Hi everyone!
First: Reminder we're doing Face Painting at the School's Out Event on Friday 3-8! Wear clothes you don't mind getting painted (I remember last year!) Please let me know ASAP about your attendance (Yes or No)
Second: Thanks for a pretty productive Sunday Morning. The girls there got solid ideas, dug down into root causes, and built a list of names to be Gold Award Advisors for each.
Here's the homework we talked about at the end of the event. When you get these 7 done, we'll get them into the official Highest Award application, and set up your appointment with Girl Scouts to get your proposal reviewed for approval.
Make a Google Doc that includes:
1) The problem you decided to try to solve. The problem has to have a specific harm you addressing. Include 2-4 paragraphs describing the problem, the harm it causes (to individuals, the planet, etc.), and include research to find at least 3 "numbers" or statistics to include in your description. (For example, if the problem was women being underrepresented in STEM you could include the % of women entering STEM fields or enrolled/completing STEM majors in college and the reasons why having greater representation of women in STEM fields is advantageous, etc.)
2) A 2-3 level "deep dig" on the root causes of the problem in #1. (I.e. What is a cause, of a cause, of the cause for the problem. For example: if the problem is discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, a surface cause could be that people don't know that there are LGBTQ+ people in the community, a cause of that could be that LGBTQ+ people aren't represented in the art/decoration/media around the village.
3) A description of your project idea.
4) A 2-3 paragraph description of how your project addresses the deeper/root cause you identified in #2. If possible, research and statistics will make this much stronger too. (For example: In a study done by group X, they found that when people learned that someone they knew was LGBTQ+, they were X% more likely to change their attitudes towards that community.)
5) National/Global Links: Names of organizations that work with your issue on a national or global level, or national/global projects that are also tackling your issue. Include a plan to reach out tot hese organizations for advice, information, etc. Also include why your issue IS a national/global issue, and not just something only affecting your individual school/village--once again, research is a great addition here. (Your project doesn't have to solve your issue on a National/Global level, just show how it is an issue that is "big.")
6) Potential Advisors: 3 Names of people who have expertise in a field related to your project, and their contact information. Prepare a plan to reach out to them about being your Gold Award Advisor. Note: these cannot be parents or Girl Scout adult volunteers.
7) Potential Award Team: The Gold Award is all about leadership and leading a team. Put together a list of as many people as possible that you could potentially bring together to work on your project under your leadership.
