The Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council Honors Cadettes in Inaugural Silver Award Celebration
HOUSTON, Texas (13 Feb. 2024)—The Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council recently held their first-ever Silver Award Celebration, where it recognized 240 Girl Scouts for their dedication and achievement in earning the Silver Award, the highest award that can be earned by a Girl Scout Cadette. These girls spent their time between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023, working on community projects to achieve this award.
The theme of the celebration, “Imagine Yourself,” encapsulated the spirit of empowerment and growth as Cadettes celebrated their Silver Award projects and discovered new opportunities. The event was held at Agnes Arnold Lodge on Jan. 28.
To earn the Silver Award, girls must research and address the root cause of an issue in their community, create a plan to make the project sustainable, and spend a minimum of 50 hours on their project. Cadettes are encouraged to make their project measurable and connect it to a national or global issue. Projects can be completed individually or in groups of up to three Cadettes.
“The inaugural Silver Award celebration not only highlighted the girls’ contributions but also encouraged girls to make connections with their Girl Scout sisters and to pursue the Gold Award,” said Mandelé Davis, GSSJC chief membership officer. “Being in the company of such socially conscious girls filled my heart with pride. I am assured that our communities are better because of these ladies and their Girl Scout support systems."
At the celebration, Cadettes were honored with a banquet, featuring a presentation of each girl’s project, and speeches by Mary Vitek, GSSJC CEO, and Tanya Justice, a girl experience coordinator for older girl programs. Other speakers included previous Silver and Gold Award Girl Scouts Carrie Schoech, Kaviya Ravikumar, and Aditi Chaubal. Their inspiring speeches encouraged Cadettes to continue their leadership journey within the Girl Scout community and beyond.
Following the banquet, Cadettes enjoyed an activity fair with booths for older girl programs. Girls learned more about Girl Scouts travel opportunities, STEM activities, additional service awards, and special interest groups—such as equitation, Mariners, dance, backpacking, and shooting sports. Throughout the fair, girls engaged in various interactive experiences, including crafting bandanas, creating bead bracelets, and marking their travel experiences and aspirations on a map.
"It was inspiring to celebrate the incredible contributions this year’s Silver Award Girl Scouts have made to the betterment of their communities on issues they care about, and to see their continued desire to develop as older girl leaders within the Girl Scout community and their communities at large,” said Alix Reilman, GSSJC highest award manager. “We look forward to these passionate changemakers becoming the next generation of Gold Award Girl Scouts and, ultimately, the leaders of tomorrow."
For more information about Girl Scouts Highest Awards, visit https://www.girlscouts.org/en/members/for-girl-scouts/badges-journeys-awards/highest-awards.html.
February 13, 2024
