Q: If I start an interest project as a Cadette, and then drop it, can I complete it as a Senior? Can the activities count toward my Gold Award requirements?
A: If you only did one to three activities as a Cadette, then do the remaining four to six as a Senior Girl Scout. Since the majority of the activities in the IP were earned as a Senior Girl Scout, It can count toward your Girl Scout Gold Award.
If you've done four or more activities as a Cadette, but did not complete the interest project, you can complete it as a Senior Girl Scout. All you have to do is to complete at least five new activities as a Senior Girl Scout. Although you will be completing more activities (a total of nine), the majority of them will have been completed as a Senior and you can count the IP toward your Girl Scout Gold Award.
If you've done five to six activities as a Cadette, you'll have to do six or seven as a Senior Girl Scout.
Q: Can I work with other girls in my troop on a Gold Award Project?
A: Sure. A lot of jobs in the real world require teamwork. The important thing is that you develop your skills and interests and apply them to the project, as well as contributing the same amount of work as everyone else on the team.
Q: How much work does a Gold Award project involve?
A: Whether you are working alone or with others, you should plan to spend a minimum of fifty hours. You need to log the hours and share it with your advisor.
Q: How do I choose an advisor?
A: Many councils have a person who can help you with your Girl Scout Gold Award if your leader feels uncomfortable in doing this. (There is a certain amount of paperwork and often you need to be aware of council dates if you want to be included in a council-wide ceremony.) It is recommended that you use a content expert for your project, such as someone proficient in html if you are creating a Web site, an architect if you are building a playground, a wildlife biologist if you are restoring habitat, or a producer if you are making a video for television.
Q: Can I do my project before the other Girl Scout Gold Award requirements?
A: Nope. The whole idea of the doing the other requirements is to prepare you for doing the project. (You can do the four requirements in any order, however.)
Q: Why can't I just do a project for Girl Scouts?
A: This was OK for Cadettes, but the whole idea of the Girl Scout Gold Award is that you do something to benefit your community and learn those skills that make you a citizen of your community and the world. If you do something for your council, it needs to involve and benefit the community as well. A project for younger Girl Scouts, a service unit, a resident camp program, or the council office, benefits mainly Girl Scouts. You need to touch the community beyond Girl Scouting.
Q: Can I get others to help me, like other troops or my service unit, or friends at school?
A: Yes. In fact, if you don't get help in a big project, you aren't applying your networking and leadership skills! If you are doing something for people, like remodeling a women's shelter or developing a neighborhood park, give others an opportunity to feel ownership in the project by providing a time for their input and "sweat-equity."
Q: Help! My council said that my project is not appropriate for a Girl Scout Gold Award.
A: Well, before you go back to the drawing board, find out exactly what is meant. Maybe they feel you should be stretching a bit more. This is the highest award in Girl Scouting, so it is more than just your everyday service project. If you still want to go with it, decide how you might expand it. For example, instead of leading a troop of Girl Scouts for three months because you want to work with kids, organize a summer recreation program for kids in a housing project in your community. Or perhaps you have fallen into that gray area... where you are doing something that might go beyond the realm of safety or council approved program activities. Or perhaps you need to rethink the choice of your advisor to find someone who can help you broaden your ideas.
Q: What if my Girl Scout Gold Award is not finished for this year's council ceremony deadline?
A: This is something that you need to work out with your council. Your troop or service unit can hold a ceremony to honor your achievement, or you can wait until the next year. If it looks like a real-down-to-the-wire thing, you need to plan ahead and talk with your advisor and your council.
Q: Why is it important to document my work and to follow guidelines?
A: Because the Girl Scout Gold Award is held in such high regard both within and outside of Girl Scouting. There are scholarships for girls who have earned this award, as well as military recognition for the leadership skills gained in the process.
Q: Should I try to earn the award if I am new to Girl Scouting?
A: Sure, if it is something you really want to do. If you are just starting out as a freshman or sophomore, you might be on a pretty level playing field with other girls, particularly if you have had opportunities for leadership development through other organizations or school. It might help to plot out the work you would need to accomplish over the time you have remaining as a Senior Girl Scout and see if it is a realistic goal. The preparation and the project itself are a long term commitment.
Q: Do you have to earn the Gold Award to be a Senior Girl Scout?
A: No way. Believe it or not, a lot of girls don't earn Interest Project awards either. Girl Scout program has a lot of activity components and the idea is to choose the activities that are best for you. Girl Scouting is lots of things— relating to others and developing a sense of self, leadership, service, and values for decision making. Girl planning and adult/girl partnership are also important pieces in the path that you take.
Q: What if you have a disability and want to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award?
A: We're really glad you asked that question, because it goes to the heart of the Gold Award. Any Senior Girl Scout can go for the gold. Choose a project the same way anyone else does, based upon your interests and abilities. Choose a career to explore that you feel is suited for your abilities. Use your leadership skills to recruit people power for a project that needs your brain but not your brawn, or choose a project that you can do with the equipment you use daily. Requirements leading up to the project, and in the project itself, that require writing or reporting out can be adapted. Why not record your activities with pictures or a taped narration? Choose a project that is a challenge, yet attainable. Work closely with an advisor who knows you well. Go for it!
If you have a burning question that isn't answered here or in A Resource Book for Senior Girl Scouts, we recommend that you go first to your advisor, then to your council.
