From the Civics badges of the 1920s and 1930s to the Citizenship badges of today, our organization has been inspiring women and girls to form their own values and beliefs, to explore their communities, and to lead the way when they see a need or an issue. You may call it good citizenship, we call it the Girl Scout way!

So how can your Girl Scout continue this tradition? By building her skills and confidence so she becomes part of the next generation of civically engaged Girl Scout members! And we’ve got some good resources to help her take her first steps to a lifetime of good citizenship. She’ll learn how to advocate for causes and issues that are important to her and have the confidence to know that she has the skills and determination to make a difference.

Citizenship Badges

A good starting point is to help her earn the Citizen badge for your Girl Scout’s age level. Check out the requirements in her Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting (look at the badge category and scroll across to her age level) or find the description on our badge explorer by choosing the Citizenship topic.

From the new Daisy Good Neighbor badge through the Ambassador Public Policy badge, she’ll find progressive activities that encourage her to learn more about her community, government, voting, and our election processes.

Take Action Projects

Ready for more challenges? It’s time for girls to make a difference by leading a take action project and earning Journey Awards too. Girl Scout Journeys are award sets where girls choose from several topics for their age level,  explore that topic and issues that relate to it, make connections with their own experiences and communities, and put together a plan to make an impact on that issue or topic. Their final Journey Award is always a take action project where they put their plan into motion and make a difference!

There are a variety of topics for each age level for girls to choose from ranging from an environmental focus, healthy living, the newest STEM Journeys available to troop leaders on our digital resource the Volunteer Toolkit, and more. So check them out with your Girl Scout and start planning her next take action project!

G.I.R.L. Agenda

Another way to show your Girl Scout what civic action is all about is to take part in the G.I.R.L. Agenda. What’s that? So glad you asked! As a celebration of our movement’s tradition of civic engagement, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) launched the G.I.R.L. Agenda, a nonpartisan initiative to inspire, prepare, and mobilize girls and those who care about them to lead positive change through civic action.

As part of the G.I.R.L. Agenda GSUSA has put together some Civic Action Toolkits to help our girl and adult members take action. Follow the link to GIRLAgenda.org to join this awesome initiative.

We know that with the resources above you’re sure to find a way to continue the Girl Scout tradition of civic engagement with your Girl Scout. Want to learn more about our organization’s long legacy of civic action? Check out this blog post from GSUSA about Girl Scouts’ Powerful Legacy of Civic Action in America!