Yes, it was a mighty gray day in Newport last Sunday! Actually, when we arrived at 7:30 a.m. to set-up, it was raining! Oh my!
But did that stop us? NO! We started setting up, had girls taking a Swim Test in the Dunes Bay, worked the boat jockeys to get all our boats down to the shoreline, registered, and..... Then we had an Opening at 10:00. I was able to point out that there was blue sky peeking inbetween the gray clouds, and within an hour, we were seeing sunshine.
We didn't even pause! The girls headed to their respective skills areas, and except for a half hour lunch break, we had boats on the water the whole day! It was sooo great to see! And we had girls trying new skills on the water. There were several girls who went from, "no, I don't think I'll try that...." to "...I can't believe I kayaked and didn't even fall over!" Or a couple girls who had never been on the water in any type of water craft, but they were willing to give it a try. And they took to it like fish in water. Hmmm...maybe I should have said, like a bird in the wind! I couldn't believe how quickly they were moving across the bay.
So, you're probably wondering, how is this related to this Gold Award titled blog? Well, it's not about the Gold, to be sure. However, I think it is about the quality of girls we have in Scouting! These girls have courage, confidence and character. They want to try new things. They want to work with and meet other girls in a safe environment. And they want to have fun.
What a great thing that they got to do it all on Sunday. The icing on the cake is, I bet I see them in Gold Award interviews too. Yep, it's a good thing!
(This is what it looked like at 2pm. You'll have to believe me that all those sails beyond the dock were our girls on the water. As were all the canoes and kayaks!)
"A
Gold Award project requires a Girl Scout to identify an issue or
community problem, investigate it thoroughly, get help by building a
team, create a plan to resolve the problem, present the plan and gather
feedback, execute it, and educate and inspire others through the
project. Projects often take one to two years to complete.
Last
April, Diana Greymountain and volunteers she enlisted arranged river rocks
donated by the National Park Service to create an attractive foot trail
to Hanging Garden. She also designed a trailhead sign that was built and
installed by the National Park Service.
She then wrote a trail guide for people to take along with them to help them understand the plants and animals of the trail.
Her video documentary made its way to the annual Girl Scouts Convention in New York City."
as reported in the Navajo-Hopi Observer October 26, 2012, Phoenix, Arizona
WOW! Great Gold Award Project! The article had more details too:
How did she raise the money? She applied for, and was awarded grant money to fund the video. Rocks came from the National Park Service.
How did she know there was a need for a designated trail? Personal experience, and input from the Park Service.
How did she make it sustainable? The Park Service will maintain the trail and sign.
How is it measurable? The Park Service can track numbers of people using the trail.
I think Diana did a great thing! She discovered a need, connected to it, got resources and then Took Action! She used her leadership to apply for grants, talk to a Foundation Board about her vision, work with the National Park System, and asked for their help.
This is action that goes a looong way!
"Aberdeen Fire and Rescue now has the equipment to save pets who have
inhaled too much smoke thanks to the efforts of a local Girl Scout.
Sabrina
Mount, 18, who has been a member of the Girl Scouts for 12 years as
part of Troop 40124, donated three oxygen mask kits to Aberdeen Fire and
Rescue, as part of Mount's gold award project, the highest honor a Girl
Scout can receive. The masks are designed specifically for animals...."
For those of you who have had me co-train the Silver or Gold Award Workshops, you know that I tend to pick on the "puppy projects" in class. Now, I don't hate puppies, but I use the term because it's a prime example of starting with a project, and not an issue. Many a little (and not so little) girl thinks of wanting to help the puppies. Nice for a service project, but it doesn't have her start with the issue she wants to address for her Gold Take Action Project.
And then I read in the GSUSA Blog today, about a girl who did a Gold Puppy Project. And there are so many things wrong with it! She raised money to buy 3 puppy inhalation masks. And that's against the rules of the Gold. The project can't be just about soliciting money to buy something.
She did have an education piece to hand out, talking about how the fire department would use the masks to help dogs? But who was her team? And how did she reach the constituency she wanted to serve?
I guess I'd have to say that it was sustainable! The FDs will be able to use this equipment for years to come. And it's measurable, as the FD can keep track of how many animals it saves with this new device. I bet she could easily have talked about the global aspect, of what if all FDs had this mask, how many more puppies would be saved.
And she used leadership to raise the money and buy the masks. But from the article, it sounded like that's all she did. Now, I'm only reading a newspaper report, and goodness knows that they don't always get all the info in! I think the key take-aways are that girls may not ask for donations to buy things to benefit a charity. And that a Take Action Project needs to have the girl use her leadership by building a team, educating them, and then have them help her Take Action.
"Now Freedom (Girl Scout, former foster child) is working to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award by collecting backpacks for underprivileged youngsters up through high school.
"Older foster children need help, too, she says, which is something most people don’t recognize. And she’s dedicated to helping “foster cares” because most “never know where your next meal or set of clothes” will come from."
Well, darn it! This was on the GSUSA blog, and it is soooo not representative of a Gold Award Project, on the surface. This is a great service project that Freedom has chosen, and she is obviously passionate about it, having been a foster child herself. But is this ACTION?
Remember, we talk about the parable in training: "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day..." That's a service project. Well-meaning. Hearfelt. But it only makes a difference for a day or two. "Teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime." That's more Gold-style. Create a solution that is measurable and makes a sustainable change in the community. That is what TAKING ACTION is all about!
We want our girls to think critically. And we want them to have to do some research. They need to start with the issue, and then understand the root cause of the problem. And THEN they need to do research to find out what's already being done to address this issue? Who or what agencies have a mission-driven goal to solve the problem? Can the girl work with one of them? Who can she identify to partner with?
This is the critical thinking piece that most girls will want to gloss over, because it's maybe a little difficult. Or they're lazy thinkers. Or they don't have time. Or...whatever excuse they can come up with! But remember, this is the time for these girls to use and develop their skills, even if it takes time. These high schoolers are college-bound, and the Gold Award experience is one that can help them as they move forward.
So, lean on them to do the work. We want them to be proud of the work they're doing, just as much as we are soooo proud of them.
Sometimes, it's just a wonderful thing to open my In-Box and see what's in it. Today was one of those days!
I interviewed Elaine a while ago for her Gold Award Project. She had a great plan, and she was able to discuss it, tell me how it was going to work, and then how it would be sustained. Yes, she had it all!
So of course, once signed=out of my mind! Until today. Elaine sent me a very professional looking booklet that gives kids at her High School AND at The Youth Center places to volunteer, contact information and a brief description of needs. Wow! All in one location. She has printed copies as well as an online presence. It looks like the info is held at The Youth Center, but kids can get to it from a variety of ways.
Measurable, sustainable and fills a community need. Plus, she listed Girl Scouts as one of the agencies where kids (and adults) can volunteer. She still has to do is get the word out about this terrific resource. And she'll be taking a leading role in The Youth Center's February Recognition event where youth volunteers are recognized for their service.
You go, girl!
“Strength shows,
not only in the ability to persist,
but in the ability to start over.”
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
This quote seems particularly apropos to me today. One of my Gold Award girls had some very high expectations for her Gold Take Action Project. I thought it was ambitious, but she seemed determined, and goodness knows, she has the brains and stamina to do anything!
It all started well: the vice principal at the school bought into her plan and vowed that he and the school would not only help, but sustain the project as well. So the program began, the kids were involved, everyone got a starting evaluation sheet that was to be kept, so that the ending one could be compared.
There was a collection piece: hosting an electronic waste day at the campus. All was going well, until the night before, when the electronic waste truck canceled. And given the restrictions, there was no replacing it, so the collection was canceled. The funds that should have been raised, weren't. The recycling bins couldn't be purchased.
Nevertheless, our girl picked another site, got preliminary buy-in from the site, only to be turned down again, just before the scheduled date. Some other girl would be crushed, but she perservered.
The VP at the school was the entity to provide the final evaluations of to the kids, and instead of papering the whole school, he only did two classes. Oh my! All that hoped for data, the proof that her project had made a difference wasn't available. And she still pushed forward! She got a promise from the school to host the electronic waste drive and to continue the program which she started...in the new school year.
Is this how she hoped her Take Action Project was going to go? How she hoped she'd be able to show change and growth? Nope, but she did the best she could. It was a remarkable lesson of how agencies and people can let you down. I felt so badly for her! When I signed off on the paperwork, I asked what she thought? Her first comment was, "well, maybe I tried to do too much." Could be. We also talked about how well she did with what she had.
She earned her Gold. I only wish she had had the success she envisioned from the start. I think she'll be okay. She learned some things, and maybe learned something about herself as well. Had she not already been a Senior, I think she might have started over, and made the plan work. But she graduated from high school, and ran out of time.
I'm going to a meeting to talk with girls about their Gold Award tomorrow, so I've been thinking about what to say. I don't think that everyone in the meeting will be going for the Gold, so I don't want to bore them to death. But I want to make sure that what we talk about is meaningful.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to hit hard on issues. What is the ISSUE the girl wants to address. What puts the fire in her belly? What gives her the knee-jerk reaction?
Okay, so I don't want to open the door to too many graphics to these girls, but I think we all know that if the girl is not passionate about what she's going to be doing, it might not happen. There are any number of things she can use to procrastinate working on the Gold. We will be talking about how to make it a top shelf item.
I think I'm going to be very clear about picking a project the girl LIKES! She'll be stuck with it for a while, so it seems critical that she have passion to put into it. It's that passion that's going to carry her to the completion of her project. Hopefully.
We might also talk about support. She'll need her parents' support to get to places. Maybe other relatives' support for funding and resources. Friends who aren't part of her GS troop, but maybe who can be on her Gold team to help her out. An agency with some resources to kick in. Or a grant identified for her topic, which invites girls to apply for funding.
I bet we'll also talk about the puppies at the shelter, the kids at Orangewood and the homeless who need blankets. That's okay, as it can be a jumping off place to figure out HOW those agencies could work. Or not. I don't want to be discouraging. I do want to be supportive.
I also don't want to come across as scary when I talk about the interview. I made a girl cry the other night, and I just hate that! I also had two girls give me very firm handshakes, look me in the eye, and propose stellar projects. I think I'll tell them that story, and ask them to strive to be the latter! I'll let you know how it all goes.....
