Why are Journeys prerequisites to earning the Girl Scout Gold Award?
The Journeys let girls experience what they’ll do as they work
to earn Girl Scouting’s highest awards. The skills girls gain while
working on Journeys will help them develop, plan, and implement Take
Action projects for their Gold Award.
How do girls know when a Journey is "completed?"
A Journey is completed when a girl has earned the Journey
awards, which include creating and carrying out a Take Action project.
What makes the guidelines for the Gold Award different from those
for the Journeys?
In contrast to Journey Take Action projects, which give girls
themes on which to base their projects, Girl Scout Gold Award Take
Action projects have no predesigned theme. A girl selects her own
theme, and then designs and executes a Take Action project.
What are the suggested hours for earning the Gold Award?
Not all projects will require the same length of time to move
from planning to sharing and celebration. The time it takes to earn
the awards will depend on the nature of the project, size of the team,
and degree of community support. Quality projects should be emphasized
over quantity of hours. After Journey requirements are fulfilled, the
suggested minimum number of hours to use as a guide is 80 hours.
Can girls begin working on their Gold Award the summer after they
bridge (transition) from one Girl Scout level to the next?
Yes. Girls can begin to earn the award over the summer.
Can Take Action projects for the Girl Scout Gold Award focus on
Girl Scouting?
Take Action projects for the Girl Scout Gold Award are expected
to reach into the community to "make the world a better
place." As they mature in Girl Scouts, Seniors and Ambassadors
are ready to move beyond the Girl Scout family to share their
leadership skills with the wider community. It is in fully exploring
their communities that older girls exemplify the Girl Scout mission to
"build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the
world a better place."
If a girl starts working on her Gold Award project and moves, can
she still earn her award?
Councils and Overseas Committees are encouraged to be flexible
to work and serve girls’ best interests. If a girl moves, she should
work with her council and/or Overseas Committees to complete her project.
Who are the adult guides for: council staff, parents, or volunteers?
Any adult is welcome to use the adult guides. The guides were
designed for volunteers working directly with girls who are earning
their awards.
Do we need a different set of requirements for girls with
disabilities to earn the Gold Award?
No. Girl Scout Gold Award work is done to the best of a girl’s
ability. There is no need to have special requirements for girls with
disabilities—encourage flexibility and the recruitment of advisors
that can work with the girl individually.
Can a troop or group work toward a Gold Award together?
The Gold Award is an individual girl’s journey. The Gold Award
process requires a girl to take control of her leadership development
and grow in new ways that a group setting cannot provide. This is a
commitment she makes and completes as an individual.
Is sustainability differentiated at each grade level?
The guidelines give girls tools to examine the underlying root
cause of issues, develop sustainable project plans, and measure the
impact of their projects on their communities, target audiences, and
themselves. There is progression. While Girl Scout Juniors working on
their Girl Scout Bronze Awards will reflect on how their projects
could be kept going, Girl Scout Cadettes plan for sustainability.
Seniors and Ambassadors work to ensure the sustainability of their
project in order to meet Gold Award standards of excellence.
While Juniors explore an issue that affects their Girl Scout
community, Cadettes create a community map of their neighborhood or
school. Meanwhile, Seniors and Ambassadors earning the Gold Award
assess an issue and its effect more broadly by interviewing community
leaders, researching using a variety of sources, and investigating
other communities’ solutions to similar problems.
Who can earn the Girl Scout Gold Award?
A girl must be a registered Girl Scout Senior or
Ambassador.
Can individually registered girl members
or “Juliettes” earn the Girl Scout Gold Award?
Yes. Any girl who meets the grade-level and membership
requirements can earn her Girl Scout Gold Award.
Does a Senior or Ambassador need to complete the two Journeys in
any particular order?
No. She can complete either two Girl Scout Senior-level
journeys, two Ambassador-level Journeys, or one of each.
How can we make sure that Girl Scout Gold Awards represent quality projects?
The best way to make sure a girl is working at the best of her
ability is to ensure that both she and her project advisor receive
orientation about the award and understand the difference between a
one-time community service opportunity or event and a Gold Award Take
Action project. It’s the responsibility of the troop/group volunteer,
council staff member, or Gold Award committee to work with the girl to
ensure she meets the quality requirements of the award.
What is the difference between a troop/group volunteer and a Girl
Scout Gold Award project advisor? Do girls need both?
A troop/group volunteer is the adult who works with Girl
Scouts. Once a girl identifies her issue, the troop/group volunteer
might help her identify a person in the community who could be a great
project advisor.
A Girl Scout Gold Award project advisor
is a volunteer who guides a girl as she takes her project from the
planning stage to implementation. The project advisor is typically not
a girl’s parent or a Girl Scout troop/group volunteer. The project
advisor is typically someone from the community who is knowledgeable
about the issue and who can provide guidance and expertise along the
way.
Why can’t a parent be a Girl Scout Gold Award
project advisor?
Girls are encouraged to connect with others in their
communities when earning the Girl Scout Gold Award. That means working
with a project advisor who is not her parent.
At what
point should a Girl Scout Gold Award project advisor be identified?
The project advisor should be identified in the planning phase
before the Girl Scout Gold Award project proposal is turned in to the
council. The project advisor expands the network of adults and
provides expertise for a girl’s project. If a girl has an idea before
she starts any work on her Gold Award, she might want to identify her
project advisor at the very beginning.
What is the
role of a council’s Girl Scout Gold Award committee?
Some councils have developed Girl Scout Gold Award
Committees to support Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors as they go
through the process of earning their Gold Awards. Girl Scout Gold
Award Committees are typically comprised of community members,
educators, key volunteers, and young women who have earned their Girl
Scout Gold Awards. The committee works with designated council
staff.
The committee’s role is to ensure girls’ projects
meet the national guidelines. Generally, the committee reviews Girl
Scout Gold Award project proposals, makes recommendations for project
development and resources, reads the final reports, and makes
recommendations to the council on whether to approve the projects. In
some councils, the committee approves the projects. If a girl’s
project has not yet achieved its goals, the committee provides
suggestions and tips to help her develop a high-quality Gold Award project.
What does it mean to have a sustainable project?
A sustainable project is one that lasts after the girl’s
involvement ends. A focus on education and raising awareness is one
way to make sure a project is carried on. Workshops and hands-on
learning sessions can inspire others to keep the project going.
Another way to create a sustainable project is by collaborating with
community groups, civic associations, nonprofit agencies, local
government, and/or religious organizations to ensure the project lasts
beyond a girl’s involvement.
How does a girl measure project impact?
Girls identify their project goals in relation to their
communities, target audiences, and themselves by developing success
indicators using a matrix provided in the Gold Award guidelines.
Can a girl earn the Girl Scout Gold Award even if she hasn’t
been in Girl Scouts very long?
Yes! She just needs to be a registered Girl Scout Senior or
Ambassador to begin her Gold Award project.
What if a girl is 18 and graduating? Can she complete her project
when she is in college?
A girl has until she turns 18 or until the end of the Girl
Scout membership year (September 30) when she is a senior in high school.
What if a girl graduates and is 18 and doesn’t have her project completed?
In this case, a girl would have until September 30 of the year
she graduates.
What if a girl’s project is not completed by the time of her
council’s ceremony?
This is up to the girl. She might be recognized among her peers
for her work-in-progress at her council’s Girl Scout Gold Award
ceremony, be honored in a separate ceremony, or come back for the
following year’s ceremony. If the council has a set time for honoring
Girl Scout Gold Awardees, girls should be notified when they begin
their project. Girls and their project advisors are encouraged to work
within the council’s timeline. Ceremony time should not dictate
whether or not a girl is able to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award.
