Our Hometown Heroes

Our Hometown Heroes is an All Ages Award from the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia Council.

Brownies complete five activities including the three starred.
Juniors complete seven activities including the three starred.
Cadettes/Seniors/Ambassadors complete ten activities including the three starred and the one ~.

# Discover

1. 1. 1. \*Within the boundaries of Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia there are many military branches. Find the location of these branches and learn the history of the site. Choose one and find out how many women are in that branch of the service.

2. Invite a member from a military installation to visit your troop to discuss the job they perform. Find out where this person has traveled during their time in the service. What other cultures have they experienced during their service? Find out what this person feels is the best experience they have had in the service.
3. ~Visit a recruiter for a branch of the military. Find out how to enlist or enter as an officer. What jobs are available to women? What training is provided? What schooling do you need before you can enter? How can earning the Gold Award benefit a young woman entering the military service?
4. Talk with your family to see if you have members serving or that have served in the Armed Forces. Contact them and find out what job they do or did. Did they serve during a war? What do or did their uniform look like? If your family doesn’t have anyone serving, ask your friends or neighbors to share if they have a family member serving.
5. Pick a war/conflict involving the USA, current if possible, and discuss the issues involved. What prompted the USA to enter the war/conflict? Discuss the conditions the service personnel are experiencing.
6. Discuss what “freedom” means to your group. What freedoms do we have that citizens in other countries don’t have? Write a story, draw a picture, create a poem, or put on a skit about the freedoms most important to your troop.
# Connect

1. 1. 1. Take a tour of a military installation, military museum, training center etc. in your area. How is their living different from yours – sleeping quarters, eating, dressing and working etc? Discuss the roles of women in the military – past and present.

2. Visit a cemetery and look for military service markers. If possible, mark these graves with a small American flag. Study ahead of time the proper way to place the American flag at a grave.
3. Visit a local nursing home or retirement community and hand-deliver thank you cards to retired soldiers. Talk with them about their time in the service.
4. \*On a map of the world, locate current locations where soldiers are stationed or deployed for the United States Armed Forces. Pick one location and talk with your troop about what conditions these soldiers live in. Ask a family how they feel about a loved one serving their country in a foreign land. Talk about the adjustments a soldier must make to live in another part of the world.
# Take Action

1. 1. 1. \*Participate in our Troop to Troop or Cookies From Home program with product sales.

2. Locate a member of the military serving overseas and become a pen pal with him/her.
3. Work with the USO or other military support service in your community to plan and host a homecoming event.
4. Yellow ribbons are a sign of support for our soldiers during time of war. Help make several ribbons that can be displayed outdoors or smaller ribbons for vehicles or to be worn on your clothing. Ask permission, and then place ribbons where others can see your support. Find out the history of the yellow ribbon at http://www.loc.gov/folklife/ribbons/ribbons.html
5. Show your support by creating care packages for military serving overseas or veterans in your local veteran’s hospital. Solicit donations for the items needed and organize a care package assembly party in your Service Unit.

# External Links

Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia Council's Owns
Our Hometown Heroes