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  • Home
    • REGISTER
    • Schedule
    • Waivers
    • FAQ & Policies
    • Testimonials and reviews
  • Our Programs
    • Juniors 4th-5th grade >
      • aMUSE for Juniors >
        • aMUSE Journey Take Action Project
        • aMUSE final presentation (Take Action Project) tips
        • aMUSE Interviews
        • Amuse Optional Activities
    • Cadettes 6th-8th grade >
      • AMAZE for Cadettes
      • BREATHE for Cadettes
      • MEdia for Cadettes >
        • MEdia Survey
    • Seniors 9th-10th grade >
      • Mission Sisterhood for Seniors
      • Sow What for Seniors
      • Girltopia for Seniors
    • Ambassadors 11th-12th grade >
      • Your Voice Your World for Ambassadors
      • Justice For Ambassadors
  • HIGHEST AWARDS
    • BRONZE AWARD >
      • Great Bronze Award examples
    • SILVER AWARD
    • GOLD AWARD
  • Leader/Parent Resources
  • Take Action Projects
    • Inspirational Projects
    • Virtual Take Action Projects
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The Girl Scout Leadership Experience teaches girls to explore their community, identify the root cause of an issue and create a Take Action Project that addresses the root cause through direct action, education and advocacy.

WHat is the SILVER award?
The Silver Award is the highest honor that a Cadette Girl Scout can earn.   It is a 50-hour Take Action project, usually completed with a small team of 4 or less Girl Scout Cadettes.  Take Action projects address the root cause of a community issue through direct action or advocacy. 
WHo can earn it?
It can be earned by registered Girl Scouts in the 6th-8th grade or equivalent.
What ARE THE PRE-REQUISITES?
Prior to beginning the Silver Award, Cadettes must complete a Cadette-level Journey, including the Journey Take Action project. Cadette Journey Take Action projects follow the same steps as the Silver Award, but are smaller scale projects. 
Why do you need to complete a journey first?
During the Journey, the Cadettes plan and carry out a Take Action Project (TAP) addressing an issue covered during the Journey.  Think of the Journey TAP as a practice Silver Award because it follows the same steps as the Silver Award.   
The main difference between the Journey TAP and the Silver Award are:
  • The Journey Take Action project has no hour requirement.  The suggested hours to spend on the Silver Award project is 50 hours per Girl Scout.
  • ​The Journey Take Action Project addresses an issue covered in the Journey.  For their Silver Award, they can choose any issue.
  • A Journey Take Action Project can be completed by any size group.  For the Silver Award, it is recommended that no more than 4 girls work together on the same Silver Award.
  • The Silver Award may require the adult guiding the Girl Scouts to be trained.  Check your own council for requirements.
Great SILVER Award Examples
We have gathered some great Silver Award project examples to inspire you HERE.
​WHEN SHOULD GIRL SCOUTS START WORKING ON THEIR SILVER AWARD?
Cadette Girl Scouts can start their Silver Award as soon as they have completed a Cadette Journey including the Take Action Project. My personal suggestion is to do badges for skill building during the 6th grade year, choose the journey at the end of 6th.  Begin the journey in 7th grade.  Once the journey Take Action project is complete, begin the Silver at the end of 7th or beginning of 8th.  The suggested hours to spend on the Silver Award project is 50 hours per Girl Scout.  It is a big project. Since girls are so busy during school, it can be helpful to do work on their project during the summer.  ​
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GSOC SIlver Award page
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Silver Award Resources

  • GSUSA CADETTE WORKBOOK FOR EARNING YOUR SILVER AWARD 
  • GSUSA ADULT GUIDE FOR EARNING THE SILVER AWARD ​
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The GSUSA Cadette Workbook for Earning Your Silver Award Guide is the place to start. It is designed as a resource for Cadette Girl Scouts to use to plan their Silver Awards.
​The GSUSA Silver Award Guide is found on your Council's Silver Award page or you can download it here. 

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The GSUSA Adult Guide for Earning the Silver Award Guide  It is designed as a resource for adults who are assisting Cadettes. It is on your Council's Silver Award page or you can download it here. ​
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​The GSUSA guides above are the best place to start, but here a few more tips for successful Silver Awards.

​Do a good journey Take Action Project
 A Cadette Journey Take Action project is a practice for the Silver Award.  It is the same steps on a smaller scale.  Keep those steps in mind when you help them plan their Silver Award.
  • ​Make sure they pick an issue they truly care about. 
  • Ensure that each Cadette has an active role in the project.
  • Challenge the Cadettes to reach outside their comfort zones.
  • Include education and advocacy to go beyond community service. 
Learn the difference between Community Service and Take Action Projects
​A community service project is a one time thing or a short term fix.  Examples are collections, volunteering at an event, fixing or beautifying things, and filling food boxes. Community service is wonderful, but the need will still be there next month when the donated items are gone or more food boxes need to be filled.
​A Take Action Project meets a need in the longer term by addressing the cause through direct action or education. When they  Take Action to earn their Silver Award, the Cadette 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
When Cadettes create a Journey Take Action project, they have a limited choice of topics. 
For their Silver Award, they are free to choose whatever topic they like. This can be overwhelming.

How do you help them choose?
  • Expose the Cadettes to topics through field trips and small service projects.
  • Think back on activities that you have done that the girls enjoyed.
  • Ask the girls the following questions:
    • If you had 50 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 at the topics that they identify in their reflections. Have them brainstorm which ones they could tackle and have the most impact. 
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 girls know what they are doing and why it matters
Ask your Cadettes 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 we did?
  • What result do we hope to have?
​ SUSTAINABILITY  AT THE silver AWARD LEVEL
​At the Silver Award level, "sustainability" means educating others  or  adding a "pay it forward " component. 
Silver doesn't need to be sustainable in terms of someone taking over the project. Only the Gold Award requires that level of sustainability. ​
EVEN MORE tips to create a great Silver Award

Need Ideas of what a good Silver Award looks like ?
​​Click on the images below to see what other Girl Scouts have done​
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Girl Scouts OC Highest Awards Yearbook
Silver Awards start on page 54
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Great Silver Award Examples
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Workshops4girls Silver Award pinterest board
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