Dear Neighbors, You have been very helpful in the past with my troop's efforts to meet people in the community and talk about careers and attaining goals. My troop is going to start working on the Silver Award this fall. The girls will be going through a process of deciding on a project that will have an impact on a particular group, which is theirs to choose. The girls can work either solo or in groups of 2 or 3. I am reaching out to the Highland Park community to first, make folks aware of this project, and second, find out if there are people who might be interested in serving as a project advisor. It is ultimately up to the girls to find advisors, but I am hoping to compile a list of folks who would be willing to help incase someone has a problem moving forward. Also, I am always interested in hearing about community input for projects. I cannot say exactly what the time commitment would be. I imagine maybe 3 hours a month or less. Girls are not allowed to have relatives or close family friends as advisors. The projects must be previously approved by a board at the Council level. Please email me if you are interested in helping 12 Cadette Girl Scouts work towards their Silver Awards! Thank you! Joan Soulliere Examples of Silver Award Projects: Next »<http://blogs.roanoke.com/swoco/2013/05/two-named-to-deans-list-at-at-washington-and-lee-university/> « Previous<http://blogs.roanoke.com/swoco/2013/05/cafe-asia-opening-in-southwest-roanoke-county/> Southwest County Girl Scouts earn their Silver Awards<http://blogs.roanoke.com/swoco/2013/05/southwest-county-girl-scouts-earn-their-silver-awards/> [image: Troop 351 members: Darian Fox (from left), Jessie Foster, Danielle Flory, Rachel Crutchfield, Jane Ward, Morgan Day, Yoli Oswald and Nikki Alexander. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Pfister]<http://blogs.roanoke.com/swoco/files/2013/05/swoco_troop351_silverblog.jpg> Troop 351 members: Darian Fox (from left), Jessie Foster, Danielle Flory, Rachel Crutchfield, Jane Ward, Morgan Day, Yoli Oswald and Nikki Alexander. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Pfister Eight members of Girl Scout Troop 351, of Southwest Roanoke City/County, earned the Silver Award, the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can achieve and the second highest award in Girl Scouting. Seven members (Nikki Alexander, Rachel Crutchfield, Morgan Day, Danielle Flory, Jessie Foster, Darian Fox and Jane Ward) worked together on a community service project with the Roanoke Wildlife Rescue to collect supplies, recruit new volunteers and educate the community on the issues that wildlife face. One member, Yoli Oswald, worked on an individual award project in which she created communication materials for parents and teachers to use with autistic children. With the Silver Award, the project is just one facet of the comprehensive achievement program. The Girl Scout Silver Award represents a girl’s accomplishments in Girl Scouting and in her community as she grows and works to improve her life and the lives of others. The first four requirements of the Silver Award help girls build skills, explore careers, gain leadership skills, and make a commitment to self-improvement. When the first four requirements are completed, a girl may undertake the Silver Award community service project. The girls who worked with the Roanoke Wildlife Rescue also coordinated a neighborhood bag drive to collect supplies that the rescue program needed. The girls also volunteered their time at the center and created educational display boards to showcase certain animals that the rescue rehabilitated. The girls would like to thank those who mentored and assisted them with this project: Dorothy Runion and DeeDee Hartson with the Roanoke Wildlife Rescue and their neighbors who donated to the bag drive. Yoli who worked to help autistic children, like her brother James, created choice boards to help the children communicate. She also made signs for parents to use to help children identify common objects. She would like to thank the Roanoke County preschool teachers and the Blue Ridge Autism Center for their help with her project — and especially her brother for inspiring her and teaching her how to communicate with him better. Below is a copy of the information about Project Advisors from the GSUSA homepage. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Girl Guidelines The Girl Scout Silver Award Community Contact List Now it’s time to talk to people to get in-depth information about community issues. As you conduct interviews, you’ll improve your communication skills, begin to see how your time and talents can make an impact, and build a network of contacts you may need when you do your Take Action project. Start by talking to people you know, such as neighbors or teachers, and then asking them to introduce you to other people in your community, such as business owners, neighbors, teachers or school officials, religious leaders, council members, police officers, and staff members at community centers. *Note: *Always be safe when you talk to new people! Discuss safety tips with your troop/group volunteer and family, and always go with a friend or team member. Also, before going online, remember to take the Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge at www.girlscouts.org/internet_safety_pledge.asp. And of course never give out your address, or any other personal information when you’re on the Internet.