Education Delegate Program from Youth Squad®

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This pin and all program supplies are available from our partner site MakingFriends®.com.

Suggested Prerequisite

Education Advocate Service Patch Program® from Youth Squad® — **Education Advocate**

Completing the Education Advocate Patch Program® is a suggested prerequisite for earning your Education Delegate Pin. Your advocate experience will help provide you with the knowledge needed to become a delegate for better education for the people in your community. You can also opt to complete the Education Advocate Patch Program® requirements during the time you earn this Delegate pin.

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Requirement 1: Choose It!

Points to Consider When Choosing a Education Service Project:

What is considered a good school? Helpful Link: What Makes a Good School
What is education inequality? Helpful Link: Unequal Opportunity: Race and Education
What percentage of teens drop out of high school? Helpful Link: What are the dropout rates of high school students?
Who drops out of high school? Helpful Link: Key facts about high school dropout rates
Who is at risk for dropping out? Helpful Link: Factors that May Place Students At-Risk
Why do kids say they drop out? Helpful Link: The most common reasons students drop out of high school are heartbreaking.
What about teen pregnancy and education? Helpful Link: Teen Pregnancy Affects Graduation Rates
What about drugs and dropping out: Helpful Link: High School Dropout Rates Linked to Substance Abuse
What happens to kids who drop out? Economic Impacts of Dropouts

Learn about education costs for your Education Delegate Pin

How much does it cost to educate a child? Helpful Link: The States That Spend the Most (and the Least) on Education
What is a charter school? Helpful Link: Charter School FAQ
Do charter schools cost more than public schools? Helpful Link: Charter Schools Get Less Money Than Public Schools.
Is a college education important? Helpful Link: Pay gap between college grads and everyone else.
What about trade school? Helpful Link: Why You Should Consider Trade School Instead of College

Some Ideas:

Create a “Teacher of the Year or Month” award at your school chosen by the students.
Organize a school supply drive for a school in need.
Organize a book drive.
Create a Little Free Library.
Get your school to set up child care for teen parents.
Create a summer reading program for your community.
Create a Book Club

Consider tutoring for your Education Delegate Pin

Start a free neighborhood tutoring program.
Get your town to consider a charter school.

Project considerations:

What are your skills and talents?
Do you need a mentor or adviser? Who will it be?
Will there be legal or permit issues to resolve?
How many others can you recruit to help?
Will your volunteers need special skills or training?
How many hours can you devote to the project?
Will there be a project deadline?
How much money will you be able to raise for the project?
Can you get a sponsor to help with the costs?

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Requirement 2: Plan it!

Goal Setting

Setting goals will help give you a long-term vision and short-term motivation. It helps you to organize your thoughts and determine exactly what needs to be done.

Decide exactly what you want to accomplish and give your project a name.
Break it down into smaller steps.
Set up a timeline.

Recruit Volunteers

Although smaller projects can be done alone, many projects will require a team. As the project delegate, one of your most important roles will be building a successful team. Helpful Link: 7 Super Steps to Recruit Volunteers.

Find a mentor with experience in your project area.
Enlist an Advocate to help you recruit volunteers. Consider using a volunteer release form especially if you are working with children. Helpful Link: Volunteer Release Form
Decide which jobs you can do alone.
Will you have teams?
How many people will you need for each team?

Take a look at the table below to get you started. You can copy and paste the table to use as a template for your project. You can set up an account for free or use your own method for organization.

Budgeting

Budgeting allows you to create a spending plan for your project. Sticking to your budget ensures that you will have enough money for the things you need to complete it. If you copied the table above you will see there is a section for budgeting.

Raise Money

There are many ways to raise money. If you are working with an organization such as Girl Scouts* check first to see what is allowed. Helpful Link: A Beginner’s Guide to Fundraising

Consider GoFundMe, CrowdRise, DonorsChoose, or Kickstarter.
Organize an event like a car wash, bake sale, or benefit dinner to raise awareness around your fundraiser.
Host an event such as a walkathon, run, or bike rides.
Ask local businesses and community members to donate items for a silent auction or a live auction.
Sales of customized products like tee shirts, pens, and buttons will not only raise funds but generate awareness about your project.
Invite the local media to your fundraiser or at least supply them with a photo and caption after the event.

Specific ideas for Education Fundraising

Get clever with your ideas. Think of things related to your cause. It will help bring awareness and set up a “fun” atmosphere, while raising the money you need to complete your cause.

Host a Read-a-Thon.
Organize a teachers vs. students ball game and sell tickets.
Set-Up a Trivia Night
Create a Parents vs Kids Game show. Choose a theme like school subjects or famous authors.
Host a spelling bee and sell tickets.
Have a book fair.
Make and sell bookmarks.
Give new life to worn out books. Organize an upcycle book night.
Organize an art sale of the student artwork. Ask the school orchestra to do a performance.
Give recognition gifts for sponsorships. Set donation levels such as $20 for an education pin, $40 for a tee shirt or $60 for a personalized backpack.

Auction off “teacher dares” such as wearing their clothes backwards for a day, singing the National Anthem over the loud speaker, skipping during school instead of walking… you get the idea.

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Requirement 3: Do It!

You should now be ready to put your plan into action. Join in during your project to supervise and provide assistance at all levels.

After completing the plan, remember to thank the community.

Ways to say Thank You:

Personally thank individuals and businesses who helped. A handwritten letter is always nice. Helpful link: How to write a thank you letter.
Thank the community as a whole with posters.
Create a follow up press release and include the names of individuals and businesses who participated. Helpful link: How to write a press release.

Youth Squad® Volunteer Thank You Certificate

Give certificates of appreciation.
Thank the community as a whole on social media.

Congratulations on completing your education action project! The Education Delegate pin makes a great reward for completing your project. It also makes a great gift to program sponsors and mentors.

See all our current Delegate level pin programs:

Note: Many of the links provided to assist with completing our Patch Program®s are external and do not imply an endorsement or recommendation. At the time of publication, external content was vetted to the best of our ability. Your views and ideas may vary and we do not intend for you to substitute our opinions for yours. Research the topic thoroughly before beginning a project. As always, make sure children access the internet only under safe-surfing conditions.

*youthsquad.makingfriends.com and MakingFriends®.com are not affiliated with, endorsed by or a licensee of Girl Scouts of the USA.