Participate in a National Service Project
Discover how you can give back to make your community—and the world—a better place.
Girl Scouts always step up to do what they can to improve their communities and the world.
All across our country and our world, Girl Scouts are leaping to the aid of others by engaging in wonderful acts of service and kindness. Whether by writing letters to senior citizens, honoring first responders, taking part in a citizen science project, or promoting voting and democracy, now your troop can get involved in these unique Girl Scout activities too.
Plus, get a Girl Scouts Give Back patch to show your participation with pride.
Explore projects for you and your troop.
Honoring Changemakers Service Project 
Girl Scouts Give Back:
Honoring our Everyday Changemakers
Small acts of kindness and gratitude can have an incredible impact on your community! And through this national service project, inspired by the Becoming Me program series, Girl Scouts can pay it forward by recognizing the people in their communities who have supported them in finding their unique paths.
Here’s how you can take part:
- Think about the people who support and inspire you. They might
be teachers, parents, or any individuals serving your community and
supporting others. Talk about why it’s important that we honor
people who support us. Use our discussion guide to help you get
started,
- Once you’ve decided on one person
you’d like to honor, decide how you (and your troop) will show your
gratitude. You could write a letter to tell the person what their
support has meant to you or you could support a cause they
champion—check out the discussion guide (PDF) for more ways to give
thanks.
- Reflect on the experience of recognizing this person. How did it feel for you? How did they react? Were your actions responded to by others in your community? How so?
Once your troop has completed the service project, remember to:
- Inspire others to give back. Post a photo of your project on
social media using the hashtag #GirlScoutsGiveBack. Be sure
to tag @girlscouts too.
-
Complete a survey so your troop’s impact can
be counted in our national service project documentation.
- Take part in the Becoming Me program series to earn three badges that help you explore your story and the power of your voice. You can even receive a patch.
Resources
Instructions for troop leaders. (PDF)
Valentine's Day Cards Service Project
National Service Project:
Cupid Crew Valentine’s Day Cards
Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity for you and your troop to reach out and show others that you care—especially those who may be alone on a day that’s all about connection!
This year, Girl Scouts is teaming up with Wish of a Lifetime from AARP for Cupid Crew 2021, a volunteer-driven effort to create cards and safely send some love to tens of thousands of older adults who are socially isolated.
Even though we have to keep a safe distance, your troop can help spread joy to thousands of older adults across the country by writing Valentine’s Day cards as part of the Cupid Crew national service project.
Here’s how it works:
1. Discuss the Cupid Crew national service project with your troop.
- Talk about how older adults may be experiencing feelings of loneliness and isolation, compounded by COVID-19 restrictions.
- Have the troop set a goal for the number of Cupid Crew valentine cards to create.
2. Create your valentines.
- Share this Cupid Crew Valentine’s Day Card Template (PDF) with each girl or create your own.
- Get creative! Share the
link to our Cupid Crew Card Tips (PDF) with your girls to
help them get started.
3. Decide where to send your troop’s cards.
Reach out to a local senior living community and ask how they’d like to receive your troop’s cards. Mail or deliver your cards to a local senior living community that you have a connection to or check out our list of local senior living communities (PDF) to find one in your area.
Please get in touch with your troop’s senior living community of choice by Monday, February 8, to let them know to expect your package or delivery. We suggest calling the senior living community and speaking to the activities director to find out how to best coordinate your drop-off given the community’s COVID-safety practices. Consider including one of your girls on the call to share in the experience.
4. Make a plan to send or deliver your Cupid Crew cards.
Decide how to collect and deliver your troop’s cards. For example, you could collect the cards and mail them together or drop them off as a packet. Do whatever is easiest and safest for you and your troop.
Send or deliver your cards to the local senior living community you identified in Step 3.
If you choose to deliver your cards, please do so by Saturday, February 13.
For a COVID-safe drop-off, we suggest:
- All cards be delivered either with a troop leader, parent, or volunteer
- You place your cards in an envelope or box and drop it off in front of the senior community, after getting in touch to let them know you are coming with your package
- When your contact comes outside to pick up the box, you all wear masks and maintain six feet of distance
If you choose to mail your cards, please send them by Thursday,
February 4, to ensure that they arrive in time.
If your troop decides that each girl will mail their card(s) in, provide the council office as the return address and make sure they also include a note to let staff know that these are Valentine’s Day cards sent from Girl Scouts and Cupid Crew. To ensure your cards arrive in time, send them by Thursday, February 4, and be sure to let the community know to expect the package.
5. Include a note (PDF) to the facility staff to let them know you’re sending cards as part of your Girl Scout troop’s participation in the Cupid Crew national service project.
Once your troop has completed this service project, remember to:
- Inspire others to give back! Post a photo of your troop, your cards, or your delivery to your social networks using the hashtags #GirlScoutsGiveBack and #CupidCrew. Be sure to tag @girlscouts and @wishofalifetime too!
- After your troop has completed your cards, share your story with us to help us track Girl Scouts’ nationwide impact through service.
- If you wish to recognize your troop’s participation with a patch, we recommend this Girl Scouts Give Back patch.
Wish of a Lifetime from AARP’s mission is to shift the way society views and values our oldest generations by fulfilling seniors’ dreams and sharing their stories to inspire those of all ages. Learn more about Wish of a Lifetime from AARP or follow @wishofalifetime on social media.
Thanks to Sodexo Seniors for their continued support of Girl Scout national service projects.
Resources
Tips
for Girls (PDF)
Cupid
Crew Valentine’s Day Card Template (PDF)
List
of Senior Living Communities (PDF)
Note
to Facility Staff (PDF)
Fighting Hunger Service Project
National Service Project:
Fighting Hunger
More than 50 million adults, kids, and families in the U.S. are experiencing food insecurity, a number that has only increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and may include members of our own communities, friends and family, or members of our troops, making this a sensitive and important take action issue for Girl Scouts.
As they think about how to give back this holiday season, Girl Scouts can make a big difference in their communities—and for children around the world—by supporting hunger relief efforts. There are lots of ways for your troop to make an impact, whether you’re meeting safely in person or virtually and even if you aren’t able to give food directly:
(Hint: check out our detailed troop leader instructions (PDF) for helpful tips for each project.)
- Support a food drive in your community or organize your own (DOC).
- Thank
a Food Bank Hero. Write to a Food Bank Hero to show your troop’s
appreciation and send encouragement for the hard and vital work
they do. Mail your handwritten notes to your local food bank.
- Volunteer at a drive-thru food distribution program if there are COVID-safe options with local food banks in your area. (And if your troop is old enough.)
- Participate in UNICEF Kid Power®. This program allows your troop to unlock digital coins to support local food banks and organizations in your community! Also, for every ten exercise or mindfulness videos completed, UNICEF distributes one therapeutic food packet to a malnourished child. Your troop’s donation may go anywhere in the world.
Once your troop has completed this service project, remember to:
- Inspire others to give back. Post a photo of your project to your social networks using the hashtag #GirlScoutsGiveBack. Be sure to tag @girlscouts too.
- Complete a survey so your troop’s impact can be counted in our national service projects.
- To recognize your troop’s participation with a patch, try this Girl Scouts Give Back patch.
Resources
Instructions for Troop Leaders (PDF)
Guidance for Conducting a Food Drive (PDF)
Food Drive Toolkit (DOC)
Promote the Vote Service Project
National Civic Action:
Promote the Vote
Since Girl Scouts’ founding in 1912, our members have created lasting, positive change through advocacy and civic action. And though some girls may be too young to cast a ballot, they can still mobilize their communities to take action like a Girl Scout.
As we mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which removed the gender restriction to voting, Girl Scouts is launching a national “Promote the Vote” initiative to engage Girl Scout troops in the democratic process.
Voting is arguably our most important civic duty—but barriers still exist. In many parts of the country, voting laws and protocols make it difficult for many people, especially people of color, to cast their votes in local and federal elections. In other words, there’s work to be done—and girls can play a part!
We all have a role in helping people exercise their right to participate in the democratic process, including in this challenging time of COVID-19.
Here’s how your Girl Scout troop can promote the vote:
- Discuss the importance of voting. Lead your girls in a
conversation (PDF) about why voting is essential
and the power they have to increase access to the vote and to
encourage others to vote, even if they are too young
to vote themselves. (Hint: your troop could earn one of our new
Democracy badges in the process!)
- Make a plan
and set a goal. With your girls, decide which action(s) you’ll take
to encourage people to register to vote and make a plan to vote, and
how many people you’ll reach out to. There are so many ways your
girls can share key information (PDF) and get the word
out! Senior and Ambassador troops can register (or pre-register) to
vote and make plans to cast their ballots together!
- Share your story on social media. Research shows that if you
persuade one person to vote, they’ll likely influence at least one
additional friend or family member to vote too! If you use social to
educate and inspire others to vote, be sure to tag us using
@girlscouts.
-
Complete a survey so your troop’s impact
can be counted in our national service projects.
- Encourage your girls’ ongoing civic engagement through working to earn Democracy badges and using GSUSA’s suffrage toolkit.
For more voting information, check out:
Resources
Instructions
for troop leaders (PDF).
Instructions
to share with girls (PDF).
Girl Scouts is a § 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. We do not
take sides in elections or support or oppose any political candidates.
Promote the Vote is a nonpolitical and nonpartisan initiative
designed to increase civic participation and is not linked to any
political party or to individuals on any one side of an issue. We
encourage all citizens, regardless of political party, affiliation, or
beliefs, to participate in the democratic process.
Citizen Science Service Project
Mask Making Service Project
Girl Scouts Give Back:
Mask Making
Now, with this nationwide mask-making campaign, all girls have the chance to step up to help their friends, neighbors, and frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. And we’ve partnered with Feeding America, a network of local food banks across the U.S., to make it easy for your girls to amplify their efforts.
-
Ask your girls (and their friends!) to make masks for adults and kids. Use the instructions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If your troop chooses to make masks for other kids, use 7.5” x 9” cloth instead.
-
When you are ready to send your masks, you can include a letter like this (DOC).
-
You can safely distribute masks where you see the greatest need in your community). Through our partnership with Feeding America, your troop can easily donate (PDF) masks to your local food bank staff and families that rely on food bank services.
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Inspire others to give back! Snap a photo of your troop’s masks and post to your social networks using the hashtag #GirlScoutsGiveBack. Be sure to tag @girlscouts too!
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Don’t forget to come back and log the number of masks you made!
-
To recognize your troop’s participation with a patch, check out this Mask Making Patch.
Resources
Instructions for Troop Leaders (PDF)
Letter Writing Service Project
Girl Scouts Give Back:
Letter-Writing Service Project
The idea is simple: girls write letters to people in nursing homes, senior residences, and assisted living facilities, including the dedicated staff and caregivers. This long-distance hug is a way to share your good thoughts with these vulnerable and loved community members.
Here’s how it works:
-
Ask your girls (and their friends!) to write letters to senior and caretakers using our tips (PDF).
-
You can mail letters to one of the facilities (PDF) or reach out to a local assisted living center and find out how they would like to receive your troop’s letters. You could collect and deliver them (using no-contact practices), have girls mail them individually, or even deliver them via email. Don’t forget to include a note to tell the staff about the letters you’re sending (DOC).
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Take a picture of your letter packet and post it to your social media networks using #GirlScoutsGiveBack (and be sure to tag us @girlscouts).
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Don't forget to come back here and log the number of letters to add them to the national campaign! Let’s see how many letters of love and care our Movement can send!
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To recognize your troop’s participation with a patch, check out this Girl Scouts Give Back patch.
Resources
Tell the world about your project.
Share project details, highlight troop activities, and upload pictures to let Girl Scouts around the world see your accomplishments.
SHARE STORY
For all national service project activities taking place during
COVID-19, please make sure your troop complies with health and safety
guidelines of the CDC, your local government, and your local
Girl Scout council.
