The Girl Scout leadership Experience Bronze, silver, and Gold

1. The Girl Scout leadership ExperienceBronze, silver, and Gold The What? How? When? Why?

3. Facts about women in leadership roles in our government: • Women make up half of the labor force but only two Fortune 5oo Companies have women CEO’s or presidents, and 90 of those 500 companies don’t have any women corporate officers. • As of January 2013 there were only 78 Women serving in the U.S. House of Representative (out of 435) and 20 in the U.S Senate (out of 100). • Women own 40 percent of all businesses but receive only 5% of all venture capital funds invested in new businesses. • Women are less like likely than men to run for office. However, once they decide to run, they are just as successful as men. • Women are less likely than men to be asked to run for office by party leaders and other officials. When women are asked to run, they are just as likely as men to do it. • Women are more likely than men to think they are unqualified to serve, even when they have the same qualifications as male candidates.

4. Women in leadership what does this mean to Girl Scouts now?GSLE: What is it? • The Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE) shows girls how to discover who they are and what they stand for...how to connect with others...and how to take action to make the world a better place. Discover; themselves, Connect with the world around them and Take Action to influence their communities and the world through what they have learned.

5. Take Action what is it? • Girls can identify community needs. • Girls are resourceful problem-solvers. • Girls advocate for themselves and others, locally and globally. • Girls educate and inspire others to act. • Girls feel empowered to make a difference in the world.

6. Reasons for embracing Take action • Builds leadership skills in girls • Impacts our brand and funding • Helps communities, long-term • Raises the bar (outcomes, measurable and sustainable) • Helps you help the girls understand the components of the higher awards; Bronze, Silver and Gold

7. How do I incorporate Take Action into award projects? First create a Take action team : This is a group of friends/community members who will help with the project. Ask the girls: What do each of you enjoy doing the most? Make a list. Keep handy your team’s list of what each member loves to do; You’ll know the special talents each of the team members can bring to the project they choose. Here are some questions to help you help them pinpoint their interests: • Do you read everything you can get your hands on—even the back of the cereal box? • Do you love playing with your pets? • Do you spend hours painting, singing, or dancing? • Are you always in motion—riding your bike, dancing, or playing soccer? • Really spend some time thinking about all the things you love to do, from conducting science experiments to taking care of younger kids to whipping up fruit smoothies for your friends! Explore and choose an idea for a Take Action project.

8. MEASURABLE The success of the project can be determined based on the number of people the project helped, the number of people who were involved, and any reduction in the communities Needs.

9. Sustainable • Girls make arrangements (such as collaborating with community leaders and/or organizations; building alliances with mentors/project advisors) to ensure that the project creates lasting change and is not a one time event

10. Your role as leader, co-leader, parent or guardian • Help guide her through the Journey Process while keeping it fun, interesting , and girl led. • Be there as a support to mold her aspirations and dreams into a realistic take action project able to be, in some form, ongoing. • Utilize your network and encourage her to develop her own network of friends, family and acquaintances • Be her cheerleader, chauffer, champion and best supporter as she discovers what kind of leader she is. • Ask for help or guidance yourself-seek answers so you can help her be prepared but don’t do it for her.

11. Project Advisor who is that? • Consider finding a Project Advisor (mandatory for the Gold Award). • Not you as a troop leader, co-leader or parent and a non-relative who has experience working with or knowledge of the project the girls have chosen and is the expert. (This person will help the girls with the day to day aspects of their project.) • They are not required to be a registered Girl Scout.

12. What is in your community? Groups organizations? Non-profits (project may not benefit a business) • Create a Community map (asset) • Who do you contact in your community? • Network with people you know to reach people you need • What resources/services are missing in the community? (ex. Women’s Shelter-community center) • How can I provide these and address the root cause (not do service) of a community issue? • Visualize the impact the project can have on the lives of others in the community. Then make it happen visualize your community

13. Service versus Take Action • A service project is a short-term, usually one-time thing where you go out and do something to help and it usually has an instant impact:Raking leaves for the elderly, visiting a nursing home, clean up apark, etc. • A take action project differs because you are involving communitypartners to find out what the true needs are in your community, andyou can take a look at the underlying root causes of those problems,and try to come up with something that is both a true need and alsosomething that can address the root issue, to make a lasting impact. • When you move beyond immediate service to understand the root cause of an issue, you are Connecting and Taking Action • When you team up to mobilize others in an effort to find ways to solve the problem, you are Connecting and Taking Action • Connecting and Taking Action is what makes a Leadership project • TAPs, associated with the Journey, do not have to be long, drawn out projects, they can be as quick as a one-day service project, but the effects last longer and can be ongoing. • Gold Award TAP’s should be several days long; this helps to fulfill the 80 hour requirement, the leadership requirement, and the sustainability requirement.

14. So what is the Bronze Award? The Bronze Award is the highest honor that can be earn as a Jr. Girl Scout and the standards in earning the award are established by Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA). You must be in 4th or 5th grade. You must be a registered Girl Scout.  GSUSA does not recognize general “collection” projects as meeting its Bronze Award standards. While collecting items can be a part of your project; your project should focus on leadership not service.

15. What is the Silver Award? • The Silver Award is the highest award attainable as a Cadette Girl Scout • Earning the Silver Award shows that the girls have become a community leader who can Discover issues in the community, Connect with community partners, and Take Action to get to the root of the issue • What are the components of the Silver?

16. Girls may work individually or in groups of 2-4 • An element of leadership for each person in the group, total of 50 hours (cannot count others time) • Project meets a demonstrated community need and addresses the root cause • Project is Community based outside of Girl Scouting • Sustainable • Creates identifiable results/has a method to evaluate impact • Tackles an issue the girls are passionate about

17. Gold Award • Work Independently • Leadership based • Total suggested minimum of 80 hours • Outside of Girl Scouts • Measurable/Sustainable • Creates identifiable results/has a method to evaluate impact • Tackles an issue you are passionate about • Work with the community (leadership) not for the community (service)

18. Gold Awards are given a Gold Award Mentor once project is received-a volunteer from Gold Committee to support your project going forward with guidance and direction. • Gold Process: thought, paperwork, approval, start project, work with team, keep in touch with Gold Mentor, final paperwork, Mentor approval=council approval +congrats letter, Recognition

19. Money for the awards • $249 cash maximum for project • Not including what you earn, what parents/guardians/grandparents give • Unlimited in-kind donations • Gift cards • Materials needed for your project • You cannot earn money for other organizations (or do a collection only-based project) • All donations & expenses must = zero • Gold are permitted to include Youth oriented GRANTS • Utilize sponsors to help with projects (see page 77 of Volunteer Essentials & Appendix pg 189&190)

20. An Example of a Bronze project: Lucia and her Junior team were exploring take action scenarios for their Girl Scout Bronze Award, so they all agreed to be extra observant of everything going on around them. 1. First, Lucia noticed that cars whizzed down the street near their school. This happened a few days in a row—it seemed to be a real problem. 2. Then, she heard on the news that in the last year there had actually been several accidents in that same area. 3. The Junior team asked their troop/group volunteer to help them find out how people in their community decided where stop signs were needed. 4. After a visit to both the police station and a local government office, here’s what the Juniors did: They wrote a petition, asking for a new stop sign on the road near their school, got local residents to sign it, and then presented it to their local government officials. Result: A new stop sign, slower traffic, fewer accidents, and safer kids! Plus, a stop sign is a permanent solution!

21. Another example of tap: Girls in a Bronze troop were interested in doing something to help animals. A service project would be baking dog biscuits, purchasing supplies and delivering them to a shelter, or working an adoption booth for a couple of hours. To make it a TAP, they met with two employees of a local veterinarian office and asked what was needed in our town. They were impressed with the list of suggestions that the employees offered, because they were things that the girls would not have thought of on their own. Their two top ideas were that we have no central place to post Lost and Found ads, and that their office received several calls daily to inquire about lost or found animals. They suggested a central place would give everyone access to the information so they would know where to check and post. A community lost and found bulletin board would be sustainable as once it was put into place, it would be used indefinitely. Another idea was that our city parks did not have dog wastecontainers. Purchasing and installing dog waste containers bypartnering with the city park department would make a lasting impact on the cleanliness of the park.

22. Questions???? • Contact information for: Renee Watson rwatson@gswpa.org 1-800-248-3355 ext 1418 or 1-814-587-2329

23. NEXT WEBINAR NOVEMBER 21 12:00-1:00pm What Can a Cookie Do?