Our Own Troop's Badge

Our Own Troop's badge gives girls a chance to earn a badge for a subject not included in other badges.  This badge is designed for a group - a patrol, a small interest group, or the entire troop.  Through their chosen badge area girls should increase their skills and discover community resources.  The uniqueness of the Our Own Troop's badge rests on the process of girls developing  the purpose, activities, and symbol for their own badge.  Your guidance and encouragement are essential to the success of an Our Own Troop's badge.  This is not a badge to be written by adults.  You work in close partnership with the girls in this exciting process.

A well done Our Own Troop's badge will take younger girls between a month and a half and two months to complete if they devote an hour of their weekly troop meeting time to badge work.  Older girls should devote two and a half to three months to an Our Own Troop's badge.  This time suggestion is longer to reflect the more sophisticated nature of the type of activities they will be engaging in.

Ingredients of an Our Own Troop's Badge

Purpose in which girls outline what they will gain from completing badge activities.

Skill development which encourages new learning and/or refining present skills.

Choices within some of the badge activities to reflect the diverse needs and interests of girls.

Service possibilities related to badge activities, if practical.

Career opportunities, where relevant.

Action which can lead to increased appreciation and leisure time pursuits, if applicable.

Activities which reflect cultural diversity of the community and/or international scope.

Self-evaluation by girls themselves.

When to Start an Our Own Troop's Badge

When girls have completed several badges and would know how to construct their own.

When girls' interests are high in a specific area.

When girls have already enjoyed one or more specific badge activities and want to pursue them in greater depth (for example, genealogy or archeology in My Heritage and Local Lore).

Working on an Our Own Troop's Badge in Partnership

    The role of the girls is to:

Choose badge topic.

Submit topic and purpose to council for approval.

Prepare badge activities and design a symbol for badge.  Submit to council if requested.

Complete badge activities.

Evaluate the success of the badge.

Submit to council badge activities and sample of the badge insignia with a short statement reporting on success of the badge.

    The role of leaders is to:

Help girls select badge topics which will build upon their current interests and abilities, be fun, and stretch their creativity, knowledge and skills.

Guide girls in writing activities that reflect their interests, are safe, are inexpensive enough so that all interested  in doing the badge can participate, are based on real life situations, do not duplicate activities in the badge book, and reflect a concern for the environment, plants, animals, and natural resources if applicable.

Help girls seek out resources, people and material to enrich the activities or to help them complete the badge.

Evaluate badge with girls on the basis of fun, learning, and desire to continue activity.

    The role of the council is to:

Approve badge topic.

Approve badge activities and insignia design; optional.

Keep copy of badge activities and insignia.

Send listing of badge topics to Program Department, GSUSA, each July.  Include examples of the best badges developed that year.

Information gathered from 1980 Leader's Guide