Gold Award
The Gold Award is the highest award that a Senior/Ambassador Girl Scout (grades 9-12) can earn. It is an 80-100 hour service project that is approved at the council level. The Gold award is earned by a single Girl Scout.
To earn the GOld Award, a Girl Scout must complete 2 Senior or Ambassador Journeys or have earned her Silver Award and complete 1 Senior or Ambassador Journey. She then identifies an issue that’s important to her, develops it and carrys it out to completion. She must lead a team of at least 5 unrelated people to complete her project. It must be sustainable and benefit the community.
Earning Gold Award has many benefits, such as scholarship opportunities, entering the armed forces at a higher rank and really looks great on job and college applications. The Gold Award has a lasting impact on girl Scouts’ lives.
If you are interested in learning more about earning the prestigious Gold Award, you can find lot’s of information on GSEP’s website here:
https://www.gsep.org/en/members/for-girl-scouts/highest-awards/gold-award.html
Recent Gold Award Recipients 2024
Troop 21031
Shannon A of Ambassador Troop 21031 created a club at her high school called Reflections for her Gold Award project. Club Reflections addressed the need for positive messaging in the Girl’s bathrooms throughout the school. The club met once a week after school to learn about mental health through activities. They also made posters and created a mural for the Girls’ Locker room.
Shannon wanted Reflections to continue so she passed it on to a rising Sophmore who continues make the club thrive.
Elena D of Ambassador Troop 21031 created a club at her high school called Project Beautiful. Her club collected gently used prom gowns, bridesmaids gowns and accessories to be sold at a greatly discounted price for those who can not afford the high costs of going to the prom.
Elena lead a team of more than 6 people to collect, sort and then help her run Project Beautiful boutique at her high school. All the money collected was donated to a local shelter and food pantry. Elena made sure that Project Beautiful will continue for years to come.
Shae Smith of Ambassador Troop 21031 created a documentary promoting the Central Bucks South Marching titans marching band. She saw a need for a recruitment video due to declining band membership. Shae lead a core team to film the band during practices, edit the film and produce the final product. She also added a small master class for future band members to learn how to produce a band documentary.
Since her film first aired, band membership increased by 30% the following year.
Troop 21638
Andela D of Ambassador Troop 21638 Created 5 cheap and easy to make Switch Adapted Toys (toys that have been modified so that the original switches are rerouted to a larger switch) for the Horsham Library. She hosted one Switch Adapted Toy Night and partnered with Troop Brownie Troop 2038 to spread awareness about Switch Adapted Toys and the accessibility for children with disabilities.
Recent Gold Award Recipients 2023
Troop 21031
“The decline in solitary bees is a global issue. Their job is to pollinate flowers and vegetable plants. They don’t live in hives and must find places to lay their eggs. Solitary bees don’t make honey, they just pollinate. Bees have such a huge impact on the environment. Without their help our flowers and produce would decline.”
Jane D. of Ambassador Troop 21031built a bee pollinator box for Warrington’s John Paul Park at Lower Nike on Folly Road for her Gold Award project. A member of the Warrington Environmental council was looking for someone to head up this project for their pollinator initiative.
Jane built a 2-foot square box that stands 4 feet above ground. She recruited a team of more than 5 volunteers to help execute her project. Under her direction the team excavated the area, dug holes and installed the pollinator house that Jane built herself. Then her team helped her collect materials and fill the box with nesting materials and cover it with chicken wire to protect it from squirrels. She also created an informational pamphlet about solitary bees and their importance for our environment.
Troop 21638
“The garden has become a really nice place for the community to come and enjoy the colors and touch the flowers or taste the vegetables,”
Morgan M of Ambassador Troop 21638 refurbished a neglected and abandoned garden space for her Gold Award project. The garden, at the elementary school she previously attended, fell into disrepair during COVID-19. Morgan saw the need to create a new garden that did more than just grow vegetables and organized a core team of teachers and students to make her project happen.
The enitre garden was given a new facelift which also added a sensory garden to the neglected space. Morgan formulated a plan to bring sight, scent, sound, touch and taste to the garden. She organized a team of teachers and students to help accomplish her goal. They planted a variety of plants with colors, scents, textures and tastes, attracting butterflies and bees.
This wonderful garden is available to the entire community.