girls work together toward goals that can be accomplished only with the help of others, in an atmosphere of respect and collaboration.

15 Step 8: Final Report After the project is finished, there are just a few more steps you must complete. Reflect on what you have learned as you present your Girl Scout Gold Award Final Report to the Gold Award committee. Your report should summarize the effectiveness of your project and the impact it has had on you and your community. The final report of the project must be completed by September 30th following your high school graduation. This includes time needed for any changes or refinements suggested by the Gold Award committee, so it is a good idea to submit the final report within a timeline that allows you to make any necessary changes before the September 30th deadline. Step 9: Educate and Inspire! The final step in the Gold Award process is to educate and inspire others by sharing the project beyond your local community and inspiring others to take action in their own communities.

16 Did you know? Did you know you can earn other great awards and participate in a variety of trainings? The next two slides show all the awards available to Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts. For more information about any of the awards, check out the Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting or speak with your leader. Take a moment now to review what you have learned by answering questions in your self-study quiz booklet.

17 A Gold Award Project... Educates! Inspires! Makes a lasting impact!

18 Congratulations! You have just completed the Girl Scout Gold Award Guidelines self-study training for Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts. You are now ready to "go for the gold!" If you have any questions about the Gold Award process or other Girl Scout awards, please contact: Cathy Schrader Program Manager for Teen Leadership for Black Diamond Council All of the forms referred to in this training, as well as the council money earning guidelines, are available by going to the For Girls section of our website. From there, go to Girl Scout Awards, then Gold Award. Good luck to you as you Go for the Gold!

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