Badges & Awards

Our Troop holds a Court of Awards ceremony two-three times a year. This is where the girls receive the badges, activity/service patches, service stars and rank advancements they have earned.

Badges

AHG helps girls acquire skills that will assist them in all areas of their lives. These experiences range in topic through AHG's six frontiers of skill: Heritage, Family Living, Arts, Outdoor Skills, Personal Well-Being and Science and Technology.

The badge program is age-appropriate and multi-level allowing for girls of all ages to work together at a pace that is appropriate for them. The Badges and Service Stars for American Heritage Girls are progressive in nature. A Tenderheart will require a very basic skill level for their badge, while a an older Patriot will have a much higher skill level requirement to complete a Badge. For the younger scouts, we will work on until the requirements are met. For Pioneers and Patriots, we will complete most of it with the final requirements typically met outside the meeting time.

At the Pathfinder level, girls earn necklace beads for attendance and participation and may earn heart beads for memory verses learned, as well as star beads for service project participation. Beginning at the Tenderheart level, our Troop focuses on one badge from three of the six frontiers - these three badges are paid for by the Troop as part of each girl's dues.

Girls may choose to work on additional badges on their own, outside of Troop meetings. Troop families will receive information on how to track these achievements. Badges earned outside of the Troop meetings will be paid by the parents prior to the Court of Awards ceremony. For details on badge requirements, please refer to a unit-specific Handbook.

Badges earned are placed on the front of a girl's vest (refer to her Handbook for detailed placement instructions).

Patches
Throughout the year, girls will have the opportunity to participate in service activities as well as other Troop sponsored events outsideof Troop meetings. Girls who attend special events (e.g. hiking, Father Daughter Dance, bell ringing, National Day of Service) are eligible to receive the designated activity patch. Patches are ordered by the Troop, and are paid by the parents prior to the Court of Awards ceremony.

Patches earned are placed on the back of a girl's vest.

National Day of Service Awards

AHG holds a National Day of Service each year on the third Saturday of September. This day was established in 2012 and "allows Troops to celebrate AHG's birthday, September 13th, by serving their communities. Instead of receiving birthday presents, AHG is gifting them in the form of service!" Both girl and adult members who participate in the NDoS are eligible to earn awards.

National Day of Service Patch (girls)	National Day of Service Rocker (girls)	National Day of Service Pin (adults)
	For each year a girl participates in the NDoS, she may add a dated rocker to her NDoS patch.	Adults who serve alongside their girls are eligible to purchase a NDoS pin. Wear on your uniform or lanyard!

Joining Award

(More info coming)

Level Awards

Each American Heritage Girl has the opportunity to pursue a special recognition while in her current program level, which is called a Level Award. Level Awards reflect the girl member's active participation in the overall AHG program and include specific requirements for her age group, such as completing badgework, earning service hours, attending special events and holding a girl leadership role.

Each program level has its own unique, corresponding Level Award. Girls begin working towards a Level Award during the first year of their current program level and continue working on requirements each year until they are ready to graduate to the next program level (typically, this takes three years, unless a girl joins AHG mid-level). Please see your daughter's handbook for detailed requirements, as they are a bit different for each age group. Note: Pursuing the Level Award is NOT required for a girl to be promoted to the next program level. This happens automatically, based on her age.

For those who intend to pursue the prestigious Stars & Stripes award, please note the Abigail Adams award IS required!

Pathfinder	Tenderheart	Explorer	Pioneer	Patriot

Handbook Page 97	Handbook Pages 54-55, 304	Handbook Pages 54-55, 311-312	Handbook Pages 62-63, 312-315	Handbook Pages 62-63, 316-320

Service Stars

AHG emphasizes community service! All AHG-IA0110 girls will have the chance to serve their local community both as a Troop and individually. The older girls will even have opportunities to plan a community service event. AHG girls will keep track of their service hours during the year to earn Service Stars. (the Service Hour Tracking Sheet is in each girl's Handbook)

Service hours can be accumulated as a group when they participate in planned service projects or individually outside of troop time. Service hours are meant to be community-oriented and would include any non-paid service done outside of the home. For example: raking leaves for a neighbor, volunteering in the church nursery, being a mother’s helper, baking cookies for someone, picking up litter on a hike, writing letters to a soldier, etc.

Depending on the girl’s level, she will receive a Service Star after she’s completed a certain number of hours of service. The hour requirements are below:

Tenderhearts – 1 blue service star for every 5 hours of community service
Explorers – 1 red service star for every 10 hours of community service
Pioneers – 1 white service star for every 15 hours of community service
Patriots – 1 yellow service star for every 20 hours of community service

Sports Pins

Pins – Earned first; refer to handbook for specific requirements. These are white triangular pins specific to each sport.

Discs – Once a sports pin has been earned, a girl may begin logging hours towards a sports disc. Discs signify additional hours of participation in a particular sport. Discs are placed behind a sports pin and come in three colors (red, white and blue); each color of disc represents a milestone number of hours.

Faith Awards

"Faith is foundational to the Mission of American Heritage Girls. Christ is the focus and the reason for everything AHG does. In the AHG Oath, girls promise to love God. In the AHG Creed, girls commit to being reverent. The AHG Program is rooted in Christ. Through the Faith Emphasis, AHG hopes that girls will grow in their faith and become lifelong Christ followers. Girls will understand their identity in Christ, learn to submit to Christ, and seek God’s will for their lives. AHG hopes that girls will experience God in all parts of AHG—friends, service, badges, and more! AHG’s Faith Award Program is one of the main avenues for integrating faith into the AHG Program."

"The Build Your Faith Award Program (B.Y. Faith Award Program) provides girls with a dynamic, exciting curriculum that helps them understand their identity in Christ and ignites a passion for pursuing His will in their lives. The name B.Y. Faith comes from Hebrews 11, which shows several examples of people throughout God’s family who have taken steps in faith. By faith Abel brought, Noah built, Abraham obeyed, Isaac blessed, Joseph spoke, and so much more. God works through His people by guiding them to do things “by faith” rather than their own understanding. B.Y. is also an acronym for “Build Your.” Before the girls in a Troop can do anything “by faith,” they need to develop a love for and trust in God." - AHG-Faith-Award-Program-Overview document from AHG Family