As Girl Scouts, girls can earn a plethora of patches and badges to show off their experiences and all the amazing things they have learned. However, awards that honor going above and beyond are also part of the Girl Scout experience and there is none higher that a girl can earn than the Girl Scout Gold Award. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable—proof that not only she can make a difference, but proof that she already has.

When Girl Scouts decide to work toward earning the Gold Award, they set out for meaningful change by identifying an issue, collaborating with others who also care about that issue, building a team to help, and working to improve something that contributes to that issue in a measurable way.  Earning a Gold Award means reaching way beyond what the world knows as “community service.” These are Take Action projects that truly change the world.

Seniors and Ambassadors (9th- 12th graders) who earn the Gold Award tackle issues that are dear to them and drive lasting change in their communities and beyond. The Gold Award is a key that can open doors to scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college, and amazing career opportunities.

Here are some of the incredible opportunities available to Gold Award Girl Scouts.

Earning a Gold Award is no small feat. A girl’s project must be sustainable and live on after she has completed her project, she must have already completed some hefty prerequisites to even begin a Gold Award project, and then she should complete a minimum of 80 hours of additional service. Less than 6% of all Girl Scouts earn a Gold Award. That is why year-after-year, we are so proud of the girls from our council who achieve the outstanding distinction of Gold Award Girl Scout.

Congratulations to all 25 young women of the GSSEF Gold Award Class of 2020. Each year we are inspired by the Gold Award projects, and this year was no different. The GSSEF Gold Award Class of 2020 took on issues including homelessness, water conservation, discrimination, environmental sustainability, babies born prematurely, and so much more.

To learn more about this year’s remarkable projects, read about them in the 2020 Gold Award Yearbook.

This year brought many new challenges and obstacles, but these 25 girls overcame them to complete their projects. Additionally, COVID-19 and the need to social distance didn’t allow us to celebrate this year’s Gold Award Class in the way we had originally planned, but we got creative and celebrated this remarkable achievement with a unique drive through ceremony. See photos of this year’s Gold Award Ceremony on our Flickr page!

Want to learn more about the Girl Scout Gold Award? We invite you to visit our website! If you are already a Girl Scout and in grades 9 – 12, check our Activities Calendar for upcoming Gold Award Workshops where you will get all the information you need and can ask questions.