NEW WORKSHOP!
Bronze Award Brainstorming for Juniors
Put your ideas into an action plan
The Bronze Award is the highest honor that a Junior Girl Scout can earn. It is a 20-hour Take Action project, usually completed with a team of Girl Scout Juniors. Take Action projects address the root cause of a community issue through direct action, education or advocacy.
It can be earned by registered Girl Scouts in the 4th-5th grade or equivalent.
Refer to the Bronze Award page of your council's website for more information.
GSUSA Bronze Award Resources
Follow the link below for an excellent Bronze Award Guide developed by Girl Scouts of Maine. This resource provides the information from the GSUSA guide in a well-organized, visually appealing format and includes useful examples and interactive activities.
The GSUSA guides above are the best place to start, but here a few more tips for successful Bronze Awards.
Do a good journey Take Action Project or leadership Award
- Make sure they pick an issue they truly care about.
- Ensure that each Junior has an active role in the earning her award.
- Encourage the Juniors to reach outside their comfort zones.
- Incorporate education and advocacy efforts alongside community service.
Learn the difference between Community Service and Take Action Projects
A community service project is usually short-term, such as collecting items, volunteering at events, or filling food boxes. While valuable, these efforts often address immediate needs that quickly return.
A Take Action Project meets a need in the longer term by addressing the cause through direct action, education or advocacy. When they Take Action to earn their Bronze Award, the Junior Girl Scouts find an issue or community need, figure out what they could do to "fix" it, decide who they need to reach out to or help, and advocate for their issue. Click here for more information and examples. Click here for an interactive quiz to see if you understand the difference!
A Take Action Project meets a need in the longer term by addressing the cause through direct action, education or advocacy. When they Take Action to earn their Bronze Award, the Junior Girl Scouts find an issue or community need, figure out what they could do to "fix" it, decide who they need to reach out to or help, and advocate for their issue. Click here for more information and examples. Click here for an interactive quiz to see if you understand the difference!
Help the girls to identify what they care about
For their Bronze Award, they are free to choose whatever topic they like. This can be overwhelming.
How can leaders support them in this process?
Look for the "spark" when the girls get to certain topics. When they find the one they want, the girls should be excited about it.
How can leaders support them in this process?
- Expose the Juniors to topics through field trips and small service projects.
- Reflect on activities that they enjoyed.
- Pose the following questions to spark a conversation:
- If you had 5 volunteers, where would you send them and why?
- What problem do you see in your community that you wish someone would solve?
- What do you know more about than other people that you could teach?
- What do you think is unfair that people should know about?
Look for the "spark" when the girls get to certain topics. When they find the one they want, the girls should be excited about it.
Make sure the Juniors know what they are doing and why it matters
Ensure that your Juniors can answer the following questions:
- Why did you pick this idea?
- Why does this idea matter?
- Who will this idea help?
- What can we do to make a difference? How will we know that what we did helped
- What result do we hope to have?
SUSTAINABILITY AT THE BRONZE AWARD LEVEL
Sustainability is optional at the Bronze Award level. Develop sustainability skills by teaching others or including a "pay it forward" aspect. After the project, prompt Juniors to consider how their work could be sustained.
