Girl Scout Brownie Philanthropist Badge

Our Girl Scout Troop just earned their Philanthropist Badge.

The Steps to earn the badge are as follows:

1.  Learn what every person needs.
2.  Investigate how to help people who are hungry.
3.  Find out how to help people who need clothing
4.  Know how to help in times of emergency
5.  Think - and act! - like a philanthropist

Here are some ideas to help you (and your Troop) earn their Philanthropist Badge.

1.  Learn what every person needs.

We asked our girls to write down EVERYTHING they used for three days (before our meeting).  We then created a list with two headings:  "Wants" and "Needs."   The girls then had to classify each item that they used as either a want or need.

As an extra activity, we gave the girls a piece of paper: one side had "Wants" written on it, the other side had "Needs" written on it.  We cut out pictures from magazines and newspapers.  The girls were given some clippings and they had to decide if they were a want or a need.  They had to glue the items onto the correct side of their paper.  This is a great opener for a meeting (something they can do when they get there while you are waiting for the rest of the troop).

2.  Investigate how to help people who are hungry.

We took a field trip to the local food pantry.  Prior to our visit, we asked if there were any items they needed.  We asked the girls to bring in the "needed" items.  The food pantry we visited is run by a couple who had to use a food pantry during their married life.  They wanted to give back and decided that when they were able to, they would give back and create a place to help people who need food.  Their story helped the girls understand that there are people out there without food and that they can help.  The girls helped by packaging a breakfast, a dinner and a snack.  When we were finished, the girls were told that they should be proud.  They packaged enough breakfast packages to give 160 children a good breakfast.

3.  Find out how to help people who need clothing

We contacted our local shelters and asked if we could help out with any clothing needs.  Our shelter was in need of children's pajamas and blankets.  We sent a letter out to school families letting them know that we are working on our Philanthropist badge and that we were looking to help the local shelter.  We asked for donations of (new) children's pajamas and blankets.

4.  Know how to help in times of emergency

For this section, we did a couple of things.  We asked a firefighter to talk to the girls about what they can do to help those in need.  We also did a field trip to "Feed My Starving Children."  < A movie was shown letting the girls know who would get the food that they packaged.  Our girls packaged food that went to children in the Philippines.

5.  Think and act like a Philanthropist

Our girls are using some of their cookie money to donate to an animal shelter.  They are also donating  items for children who have cancer.