Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador Girl Scouts can earn the Community Service Bar by practicing Girl Scout values and volunteering at least 20 hours for an organization outside of Girl Scouting.*  A Girl Scout has until September 30th the year they start their next Girl Scout Level to complete all 20 hours.   Example: if a Girl Scout is currently a Cadette (grades 6-8), they have until September 30 right after they complete the 8th grade and enter Senior Girl Scouting (grades 9-10) to complete their Cadette Community Service Bar. The Girl Scout year begins on October 1.

Girl Scouts can earn the Community Service Bar once per program level.  If you have earned the award one time as a Cadette Girl Scout when you are in grade 6, 7, or 8, you can earn it next when you are a Senior Girl Scout in grade 9 or 10, and then one more time when you are an Ambassador Girl Scout in grade 11 or 12.

Girl Scouts will need to record their hours on a time log and have their volunteer supervisor sign off on the paper. They can use any hour log they would like, but it should contain a short description of their task(s), the date of service, and the amount of time served.  When finished, they can give this time log to their troop leader to purchase the Community Service Bar award pin in the local Council store, or online.

Please complete the Community Service Bar Application before starting, as we want to know who you are working with and a little about what you will be doing for them.

*If you are earning your Service to Girl Scouting Bar, you do not need to submit a form to Council.  Just log 20 hours of service to Girl Scouts for volunteering you do outside of troop meetings, badge, Journey, or other award work that is for your own personal achievement. For example, you might volunteer your time at a special event for younger Girl Scouts, be an office assistant for your council or service unit, or help with special projects.

For any questions, please email awards@gsnorcal.org, subject line 'Community Service Bar'