Adult Guide for
Earning the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 2
Celebrate! Check with your council to see if
they host a local ceremony or celebration, or
organize one of your own!
Silver Award at a Glance
Identify issues that you’re passionate
about and how they affect your community.
Build your team. Work with a team of up to
three other Cadettes or on your own. Either
way, plan to partner with the community.
Explore your community to learn more
about issues that interest you. This can be your
neighborhood, your school, Girl Scouts, your
place of worship, or another community of
interest.
Choose your Silver Award project
based on your passions and what you’ve
learned by exploring your community and
talking to others.
Step 5:
Step 6:
Spread the word and submit your
nal report. Inspire others! You can give a
presentation to another Girl Scout troop, your
local Girl Scout community, or to students at
school. Turn in your nal report to your council
before September 30 after completing 8th grade.
Prerequisite:
Go on a Cadette Journey, including
the Journey’s Take Action™ project.
Step 1: Step 2:
Make a plan and submit your
Project Proposal to carry out your Silver
Award Take Action project.
Step 4: Step 3:
Put your plan in motion. You and your team
will each spend about 50 hours to earn the
award. Planning time counts too! Use the
Time Log to track your time.
Step 7: Then...
7 Steps to the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 3
Silver Award at a Glance ............................................................................................................................. 2
Part 1: The Silver Award Dened ............................................................................................................. 5
How to Use This Guide .................................................................................................................. 5
Benets of Becoming a Silver Award Girl Scout .................................................................. 5
Silver Award Resources ................................................................................................................ 6
Your Role in the Silver Award ..................................................................................................... 6
Key Elements of the Silver Award Project ............................................................................................ 7
Take Action vs. Community Service ………………..................................................................... 7
Highest Award Take Action Project Required Elements ………………................................. 8
How to Show Leadership ………………………………………………….…….…….......................…………… 9
What You Need to Know About Root Cause ……………....…………….......................…………… 10
What You Need to Know About Sustainability …………………….………......................………… 11
How to “Try” to Measure Impact …………………………………………………..……….....................… 12
How to “Try” to Identify a National and/or Global Link ……………………................……… 13
Silver Award Take Action Project Sample …………………….............….............….........……… 13
Table of Contents
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 4Table of Contents
Part 2: Achieving the Silver Award ……………………........…………………………............................…………. 14
Getting Started …………………………………………………………………………............................…………. 14
How much time does it take? ………………………………………………..…….....................……………. 15
When to start? ……………….....................…………...................………….......................……………....… 15
Steps to Earn the Silver Award ……………………………………………………........................……………………… 16
Prerequisites …........…......…......…......…......…......…......…......…......…......…......…......…......…........ 16
Step 1: Identify issues ……………………………………………………...…………………….…..................... 17
Step 2: Build your team …………………………………………………………........................……………….. 19
Step 3: Explore your community ………………………………………..........…...…….……………………. 21
Step 4: Choose your Silver Award Project ………………………….......…….…………………..……… 23
Step 5: Make a plan and submit your Project Proposal ………………….......……..…………… 24
Step 6: Put your plan into motion ……………………………………………………..…..........…………… 25
Step 7: Spread the word & submit your Final Report ……………..……....………….……….…. 26
What comes next? ……………………………………………………………….......................….…………….....…………... 27
Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………........................……………....………………... 29
Girl Scout Silver Award™ Checklist
………………………………………………..……..………………….. 29
Take Action Project Decision Bracket ………………………….....................………………………….. 31
Mind Mapping Diagram …………………………………………………………........………………………….... 33
Guidance for Girl Scouts Engaging with Project Advisors …...................………………….. 34
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 5
Part 1:
The Silver Award Dened
The guide is designed to help you feel comfortable
guiding Girl Scouts through the Silver Award Take
Action project so that you’ll know what the project
is—and how Girl Scouts do it.
You’ll also learn about Silver Award requirements, the seven steps Girl Scouts take to earn a Silver
Award, and tips to help you guide Girl Scouts each step of the way. Girl Scouts use a checklist in the
back of their Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award to keep track of their actions. Find the
same checklist in this guide so that you can follow along (see page 29).
How to Use This Guide
Benets of Becoming a Silver Award Girl Scout
Earning the Silver Award enables Cadette Girl Scouts to…
• Make the world a better place, starting in their own communities!
• Be recognized as a community leader.
• Find support from the community in many ways. Being a Silver
Award Girl Scout will help them build relationships. These valuable
connections may support future projects or part-time employment
opportunities/references.
• Learn to work closely with a team to accomplish a project for
the community. They will practice cooperation, leadership,
compromise, and teamwork—all skills that they’ll use throughout
their lives.
• Build leadership skills like time management, problem solving, and
effective communication, all while tackling a community issue they
really care about.
• Help them develop skills and abilities that will set them up to
successfully earn the Gold Award. Plus, it’s one of the prerequisite
options for earning the Gold!
We call this the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. It’s a special
opportunity that gives Girl Scouts real-world skills that they’ll use for
a lifetime. Thank you for making the Silver Award experience possible
for Girl Scouts.
The Silver Award is the highest
honor a Girl Scout Cadette can earn.
With your support, Girl Scouts:
• What they care about.
• Their talents.
• The world around them.
• With each other.
• With others in their community
and around the world.
• To tackle a meaningful issue.
• To make the world a better place.
Discover
Take Action
Connect
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 6Part 1: The Silver Award Dened
Silver Award Resources
Your Role in the Silver Award
In addition to this guide and the Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award, the Volunteer Toolkit provides suggested meeting plans to get
you started on the Silver Award; the Girl Scout Activity Zone has helpful videos and self-guided activities related to award requirements; and the
Silver Award webpage and gsLearn have on-demand Silver Award training.
Check with your local council for support they may provide including training, resources, and other opportunities for adults and Girl Scouts to get
guidance on the Silver Award. Successful projects and experiences often begin with Silver Award Training.
Your role in the Silver Award Take Action project
is primarily as a guide.
This is true whether you are a troop leader, assistant leader, a project volunteer, or a parent/legal
guardian. When you think about your role, keep the Girl Scout Leadership Experience in mind.
The Girl Scouts should:
Learning by Doing
Make learning
memorable, meaningful,
and long-lasting.
Though you won’t be directly planning or leading the project, you can make suggestions and guide
Girl Scouts to stay on track. You can also help them nd the resources they need, like helping
them connect with and visit community experts. You can encourage Girl Scouts and ensure their
safety by following Girl Scout safety guidelines. And, of course, have fun! It’s amazing to watch
what they can do. When the Girl Scouts wrap up, plan to celebrate!
You know Girl Scouts are getting the
Girl Scout Leadership Experience if
they can check these boxes as they
work on their Silver Award Take
Action project:
How You Can Help
Learning by Doing
Being active
Going places
Being hands-on
Girl-Led
Choosing roles
Making decisions
Running activities and meetings
(appropriately for their age)
Cooperative Learning
Working with others
Experience a sense of belonging
Engage in action and reection
Highly recommended: Silver Award Training for Girl Scouts,
troop/group volunteers, and other adults
Cooperative Learning
Learn by working together.
Girl-Led
Lead age-appropriate
project activities.
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 7
The Silver Award Take Action project may be
different than other projects you’ve done with
your troop or Girl Scout.
For example, many Girl Scouts do projects like collecting coats for the homeless, or pet food for an animal
shelter. These helpful acts support their communities with services and are called service projects. The
Silver Award is a Take Action project.
Take Action vs. Community Service
It’s important and helpful for Girl Scouts to understand the difference between
these projects before they begin. Here’s the difference:
Key Elements of the
Silver Award Project
Take Action
A long-term project with sustainable and ongoing
inuence that addresses an issue’s root cause
Creating a unique initiative to address
an issue’s root cause
Creating and leading your own
team of volunteers
Setting the goals and leading a team to achieve them
Done WITH the community
Community Service
A short-term effort that helps something or
someone fulll an immediate need
Done FOR the community
Joining an existing effort to solve an issue
Done as part of an existing team, usually as a volunteer
Working toward a goal that’s set by others
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 8
Often, a community service project idea can be developed into a
Take Action project.
For example, Girl Scouts may want to collect cans of food for an overcrowded pet shelter. That’s a service project, of course. But if they partner with
the shelter to understand the root causes of the overcrowding and develop a solution, such as free workshops to teach the importance of spaying
and neutering pets, that’s a Take Action project.
It is important for leaders and adults to understand what a Take Action project is and know that you can always contact your local council to discuss
a project idea to ensure your Girl Scouts are on the right track before they begin.
Take Action projects have up to ve elements. The Girl Scout Gold Award requires all ve; the Girl Scout Silver Award requires three; and the Girl
Scout Bronze Award requires two. This way, Girl Scouts learn something new and have opportunities to be challenged in different ways as they earn
the Bronze, Silver, and then Gold Awards.
To earn their Silver Award, Girl Scouts need to:
• Show leadership.
• Research and address a root cause of an issue in their community.
• Create a plan to make the project sustainable.
• Optional: “Try” to make their project measurable.
• Optional: “Try” to make a national and/or global link.
Highest Award Take Action Project Elements
Key Elements of the Silver Award Project
Leadership Root Cause Sustainable Measurable
National
and/or
Global Link
Bronze
Juniors
Silver
Cadettes
Gold
Seniors/Ambassadors
Required element Introduction of new concept
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 9
How to Show Leadership
Here are a few suggestions:
• Each Girl Scout should play an active role in choosing, planning,
and developing their Take Action project.
• Individuals on a team can share their vision to help align
the group.
• It isn’t a leader’s job to do everything; rather, it’s the leader’s job to make
sure everything gets done.
• If working in a team, each individual is encouraged to be
responsible for one specic aspect of the project.
• For individuals as well as teams, active leadership is shown when
involving others in their efforts. Recruiting and engaging other
people from their network and around the community may be
necessary to complete certain tasks.
• Plan to partner with community members to take action.
• Community members might be teachers or school administrators,
business or religious groups, or staff at a local community center
working on the issue the Girl Scouts are interested in. They should
be experts in the issue they're working on. Ideally, their project
will provide the community they serve with a much-needed
solution, so they will help sustain their project. Taking action to
make a positive change in their community is leadership.
Keep in mind: each Girl Scout will be required to identify and reect
on their own leadership experience in their Final Report, as well as
provide names of volunteers and community partners who assisted
in their projects.
Small Teams: Have you ever worked on a project with
a large group of people and noticed that some folks talk
a lot, make a lot of decisions, or call the shots—while
other group members may hang in the background?
When you work in a group of three people or fewer, you
have the best chance of creating a space where all voices
are heard and everyone gets to develop their leadership
skills equally.
• Make the prospect of the Silver Award come alive by sharing stories or videos about what other Silver Award teams have done.
You might even reach out to an older troop to join your meeting to share their experiences and recommendations for a successful
project. But remember, looking at other projects is just for inspiration. Girl Scouts should explore their own interests and their own
communities. Taking action in this personal way makes the project more meaningful.
• Encourage Cadettes to make community connections. Are there other volunteers or parents/legal guardians who can help, or
introduce Girl Scouts to a potential community partner? You can help brainstorm, but keep it girl-led by having the Cadettes take
the lead in seeking out their experts. Help them plan their questions and practice ahead of time so they are prepared and feel
more condent.
How You Can Help
There are two ways to earn the Silver Award: Girl Scouts can work with a
small team (of up to three other Cadettes), or they can take on a project
on their own. Both options provide opportunities to learn leadership skills.
Key Elements of the Silver Award Project
Why not a big group of Cadettes?
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 10
What You Need to Know About Root Cause
Researching various community issues and
then deciding which to address will require
Girl Scouts to complete an additional step of
exploring the situations or factors that cause
the issue, or the “root cause.”
The extra step of identifying and then addressing a root cause will result in a successful Take
Action project. This is because Girl Scouts will take steps to impact the issue’s root cause,
therefore making long-term improvements, or xing the issue itself.
Imagine that you’ve agreed to take care of a neighbor’s garden while she is on vacation. You
drop by after dinner and notice that all the plants are drooping. You quickly grab the hose
and water the plants. Whew! You solved the problem.
But the next day, the plants look worse. Why? Well, you assumed that the cause of the wilted
plants was lack of water. But the plants seem to be drooping for another reason. Maybe they
have pests. Maybe they’ve had too much water. Maybe they aren’t the kinds of plants that
last. As you can see, it’s important to know the real root cause before taking action.
You nd the real root cause by researching and talking to experts in the community. In this
case, you could research the type of plant to understand its needs. You could visit a plant
nursery and ask an expert.
For the Silver Award, you will guide Girl Scouts to research and connect with community experts to nd out what activates their community issue.
Then, have them ask why that happens in order to nd the real root causes. Often, they will have to look at the “why” in a lot of places, or ask
“Why?” several times, in order to get to the root causes.
The plants are drooping.
The plant has pests that are damaging
the leaves, causing wilting.
This plant variety should only be
watered once a month.
You developed a natural plant pest
spray and sprayed the plants.
You made a note to tell your neighbor
that their plants need water less often.
You noticed that:
You addressed the root
cause when:
You researched and asked
“Why?” to uncover these
root causes:
But why does a root cause matter, and how do you nd it?
This scenario might help:
Once Girl Scouts have identied their issue, they can also use the mind mapping diagram in their Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award as
a visual tool to help them explore root causes. See the appendix in this guide for an example of the mind mapping diagram.
Key Elements of the Silver Award Project
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 11
What You Need to Know About Sustainability
Girl Scouts will create a plan to make the project sustainable, which
means the project’s impact lasts even after it’s over.
The goal is for the Girl Scouts to create and put a plan in place to sustain their project; however, how the community partners follow through is often
outside the Girl Scouts’ inuence or control. For the Gold Award, they will need to ensure their plan carries on—that’s the Take Action progression!
Discuss how they can make their projects sustainable. Here are three methods to consider:
Girl Scouts will share their plan for sustainability in their Silver Award Project Proposal and describe what they actually did in their Final Report.
See the Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award.
Key Elements of the Silver Award Project
Start a school composting program
and collect before and after surveys
to understand the increase in
composting know-how.
Post an educational video or blog and
partner with an established organization
to ensure people can nd it.
Create a permanent
solution that can be
used after the project
is complete.
Advocate to change
a rule, regulation, or law,
and encourage others
to join!
Educate and inspire
others in the community
or within Girl Scouts to
be part of the change.
Start a school club and get a teacher or
a Girl Scout troop to commit to continue
the work.
Run a stress relief awareness campaign
and enact a call to action, like a pledge to
track who commits to adopting new
self-care habits.
Protect sea turtle habitats by getting
others to take up the cause by signing
a petition as part of a campaign to enact
a law protecting the animal’s habitats
Advocacy is what matters. Bonus points
if the law is passed—but if not, you still
changed minds and behaviors along
the way.
Create a sensory room and leave an
instruction manual on how to use it.
Host a reading workshop to promote
early literacy and share the curriculum
with a community partner to continue
literacy education.
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 12
How to “Try” to Measure Impact - optional
One of the most important questions to ask before the project is started
is “How will I know when I’ve succeeded?” To try to answer this question,
have Girl Scouts set a goal for what can be meaningfully counted to
measure the effectiveness of their project.
Some ways they may want to track their project’s
impact are by counting the:
Once Girl Scouts know what to watch to track success,
help them decide what tools to use to measure how the
project progresses. Here are a few suggestions:
• Number of people who volunteered with the project.
• Number of people who visited the project’s website.
• Number of people who can eat vegetables produced by the new garden.
• Number of people who attended an event for the project.
• Number of bottles recycled because of new recycling cans at the playground.
• Amount of food donated for a cooking workshop at the food pantry which is supported by new
recipes on the pantry’s website.
• Number of books donated for the new library section created at the preschool.
• Complete a survey or evaluation and calculate the results.
• Track numbers like attendees, hours, or donations with a log sheet.
• Track clicks, views, or shares.
Match the results against the initial goal to measure the project’s impact.
Key Elements of the Silver Award Project
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 13
How to “Try” to Identify a National and/or Global Link - optional
Ava, Zuri, and Gloria were excited to earn their Girl Scout Silver Award. They agreed to be extra observant at school and in their
neighborhood to discover potential issues that could be the focus of their Take Action project.
They came together as a team to share ideas, and they chose several ideas to explore. Their leader helped them connect with community
members who could help them learn more. One of their observations was that lots of younger students don’t tie their shoes. They
researched to nd the root cause: the students were not fully learning how to tie their shoes because they needed more hands-on practice.
They showed leadership by partnering with a preschool, and by each individual Girl Scout handling different aspects of the project. Ava
took the lead on research, Zuri scheduled calls with experts to learn more, and Gloria worked with a small team of volunteers to create a
hands-on tool to help students practice tying their shoes. Together, they developed workshops that they led at the preschool to put their
program into action. Ava doesn’t feel comfortable speaking publicly, so she helped set up and took attendance while Zuri and Gloria
presented to students and teachers.
They felt proud when the preschoolers gained the skill and condence to tie their shoes. And they made their project sustainable by
teaching preschoolers to tie their shoes, and by sharing their workshop outline and hands-on tool with the preschool, which will continue
to encourage the students to practice. They made a lasting impact!
Their troop leader explained the concepts of measurable and national and/or global link. They knew these weren’t required for the
Silver Award, but they made a goal to teach at least 50 students to tie their shoes. They decided to keep track of attendance at their
presentations, just to practice for the Gold Award. They also discussed how their project links to a national and/or global issue because
the increased demands on parents’ time leads to a higher demand for more hands-on life skills programs at school.
Try to identify the project’s national and/or global link by encouraging Girl Scouts to research how other people and places address their issue.
Try to gure out:
• How do other organizations or communities implement solutions?
• What can be learned?
• What can be incorporated into their project?
Girl Scouts can consider reaching out, asking for advice, ideas, and even collaboration. Seeing how other people and places implement solutions
might also inspire Girl Scouts. They can use what they learned to inform their project. Plus, these kinds of partnerships can be excellent ways
to ensure sustainability. Encourage Girl Scouts to have sensitivity when pursuing issues that impact communities that are underrepresented or
marginalized. Remember that every community holds a unique space in the world and still has plenty to offer, even through adversity.
Making the project measurable and establishing a national and/or global link is optional. Why take these steps? They will make the project stronger
and help Girl Scouts prepare for the Gold Award.
Key Elements of the Silver Award Project
SAMPLE:
Silver Award Take Action Project
Shoe-Tying Success
Identifying a national and/or global link is connecting
how the project’s issue is relevant worldwide. It’s likely
the issue can be found in your own local, regional, or
national community and across the globe, whether it’s
hunger, poverty, illiteracy, homelessness, or pollution.
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 14
Part 2:
Achieving the Silver Award
Getting Started
Before you begin, conrm that the Girl Scouts interested in earning the Silver Award have met
these prerequisites:
• A registered Girl Scout Cadette (grades 6–8)
• Completed a Cadette Journey, including the Journey’s Take Action project
• Optional: Completed Silver Award Training
Highly recommended: Silver Award Training for Girl Scouts,
troop/group leaders, and other adults
• Register your Girl Scout(s) for training: Troop leaders or parents/legal guardians can register Girl Scouts for training.
• Attend a training session: Troop leaders and parents/legal guardians are encouraged to attend Silver Award trainings with
their Girl Scouts to familiarize themselves with the Silver Award requirements and process. When troop parents/legal guardians
understand the process and see the value, they can help their Girl Scouts prioritize it among their other commitments.
• Dedicate a few minutes of meetings to updates on Silver Award Projects: Short check-ins during regular meetings or
dedicated meetings to Silver Award issues can help Girl Scouts brainstorm general tips for moving forward, troubleshoot obstacles,
give direction for resources, and discuss ways members can support one another. Step 2 on page 19, “Build Your Team,” and Step 3 on
page 21, “Explore Your Community,” include great meeting activities for troops.
How You Can Help
Every Cadette Girl Scout can earn the Silver Award if they choose.
The Silver Award process is built to accommodate different learning styles and abilities. Your council team has resources to support all Girl
Scouts in planning and implementing a successful project.
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 15
It is recommended that each individual Cadette spend approximately 50 hours working towards the Silver Award. However, the process Girl Scouts
engage in and their leadership growth are much more important than the total number of hours logged. In some cases, the project is completed over
the course of a summer; in others, over the course of a school year.
How much time does it take?
When to start?
Preparation (30–50%) is the process of preparing the project plan
and Silver Award Project Proposal (required). This includes research,
contacting possible community partners, investigating activities, and
nding volunteers.
Implementation (30–50%) is the process of leading and executing
the plan and making changes when necessary to achieve the goal.
This includes training volunteers, leading the team, and more.
Earning money (5–10%) is optional, and only includes time spent
earning money for the Silver Award.
Final Report and thanks (5–10%) includes reecting on their
project’s impact, completing the Silver Award Final Report, and
thanking their team.
While Girl Scouts can earn the Silver Award anytime during their Cadette years (grades 6–8), it’s recommended that they aim to earn the Silver
Award by the summer following their 7th grade year. The additional year offers a buffer in case the Silver Award takes longer than anticipated.
Plus, this gives Girl Scouts the entire 8th grade year to relax and do other fun activities before bridging to Seniors and turning their sights to the
Gold Award.
Recommended (not required!) Timeline:
Budgeting Hours
6th grade 7th grade
Fall
7th grade
Winter/Spring
8th grade
Spring
Complete
pre
requisites
Prepare by
reviewing the Silver
Award Training and
other resources
Implement Silver
Award plan
Submit Final Report Celebrate!
Earn Silver Award
Brainstorm
Silver Award ideas
and submit a
Project Proposal
7th grade–8th grade
Summer/Fall
Part 2: Achieving the Silver Award
30–50%30–50%
5–10%5–10%
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 16
Steps to Earn the Silver Award
Prerequisites
Before getting started, each Girl Scout must
complete a Cadette Journey, including the
Journey’s Take Action project.
In the Silver Award Project Proposal, each Girl Scout will be asked to provide the name of the
Cadette Journey completed and the completion date. In addition, they will be asked to reect on
these questions:
• What did you do?
• What did you learn?
• What will you do better, or differently, next time?
Girl Scouts need the skills they’ll develop in the Journeys—like how to identify community
issues, how to plan, and how to lead or work with others—to succeed on their Silver Award. The
reection will help them begin to connect the dots between their Journey Take Action project
and their Silver Award.
• Share Cadette Journey options with Girl Scouts. Visit the Award and Badge Explorer page. Select “Cadette” as the grade
level and search “Journeys” as the topic. Print a PDF to share with Girl Scouts, who can then choose the one that they’ll work on.
• Guide Girl Scouts to reect and discuss their completed Journey Take Action experiences. Using the questions above,
which are also listed in their Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award, give them time to discuss their answers together. Tell
them to write down their individual answers and save them. They will need to provide the answers to these questions in their
Project Proposal.
How You Can Help
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 17
Step 1: Identify issues.
In this step, Girl Scouts spend time thinking
about issues that they care about and how those
issues affect their community.
This is an important step. Girl Scouts who choose a topic that they are passionate about are more
interested in making an impact. They see value in what they are learning and doing. As a result,
their motivation and engagement lasts throughout the project. And, they reap the benets of
taking action and growing as leaders.
Highly recommended: Once Girl Scouts begin this step, they should start tracking
hours. Girl Scouts are encouraged to track time as they go along, so they don’t get stuck
trying to recreate it at the end. Use the Time Log found in the template section of the
Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award, a spreadsheet, or a piece of paper—
just don’t lose it!
Encourage each Girl Scout to explore, to think about their own experiences, and
imagine what they could change in their community.
• A great tool for narrowing down their options is the Take Action Brainstorming
Decision Bracket, which can be found in their Cadette Workbook for Earning Your
Silver Award and in this guide’s appendix. The decision bracket will help Girl Scouts
match their talents and skills with the issues they want to solve and people they
want to help.
Guide Girl Scouts to use the Issue Chart in their Cadette Workbook for Earning
Your Silver Award and also on the next page.
Get the conversation started:
• Ask: “What are some places we can look for ideas?”
• Suggest options such as newspapers, friends, or social media.
• Challenge them to think more deeply.
Create an open, comfortable environment where Girl Scouts (whether one or a
group) can share their thoughts and ideas.
Break out into small groups to explore issues more deeply—this may result in
spontaneous team formation.
How You Can Help
Steps to Earn the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 18
Issue Chart:
What issues are you
passionate about?
How do the issues affect
your community?
Why are these issues
important to you?
Steps to Earn the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 19
No matter what option they
choose, they should plan to
partner with community members
to learn about an issue, discover
root causes, make a plan, and
take action.
These partners should be experts in the issue they are working on.
Note: The Silver Award Final Report asks Girl Scouts to identify and
reect on their leadership role, responsibilities, and experience.
If your troop has more than four Girl Scouts interested in the Silver
Award, it’s possible that you’ll be guiding more than one team. You
may also have a group of Girl Scouts who want to work together and
one or two who want to work on their own. That’s OK because it
means that they are branching out in order to take action in a way
that’s personally meaningful. Just remember, each team should
develop a unique project based on their own interests. Multiple
teams may NOT collaborate on the same Silver Award project.
Required: Each Silver Award project should have the support of
at least one registered, background-checked adult Girl Scout
volunteer who is responsible for safety and Silver Award procedures.
If your troop is working on several Silver Award Take Action projects,
you might nd it helpful to ask parents/legal guardians or other troop
volunteers to guide one of the teams or an individual. Any volunteer
can take training and have access to Silver Award materials.
Try it: Encourage teams and individuals to seek out a project
advisor. A project advisor is an adult who has some level of
knowledge, skills, expertise, or access to resources that can help with
their project. The project advisor does not design the project, but
can offer valuable insight, advice, and guidance. While parents/legal
guardians and troop leaders can be project advisors, you can encourage
Girl Scouts to expand outside their familiar circles and grow their
networks. Note: This role is different than the registered, background-
checked Girl Scout volunteer and is optional, but strongly encouraged.
See Highest Awards Guidance for Girl Scouts Engaging with Project
Advisors in this guide’s appendix.
Adult roles:
Then, get started!
Girl Scouts who have formed a team of two or more should plan a rst Silver Award meeting. The focus of the rst meeting should be to
encourage team bonding and problem solving—even if they have been in a troop together for years. Encourage each Girl Scout to use this
experience to utilize their strengths while also gaining new skills.
Step 2: Build your team.
To meet the Silver Award leadership
requirement, Cadettes will need to build a team,
and they have options:
• Small team model: They can work with a team of up to three other Cadettes. Their team
can be made up of Girl Scouts from the same troop, other troops, or individually registered
Girl Scouts. Each Girl Scout must play an active role in choosing, planning, developing, and
completing the team’s project, and must have their own role and responsibilities in the project.
• Solo model: They can create and implement a project on their own. Recruiting and engaging
youth and/or adult volunteers from their network and around their community will be
necessary to complete certain tasks.
Highly recommended: Form teams based on shared interest, not friend groups.
Steps to Earn the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 20
Design a “kick-off” meeting that includes one or more of the activities below
to help Girl Scouts build their teams. Include all Girl Scouts in these activities—even
those working on their own. This meeting should be a celebration where everyone feels
good about making the world a better place.
Activity 1: Help the Girl Scouts choose and plan games and activities for this
meeting that will help them discover something they didn’t know about one
another and ideally work toward a common goal. They will nd one activity in their
Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award.
Activity 2: Guide Girl Scouts to create team rules before the rst meeting ends.
Have them come up with rules that help the team work together. Start the list by talking
about the values in the Girl Scout Promise and Law. Examples include being on time, or
listening to each other without interrupting. Post the rules at each team meeting and refer
to them as a reminder if needed.
How You Can Help
Coaching Tips
• Promote an inclusive environment as Girl Scouts work on their project. Values
you might suggest include: ensuring each team member is invited to express
their thoughts and opinions, encouraging active listening and asking questions.
• Discuss ways that team members can respect each other and the diverse
background, viewpoints, and life experiences of their team.
• Note: Girl Scouts should not be expected to be the spokespeople for
communities they are a part of; sharing lived experience is a choice. Reach out
to community partners for their expert knowledge.
• Encourage Girl Scouts to make a task list for each member and then discuss
how they can put those tasks into motion.
• Talk to Girl Scouts about the differences between constructive suggestions,
criticizing, and attacking. For example, if an idea is criticized, ask the
individual who gave the feedback whether they have any suggestions that
might help make the idea better.
• Encourage Girl Scouts to be courteous, considerate, and respectful of fellow
teammates by living the Girl Scout Promise and Law.
• Encourage Girl Scouts to use their knowledge and skills to locate tools and
resources they need, and also to know when, where, and how to enlist the help
of others.
• Discuss how problem-solving skills contribute to effective leadership.
• Discuss some of the obstacles that may come up during their Take Action
project and how the team can work together to overcome them.
Traits of a Good Team
Respect different points of view and
ways of work.
Contribute to the project.
Accept constructive suggestions.
Work together to create and
develop a plan.
Solve problems.
Steps to Earn the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 21
Step 3: Explore your community.
When Girl Scouts explore the world around
them, they connect to their communities, build
empathy, and expand their view. While they
may already have a Take Action project idea in
mind, actually being out in their communities
may bring new ideas and information to light.
For Girl Scouts who are unsure, exploring their communities can help them discover a focus
for their Take Action project. They may decide to explore on their own, with their families, or
together with their team.
This activity also assists Cadettes in identifying organizations and experts who can assist them in
their project and help them gather information on the root cause (the situation/factor that causes
the issue) they are interested in addressing.
1. Guide Girl Scouts to map the communities they see. Step 3 in the Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award recommends
drawing a community map. It might help Girl Scouts to know that community can be more than just a physical place. Sure, they
can explore their neighborhood. But a community is also a group of people, like an athletic team, faith-based group, Girl Scouts,
and groups with a common characteristic, as shown in the Juliette Gordon Low Community Map (both examples are in the Cadette
Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award). Even a younger sibling’s preschool is a community that they might know something about
and want to explore for a project. For more ideas, see the Girl Scout Activity Zone’s Cadette Getting Started with the Silver
Award Activity, which explains how to make a community map.
How You Can Help
Steps to Earn the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 22
Examples of how observation and research become
a project that addresses a real root cause:
Preschoolers are tripping on the
playground because they aren’t
tying their shoes.
Children are afraid and confused when
a family member develops Alzheimer’s
disease.
There are fewer ducks at a local park.
Students aren’t learning how to
tie their shoes.
Information about Alzheimer’s disease
written by children for children isn’t
readily available.
Mold growing on bread left out for the
ducks has made some ducks sick. Others
are overweight from too much bread.
They created an in-school workshop
with a hands-on tool to help students
practice tying their shoes.
They created an Alzheimer’s disease
brochure for children and partnered
with an Alzheimer’s organization for
distribution and continued support.
They created a campaign to educate
the public about not feeding bread
to ducks and provided samples
of appropriate duck food at a
special event.
A Silver Award team
noticed that:
To address the
root cause:
They researched and
asked “why” to uncover
this root cause:
How You Can Help, cont.
If your Girl Scouts decide to physically explore the community:
• Have Girl Scouts keep an eye out for things that could be improved, xed, or otherwise benet from their special talents
and skills.
• Stress safety. Follow the guidelines outlined in Step 6’s “Think safety” section.
2. After exploring their community and making a community map, have Girl Scouts list contact information for any
organizations within Girl Scouts or the wider community that they’d like to explore, or that might be able to help them.
3. Then, guide Girl Scouts to nd experts in the community who can help them understand the root cause of the
project issue.
• Remind Girl Scouts to wear their uniform, if they have one, when meeting with community members or engaging with others
during their Silver Award Take Action project.
• Practice communication skills with Girl Scouts before they talk to others about community issues. They can practice by taking
turns explaining the Silver Award, sharing their ideas, and asking questions of their Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award.
4. Help Girl Scouts to uncover root causes, which is a required element of the Silver Award. Once they have explored their
community and identied issues, they’ll need to research and talk to experts to understand what causes the issues before choosing a
project and taking action.
• Uncovering root causes may seem hard, but it can be surprisingly easy. Brainstorm with your team—keep asking “Why?” Use
colorful sticky notes to track your ideas, or use the mind mapping diagram in the appendix and in the Cadette Workbook for
Earning Your Silver Award to help them uncover what they’ve learned about the root causes of their issue.
Steps to Earn the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 23
Step 4: Choose your Silver Award Project.
In this step, Girl Scouts will choose their Silver
Award Take Action project from the options they
identied in previous steps and make it ofcial
by writing it down.
Help Girl Scouts who still aren’t sure about their project.
• They may have two (or more!) ideas they love. Help them narrow down their options by reviewing the information they’ve collected.
They can create a pros and cons list if they can’t decide between two or more project ideas. They could also narrow down a project
that feels like it’s too much. Contact your local council if you are feeling stuck.
• A team may be split between two project ideas. Help them come to consensus or compromise by st-to-ve voting. Here’s how:
Everyone shows their level of agreement by holding up a number of ngers, so each person can convey their opinion without
speaking and ensuring no one’s view is ignored. A st means “No interest;” one nger means “I’ll just barely go along but am not
blocking the project idea;” two ngers mean “I don’t like it, but will go along;” three ngers mean “I’m in the middle;” four ngers
mean “This idea is ne;” and ve ngers mean “I like the project idea a lot.” Anyone showing fewer than three ngers is given an
opportunity to state their objection, and the team addresses their concerns. The team continues the st-to-ve process until they
achieve consensus (a minimum of three ngers or higher for all team members).
Have Girl Scouts write down what they’ll do for their project, why their project matters, who it helps (target audience), and how
it addresses the root cause of their issue in their Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award. Writing down the answers to these
questions will help solidify their plans.
• The target audience is the clearly identied members of the community affected by the issue. For example: pet owners, children in
grades 3–5, refugees, their classmates at school, Girl Scouts in their service unit, or the elderly in their neighborhood.
How You Can Help
Steps to Earn the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 24
Step 5: Make a plan and submit your Project Proposal.
By now, Girl Scouts have chosen a Silver Award
Take Action project and are ready to make a plan
to get it done.
They should review the questions in Step 4 of the Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver
Award to help them outline their plan and complete the Silver Award Project Proposal before
sharing it with you and/or your council for review and approval. If Cadettes are working in a
group, they should fill out the proposal together. Good news: the questions in the workbook and
proposal are the same!
Review the Silver Award Project Proposal and Silver Award Checklist in the appendix with each
team. Together, you can decide if the project plan is complete, or if more planning is needed rst.
When you’re ready, encourage your Girl Scouts to ofcially submit!
The Silver Award proposal must be submitted and approved BEFORE the Girl Scouts continue
work on their projects.
Help Girl Scouts plan by directing them to complete the Silver Award Project Proposal in their Cadette Workbook for
Earning Your Silver Award. Ask them if their plan is realistic and suggest that they brainstorm new directions if needed.
Review the Silver Award Project Proposal Checklist with Girl Scouts to anticipate any questions that could come up
while completing the project proposal. Provide any further explanations for the project’s required elements. Offer to proofread their
project proposal.
Ask what supplies they think they will need. They can list these and make an estimated budget in their Cadette Workbook for
Earning Your Silver Award. Then, have them think about how they’ll fund their project.
Check with your local council for guidelines related to donations, money-earning activities, or the use of troop funds that Girl
Scouts should keep in mind for their projects. Keep these two notes in mind as well:
• Girl Scouts cannot raise funds to give to another organization as part of their Silver Award Take Action project. Check with your
local council for guidelines related to donations, money-earning activities or the use of troop funds that Girl Scouts should keep in
mind for their projects.
• Silver Award Take Action project requirements are often met using education and advocacy—not by spending large amounts of
money. If the project has been designed and the budget is unattainable, suggest that they re-evaluate. Ask: Is the project truly a
Take Action project?
How You Can Help
Steps to Earn the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 25
Step 6: Put your plan in motion.
Help Girl Scouts work together to accomplish
their project. Remember: Each Girl Scout should
spend around 50 hours each on the Silver Award
Take Action project.
Help Girl Scouts organize trips in the community that will help them carry out their project.
Remind them to wear their uniform, if they have one, when meeting with community members or engaging with others during
their Silver Award Take Action project.
Encourage Girl Scouts to record the time they spend on the project in the Time Log of their Cadette Workbook for
Earning Your Silver Award. Review the pie chart in the “How Much Time Does it Take?” section of this guide and remind them that
time spent researching, planning, and taking action can be included.
Encourage them to take photos or shoot video of their project along the way. They’ll use these items to tell their Silver Award
Story in Step 7: Spread the Word and share them in their Silver Award Final Report.
Important: When the Silver Award project winds down, the outcome may not be exactly as they planned. That’s OK! Girl
Scouts earn the Silver Award as long as award requirements have been met. What they learn in the process about themselves and the
world around them is what’s most valuable. Look at any unexpected twists as a learning opportunity.
Think safety. Check with your local council for safety policies that Girl Scouts should keep in mind for their projects. This may include
driving and travel safety, recommended use of Girl Scouts’ Safety Activity Checkpoints, activity accident insurance, and COVID-19
guidance when applicable.
How You Can Help
Steps to Earn the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 26
Step 7: Spread the word and submit your Final Report.
Each Silver Award project is a story of
inspiration, teamwork, and change for the
better. Girl Scouts should proudly share their
work via their Silver Award Final Reports and
with their wider communities.
Final Report: Each project team will submit a Final Report about their project to you and
their council. The report will contain individual sections for each Girl Scout to share their role
and reflect. Because the award experience is different for each Girl Scout, guide them to
answer the questions on their own—a shared “cut and paste” won’t do!
When your Girl Scouts’ Silver Award Final Report is approved, they are officially Silver Award
Girl Scouts!
Have Girl Scouts reect on their Silver Award Take Action project by completing their Final Report. This will help the
Girl Scouts learn by reecting on the experience in new ways. Of course, the most important outcomes are the ones Girl Scouts gain for
themselves, like improved condence, better organization, and stronger teamwork. If the garden doesn’t look as neat as they anticipated
or if the project had fewer volunteers than desired, that’s OK as long as they discovered things along the way. Ensure that each Girl Scout
has the opportunity to reect on and share their answers.
Encourage Girl Scouts to make and keep a copy of their Final Reports and submit before September 30 after completing
8th grade.
Ask Girl Scouts how they’d like to share their story. There are lots of possibilities! They can give a presentation to another Girl
Scout troop, their local Girl Scout community, or students at their school. They can even create a display for a local library or community
center, or submit an article to their local news or school website.
Remember to review the Internet Safety Pledge with Girl Scouts and have them sign it rst!
How You Can Help
Steps to Earn the Silver Award
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 27
What comes next?
Suggest giving thanks.
Encourage Girl Scouts to thank everyone who has helped along the way. A hand-written note or
an email with a project photo means a lot.
Celebrate, Girl Scout–Style!
Check with your council to see if/how they recognize the Silver Award. And remember, you can
always plan a celebration with your troop!
Here are a few ideas:
• Host a special troop pinning party. Be sure to invite friends, families, younger troops, and local
dignitaries.
• If your troop is bridging to Seniors, pin your Silver Award Girl Scouts as part of your ceremony.
• Share the news with your local newspaper by submitting photos and an article on all the
projects completed.
• Tell your story via social media outlets.
• Mark this accomplishment with additional Silver Award mementos, available at your local Girl
Scout store or online at girlscoutshop.com.
Check with your local council for how they recommend celebrating this accomplishment!
Encourage Girl Scouts to set their sights on the Gold Award! Ask them
to imagine all they can do by continuing to make positive, sustainable
change in their community and the world.
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 28What Comes Next?
Did You Know?
Gold Award Girl
Scouts are widely
recognized as
leaders who make
the world a
better place.
Girl Scouts Gold Award:
• Eligibility: Senior or Ambassador Girl Scouts (grades 9–12)
• Prerequisites: Complete a Senior or Ambassador Journey, including the Journey’s Take
Action Project
Learn more at girlscouts.org/gold.
Let Cadettes know the Gold Award is the highest award in Girl Scouting and the preeminent
leadership award for high school Girl Scouts. Gold Award Girl Scouts have unique, impactful
experiences and stories to share with the world. Earning a Gold Award prepares them to excel in
whatever comes next: as a student in college, a working professional, and a proactive member of
their community. Plus, in recognition of their signicant leadership skills, Gold Award Girl Scouts
can earn college scholarships, and they skip a paygrade when enlisting in the military.
A special thank you to Girl Scouts San Diego for creating the guide that inspired this national template, and to Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles for the
recommended timeline. Thanks especially to the following councils of our 2022 Silver Award Working Group for informing the updated Silver Award
Guidelines for our movement at every step:
Girl Scouts of Connecticut, Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland, Girl Scouts of Nassau County, Girl Scouts -
North Carolina Coastal Pines, Girl Scouts
Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri, Girl Scouts of Northern California, Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio, Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians, Girl
Scouts of Western Pennsylvania, and Girl Scouts of Western Washington.
© 2023 Girl Scouts of the USA. All rights reserved.
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 29
Appendix
Girl Scout Silver Award Checklist
Check items off your list once you have completed them. When you’ve checked off all the items from each section and received approval from your
troop leader or council, you’re ready for the next section!
Prerequisite
I am a registered Girl Scout Cadette (in grades 6–8).
I have nished a Cadette Journey, including the Journey’s Take Action project.
I know that I need to nish my project and submit paperwork by Sept 30th after 8th grade is completed.
I know the Silver Award Take Action project’s required elements are 1. Practicing leadership; 2. Addressing a root cause of a community
issue I care about; and 3. Creating a plan to make my project sustainable.
I have completed Silver Award training from my council. (This is highly recommended if available.)
I have reviewed the Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award.
I am excited to get started!
Project Proposal
I developed a title for my project.
I provided information about myself (solo model) or myself and up to three other Cadettes (small team model) and additional adult resources.
I provided the name of the completed Cadette Journey and completion date.
I answered the Journey reection questions to remember the lessons learned from the Journey’s Take Action project.
I decided my project’s expected start date and expected completion date.
I researched an issue I am passionate about and identied at least one root cause that is based on a need in my community.
I have identied my target audience (who is going to benet).
I have identied and engaged experts and others in my community who might be able to help with my project or have knowledge of how my
project issue affects my community.
I have described my plan to address my issue’s root cause and make my project sustainable by using one of these three methods:
Create a permanent solution that can be used after the project is complete.
Educate and inspire others in the community or within Girl Scouts to be part of the change.
Advocate to change a rule, regulation, or law and encourage others to join.
I have worked with my team (if applicable) to identify all team members’ leadership roles, which are all different and will each take
approximately 50 hours of work.
I have reviewed my plan and conrm my project is Take Action and not Community Service.
I have listed potential supplies needed and estimated costs.
I am aware of my local council’s requirements for any of my project’s donations, money-earning activities, or the use of troop funds.
I am aware that each individual team member should spend approximately 50 hours on the project and maintain a Time Log.
Optional: I've identied how I would try to make my project measurable by making a goal to measure the project’s success.
Optional: I've identied how I would try to make a national and/or global link.
I have worked with my team (if applicable) to complete all elds on this form, including all questions, lines, and signatures.
I have worked with my team (if applicable) to develop and submit one Project Proposal.
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 30
Girl Scout Silver Award Checklist
Check items off your list once you have completed them. When you’ve checked off all the items from each section and received approval from your
troop leader or council, you’re ready for the next section!
Appendix
Final Report
I have updated my Project Proposal responses, sharing my project results—including what I did, how my project went, and what my team
(if applicable) and I accomplished (Section 1).
I have submitted a Budget Worksheet,* which has a record of the funds raised (donations, money earned, and troop funds) and spent, including
how they were spent. I’ve also provided any additional council-required documentation related to money-earning activities (Section 1).
I have identified how I let others know about my project and the impact it had (Section 2).
I have provided copies of photos, videos, flyers, or other evidence that documents what was accomplished (Section 2
).
I have submitted a Time Log* of my hours. Each Cadette should spend approximately 50 hours working towards the Silver Award (Section 3).
I have included my reflection on this experience and how it has prepared me to pursue the Gold Award (Section 3).
I have worked with my team (if applicable) to complete all elds on this form, including all questions, lines, and signatures.
I have worked with my team (if applicable) to submit one Final Report, which includes individual sections that each team member completed
on their own.
I have submitted the Final Report no later than September 30 after nishing 8th grade.
*Other formats are acceptable for Time Log and Budget Worksheet
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 31
Take Action Project Decision Bracket
What are your talents and skills?
What did you do for fun?
What bothers you?
What issues do you want to solve?
Who do you want to help?
Combine the nal pair to create
your Take Action project!
Appendix
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 32Appendix
Take Action Project Decision Bracket
What are your talents and skills?
What did you do for fun?
What bothers you?
What issues do you want to solve?
Who do you want to help?
Combine the nal pair to create
your Take Action project!
Step 3
For each bracket,
choose one
Step 4
Continue until you
have a nal pair.
Combine to create
your project
Step 1
Fill in these boxes.
Step 2
Fill in these boxes.
making
schedules
bullying on
social media
playing
volleyball
kids who
need friends
giving
presentations
no after-school
STEM club
creating
apps
my brother’s
teasing
cooking
cooking
cooking
texting
and driving
making
movies
abandoned
pets
playing
the guitar
too much
homework
hanging out
with friends
dangerous
intersection
creating
apps
creating
apps
creating
apps
dangerous
intersection
making
movies
kids who
need friends
playing
the guitar
no after-school
STEM club
texting
and driving
texting
and driving
texting
and driving
dangerous
intersection
In this example, your Take Action project might be to create an app that locks your phone before you drive, then sends a unique code to someone
who’s not in the car. You can’t use your phone until the person with the code unlocks it.
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 33
Mind Mapping Diagram
Appendix
Step 2
Step 2
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 3
Step 3 Step 3
Step 3
Try it!
Write your community issue in the center circle. Ask yourself: What activates the issue? Write your answers in the circles closest to the center circle
(add more if you need to). Then, explore further. Ask: “Why does this happen?” Place these answers in the smaller outer circles. Add as many of
these circles as you like. These are your root causes. Select one or two root causes and you have the foundation of a strong Silver Award Take Action
project! See an example in the Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award.
Step 2:
Ask: “What activates
the issue?”
Then, explore further.
(Place answers in circles just
outside the community issue.)
Step 3:
To nd the root cause,
ask: “Why does this
happen?”
(Place answers in outer circles.)
Step 1:
Write your
community issue.
(Place the answer in the inner circle.)
Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award | 34
Guidance for Girl Scouts Engaging with Project Advisors
At Girl Scouts, there is nothing we take more seriously than the safety and well-being of our Girl Scouts. The structure of the national Highest
Awards is designed to give Girl Scouts the framework and platform to address a community need and expand their network in appropriate ways for
each respective grade level.
As part of each of the Highest Awards, Girl Scouts may identify, connect with, and request support from a project advisor. A project advisor is an
adult who has some level of knowledge, demonstrated skills, expertise, or access to resources that can help Girl Scouts with their Bronze, Silver, or
Gold Award projects. A project advisor is optional for the Bronze and Silver Award and required for the Gold Award.
The Highest Awards structure encourages Girl Scouts to expand their network beyond their familiar circles, learn to describe their passions and
plans to others, and grow their networks. To help Girl Scout members do so safely, please consider the following guidance and recommendations:
Silver Award (Cadette Girl Scouts):
• It’s highly recommended that all project advisors successfully pass a criminal background check performed by the Girl Scout Council or other
credible entity, such as a public school system.
• At least one registered background-checked adult Girl Scout volunteer should be present at all in-person meetings between Girl Scouts and project
advisors.
• Meetings among Girl Scouts and project advisors should take place in open public spaces (such as libraries, parks, or cafés); meetings should not
be held in private homes.
• Parents/legal guardians and troop leaders are recommended to help, guide, and closely support Cadette Girl Scouts as they consider who to
approach to become a project advisor. They are also recommended to join any phone calls and be included (i.e. CC’d) on written and electronic
communication.
• We recommend that a separate and dedicated email is created and used with project advisors or any other adult project team members, and
that one designated adult troop volunteer receives emails to eliminate direct communication with Girl Scouts. An example email address
is troop12345highawardproject@example.com. This is a versatile address that can be used for Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award projects! We
recommend retiring the email address once the projects are complete.
• There should be no exchange of personal phone numbers belonging to Girl Scouts between the project advisor and Girl Scout members. We
recommend the project advisor be provided with a phone number for one designated adult troop volunteer; all other communication should be
conducted in person, virtually (e.g., Zoom), or via email.
Appendix
