Leadership & Service Awards
Leaders come in all shapes and sizes! At Girl Scouts, you have lots of opportunities to hone your leadership skills.
Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors have many opportunities grow leadership skills and to help younger Girl Scouts by sharing their skills, passions, and experience. Program Aide, Counselor-In-Training and Volunteer-In-Training Girl Scouts can assist with day camp activities, Service Unit events, Troop meetings, Council programs and much more.
Community Service is an important part of growing as a Girl Scout. Girls of all ages are encouraged to give back and improve the world around them from the very start of their Girl Scout journey. There are a number of national and local programs with a focus on service that benefits girls’ communities and beyond.
highest awards
Bronze. Silver. Gold. These represent the highest honors a Girl Scout can earn. All three awards give girls the chance to do big things while working on an issue that’s captured their interest in a big way. As girls earn one of Girl Scouts' highest awards, they will change their corner of the world—and maybe even beyond.
Bronze Award - The Girl Scout Bronze Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout Junior can achieve. A girl may pursue this award if they are in the 4th or 5th grade and have completed a Junior Journey.
Silver Award - The Silver Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn. A girl may pursue this award if they are in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grade and have completed a Cadette Journey.
Gold Award - The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout can earn. Once achieved, it shows colleges, employers, and the community that girls are out there changing the world. Girls must be in high school to pursue this award. They must either complete two Senior or Ambassador Journeys –OR- have earned the Girl Scout Silver Award and completed a Journey.
leadership & mentoring awards
The Leader in Action (LiA) award is earned by a Girl Scout Cadette who helps a Brownie troop or group work on any of the three Leadership Journeys. For the girls being mentored, it means a chance to learn from teens—some of their favorite people! The complete requirements for earning the Leader in Action award can be found in any of the Brownie Journey Leader guides. Earning the LiA award is a pre-requisite for the Program Aide pin.
The Program Aide (PA) pin is earned by a Girl Scout Cadette who earns one LiA award and then completes a Council-designed leadership course. After completing these first two steps, girls will need to work with younger girls over six sessions. These sessions are in addition to those done for the LiA award.
The Torch Award – available to Cadette, Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts (three awards available, one for each level). To earn this award, girl scouts must complete one Leadership Journey for each Girl Scout level. They must also serve one term in a leadership position at school, church, library, community center, town council after school club, or similar organization. Additional details are available in the Cadette, Senior and Ambassador versions of the Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting.
The Volunteer-In-Training (VIT) pin is available to Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts. To earn the Volunteer-In-Training pin, girls must learn to mentor younger girls outside of the camp experience by completing a Volunteer-In-Training course and working with younger girls over the course of three to six months.
The Counselor-In-Training pin (CIT) and Counselor-In-Training II pin (CITII) are available to Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts. To earn these two pins, Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts learn to mentor younger girls in a camp setting. They must complete a Counselor-In-Training course and work with younger girls over the course of a camp session. The CIT II pin can be earned by first earning the CIT award, then working with younger girls over the course of at least one camp session while focusing on increasing their skill in one specific area – such as riding instruction, lifeguarding, or the arts.
service awards
Helping Hands Award - a San Diego Council Service Patch
The "Helping Hands" Award is intended to supplement national GSUSA recognitions and does not call for special training. The "Helping Hands" Award recognizes the value of community service and is the San Diego Council's way of thanking girls for being available to the community and the council to lend a hand when called upon.
Each segment of the award requires 25 hours of service
First 25 hours - earn the “blue wedge”
Second 25 hours – earn the “turquoise wedge”
Third 25 hours – earn the “purple wedge”
Fourth 25 hours- earn the “white arc” for a total of 100 hours
This award may be earned multiple times over the course of a girl’s Girl Scout journey.
Community Service Bar - available to Cadette, Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts
If you're a community service rock star, this service bar is for you! Start by choosing a non-profit organization—that isn’t Girl Scouts—where you'd like to volunteer, complete at least 20 hours of service and submit your hours log to earn your bar! There are three different bars available – one for each level. Additional details are available in the Cadette, Senoior and Ambassador versions of the Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting.
Service to Girl Scouting Bar - available to Cadette, Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts
If you choose to volunteer at least 20 hours with Girl Scouts—outside of your normal troop activities—you can receive the Service to Girl Scouting Bar! Additional details are available in the Cadette, Senior and Ambassador versions of the Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting.