1. Girl Scout Silver Award Online Training
Welcome to the Girl Scout Silver Award Online Training
Girl Scouts of Western New York
Girl Scout Silver Award
Online Training

2. Please have the following ready for the online training session:
GSWNY Silver Award Packet
GSWNY Silver Award Paperwork
GSWNY Online Training Packet
You will want to have the following ready for the training today. The GSWNY silver award packet, the GSWNY Silver Award Paperwork and the Online Training Packet.

3. The Girl Scout Silver Award is the highest award that Girl Scout Cadettes can earn. The Silver Award has been around for 35 years. It was introduced in 1980.
The Girl Scout Silver Award is the second is the series of the progressive Higher Awards. The award is completed around a non-girl scout issues in your community. The Silver Award makes girls analyze community needs and issues and create a Take Action Project with Sustainable and Measurable aspects. The Silver award was introduced in 1980.

4. What are the benefits of earning the Silver Award?
Higher Education
Distinguish yourself among competition for college
Join an elite network of Silver Award recipients
Scholarship opportunities for Silver Award recipients
Life Skills
Be a role model
Empower yourself to lead
Enhance self-worth/confidence
Community
Tackle an issue, locally or globally
Learn to provide a sustainable solution to the community
Establish a lifetime network of peers and advisors
Earning your Silver Award will lead to many further opportunities and benefits down the road. 96% of Silver Award recipients go on to pursue the Gold Award. You will start to distinguish your self from among your peers with the life skills you gain on your take action project. You will be involved in your community, and you have an edge later on with applications for higher education.

5. B. Complete 1 Girl Scout Cadette Journey:
Prerequisites
A. Girls must be in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade and a registered Girl Scout.
B. Complete 1 Girl Scout Cadette Journey:
Amaze, Breathe, or Media
( A Journey is completed when the award(s) within the Journey have been completed.)
There are a few prerequisites for earning the Silver Award. You must be a registered Girl Scout Cadette in 6th – 8th grade, and you have to complete 1 Cadette level journey.

6. The Silver Award Take Action Project:
A leadership-based Take Action Project that:
Requires 50 hours of your participation
Should be approved by your leader or advisor before you begin
Can be implemented either individually or with a small group of 2-4 girls
Focuses on addressing a community need outside of Girl Scouts
Should be Sustainable and Measurable addressing a root cause
The Take Action project for a journey is usually a one time Community Service based project, with a pre-determined theme. For the Silver Award, you must create a Take Action project that shows sustainability, with a way to measure the impact the you have made in the community. It may not have a focus on Girl Scouts. You can not complete the silver award as a troop like the bronze award.

7. Eight Steps for Girls to earn their Silver Award
Go on a Cadette Journey
Identify Issues You Care About
Build Your Girl Scout Silver Award Team
Explore Your Community
Pick Your Take Action Project
Develop Your Project
Make a Plan and Put It Into Motion
Reflect, Share Your Story, and Celebrate
Girl Scouts of the USA as well as all Councils like Girl Scouts of Western New York approach the Silver Award with an 8 step process. The process is designed to keep you on track in completing a successful Silver Award Take Action Project. We will provide you with tools and resources to guide you along the way! Your GSWNY Silver Award Packet goes through all the steps if you ever need a refresher.

8. 1. Go On a Cadette Journey There are Three Cadette Journeys
Step #1. Go on a Cadette Journey. You may not begin your Silver Award Take Action project until you have completed a Cadette journey. You may participate in Silver Award training, prior to, or while working on the Journey. There are three Cadette journeys you can complete: Media, Breathe and Amaze.

9. 2. Identify Issues You Care About
Decision-Making Tips
What inspires you / what matters most to you?
What skills/talents do you have to offer?
What would benefit your community immediately and long- term?
How do you want to make a difference?
Step #2. Identify issues you care about. There are a huge range of issues that teens feel passionate about, and can relate to. If you are going to be spending at least 50 hours on a Take Action project, you will want it to be based on something you are passionate about, and with something you want to make a change in. How do you want to make a difference and change your world?

10. 2. Identify Issues You Care About
You can use the Issues Chart in the Silver Award Packet to begin brainstorming Issues you care about.
This is not your project, just a list to help get you started with thinking about issues, and where you can make a difference in your community.
For Girls, one of the hardest parts to the Silver Award can figuring our what to do. Starting to brainstorm issues you care about, will allow you to figure out where your passion lies, and where you want to make a difference in your community.

11. 2. Identify Issues You Care About
Take a look at page #1 in the Silver Award Online Training Packet. Do you feel passionate about any of these issues? Do you see or deal with any of these issues in your own life and community? What issues do you want to change? Where do you think you can make a difference?

12. 2. Identify Issues You Care About
Page #2 of your Online packet is an Issues Chart. Begin to keep notes on your own community while on your Silver Award journey. Start brainstorming the issues that matter to you, and issues that affect your own community. How do you want to change your world!

13. 3. Build Your Girl Scout Silver Award Team
No more than 4 girls to a project.
Silver Award can be earned as an individual.
Seek out and recognize the strengths of others.
Respect different points of view and ways of working.
Communication and Cooperation are key to a successful team.
Recruit a Project Advisor who will bring special skills to your project.
Step #3 – Build your Girl Scout Silver Award Team. The Silver Award can be done as an individual Girl Scout or as a team project. The team can not be more than 4 Girl Scouts who are earning the Silver Award. Even if you earn the Silver Award individually, you will still have a team of people who are there to help you along the away.

14. 3. Build Your Girl Scout Silver Award Team
Use the following tips to create a great team whose members are committed to:
Respecting different points of view and ways of work
Contributing to the project—everyone needs to help out! All girls need to put in 50 hours
Accepting constructive suggestions
Working together to create and develop a plan
Resolving conflicts
Team members don’t always agree, but leaders know how to help others get along. When disagreements arise, remember:
To be considerate and respectful of your fellow teammates
To be a sister to every Girl Scout on your team
That communication and cooperation are very important when working with others
If you are creating a team of Girl Scouts to complete the Silver Award, remember that EACH girl must play an active part in the ENTIRE Silver Award process from start to finish. Please refer to the Silver Award packet for tips and ideas to keep your team strong and successful while you work on your Silver Award Take Action project. You may want to have an initial meeting and play some team games to make sure your team knows how to communicate, and how to tackle any conflicts that may arise while working on the Silver Award.

15. 4.Explore Your Community
What is a community you belong to?
Every Community has its own needs. Looking at the needs will help you gain a better understanding of your community as well as help make a decision about your priorities for improvement.
Problems are a part of life, every community has problems too. Like people communities try and solve their problems. Analyzing problems helps find solutions.
No one knows you community better than you do!
Step #4 – Explore Your Community. The Silver Award Take Action project is meant to tackle an issue in your community, and lead to a lasting solution. In order to find a solution for an issue, you must really understand the problems at hand. By exploring your own community, you can begin to see the needs, and start to think about solutions that will create a lasting change. A Take Action project will involve the community, not just help the community!

16. 4.Explore Your Community
Make a List of issues in your community.
Use the Community Contact List in the Silver Award Packet to start listing individuals that can help with issues in your community.
These are great individuals to contact as project advisors later down the road.
You can start comparing the issues you care about and the issues in your community.
Do any of the issues overlap? Is there an issue you are passionate about that is also a need in your own community?
How can you make a lasting difference?
You can explore your community and it’s needs in several ways: Take a walk through your school, take a bike ride around your neighborhood, or take a bus ride in your town. While exploring your community, make sure to look for places that could be improved, or places where your talents could be used. You can go to places like your town hall or community centers and talk to people who can help you identify community issues and needs. Don’t forget that the term community means a groups of individuals who share an environment. The community which is the Target Audience of your Silver Award, may not be the same as another Silver Award project. Make sure to think about what community you want to explore.

17. 4.Explore Your Community
Page #4 of your Online Packet is a Community Contact List. While exploring your community, make sure to keep track of the individuals you speak with, and who help you understand your community. These are great people to include in your Silver Award Team, and to keep as contacts to help you as your progress with your Take Action Project. You can also get some interviewing, phone and tips under the higher awards section of the website. Note: Always be safe when you talk to new people! Discuss safety tips with your troop/group volunteer and family, and always go with an adult.

18. 5. Pick Your Take Action Project
Now that you have explored your community, and you know what issues you are passionate about, it is time to choose a take action project.
Your team and you need to review what you have learned, and pick a project, where you think you can create change.
Several issues are big and complicated – and hard to fix! You will need to narrow down the issue, and focus on ONE root cause, and create a project to address that specific aspect of the problem.
Mind Mapping
Mind Mapping is a great tool to break an issue down into Root Causes.
Mind Mapping can then also be used to break a root cause into a reasonable Take Action Project.
Step #5 – Pick Your Project. Now that you have done some initial research and investigating, you can think about your Take Action Project. If you are working as a team, the whole team must be included in making these decisions. Many issues in your community are very large, or have several factors that lead to the issues. Mind Mapping is a great tool to use, to help you focus on the Root cause of an issue. You can then focus on how to address the root cause to create a lasting solution to the issue. If you break your arm, ibuprofen would be like a community service project (it helps the pain, but only for a bit, and does not address the root cause) and a cast is like the Take Action Project. The cast will heal your arm, and create a permanent solution to the issue, and solve the root cause, the broken bone. You want to focus on the root cause of an issue, to make a permanent and lasting change.

19. 5. Pick Your Take Action Project
Mind Mapping Activity
Here Mind Mapping is used to show Root Causes of Car Crashes.
Here is an example of mind mapping used to break down the problem of car crashes. From the mind map you can see there are several root causes of car crashes. Some of these root causes can be broken down even more. For your Silver Award, you could not tackle all of the underlying root causes of the issue with one project. You need to focus on ONE root cause, and create a Take Action Project to address the one root cause to create lasting change. Page 5 of your Online Packet shows the mind mapping on the screen. Once you have found a root cause to focus on, you can again use mind mapping to start brainstorming project ideas to address the issue.

20. 5. Pick Your Take Action Project
Mind Mapping Activity
Now Mind Mapping is used to show take action project ideas to address the issue of texting while driving.
Here is an example of Mind Mapping to brainstorm project ideas. We are focusing on the fact that texting while driving is a root cause of car crashes. There are several things we could do to spread awareness and create changes. You may want to create online videos online to teach girls the danger of texting while driving, or create an app that will teach the dangers of texting while driving. Again if you are working as a team, please make sure that all team members are included in the planning and research of your project. Page #6 of your online Packet shows the mind map on screen for you to use as a reference.

21. 5. Pick Your Take Action Project
Mind Mapping Activity
Page #s 7 and 8 of your Online Packet are blank mind maps for you to use. Try breaking down some issues that matter to you to see if you can find some root causes, and think about some projects to address the issues. You can start with issues that are easy to break down, such as pollution. What are some projects to address your issues?

22. 6. Develop Your Project Set goals Develop a timeline
Think about money earning & set a budget
What insurance will you need for any events
Is the project realistic
Get your project approved by your Leader
Log your hours
Ensure your plan is:
Sustainable
Measurable
Step # 6 – Develop your Project. This is where you will spend the majority of your planning time. While developing your project, you want to keep in mind that your Silver Award impact needs to last, and you need to have a way to measure your success. Like all Girl Scout events, and projects, there are also some safety issues and guidelines you need to keep in mind. There are insurance requirements and financial guidelines available under the higher awards section on the website. Page #09 of your online packet is the financial guidelines to follow while earning money for your Take Action Project, and page #10 is the insurance Guidelines to follow for any event held for your Higher Award Take Action Project. You will also need to start thinking about your budget and timeline. Make sure to set realistic goals, so you have a Silver Award project you can complete. You will also need to log your hours spent on the Silver Award.

23. 6. Develop Your Project What Talents do you bring to the project
What issues could arise – how will we work to solve the problems
Who can help us with our project
Does this issue reach out nationally or globally
Ensure your plan is:
Sustainable – Make it last!
Measurable – How can you tell you made a difference
Take Action vs Community Service
Pages #11 and #12 of your online packet deal with Sustainability and how to measure the impact of your project. While developing your project, you want to make sure to set your goals, so you know what impact you are going measure, and you want to make sure you are addressing a root cause of an issues, to ensure the difference is lasting and not just a one time fix.

24. 6. Develop Your Project Ensure your plan is:
Sustainable – Make it last!
What does it mean to have a sustainable project?
To be sustainable, you must ensure that your project creates lasting change after your involvement ends. A sustainable project is not a one-time event.
Measurable – How can you tell you made a difference?
How does a girl measure project impact?
The success of a project should be measurable based on the number of people the project helped, the number of people who were involved, a reduction in the community’s need, or other concrete numbers.
Take Action vs Community Service
How do you include some aspect to your your take action project, so that it is sustainable? Also how you are going to measure your success.? Let look at the examples of community service in the online packet to talk about how to make a project sustainable, and figure out how to measure the success of the project.

25. 6. Develop Your Project Example #1
Community Service Project: A troop held a clothing drive to help the homeless.
What is the problem? Homeless do not have clothing to stay warm.
What is a root cause of the problem? There is not a set place for homeless to turn to for clothes and needed supplies to stay warm.
What is a Take Action Project that is sustainable and creates a lasting difference? Work with the community to set up a clothing closet that they would be open all year, to help support the homeless.
How can you measure the impact of the Take Action Project? You can keep track of how many individuals you are able to provide clothing to over a set period of time. (We were able to provide clothing to 250 individuals over three months.) You can keep track of how much clothing you were able to provide. (We were able to provide over 1500 items of clothing to homeless in the community over a 60 day period.)
This is example #1, from page #12 of your online packet. Is this example a troop held a clothing drive. Although a clothing drive is a great community service project, and does help people, it is not continuous. First you need to figure out the root cause. Here the root cause is having no continuous access to clothes for the homeless. To turn this into a sustainable project, the girls decided to create a clothing closet, so there is a constant access to clothing and supplies for the homeless. It is not a one time deal. Because a goal of providing clothing to the homeless was set, the girls can measure the impact in a few ways. They can show the impact with the amount of people they are helping, or how much clothing they are providing.

26. 6. Develop Your Project Example #2
Community Service Project: A troop held an Earth Day Clean-Up event.
What is the problem?
What is a root cause of the problem?
What is a Take Action Project that is sustainable and creates a lasting difference?
How can you measure the impact of the Take Action Project?
Example #3
Community Service Project: A troop held a book drive for children who don’t have books at home.
Here are the next two examples of community service projects. Let’s see how these can be turned into Take Action Projects that are SUSTAINABLE and MEASURABLE.

27. 6. Develop Your Project Example #2
Community Service Project: A troop held an Earth Day Clean-Up event at the park.
What is the problem? Litter/trash in the community.
What is a root cause of the problem? No access to trash bins for proper disposal at the park.
What is a Take Action Project that is sustainable and creates a lasting difference? Work with your local government to set up trash cans/recycling and trash pick-up at the park.
How can you measure the impact of the Take Action Project? You can track how much garbage is kept out of the park. (We were able to keep 750lbs of trash from being left at the park over the last year.)
Example #2. In this example the troop had a clean up. First let’s figure out a root cause leading to trash in the community. In this example here was no where to get rid of it at the park. The sustainable answer was to provide trash cans and places to recycle at the park that will be permanent, and allow for the park to remain clean, even after the clean-up is done. The goal was to clean up the park, and to measure the success the girls can show how much trash is kept out of the park because of the new trash cans.

28. 6. Develop Your Project Example #3
Community Service Project: A troop held a book drive for children who don’t have books at home.
What is the problem? Kids don’t have access to books at home.
What is a root cause of the problem? The families do not have the funding to provide books for kids at home.
What is a Take Action Project that is sustainable and creates a lasting difference? Create a semi-yearly book drive with a community based agency, which can ensure to continue the book drives yearly for children.
How can you measure the impact of the Take Action Project? You can track how many books you are able to provide. (We provided children with 3500 books this year.) You can track how many children you help. (We provided 375 children with books for home.)
Example #3. In this example the troop held a book drive. First figure out a root cause for kids not having books at home. Here it is the families not having a way to provide books at home for financial reasons. To create a lasting solution to the problem, they decided to work with another community agency to ensure the book drives will continue even when the girls are done, so that there is always going to be books being collected for kids that do not have access. Because the goal was to provide books to kids, the girls can track how many books or how many children were given books.

29. 7. Make a Plan and Put It Into Motion
CAN YOU SAY YES?
The answers to all of the questions below should be yes before you begin your Silver Award Take Action project.
• Will your project demonstrate your leadership skills?
• Have you set your project goal and identified what you would like to learn?
• Have you chosen your Take Action team? Have you discussed the project with them?
• Have you created a budget for the project?
• Have you created a plan to raise funds, if necessary?
• Have you made a timeline for your project?
• Does your project address a need in the local community and have you found national and/or global links?
• Can your project be sustainable?
• Does your project challenge your abilities and your interests?
Step #7 – Make a Plan and Put It Into Motion. After you / your team have developed the Take Action project you need to make your plan and get to it! Step #7 will require the majority of the hours spent on your Silver Award Take Action Project. Page #13 of your online packet is the planning checklist. This checklist can be used for any of the Higher Awards. If your leader has approved your project, and you can answer yes to ALL the questions, than you are ready to go.

30. 7. Make a Plan and Put It Into Motion
I can say yes!, Now What?
It is time to get started!
Use the Make a Plan Worksheet in the Silver Award Paperwork to outline your plan.
You will be including this sheet when you turn in your Silver Award Paperwork to Council.
Make sure to keep track of the time spent while working on the project in the hours log.
When you have identified all your steps and goals – get to it!
Complete your Silver Award Take Action Project.
Make sure to document your progress to share.
Take pictures or videos or make a story.
Make sure to fill out the entire Make a Plan worksheet. You want to make sure that you, or all your team members know exactly what your goals are, and all the steps needed to get there. Make sure to clearly assign all tasks and how and when they need to be completed. This will ensure less conflict as you progress through your Take Action Project. When you know your goals, you will be able to complete an amazing Take Action project.

31. 7. Make a Plan and Put It Into Motion
The Make A Plan Worksheet is in your Silver Award Paperwork packet, and is part of the required paperwork to be turned in to Council when you have completed your Take Action Project and Silver Award work.

32. 8. Reflect, Share your story and Celebrate Your Project
Reflect on what you have accomplished!
What impact have you made?
Share what you have learned to help inspire others to make a difference as well.
Thank the people that have helped you on your Silver Award journey.
CELEBRATE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS!
Submit your Final Project Report to GSWNY by September 30th of the year you enter 9th grade including:
Log of Hours
Advisor’s signature
Project Short Answers
Make A Plan Worksheet
Step # 8 – Reflect, Share your Story and Celebrate your project. You can find the Silver Award paperwork online or you can pick up the paperwork at council. You need to make sure to fully and clearly fill out all parts of the paperwork. The following should be turned into council:
Scout Information – Make sure to include you Journey information
Team Information – Make sure to have your advisor sign off on the form as well (this can be your leader for silver)
Answers to the reflective questions.
Make a Plan Worksheet
Log of Hours

33. 8. Reflect, Share your story and Celebrate Your Project
Now celebrate the work you and your team have completed. Share your project to inspire younger girls to make a difference as well. Council does send out Silver Award certificates monthly to all recipients. The girls leader or parent is responsible for the purchase of any Silver Pins or patches.

34. Points to Remember
Suggested minimum of 50 hours from the start of planning to the end of your project.
Your Take Action Project must focus on the community (outside of Girl Scouting).
The Take Action Project must have your leader’s approval.
The project must be sustainable and measurable.
All requirements are completed and submitted to the council by September 30 of the year that you enter 9th grade.
A few things to remember: You must complete your silver award before you have bridged to a Senior Girl Scout. Once you have bridged, you are no longer eligible to receive the Silver Award. You may still pursue to Gold Award if you have not completed the Silver. You do not have to be in a Girl Scout Troop to earn any of the higher Awards. Also again if you are about to spend 50 hours on a project, make sure it is a issue you are passionate about, and in a subject where you want to make a change. If not you are more apt to not compete the entire Take Action project.

35. programs@gswny.org QUESTIONS? Call Out Example
You can always programs with any questions, concerns or for any help with any of the higher awards.

36. Girl Scout Silver Award Online Training
Congratulations, you have completed your Silver Award online training.
Girl Scouts of Western New York
Girl Scout Silver Award
Online Training