“The work of today is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers”. Juliette Gordon Low

Girl Scouts has a long tradition of doing service projects. Why not take the opportunity to take your project to the next level? Service learning is an amazing way to increase awareness of social issues, broaden perspective on diversity issues, develop civic responsibility and enhance critical thinking.  In Girl Scouting, we also refer to service learning projects as Take Action projects.

Service learning and take action projects don’t have to be complicated. Basically, it is adding in learning about a problem in the community and why your project is important. To learn about the five steps in service learning (investigate, prepare, act, reflect and demonstrate), check out Girl Scout resources at this link: GSWO website.  You can also simply do a Girl Scout Journey.  All Journeys have this process built right in.

Where do you start? Spring is a great time to get involved in your community in a variety of ways. You could try:

 Earth Day – April 22, 2014, will focus on green cities, mobilizing a millions of people to create a sustainable, healthy environment by greening communities worldwide.  Instead of doing an Earth Day clean up, start working on the It’s Your Planet-Love It Journey and help the girls connect Earth Day to greater global causes.

Global Youth Service Day – April 11- 13, 2014, is the largest service event in the world! This event celebrates and mobilizes the millions of young people who improve their communities through service.  Help the girls in your troop choose a Take Action project that helps them use their new knowledge and skills from recent badge work or a Journey experience.  Use the five steps listed above to complete the service learning cycle.

Arbor Day– April 25, 2014, is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees.  This is another great way to connect girls to It’s Your Planet-Love It Journey.  Use this day as a kick off for this Journey or participate as a next step after earning the naturalist badge for Girl Scout Brownies through Ambassadors.