Issues for Girls
The Issues for Girls Patch Program is filled with information and activities on topics that are important to girls today. This Sampler Patch Program is designed so the Girl Scouts can sample the activities and become more familiar with these resources.

Download Guide

GSUSA Issues for Girls

(leader guides and activity booklets for each age level): 

Connections - Helps girls make connections to their own heritage as well as to people who are different from them in areas     ranging from race to social status.

Girls Are Great - Covers “growing up female” issues such as self-image, peer pressure, feelings, the media and health.

In the Zone: Living Drug Free - Encourages girls to find their “zones” by living positive, healthy and drug-free lives. 

Read to Lead - Encourages girls to develop their reading and writing skills and use those tools in creative ways to explore the world. 

Media Know How - Combining facts, stories and activities, these booklets help girls recognize and use the beneficial aspects of television, radio, magazines and the Internet and teaches them to think critically about the messages they hear and the images they see.

Follow the Reader-This book, based on the White House’s literacy initiative, offers families the opportunity to read together.

Uniquely Me-An important project to foster self-esteem by addressing issues girls face in their daily lives.

Let's Get Growing 

It's time to grow some healthy Girl Scouts!

 The "Let's Get Growing" patch program will help Daisies through Ambassadors

develop healthy life skills from nutrition, fitness and gardening. 

Download Guide

Moon

 The Moon Patch program is for girls and adults to show how many nights they have camped overnight in an outdoor setting as Ohio's Heartland Girl Scouts. One moon equals one overnight. Using the Moon Patch Record Sheet, an individual can keep track of when and where she has camped as a Ohio's Heartland Girl Scout. A patch is earned when the individual has camped overnight 10, 20, 30, 50 or 100 moons.

Ohio's Heartland Girl Scout overnights include overnight at day camp, the number of overnights at resident camp, the troop camping overnights and the overnights at events such as service unit camporees and Girls' Weekends. Nights camped at Destinations also apply! Overnights that cannot be counted include camping with the family, church camp or 4-H camp and the COSI Camp-In. Download Record Sheet

  Ms Appleseed Junior Badge

This Council's Own badge helps girls learn all they need to know about the history of the apple!  The badge was created by a 5th grade Junior Girl Scout for her Bronze Award.

Download badge requirements

Native American Culture

Native Americans have been stereotyped, some times maliciously and sometimes because of ignorance.  Native Americans learned to live in harmony with nature, with each other, and had established a civilization with a rich culture long before the "discovery" of America.  The objectives in the Native American Patch Program are to learn as many truths and dispel as many myths about the Native American culture as possible.

Download Guide

Ohio American Indian Lore
The Ohio American Indian Lore Badge is Ohio's Heartland's badge for Girl Scout Junior only. The booklet contains information and activities to help girls learn about the history and culture of several different groups of Native Americans that lived in Ohio. This program utilizes the many Indian lore resources within the council. 

Click here for reservation form

Ohio History Try-It, Badge and Interest Project Patch
The Ohio History activities require girls to learn about  historical events, people and places specific to Ohio. The Try-It, badge and interest project patch were submitted by Cadette Girl Scout Christina and Silver Award Advisor Lalene Kay, both members of Girl Scouts of Lake Erie Council. These projects are the final portion of Christina’s Silver Award project. The projects were expanded and edited by Girl Scouts of Lake Erie Council Volunteer Program Committee.

The "Buckeye" Stops Here IP Patch girl booklet
The "Buckeye" Stops Here IP Patch leader guide 

Rockin' Round Ohio Badge for Juniors girl booklet

Rockin' Round Ohio Badge for Juniors leader guide 

Tryin' on Ohio Brownie Girl Scout Try-It girl booklet
Tryin' on Ohio Brownie Girl Scout Try-It leader guide

Pen Pal Connection

GSUSA has formed a pen pal network for Brownie through Senior Girl Scout troops in response to the expressed interest among Girl Scouts nationwide. The network began several years ago and provides an opportunity for participating councils to  link troops more easily with pen pals around the country. 

Please keep the following in mind:

Every effort will be made to match your troop with pen pals, but this process takes time. Please be patient. Once a pen pal link is found, you will receive a letter with that troop’s contact name and mailing address, along with some correspondence suggestions. This program is a troop activity. You may be linked with a troop that has a different number of girls than your troop. We ask that the girls write as often as possible and that they maintain correspondence for at least one year from the date of placement. (This does not mean that after one year you have to stop corresponding. Many Girl Scouts continue writing to their pen pals for many years and develop lasting friendships!) Once you have corresponded for one year you may order a special Pen Pal patch. Girl Scout troops who wish to be matched with a pen pal troop are requested to complete the Pen Pal Connection application. Download Application Form

 

 

 

 

Religious Recognitions

 

Religious recognitions programs have been created by the national religious organizations/committees, not by the Girl Scouts of the USA. These programs encourage girls and young women to become more active members in their own religious groups, and they encourage spiritual development by providing specific religious instruction. They offer recognitions or pins that may be worn on the official Girl Scout uniform.

Listed below are awards presented by the Columbus Diocesan Catholic Committee on Girl Scouting and Camp Fire, many local Protestant churches and other denominations.



The following religious recognitions are presented by the Columbus Diocesan Catholic Committee on Girl Scouting and Camp Fire. Anyone seeking additional information about the committee or the Catholic religious recognitions can visit the committee online at www.cdeducation.org/oym .

 

Family of God
This program helps Brownie Girl Scouts explore a wide range of activities to discover the presence of God in their daily lives as members of their family and parish.

 

 

The following  religious awards are mostly Protestant denominations. More information on these awards can be found at www.praypub.org.



God and Me
The God and Me program for Brownie Girl Scouts has three sections centered around scripture passages and reinforced by a service project selected by the child.

 

 

 

 



Renaissance Revelers 

Learn about the English Renaissance (1485-1603 AD) and the beginnings of many of our present-day customs, games, songs, food, entertainment and traditions. The Renaissance Revelers Patch may be earned by completing activities in the booklet.
Download the booklet.

 

 

 

 

Roscoe Village 

Take a step back in time; explore a historic 19th century canal town.  Learn about life in the 1800's: cooking methods, medical methods, craftsmen, typical school days, printing presses, the Underground Railroad, and more.  Roscoe Village is located in Coshocton County, Ohio.

Download Guide

 

 

  

 

United Way

Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland is a member of 26 United Way agencies.  The purpose of this patch program is to help girls understand the importance of the United Way organizations in their communities.

Download Guide

 

 

 

 

 

Wildflowers of Ohio

 Learn about the native flowers growing in Ohio in this patch program.  After you complete this program, you will have definitely "grown" a new interest in Wildflowers!!

Download guide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Win-Win from Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania

Negotiation is a great way for people to reach an agreement that makes everyone happy or better off.  Instead of initiating an argument in which no one is a winner, follow these steps to learn about negotiation and how to ask for what you want!  This program is designed for Girl Scout Juniors, who can earn the Win-Win patch by completing six program activities.

Click here to find the requirements to earn this Junior patch.

 

 

 

 

 

Y.E.A.! Toes Patch Program

Buy a foot, earn a toe and learn about the natural environment! The purpose of each toe is to learn about nature and the importance of preserving and protecting our natural resources.

• Toe program packages are located in our council winterized lodges. Each toe is specifically linked to the camp site where it is located. The toes are permanently placed at these location to encourage visits to our various sites.
• Each toe program package comes with all the needed supplies. You do not need to furnish anything extra.
• Each toe program package comes with directions of how to complete the toe requirements. It is not necessary to obtain the directions ahead of time. However, it may be helpful to go to the local library and familiarize yourself with the topic using resources from the children’s section.
• There is no specific amount of time you need to complete the toe. You could start by setting aside two hours to complete the requirements. If the topic is particularly interesting to the girls, you may want to spend more time.
• Each toe program package is designed for an average size troop (10-15 girls).
• Each toe program is for all age levels except Daisy Girl Scouts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Y.E.A.! Community Toe Requirements

As a troop or individual, make a scrapbook of your activities or provide a display of your activities to share your findings with your community. 

• How did your community get its name? Write a story or draw pictures to explain.
• Tour your community on foot, bicycle, public transportation or private vehicle to map particular points of interest: residential areas, parks, shopping areas, factories, schools, playgrounds, offices, etc.
• Plan and carry out a service project that would benefit the community. Planting flowers or trees, cleaning a ditch, stenciling storm drains or tending to an old cemetery are starter ideas.
• Explore the recycling efforts in your community. Where is the closest recycling center? What could you do to encourage your family and others to improve recycling habits? (Recycling and the service project #3 could be tied together.)
• What wildlife lives in your community? Make a list of wildlife actually seen or evidence of wildlife such as droppings or tracks. (The greater the diversity of wildlife in your community, the healthier the natural environment.) Bird feeders attract a variety of wildlife.
• Visit a park, playground or other public use "green space" area in your community. Studies show that Americans value green space and recreational areas, but the area does not always look user friendly (gates, litter, broken swings, etc.). Assess the public use as to why or why not it is used. If improvements are needed, contact the sponsoring agency and find out what can be done. (Improving a public green space area could be your service project for #3.)  

  Once the requirements have been completed, Y.E.A.! Community Toes can be purchased from the council’s Resource Store.