Brownie Philanthropist Badge Workbook

Page 1

We start the badge talking about what we as humans need to survive. There are basic needs that all humans have. They are:

• Shelter
• Clothing
• Air
• Food
• Water
• Sleep

Page 2

Now we dive into needs vs. wants. What do we need as humans and what are "nice to have" things? You can have the girls think of things themselves, or you can read the list of items below and have them put each item in either the need or want column.

Read off:

• Ice cream (want)
• Dry shelter (need)
• Breakfast (need)
• Trip to Disney (want)
• Winter jacket (need)
• Video games (want)
• Sleep (need)

Page 3

Next, the girls will hear from an expert. You can invite someone to speak, or you can show a short video about people who help their community. Some ideas for speakers include: soup kitchen or food bank volunteers, EMTs, Habitat for Humanity volunteers, and local Goodwill or Red Cross organizations.

Page 4

Next, help the girls understand when helping others is needed. Obviously there are the common donations: food drives, clothing drives, etc. But there are also events that occur that could use our extra attention. Go over some of the events that would call for community involvement.

Page 5

For each of these events, have the girls think of ways they could help. There's no wrong answer here, but you can prompt them if they get stuck: think of meal trains, food donations and clothing drives, taking someone in if they don't have a place to live, or helping clean their house (a gift of time and labor).

Page 6

A great way to show the girls how they can help is to run a food or clothing drive. Whether or not you're able to do this, have the girls design a poster to advertise the drive. Have them think specifically about what type of donations they're looking for, where they will be collecting the donations, when they'll be collecting, and who will be receiving the donations.