I received an email from a troop Gold Award Advisor, asking me about one of her girls' Gold Award Project. And I thought I'd share what the girl wrote, and then what I wrote back. Maybe it can help others advisors about who we Gold Award Interviewers think about the Gold Award Take Action Projects! (I have edited for space, not content.)
"I want to recognize an issue that is worldwide, cancer. Cancer not only affects the patient, but also affects the loved ones around them. For my Gold Award, I want to create something that would help out the family members and friends of cancer patients. How would I do that, you might ask? To answer that, I'm going to create a Facebook page that will let others and myself give out advice to those loved ones- presumably teenagers, who have friends or family with cancer. This would be through different writings of people (teens) that have experienced the same thing, documentaries, a Q and A section, and a FAQ. My team that I would lead would be my friends and I who do lots of filming together, and a partnership with Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA). CHLA would help to publicize the site by putting a link on their website. In turn I would help to also publicize different cancer events and information for them through the Facebook page. My hope for this project is to really help teens that do not really know how to deal with a loved one who has cancer. Its a scary feeling helpless in these kinds of situations, and I hope to change that through this page full of advice and life stories.
My initial thought was, "but she's not connecting to the community she's serving." i.e. She's not setting up a structure for the kids to getogether on a regular basis and come in and chat with each other, have speakers, get some education, share experiences, etc.
But then I thought, but this is a new century, and kids don't always connect the way they did, 15 years ago! They are much more internet savvy, and more likely to connect with kids all over the states about this kind of issue.
So, her issue is cancer support for teens
Her root cause is cancer disrupts life. Not only of the one with the disease, but loved ones around her/him.
She is connecting to the need by creating a forum for teens to share. She is also providing education and resources for these same kids.
Sustainability: CHLA sounds like they will promote the videos on their site, but it would be great if she were able to also reach out to other non-profits and link to them as well. (Komen, Avon Run, Revlon 10K, etc.) She should be able to come up with more ways to get the word out.
Measurable: She might need to think how she can measure success? number of hits? number of posts? A good question for her.
I think that it would be great to have a piece where she actually presents this to her school? PTA? city? hospital? and has a chance to create a live presentation to hook people into clicking for help and participating online. That would be a really good leadership piece that she would need, beyond organizing the filming and writing a website with her team. Plus, she will be educating her team, too, as they all share their stories and work together. The group she's presenting to could link their site to hers.
I think that if she can partner with someone at CHLA (or elsewhere?) to read over her info, and be sure that she is posting accurate info, and that the stories the kids contribute and tell are not full of mis-information, that would be great!
I also think that she needs a resource for kids to go to for more help: organizations that have kid programs, or? That way, if the kid needs more, they can try another worthy resource. It will take some time for the girl and her team, but finding the resource and creating a paragraph about it, with a live link would be a great benefit, I'd bet.
"Ratchford’s project, “On the Right Track: Preparing for College in High School,” prepared other youth for their journey to college through a three-hour workshop.
She based her workshop on her experience getting ready for college as a senior at The Roeper School in Bloomfield Hills, she said.
“I found I was very knowledgeable on the topic of college preparation, and I received compliments on my presentation,” said Ratchford, member of Troop 43950. “I was able to overcome my shyness and transform into a strong public speaker.”
Participants in the workshop were able to ask Ratchford and her college counselor questions, in addition to learning about college and being successful through a multi-media presentation."
Like me, you probably get the GSUSA blog in your inbox Monday thru Friday, without fail! It's exciting to see what other girls and councils are doing around the country. And like me, you probably wonder about the quality of the Gold Award Projects they post! Well, I wonder about today's for sure! I have to hope that there was more to it than what was presented.
I think this girl identified a need to fill in her community. But did she identify a root cause? And did she create a Gold Award Take Action Project to address that root cause? Might she have learned that there would have been a benefit to this information being given to younger students? Or was it only for those who had successfully been accepted to a college? Was she able to post a link to her presentation online with the school? district? other schools for use? How would she have create traffic to her site, if it were posted?
Did she gather a team of non-troop girls/boys to educate about the issue, and then help her create the multi-media program? Was it truly only presented once? Why not to the entire school district? county? state? Why not multiple times for different audiences?
How did she plan to ensure sustainability? Was there an entity at the school to take it over? NSF? ASB? PTSA? Is the presentation one that could have gone further?
As I've said before, I can't tell from what was posted on the GSUSA blog, but I have to hope that this Gold Award Take Action Project really was robust, and that it moves forward to help others.
"Massachusetts Girl Scout Brings Winter via Gold Award Project
Posted: 09 Feb 2012 04:54 AM PST
In Massachusetts, the Daily Leicester reports that although many are disappointed over the mild 2012 winter, thanks to Girl Scout Abigail Bernier, local families may still have a chance to safely take to the ice during February Vacation week.
Over Super Bowl weekend, Bernier, Leicester Parks and Recreation and other residents were tirelessly working to build a community ice skating rink at Leicester Middle School — and now all they need is a good freeze to help get the fun started.
A longtime Girl Scout and senior at Leicester High School, Bernier had been looking to do a project for her Girl Scout Gold Award.
"The idea came about because of people falling through the ice in town, so I was thinking why not make a rink that we can use year to year, that's safe for kids to use, and make it kind of like a tradition in the town," said Bernier.
Knowing she had only a limited amount of time before Spring made the project impossible, Bernier got the ball rolling quickly, and brought her proposal to Leicester Parks and Recreation.
Parks and Rec approved of the effort, and with their support, Bernier then mobilized the troops to help make the idea come to fruition. In order to maintain the ice, Parks and Rec will be building a "hand-zoni," a makeshift device that will help them keep the ice smooth and glassy throughout the season.
In the meantime, Brooks is collecting ice skates for residents to be able to use at the rink."
Nice! Abigail identified a need in her community, addressed the root cause and partnered with an agency to Take Action. She led a team, and her project benefited the entire community, it sounds like! Is it sustainable, sure sounds like the Parks and Rec Dept. will take over servicing the rink year after year.
What's the global impact? Now that's a bit trickier....is there one? This project could be duplicated in other cities and towns, though not in Irvine. How would you talk with her about the global impact? Could make for a great discussion for the girl. And you, too!
I received an email from a troop Gold Award Advisor, asking me about one of her girls' Gold Award Project. And I thought I'd share what the girl wrote, and then what I wrote back. Maybe it can help others advisors about who we Gold Award Interviewers think about the Gold Award Take Action Projects! (I have edited for space, not content.)
