During a girl's Girl Scouting experience, she usually completes her Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards. I completed my Bronze Award with my troop, my Silver Award with one partner (also a Girl Scout), and I am now completing my Gold Award independently. There are certain requirements before you can start the project. A Girl Scout can pick any project she wishes to do to benefit a certain group of people. It involves a lot of planning and involvement with others/organizations. It also involves a lot of prerequisites to complete before actually starting the Gold Award project.
What are the requirements for a Gold Award?
The prerequisite requirements changed a little bit in 2004. For the most part, the steps are the same except for that we now work with an organization called Studio2B. Since the requirements changed in the middle of our Gold Award, we now have the option to mix and match the steps from the old and the new.
The first thing I had to do was to complete 4 interest project patches (IPP's).
I completed the following:
1. Paddle, Pole, and Role
2. From Shore to Sea
3. Food Connections
4. Creative Cooking
The second step was to earn the Career Exploration Pin. To do that, I read a discussion of careers in my Girl Scout handbook. I also wrote my own resume. Then, I went to an all-day Career workshop. I interviewed a lot of businesswomen who had various jobs. A few of the jobs were a judge, a radio DJ, the STILA cosmetics Vice President, and many more. I also attended classes that day. I learned about applying for college, planning for college, preparing for interviews, and a lot more.
The third requirement to earning my Gold Award is to earn the Senior Girl Scout Leadership Award. Like in Step 2, I read a discussion on leadership in my Girl Scout handbook. Then I was required to spend at least 30 hours in a leadership experience. I chose to lead a unit of 4th grade Girl Scouts at LaCa�ada Girl Scout Day Camp. The camp lasted for a week (M-F) from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. It was held at Hahamongna Park in LaCa�ada. It was a great experience, but it was a LOT of work. I was a co-counselor with two of my sister Girl Scouts. We spent way more than 30 hours. We had to plan every second of camp, shop for supplies, budget our money, and help the girls earn a badge. Camp started at 2 o'clock, so we had to be there by 1 o'clock every day to start setting up. We were usually there until around 7:30 p.m. cleaning up and staying with girls who were picked up late. It was an awesome experience that I started doing in the summer before my 9th grade, and I plan to continue it. Then I evaluated my experience with my advisor.
The fourth step is to complete the Senior Girl Scout Challenge. The challenge consists of five sections: Developing Your Potential (design a self-development plan, set and accomplish self-improvement goals); Relating to Others (examine your skills in relating to others); Developing Values for Living (assess values); Contributing to Society (participate in a service project, spend a minimum of 15 hours); and Helping Others Know About Girl Scouting (get involved in Girl Scouting beyond your troop, help others learn about Girl Scouting).
The final step is to plan and carry out my Gold Award project. This part has to have at least 50 hours of work spent on it. I know many girls who've completed their Gold Award, including my sister, and I know that none of them have had trouble reaching that minimum. Most girls spend way over 50 hours on their project. I have create a plan and a timeline, research information on my project, brainstorm, and create a budget. Then I submit my plan to my Girl Scout Council (GSMWVC). If I need to earn money, the Council has to approve it. Then I have to put my plan into action! After I'm finished, I will evaluate my experience.
Most of these requirements are from the old version. To view the new version's requirements, which are similar; click the link on the side of the page that says "About Gold Awards."
What are the age requirements to earn the Gold Award?
You have to be a Girl Scout ages 14-18, or grades 9-12. To complete the last step of the Gold Award (actually carrying it out), the Girl Scout must be ages 15 or older, or grades 10-12.
