Girl Scouts: Friday Event, Gold Award Update re: Format and Homework

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.