Make a Difference Award

The girls may earn the Make A Difference award by planning and executing their own community service
project.  Projects must be submitted to the troop leader for approval prior to execution. (No service projects
will be allowed in regards to controversial issues such as pro-life/pro-choice, sex ed., etc.)  Keep in mind that
while guidance is needed, these projects should be planned and executed as much as possible by the girls.  
A guideline for age appropriate projects follows:

Otters:

A Make a Difference project should take the girl roughly 3-5 hours to plan and execute and she should lead
a group of at least 3 others in completing the project.  Some appropriate example may be to gather friends
and weed the church parking lot, pick up trash along their favorite hiking trail, make greeting cards for vets,
etc.  Even at this young age, girls should be able to make their own phone calls to gather friends, learn to
set dates and times for the event, make a list of supplies, clean up after the event, and go with mom to pick
up anything needed, or deliver any finished products.  

Dolphins:

A Make a Difference project should take the girl roughly 10-15 hours to plan and execute and she should
lead a group of at least 3 others in completing the project.  Don’t underestimate this age group, they are
both creative and active and will surprise you with their abilities.  Some appropriate examples in addition to
those listed above may be to organize a walk-a-thon to benefit a local charity, organize a series of story time
projects at the local library, or organize a canned food drive.  At this age girls should be able to make their
own phone calls, talk to adults and explain how they need help (such as asking businesses for raffle prizes),
make their own fliers and learn how to advertise their event.  Keep in mind that this does not have to be one
huge project.  It may be done over a series days.  For example your daughter may wish to gather friends to
help pick up trash on her favorite hiking trail once a month for 2 hours at a time for a series of 5 months.  
This would meet the 10-15 hour requirement just as well as planning and executing a larger one day event.

Butterflies:

A Make a Difference project should take the girl roughly 20-25 hours to plan and execute and she should
lead a group of at least 3 others in completing the project.  Some appropriate examples may be to organize
a child care center for a Walk For Life  event, organize a child activity center for a local festival or event,
organize a few volunteer days at a local animal shelter.  Girls at this age still need supervision, but should
be able to handle every part of their project themselves.  This group has a tendency to get a little
overwhelmed, so feel free to step in and offer suggestions, but don’t try to take over the project.

Eagles:

A Make a Difference project should take the girl roughly 40-50 hours to plan and execute and she should
lead a group of at least 3 others in completing the project.  Eagle projects should be ongoing in nature.  
Girls should find an organization they wish to work with and help them to organize a project that can be done
year after year.  One example is to work with the local fire department to create a program to teach kids
what to do during a fire.  The girl could not only help to write the program, but could also help to teach the
class for the first year.  Other examples might be to work with the local police department to put together a
bike safety program and lead a bike rodeo where kids can have their bikes inspected, learn bike safety, and
compete in biking competitions.

Girls at all levels may work on projects as a group as long as each girl has her own responsibilities and  
leadership role.  Using the bike rodeo example, all girls could meet with the police department and help
brainstorm on the programming itself.  One girl may be in charge of helping to inspect bikes and organizing
that station, another may be in charge of organizing the bike safety station, and a third or fourth may be in
charge of organizing and running the bike competitions.
If you see a need...
Take the Lead!
Sometimes
courage is
the quiet
voice at the
end of the
day saying,
"I will try
again
tomorrow."

~ Mary
Anne
Radmacher