Inside this issue: Show a volunteer you care
Girl Scout recognitions are a great way to say Thank You to a volunteer. page 2
Do a good turn daily Girl Scouts help as wildfires burn nearby. page 3
It’s a girl’s world
Colorado delegation experiences Our Girls’ World Forum in Chicago. page 7
FALL 2012
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LEADER Published for the volunteers of Girl Scouts Of Colorado
10 tips for a great Girl Scout year
Use the new Annual Program Guidebook in conjunction with the Girl Scouts of Colorado website Activity Finder.
Read more on pages 4-6.
Explore Girl Scouts of Colorado properties while troop or group camping; or take your next family reunion, work retreat or wedding to camp.
Get ready for the Super Six, super simple, super successful Cookie Program.
COUNCIL NEWS Got the itch to travel? Every girl deserves the chance to see the world, and there are many ways to travel with Girl Scouts. We’ve updated our resources in the new Travel section of our website to support girl travel. You‘ll find out about troop/ group travel, council-sponsored trips and Girl Scouts of the USA destinations. Learn about travel progression and exactly what trainings and forms you’ll need to get going. Check out girlscoutsofcolorado.org/volunteers/ travel.
Show a Girl Scout volunteer you care Global Action Award gets girls thinking Over a decade ago 193 United Nation states and 23 international organizations came together to form eight goals that seek to improve the conditions of the world’s poorest countries by 2015. These goals launched by the United Nations include: 1. Ending hunger and poverty 2. Providing universal education 3. Empowering girls 4. Helping children survive 5. Keeping mothers healthy 6. Preventing diseases 7. Saving the planet 8. Promoting peace through partnership Noticing how important these goals are to us all, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and Girl Scouts of the USA came together to create the Global Action Award that seeks to engage our Girl Scouts to help the United Nations reach their goals by 2015. Girl Scouts of Colorado wants to make sure we do our part too and has partnered locally with Bead for Life to help girls understand what life is like for many women and girls worldwide, with a focus on Uganda. Working together, Girl Scouts of Colorado and Bead for Life have combined the two stellar curriculums, Global Action Award and Eradicating Poverty One Bead at a Time, to bring a program unique to Colorado. This program corresponds with the It’s Your World—Change It Journey. Check the Activity Finder to find an event in your area. Don’t see one? Email myworld@gscolorado.org to find out how to bring this program to your area.
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Our volunteers contribute an invaluable service and we want to make it easy to recognize them for their contributions. There are seven official GSUSA volunteer recognitions available based on service given to Girl Scouting: Volunteer of Excellence Pin, Appreciation Pin, Honor Pin, Thanks Badge, Thanks Badge II, President’s Award and the Juliette Gordon Low World Friendship Medal. (See the Adult Recognition Booklet at girlscoutsofcolorado.org/volunteer-awards for complete information about each award.) Any actively registered Girl Scout volunteer can receive a recognition and anyone can nominate a Girl Scout volunteer for a recognition—community member, girl, parent, volunteer, staff or even the individual themselves. Nominations are accepted year-round, and they are reviewed twice a year by the Recognition Committee. Nominations must be received at a service center by the close of business March 1 or July 1 to be considered in that time period. For more information, contact Bertha Koch, at bertha.koch@gscolorado.org.
Fall sale: easy money to start your Girl Scout year The Fall Sale is an easy way to earn money to start the Girl Scout year. Ask family and friends to renew or order their favorite magazines online. No door-to-door; no delivery of products! Girls can also sell the highest quality nuts and candy and deliver them just in time for holiday gifts. This season we are working with service units to offer rally opportunities across the state. This is a great way to kick off the new membership year, invite new girls to join and meet Fiona the Flamingo, the Fall Sale mascot. Trainings began on Aug. 12 and will be completed by Sept. 5 statewide. Please check with your Service Unit Fall Sales Manager for details. Visit girlscoutsofcolorado.org/fall-sale for key dates and details.
Volunteer quick-start guide
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Have you seen the new Have You Heard publication? This quick-start guide for volunteers features a plethora of information to help you kick off your year. Copies are being handed out at Fallapaloozas, fall service unit meetings and events. Find the easy-to-use online version at girlscoutsofcolorado.org/volunteers/publications.
Post stories about community service projects your girls do at girlscoutsofcolorado.org/share-your-stories.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Girl Scouts respond to forest fires through service “Do a good turn daily” is a part of a Girl Scout’s life. When life gets especially tough for some, Girl Scouts put their do-good training into high gear. So Girls Scouts in Colorado didn’t flinch when wildfires struck dangerously close to home. Even when their Girl Scout camp sessions were cancelled that didn’t put a damper on their desire to lead. The drought and wildfires in Colorado converged to create an especially devastating summer. The summer of 2012 will be remembered for its unusually devastating series of wildfires that began in May and didn’t let up until August. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated, five people were killed and upwards of $400 million in damage was done. The High Park Fire forced Girl Scouts of Colorado to cancel summer camp sessions at Magic Sky Ranch. That fire was the most destructive fire in Colorado history, in terms of the number of houses burned, until it was soon surpassed by the Waldo Canyon Fire, which claimed more than 350 homes near Colorado Springs and spurred the evacuation of campers at Sky High Ranch and Hamp Hut.
“Our girls were very concerned about all of the people affected by the fires in Colorado— firefighters and homeowners alike.” Girl Scouts across Colorado thought of their sister Girl Scouts who were evacuated or who lost homes; they thought of the firefighters bravely trying to hold the fires back; they imagined what it would feel like to lose everything and have to begin again. “Our girls were very concerned about all of the people affected by the fires in Colorado—firefighters and homeowners alike,” said Girl Scout volunteer Elizabeth Harrison of Longmont. “After doing a lot of searching, one of our moms found a donation center in Fort Collins
that sends donations throughout all of the burn zones. Our girls worked very hard and gathered three-plus car-loads of non-perishable food, general cleaning and personal supplies. They learned how it feels to help others in need and were able to do it as a troop celebrating sisterhood in the process. We, as the leaders and parents of these amazing girls, could not be prouder!” Girl Scouts across the state sprung into action. They held canned food drives for shelters overwhelmed with evacuees. They collected water and Gatorade to be delivered to firefighters on the lines. Girls helped take care of animals separated from their owners while evacuated from the burn areas. Troops collected supplies for a wildlife rehab center that helps animals injured in the wildfires. Others donated cookies to the food bank to provide a sweet treat for those with so much to worry about. “I live 6 miles from the Waldo Canyon Fire…and decided rather than sitting around watching the news we needed to do something!” said Alexa Huesgen Hobbs, an 11-year-old Girl Scout from Colorado Springs. Each day for weeks, she and her troopmates did something to help. A good turn daily, indeed.
Girl Scouts of Colorado pays high price for forest fires While the impact of the forest fires on Girl Scouts of Colorado pales in comparison to those who lost their homes, our girls’ loss of an outdoor leadership experience and our council’s financial loss have been devastating. We made the difficult decision to close two of our three resident camps for the season after staff from all over the world had been hired to spend the summer with our girls helping them grow as leaders. The High Park fire first delayed and then ended our summer at Magic Sky Ranch before the gates opened. And the vicious Waldo Canyon Fire closed a summer of adventure at Sky High Ranch only a few weeks after it started. We placed the safety of our girls and consideration for our families ahead of camp revenues. We were all very disappointed that we did not have girls enjoying summer camp at these properties this year, and the financial impact on the council has been extremely high—generating a budget shortfall of $650,000 to be made up through support from those who embrace our cause and creative use of our properties.
You can show your support for our decision and your commitment to bringing back a strong camp program by making as generous of a gift to our camping program as you can. We’ve eagerly reopened our camps for our members, and we’re excited to announce our creative new way to use our property resources wisely. Beginning later this fall, we will be offering rentals of our properties for use beyond Girl Scout functions. We are upgrading amenities at Tomahawk Ranch, Hamp Hut and Twisted Pine so they will be the perfect destination for your next corporate retreat, organizational training, family reunion or even a wedding. And, as a member, you’ll get a special rate for renting Girl Scout properties.Make your reservations early so you can get properties and facilities that meet your needs. We have a wealth of beautiful properties that sit empty during times when community groups could be enjoying them and we could be supporting our Girl Scout leadership experience with diversified revenue. Stay tuned for details online.
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Easy ideas to help get you going on your planning It’s back to school time and a kick off to another fun Girl Scout year. Girls are excited to see their friends, talk about their summer and make more Girl Scout memories. As Girl Scout volunteers, you are some of the hardest working people on the planet, likely involved in a million different activities and yet still inspired when you see that sparkle in your girls’ eyes. Use these tips to help get your year off to a great start.
Use the new Annual Program Guidebook in conjunction with the Girl Scouts of Colorado website Activity Finder. This is a great new resource. Grab a free copy at your nearest council shop, pick one up at a service unit meeting or peruse it at your leisure online (girlscoutsofcolorado.org/ annual-program-guidebook) on your computer or using an e-reader app on your favorite mobile device. Highlight programs that interest you. Go over the whole book with your girls and work some event pricing into your annual budget. Don’t forget to use the Guidebook in conjunction with the Girl Scouts of Colorado website Activity Finder. The most-upto-date information and additional events and activities will be in the Activity Finder. For most events, series and activities, you can register right there too. We also post updates about events on our social media channels (more information on the next page).
Explore Girl Scouts of Colorado properties. As a member of Girl Scouts of Colorado, please get to know and take advantage of the beautiful properties the council owns. Take your girls on an overnight near Rocky Mountain National Park and stay at Kiwa Korral in Lyons or Meadow Mountain Ranch in Allenspark. Kiwa has electricity, stove, microwave and refrigerator, latrines and a fireplace. MMR has an overnight lodge that can sleep 40 and has a commercial kitchen and indoor bathroom. Or plan an adventure at Magic Sky Ranch, where you can sleep in cabins with kitchens, full bathrooms, a living room and bunk beds and take advantage of staff-led programming and food service. The opportunities abound. Part of Juliette Gordon Low’s vision was to get girls outside and enjoying nature. Girl Scouts of Colorado gives you nine great ways to do just that with our council properties all over the state. Visit girlscoutsofcolorado.org/ properties to learn more about each property and get started requesting a reservation. Take another look at Hamp Hut, Twisted Pine or Tomahawk for your next family reunion, club or work retreat or even a wedding at a special member rate. We’re adding amenities at these locations that will make them popular for family or adult use beyond camp.
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Get ready for the Super Six, super simple, super successful Cookie Program. We’re a Super Six council this year, meaning we’ll sell the six most popular cookie varieties: Thin Mints, Tagalongs, Do-si-Dos, Trefoils, Samoas and Savannah Smiles. Other Super Six councils report great success and simplified inventory management. Make sure you’ve scheduled time for cookies into your Girl Scout year. Training for service units and troops will begin in November. Starting inventory will be due Dec. 7 and the sale will indeed be shorter and sweeter, beginning on Jan. 27. Start the year off right by helping your girls set goals. Where do they want to go? What do they want to do with their cookie proceeds? Who do they want to benefit from their Hometown Hero donations? How can they promote their Hometown Hero program? What can a girl do? A world of good!
Take training to make the most out Girl’s Guides and Journeys. It’s been a year since The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting came out and a couple of years since GSUSA introduced Girl Scout Journeys. These are wonderful resources that help to standardize the Girl Scout Leadership Experience and can make volunteers’ jobs much easier whether you are leading a troop or working with an individual Girl Scout. But, it helps if you learn how to use them. Take the It’s Your Journey—Customize It! two-hour training to get tips on using the Journey books and adult guides. Learn how to expand the experience through the use of The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting, field trips and other activities. Also, a new training titled Three Processes: 1 Powerful Program can get you well on your way.
Bookmark your regional web page. We created regional pages on our new website, so you’d have a place to find out what’s going on in your area. You’ll see the Facebook feed for the latest news from your region; you can click on the Contact Us button to find the Membership Manager and other staff contact information for your region. Click the Events button to find a search of events and activities in your area. We also have a new opportunity for you to receive a monthly e-blast featuring just the events in your area. Click the sign-up button to start receiving those so you and your girls won’t miss a fun Girl Scout opportunity.
Use the new Girl Scout calendar app to organize your year. Girl Scouts of the USA has developed a new calendar app (no software needed) for all Girl Scout volunteers to use as a planning tool. Go to girlscouts.org/mycalendar to create an account. You can use this calendar to plan a year’s worth of meetings, activities and field trips or for an 8-week series, cookie sales or badge activities. Share the calendar with parents and keep yourself organized. Remember that the Girl Scout Leadership Experience is girl-led, so when you are prompted to pick a Journey, that’s your cue to talk to your girls about what they want to do. The tool will guide you through a step-by-step process to track your Journey, badge-earning, community service, field trips and other activities. You can view the calendar on mobile devices, import the dates to your iCal or Outlook calendar and share with others via Facebook, Twitter or email.
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Brownies and Juniors: Get moving with the Live Healthy, Lead Healthy challenge Girl Scouts of Colorado and ZisBoomBah.com, an interactive, healthy gaming site, have teamed up to offer girls, parents and troop leaders a creative way to connect with healthy living. The site offers unique and innovative ways for Girl Scouts to engage in online and offline activities to get them moving and choosing their own fun, healthy foods. The site incorporates the new Healthy Habits Journey supplements into the games and activities creating a customization that is right for your girls and your troop. Troop volunteers have the added benefit of setting your own personal troop and badge goals through the Challenger Calendar. It also allows you to keep your troop on track even when you’re not able to see each other face-to-face. The site gives girls the power to make realistic choices that are right for them and creates a forum to have healthy discussions through their Girl Scout group page. Special thanks goes to the Thiry O’Leary Foundation, lead sponsor of our Live Healthy, Lead Healthy initiative. Go to girlscoutsofcolorado.org/live-healthy-lead-healthy to get started.
Connect with another troop/group or bring another girl into your troop. Remember that Girl Scouting is about sisterhood. Help your girls realize what it means to be part of something bigger than themselves. Team up with older or younger troops at your school for a fun event or service project. Many Girl Scouts did this in honor of the 100th anniversary last year and realized how cool it felt to be part of one gigantic friendship circle! Keep that feeling alive. Reach out to girls at your program level but in a different part of town or even a different state. And while you are at it, open up your troop or group to another girl. Let’s bring the Girl Scout Leadership Experience to every girl.
Invite a Girl Scout alumna to a meeting or event. There are 59 million Girl Scout alumnae around the world. Chances are one or two live next door or down the street, volunteer at your school, work in interesting fields and have vast experiences to share with your Girl Scouts. Ask around, invite one to a meeting or event. Not only will your girls gain from meeting her, but you can get her hooked on Girl Scouting again. Help her get registered as an adult volunteer and invite her to stay involved in the mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. Everyone benefits.
Share your Girl Scout moments. We want the whole world to know how great Girl Scouting is. We want to shout out all the amazing things our girls are doing. And we have the tools to do it. Share your Girl Scout moments with us at girlscoutsofcolorado.org/share-your-stories and we’ll spread the word far and wide via our Girl Scouts of Colorado blog, social media and newsletters. Be sure to follow us on Facebook (both the Girl Scouts of Colorado page and your regional page) and subscribe to our blog so you’ll get the advantage of knowing the news first and get inspired by what other Girl Scout groups are doing. If you’ve got a question, concern, suggestion or compliment, share those with us too at girlscoutsofcolorado.org/feedback.
So there you have it; 10 things you can do right now to get your Girl Scout year off to a great start. There is plenty more you could do if you so choose. Or if you pick just three of these suggestions you’re still well on your way. Remember what you do makes a difference. The full impact you’ve had on your girls might not be apparent for years to come, but the actions you take today give a girl the power to change the world.
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GIRL SCOUTS IN ACTION Cookie top-sellers take 24-hour turnaround trip to South Dakota
On July 26th, nine of Girl Scouts of Colorado’s 2,000+ Package Club Top Cookie Sellers traveled to South Dakota for the Cookie Top Seller Turn and Burn Trip. This trip was one of Girl Scouts of Colorado’s 2012 cookie recognitions. While the trip was only 24 hours, the group managed to visit Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore, as well as took a cave tour and went on the zip line at the Mount Rushmore Caves. What a whirlwind of fun!
Aurora troops enjoy camping trip to Rocky Mountain National Park
Girls from Cadette/Junior Troop 2173 experienced the wonder and enchantment of Rocky Mountain National Park. They spent three nights and four days camping at the Aspenglen campgrounds. While there, they hiked, learned three different ways to build a campfire, practiced their pocket knife skills, cooked over a campfire and on a camp stove, and practiced their Leave No Trace ethics. They also enjoyed many Junior Park Ranger Programs by traveling to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, The Fall River Visitor Center and The Junior Ranger Headquarters at Hidden Valley.
Colorado Girl Scouts participate in Our Girls’ World Forum In July, the last of the three Centenary World Forums was held addressing the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and specifically focusing on the three of eight MDGs that were selected by girls for World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS):
This event was a part of the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting in the USA and included 500 participants from 90 countries and 82 councils! Girl Scouts of Colorado was well represented with a delegation of two girls, Abby Schmid and Leina Hutchinson; Heather Crandall as the young woman chaperone; Rae Ann Dougherty as a facilitator; and Renee Meade as a volunteer.
Denver troop does Dublin-London-Paris
Senior Troop 1750 of Denver thanks all their Girl Scout Cookie customers for helping them realize their dream of visiting Europe. In 10 short days during late June, the girls visited Dublin, Wales, London and Paris through an EF Girl Scout tour. The Colorado troop traveled with two other troops from Seattle and Virginia. Girl Scout highlights included enjoying a cream tea at the Pax Lodge in London and having the opportunity to meet a Girl Guide troop while waiting in line for the London Eye. The Colorado girls are building an e-relationship with the English troop via email. During their trip, the members of Troop 1750 mastered a range of transportation modes—plane, ferry, bus, train and subway. They learned to travel internationally—and they did not lose their passports or debit cards! Most fun? Eating fruit-filled crepes under the Eiffel Tower at midnight!
• MDG 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger • MDG 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women • MDG 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Fall 2012
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Girl Scouts of Colorado P.O. Box 9407 Denver, CO 80209-0407
Address Service Requested
Girl Scouts of Colorado Service Centers Colorado Springs 3535 Parkmoor Village Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80917 T 719.597.8603 F 719.597.5986
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Boulder Girl Scouts experience Costa Rica Senior/Ambassador Troop 70007 from Boulder just completed an amazing extended trip to Costa Rica. Four Girl Scouts and two adult advisors flew in and out of San Jose and rented a car to travel around the country. After fundraising for over a year and planning it all themselves, they were able to spend 11 full days in the country. The girls experienced white water rafting, two flat tires, zip lining, hiking in a cloud rain forest and snorkeling among brightly-colored fish. They saw howler monkeys, a sloth, lizards and land crabs. They also did community service projects, sorting items at a village recycling center and planting hedges to prevent erosion. “It was a fun, exciting, adventurous, entirely new trip, building friendships, learning the culture, and helping the local community!”