Adult Volunteer Guide

Transcription

1 Adult Vlunteer Guide

2 The Girl Scut Silver Award As a Girl Scut trp/grup vlunteer, yu are chsing t use yur experience and time t help girls learn abut themselves and the wrld arund them, gain new skills, vercme challenges, and make a difference in their cmmunity. In s ding, yu are preparing them fr a lifetime f caring abut thers in their cmmunity and the wrld. Yu ll guide girls and make ging fr their Girl Scut Silver Award a fun and fulfilling experience. Plus, girls earn the highest award fr a Girl Scut Cadette. Yur primary rle as a trp/grup vlunteer is t supprt Girl Scut Cadettes as they cmplete a Cadette jurney and create a Take Actin prject that imprves their neighbrhd r lcal cmmunity. After girls cmplete the Cadette jurney, the suggested minimum time fr earning their Girl Scut Silver Award is 50 hurs fr an individual girl r each girl n the small team. Girls earn the award by fcusing n an issue they care abut; building a team; explring their cmmunity; picking, planning, and putting their Take Actin prject int actin; demnstrating an understanding f sustainability and the wider wrld; and sharing what they have learned with thers. Tips fr the Trp/Grup Vlunteer The fllwing are the steps Girl Scut Cadettes will cmplete t earn the Girl Scut Silver Award, alng with tips fr hw yu can help. Use these tips alng with the girl guidelines fr the Girl Scut Silver Award, which is psted n the Girl Scuts f the USA Web site at Step 1: G n a Girl Scut Cadette Jurney What girls d: Get a full experience, using the three keys t leadership: Discver, Cnnect, and Take Actin. Gain skills frm the Girl Scut Cadette jurney that will help them create, plan, and develp their award prject. Why they d it: Girls gain the skills they ll need t create a Take Actin prject that is based n an issue they care abut in their neighbrhd r lcal cmmunity. 1

3 The Girl Scut Silver Award Girls apply the Girl Scut Prmise and Law, which ensures that they are hnest and fair, friendly and helpful, cnsiderate and caring, curageus and strng; that they respect themselves, thers, and authrity; and that they use resurces wisely and take respnsibility fr what they say and d. Caching tips: Encurage girls t talk abut what they learned by cmpleting a jurney. Use the tips in the jurney adult guides. Suggest they reflect and share where and hw they applied the Girl Scut Prmise and Law as they cmpleted the jurney. Step 2: Identify Issues Yu Care Abut What girls d: Explre their interests and hw thse relate t issues that cncern them. Why they d it: This step lays the fundatin fr girls t imagine new slutins fr the issues that interest them. Caching tips: Help girls explre their interests using the Issues Chart in the girl guidelines. Create an pen, cmfrtable envirnment where girls (whether ne girl r a grup) can share their thughts and ideas. Encurage girls t take time t think abut what really matters t them. When smething matters, it becmes a fun challenge t think f different slutins. Guide girls as they fill ut their Issues Chart. 2

4 The Girl Scut Silver Award Step 3: Build Yur Girl Scut Cadette Team r Decide t G Sl What girls d: Frm a team f Girl Scuts (apprximately tw t fur Cadettes), nn Girl Scuts r a cmbinatin f bth. If ther Girl Scut Cadettes are n the team they can als earn the Girl Scut Silver Award. Each Girl Scut Cadette ging fr the Girl Scut Silver Award must play an active rle in chsing, planning and develping the team s Take Actin prject. If wrking sl, independently cnnect with peple in the cmmunity. Learn and develp team-building skills. Why they d it: Cperative learning encurages team-building, trust-building, and prblemslving. Caching tips: Encurage girls t demnstrate being a friend t every Girl Scut as they build their team. Wrk with girls t lcate peple in the cmmunity wh might be able t help with their prject. Use games and activities t prmte team-building. Use the fllwing tips t help girls create and maintain a strng team at each step: Traits f a Gd Team Caching Tips 1. Respect different pints f view and ways f wrk. Encurage girls t prmte an inclusive envirnment as they wrk n their prject. Discuss ways that team members can respect each ther and the diverse backgrunds, viewpints, and life experiences f the girls n the team. 2. Cntribute t the prject. Encurage girls t make a task list fr each girl n the team and hw they can participate in putting the prject int mtin. 3. Accept cnstructive suggestins. Talk t girls abut the differences amng cnstructive suggestins, criticizing, and attacking. Fr example, if an idea is 3

5 The Girl Scut Silver Award 4. Wrk tgether t create and develp a plan. criticized, ask the girl wh gave the feedback whether she has any suggestins that might help make the idea better. Encurage girls t be curteus, cnsiderate, and respectful f fellw teammates by living the Girl Scut Prmise and Law. Encurage girls t use their knwledge and skills t lcate tls and resurces they need, and als t knw when, where, and hw t enlist the help f thers. 5. Slve prblems. Discuss hw prblem slving skills cntribute t effective leadership. Discuss sme f the bstacles that may cme up during their Take Actin prject and hw the team can wrk tgether t vercme them. Have fun! Keep things light-hearted. Take a team picture, encurage girls t cme up with a fun name fr their team, and s n. Step 4: Explre Yur Cmmunity What girls d: By explring their cmmunity, girls find ut what their cmmunity needs and where their areas f interest and cmmunity needs verlap. Girls mve frm thinking abut issues they care abut in general t finding specific prblems/pprtunities/slutins they want t address. Why they d it: Getting t knw their cmmunity is a learning experience, in which girls take the time t see the wrld arund them frm different perspectives and t get ideas abut what is needed and what is pssible. Caching tips: Observatin and Explratin Encurage girls t take time t explre their neighbrhd and lcal cmmunity in a new way. Ding s will help them develp an awareness and a new understanding f lcal issues, hw issues are tackled, and hw imprvements are made. Encurage girls t have fun while they re ut and abut, talking with peple and explring their cmmunity. 4

6 The Girl Scut Silver Award If wrking with a small grup f girls, encurage the grup t share their individual bservatins frm their cmmunity explratin and brainstrm ways that they can make a difference in their cmmunity. Cmmunity Map Guide girls as they draw a cmmunity map. Creating a cmmunity map allws girls t bserve different aspects f their cmmunity and lk fr what peple need that is, what will imprve their lives. By explring and bserving their cmmunity, girls cnnect with peple wh may help them with their Take Actin prject. Cnnecting with the Cmmunity Guide girls as they interview peple in the cmmunity. By interviewing peple they meet, girls imprve their cmmunicatin skills and begin t see hw their time and talents can make an impact. Encurage girls t build a netwrk f cntacts that they can get in tuch with later, as they wrk n their Take Actin prject. As girls meet and talk with new peple, remind them t be safe and t make sure adults knw wh they are meeting with, when they ll return hme, and which adults r ther girls are accmpanying them. Nte: Girls are likely t research infrmatin nline fr their prject, s discuss the Girl Scut Internet Safety Pledge ( and encurage girls t cmmit t the pledge. Step 5: Pick Yur Take Actin Prject What girls d: Decide (as an individual r a small team) which issue that they wuld like t address and identify the rt cause r underlying reasn fr the issue that their prject will address. Why they d it: By addressing the rt cause f the prblem, girls will have a better chance f ensuring that the slutin they cme up with wrks and is lasting. 5

7 The Girl Scut Silver Award the girls care abut the issues they have chsen, they will be engaged and enjy wrking n the Take Actin prject. Caching tips: Guide girls as they review their Issues Chart, cmmunity map, and interview ntes. Help them understand what a Take Actin prject fr the Girl Scut Silver Award is (a prject that addresses the rt cause f a prblem in the lcal neighbrhd r cmmunity and brings abut lasting change). Use the examples in the girl guidelines. Encurage girls t chse a prject that is either based n what matters mst t them r based n where they think they can create the mst psitive change. Making a pr/cn list is helpful. Discuss with girls the leadership skills they can apply t the prject. Althugh there are many prjects that d nt require fundraising r mneyearning, sme d. The girls may need t cme up with ideas fr hw they can cver expenses. Fllw the guidelines in Vlunteer Essentials. Remind girls t be realistic abut their prject chice. Encurage them t think abut the greatest gd they can bring abut, based n their available time and resurces. Girls may need the help f an expert, a prject advisr. This is ptinal and depends n the prject. After girls chse their prject, guide them as they answer the fllwing questins. This will ensure that everyne is clear abut what they want t d and why. What is ur prject? Why des it matter? Wh will it help? 6

8 The Girl Scut Silver Award Encurage girls t think abut the leadership skills they will use during the curse f their Take Actin prject and hw these skills can help them understand themselves and what they are capable f. Step 6: Develp Yur Prject What girls d: Develp a plan fr creating measurable and sustainable impact in the neighbrhd r lcal cmmunity. Why they d it: Girls learn thrugh taking the initiative n their wn and engaging in hands-n activities that help them gain new skills. Caching tips: Befre girls start develping their prject, encurage them t answer the questins in their guidelines. Discuss what the girls hpe t accmplish with this prject and why it matters t them. Partner with girls t create a timeline, set up a budget, and lcate resurces fr their prject. Pse the fllwing questins t help girls think abut sustainability: Des the issue that was chsen address a need in the neighbrhd r lcal cmmunity? Has the rt cause f the prblem been identified? Hw have ther peple addressed this issue in a different place r a different situatin? Can the slutin last even after yu have earned yur award? D yu have an idea f a persn r grup f peple wh might be able t cntinue yur prject in the future? 7

9 The Girl Scut Silver Award Can the prject be expanded later? Hw wuld yu g abut sharing yur prject s that ther peple can be inspired t get invlved even after yu earn yur award? Help girls ensure sustainability in their prject by encuraging them t: Fcus n ways that thers can keep the prject ging. Partner with peple in the cmmunity (cmmunity grups, civic assciatins, nn-prfit agencies, lcal gvernment, and religius rganizatins make great partners) wh can carry the prject int the future. The fllwing are tw examples f Take Actin prjects that are sustainable. These are als included in the girl guidelines. Take Actin Prject #1 Prblem: Kids can t walk t schl safely because there aren t any sidewalks. Rt cause: Lack f planning when the rads were built. Slutin with lng-term impact: Create a petitin asking that a sidewalk be built, get lcal residents t sign it, and present it t the city cuncil. Making the slutin sustainable: Once the sidewalk is built, it will be in place fr years, ffering a safe rute fr future generatins. Yu may need t encurage kids t change their habits and walk that can be a fun grup activity. Take Actin Prject #2 Prblem: Children in hmeless shelters ften struggle in schl. Rt cause: Lack f stability and family resurces, bth financial and emtinal. Slutin with lng-term impact: Wrk with a lcal hmeless shelter and schl t establish an nging tutring prgram that matches student vlunteers with children in the shelter. Making the slutin sustainable: 8

10 The Girl Scut Silver Award Wrk with the schl and shelter t find adult staff members wh will cntinue t crdinate the prgram. Establish a transitin traditin, such as an end-f-schl-year party, where ptential new student vlunteers can meet current vlunteers and peple in the hmeless shelter. Finding a Prject Advisr Althugh this is nt required as part f the Girl Scut Silver Award, sme girls might want t enlist the help f an expert wh can answer specific questins abut their issue. This persn can be the team r individual girl s prject advisr. If girls chse t wrk with a prject advisr, guide them as they make their decisin. Discuss wh might wrk best; this culd be smene they met while researching issues r smene they have nt yet met, but wh is familiar with their issue. Offer suggestins: a lcal business wner, an fficial at City Hall, a teacher? Making a Glbal Cnnectin Encurage girls t check the Internet t see hw thers arund the glbe deal with their issue. Encurage girls t cnsider hw they might be able t extend the reach f their prject int ther cmmunities besides their wn. Are there ways t share their plan with ther cmmunities wh are facing the same issue? Can the girls create a plan that ther peple culd use t replicate their prject in ther cmmunities? Thrugh cnnecting with new friends utside f their immediate cmmunity, girls learn hw thers have slved similar issues and determine if the ideas f thers can help with their plan. Step 7: Make a Plan and Put it Int Mtin What girls d: Write a list f what they need t accmplish, wh will be ding which tasks and when the tasks need t be cmpleted using their Make a Plan chart. 9

11 The Girl Scut Silver Award Why they d it: Girls build critical-thinking skills and becme creative prblem-slvers as they address challenges, wrk cperatively with their team, and stay pen t new ways f wrk. Girls use their leadership skills t create a prject in their cmmunity that has measurable and sustainable impact. Caching tips: Let girls take the lead t plan and implement their prject. Guide girls as they fill ut their Make a Plan chart. Encurage girls t keep a t-d list fr what they wuld like t accmplish with their prject. This can be the mst fun and rewarding step in earning the award; seeing the prject happen can be very exciting! Nevertheless, things smetimes dn t g exactly as planned. Help girls be persistent and persevere thrugh challenging times. Step 8: Reflect, Share Yur Stry, and Celebrate What girls d: Reflect n what they have achieved. Share their experiences t educate and inspire thers t act. Discuss the impact the prject made n themselves and their cmmunity. Celebrate their accmplishment. Why they d it: Reflectin prmtes critical thinking and helps braden girls perspectives abut the wrld and hw they can help. Thrugh reflectin, girls understand the impact f their prject n the cmmunity and hw it might relate t thers in ther cmmunity. 10

12 The Girl Scut Silver Award Demnstrating t an audience what girls have learned sets the stage fr even brader impact. Spreading the wrd encurages girls t think abut what they have learned and helps them inspire thers t make things better. As girls share and demnstrate their prject achievements, helping them see hw what they have learned sets the stage fr even brader impact. Caching tips: Guide girls as they use the insight they gained frm answering the reflectin questins in their award guidelines t spread the wrd and inspire thers t act. Discuss the impact the experience had n girls, their team, and their cmmunity. Help girls share their experience/effrt with a wider audience. Girls can lg n t the fllwing Web sites t share their stries. Remind girls abut the Girl Scuts Internet safety pledge. WAGGGS wrld: Taking it Glbal: Glbal Yuth Service Day: Make the sharing experience fun, and hnr the achievement by encuraging the girls t be creative in hw they capture thers imaginatins (girls can make a vide, write an essay r article, r rganize a fun event where they can present what they have learned and what their prject is abut t the cmmunity). Use the Leadership Outcmes/Pssible Indicatrs chart t help girls reflect n their experience. Yur hard wrk and dedicatin has helped an individual Girl Scut Cadette r a grup f Girl Scut Cadettes becme leaders wh used their talents t psitively impact their cmmunity. Cngratulatins! Celebrate the accmplishment! 11

13 The Girl Scut Silver Award The Girl Scut Leadership Experience In Girl Scuting, Discver + Cnnect + Take Actin = Leadership. The entire Girl Scut prgram, regardless f the exact tpic, is designed t lead t leadership utcmes (r benefits) that stem frm these three keys. Discver: Girls will understand themselves and their values and use their knwledge and skills t explre the wrld Cnnect: Girls care abut, inspire, and team with thers lcally and glbally. Take Actin: Girls act t make the wrld a better place. It s nt nly abut the activities girls d, hwever, but the prcesses they use t d them that builds leadership. The Girl Scut prcesses prmte the fun and friendship that have always been s integral t Girl Scuting. Girl-led: Girls play an active part in figuring ut the what, where, when, hw, and why f their activities. Learning by ding: Girls use a hands-n learning prcess that engages them in cntinuus cycles f actin and reflectin that result in deeper understanding f cncepts and mastery f practical skills. Cperative learning: Thrugh cperative learning, girls wrk tgether tward gals that can be accmplished nly with the help f thers, in an atmsphere f respect and cllabratin. When Discver, Cnnect, and Take Actin activities are girl-led and invlve learning by ding and cperative learning, girls achieve the desired and expected shrt-term utcmes. This ultimately results in Girl Scuting achieving its missin f building girls f curage, cnfidence, and character, wh make the wrld a better place. Thrugh the Girl Scut Leadership Experience, girls gain specific knwledge, skills, attitudes, behavirs, and values in Girl Scuting. Help girls reflect n the experience, the impact they have had and hw the experience has helped t strengthen their leadership skills. Use the fifteen utcmes n the next page as a springbard. Fr mre abut The Girl Scut Leadership Experience including the leadership utcmes n the next page, g t 12

14 The Girl Scut Silver Award This chart helps yu guide the girls as they reflect n what they have learned and hw they used their leadership skills t make a difference in the wrld. The leadership utcmes will shw girls hw they develped, while the pssible indicatrs will shw yu hw thse utcmes are exhibited. Leadership Outcmes Fllwing are the 15 Girl Scut leadership utcmes that stem frm the three leadership keys DISCOVER Outcmes DISCOVER Outcme Indicatrs Pssible Indicatrs When the utcme is achieved Girls develp a strng sense f self. Girls develp psitive values. Girls gain practical life skills girls practice healthy living Girls seek challenges in the wrld. Girls develp critical thinking. Girls make use f strategies t resist peer pressure. Girls reprt greater appreciatin fr the diversity f values based n individual and/r cultural differences. Girls reprt increase interest in learning mre abut hw exercise, diet, relaxatin, and ther activities can give balance t their lives. Girls can identify and distinguish between psitive and negative risk. Girls are able t debate r discuss varius perspectives n an issue they are cncerned abut. CONNECT Outcmes CONNECT Outcme Indicatrs Girls develp healthy relatinships. Girls prmte cperatin and team building. Girls can reslve cnflicts. Girls advance diversity in a multicultural wrld. Girls feel cnnected t their cmmunities, lcally and glbally. Girls are able t give examples f behavirs they use t prmte mutual respect, trust, and understanding. Girls are better able t describe bstacles t grup wrk and suggest pssible slutins. Girls can describe hw they manage their emtins t diffuse cnflicts. Girls identify main challenges and privileges that varius grups experience in tday s wrld. Girls describe hw their participatin in larger cmmunities supprted their persnal and leadership gals. TAKE ACTION Outcmes TAKE ACTION Outcme Indicatrs Girls can identify cmmunity needs. Girls are resurceful prblem slvers. Girls advcate fr themselves and thers, lcally and glbally. Girls educate and inspire thers t act. Girls feel empwered t make a difference in the wrld. Girls reprt using a variety f tls t identify needs, assets, and ptential impact f their planned prjects. Girls demnstrate independence in thinking thrugh the required cmpnents f their actin plans. Girls can give examples f hw yuth can influence and/r participate in cmmunity decisin making. Girls reprt knwing hw t tailr their messages t varius audiences. Girls express pride that their Take Actin prject imprved the functining f sme aspect f their cmmunities. 13