There is no better place than Girl Scouts for a girl to develop her leadership skills and achieve awards! Girl Scouts connects girls with award opportunities at all levels, starting with our youngest leaders – Girl Scout Daisies in kindergarten, all the way through high school seniors – Girl Scout Ambassadors. Girls can earn awards with their family or troop.
Awards fall in different categories:
- Highest Awards
- Meritorious Service
- President’s Volunteer Service Awards
- Personal Leadership Awards
- Peer Leadership Awards
- Teaching Leadership Awards
- Community Advocacy Awards
- Service Awards
- Awards for All Girl Scout Levels
- Opportunity Awards for All Levels
- International Awards
- 10 Year Pin
- Council Awards
- State Awards
In 2025, GSUSA overhauled their awards. Some awards were retired, some awards had requirements and their designs changed, and some new awards were introduced.
We have chosen to list the awards girls earned from 2001 onward. Many current scouts will have earned these, and we want younger scouts to be able to look up what awards older girls earned.
Highest Awards
Bronze Award
Silver Award
Gold Award
Meritorious Service
Bronze Cross
Medal of Honor
President’s Volunteer Service Award
President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA)
Personal Leadership Awards
Girl Scouts start with themselves building confidence and courage to lead and through self-reflection grow skills following the path set by Juliette Gordon Low. They discover what matters to them and how to channel their personal values into meaningful action, taking on challenges and advocating for positive change.
True North Award
Girl Scouts learn how to use their values and practice leadership as they choose, plan and carry out their own courageous act. Courage looks different for everyone-in this award, Girl Scouts will pick something that is courageous for them. It could range from planning a trip, making new friends or even auditioning for a solo performance!
Who can earn-Juniors-Ambassadors
Peer Leadership Awards
Girl Scouts learn how being a great teammate translates to being able to lead with purpose and heart. First, GS will work will other collaboratively toward a shared goal and supporting others will help GS explore what motivates people and inspires change. Second, building on their team experience, GS will take the lead on a team, turning ideas into impact.
Silver Torch Award
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Who-Cadettes
Gold and Silver Torch Award
Gold Torch Award
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Who-Seniors and Ambassadors
Teaching Leadership Awards
Girl Scouts share their skills and inspire younger children with hands-on leadership, inside and outside of Girl Scouting. The path from helper to role model starts here as Girl Scouts grown the confidence and planning skills to lead activities, program events and more.
Junior Aide
Leader in Action(LiA)
Program Aide (PA)
Counselor-in-Training 1 (CIT 1)
Counselor-in-Training 2 (CIT 2)
Volunteer-in-Train (VIT)
Community Advocacy Awards
Girl Scouts explore issues affecting the world, both close to home and far away, and plan projects that help both today and tomorrow that have benefits for their communities.
Take Action and Global Action projects create lasting change. Take Action projects focus on a community issue and what’s already being done to address it locally, while Global Action projects explore how a community issue is experienced around the world.
Global Action Award
Take Action Award
Awards for All Girl Scout Levels
Journey Summit Award
Safety Award
My Promise, My Faith
Bridging Award
Opportunity Awards for All Levels
Cookie Family Pin
Global Action Award
World Thinking Day Award
International Awards
International World Friendship Recognition Pin
Lady Baden-Powell International Friendship Award
10 Year Pin
Council Awards
Some of the various Girl Scout Councils have awards they offer their members, in addition to the above ones available to any scout who meets the requirements.
Frequently, councils will give an additional award to any scout who earns a Bronze, Silver, and Gold award; many councils refer to this as a Trefoil or Trifecta Award.
Councils also offer awards in memory of past scouts or supporters of the Girl Scout mission.
Service Units may also have unique awards they offer members. An example of this is the Roy L. Selby, Jr. Memorial Scholarship offered by GSNC Service Unit #32-11.
You are encouraged to look at your council’s website to see if they have any unique awards. Sometimes these are listed under ‘Highest Awards’ or ‘Awards’. It might require you to do some digging. Troop Leaders can ask on your behalf if your Service Unit has any awards.
State Awards
Several state districts offer unique awards that scouts may qualify for. A number of these are awarded based on community service, or to those scouts who earn a Gold Award.
Finding these awards will require research. You should know what district you live in, and your representatives in both the House of Representatives and the Senate to help focus your search.