The Girl Scout GOLD

In the 23 years of Sleepy Hollow's existence we have had a handful of girls Complete the Scouting Program to the extent that they earned the Girl Scout Gold.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award available to Girl Scouts. It is the equivalent of the Eagle Award in Boy Scouts and is earned as a Senior Girl Scout, as opposed to the Silver Award, which is earned as a Cadette. The preliminary requirements for the project are: earn four interest project patches, earn the Career Exploration pin, earn the Senior Girl Scout Leadership Award, and earn the Senior Girl Scout Challenge. These prerequisites may be completed in any order, but they must be finished before beginning on the gold award project. Below are some basic guidelines to help every girl develop a project that reflects her talents and what she has learned through Girl Scouts:

• Design a project that will meet an expressed need in the community.
• Try and go beyond the Girl Scout community, choose something that affects people outside of Girl Scouts.
• Select a project advisor/consultant outside of your troop leader or guardian. This person should be able to help you get organized and give you advice if you come across any stumbling blocks.
• Feel free to enlist others to assist you in your project, but be sure that it is your leadership that makes everything work smoothly. Be aware of necessary costs you may run into.
• Create a budget for your project. Girl Scouts cannot raise money for other organizations, so be sure to check with your council before acting on the budget.
• Your project must take a minimum of 50 hours. Keep a record of the dates, times, and what you did, so when you send in your application for the Gold Award, you will have the necessary documentation of your work.
• If your project is ongoing, be sure to organize a way that the project may be continued after you.
• Always check Safety-Wise and be sure to abide by the guidelines listed therein.