Focus on Badgerland Girl Scouts

FOCUS Summer 2017

BOLD! Girl Scouts Conquer the Night and Save the Day page 3

GS Pioneers STEM page 5

Kindness Unleashed page 7

Hello From Europe page 8

DNA: Girl Scout Style page 11

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FIRST WORD At Girl Scouts, we are always thinking about the future and how we can best prepare today’s girls to take the lead in their daily lives. I am so proud of the every day successes our Girl Scouts, and their leaders, are achieving around Badgerland. From the Cadettes who summoned their courage to scramble through the dark woods to learn search and rescue, to the hundreds of girls who put kindness into action to make the world a better place. As you read about these Girl Scouts and others, take great pride knowing your girl, whether she’s a kindergartner or high school senior, is gaining an unprecedented head start in life because of her Girl Scouting experiences.

In fact, our research shows that being a Girl Scout will help a girl thrive in so many ways, including developing a strong sense of self and learning how to overcome setbacks while displaying positive values.

At Girl Scouts, your girl will turn “Can I?” into “I will.”

All of this is made possible by you and the other amazing adults who give their time and talents to mentor our girls. Thank you for everything you do for Girl Scouts.

Marci Henderson is the CEO of Girl Scouts of Wisconsin - Badgerland.

WHERE ELSE BUT GIRL SCOUTS... do girls gain one-on-one access to female business leaders?

In April, Badgerland Girl Scouts networked with 33 female mentors representing professions in microbiology, physics, cytotechnology, genetics, aerospace, medicine and systems engineering. The program allowed girls to ‘see what they can be,’ get to know amazing women in their own community and learn about what it’s like to make the world a better place through these important careers.

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ILLUMINATE

BE PREPARED “Every Girl Scout should attend this program. It was eye opening and awe inspiring. I am so happy we are a Girl Scouting family!”

ALISON SAUER, VOLUNTEER AND LEADER BEAVER DAM

On a chilly spring evening, 40 determined Girl Scouts spent hours trekking up and down steep ravines methodically searching thickets of brush for ‘victims’ long after the sun went down. The girls were attending the Badgerland program Be Prepared at Camp Brandenburg in Dane County.

Working alongside a professional Tactile Operations Team (the crew donated their time, talents and gear for the weekend!), girls conducted multiple search and rescue operations. Not knowing what was real and what was staged (they were all mock scenarios unbeknownst to the Girl Scouts), girls earnestly dug in and figured out how to save each victim. Along the way, the girls gained

hands-on experiences in real-world emergency and disaster response. They learned how to set up grid maps, why it’s critical to report small clues such as candy wrappers and how being quiet and listening in the woods can make the difference between failure and success. The weekend was filled with tons of other lessons too, including botany, first aid and, of course, the value of team work.

Girls even had the opportunity to fly a drone with a female drone pilot who volunteered to work with our Girl Scouts.

Note: Be Prepared will be offered next spring. Look for it in the PathFinder program guide that’s mailed to homes in August and get her signed up early. It fills up fast.

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We’ve Got Her STEM

Junior Girl Scouts create electricity using a potato at Activate, Badgerland’s signature STEM expo for girls and their families.

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Way before it was called STEM, Girl Scouts was pioneering opportunities and giving girls access to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

STEM is in your girl’s future and Girl Scouts has her covered with new STEM Journeys and badges rolling out. Think Like an Engineer, Think Like a Programmer and Think Like a Citizen Scientist will lead Girl Scouts on exciting journeys as they discover their interests and talents in engineering, computer science and the outdoors. Also coming up this fall: Robotics badges to let girls discover how to build and program robots!

Today’s STEM Leaders are Girl Scout Alums

Do You Know About Our Makers Kits?

Badgerland troops can check out GS Makers kits to create, build, design and engineer amazing things every day. Each kit includes all the pieces your girls need to complete the steps to earn the patch along with simple instructions and a Learning Guide that makes it easy for you to do STEM. Badgerland Girls in International Design Pilot How cool is this: Three Badgerland troops are piloting activities with the Global Design Squad as Girl Scouts finds ways to build a community worldwide through innovative programming. Each troop is paired with an international troop to collaborate on STEM projects. The future is STEM and Girl Scouts are leading the way!

90%

OF ALL FEMALE U.S. ASTRONAUTS

80%

OF ALL FEMALE TECH LEADERS

Awesome Fact: The new CEO of Girl Scouts USA is a rocket scientist!

Sylvia Acevedo credits Girl Scouts for her career in engineering and rocket science. “Through Girl Scouts, I launched a rocket to earn my Science badge. Girl Scouts gave me the courage, the confidence and the character to enter the engineering field at a time when girls didn’t do that, when people of my background didn’t do that.” Today Sylvia is a national advocate for STEM and was just named the CEO of Girl Scouts USA.

Badgerland Girl Scouts dipping into STEM @ Mad 4 the Outdoors.

Troop 2585

Troop 4204 5 | FOCUS ON BADGERLAND GIRL SCOUTS

Troop Life TROOP 1129 building kindness, making impact WELCOMING REFUGEES TO THE COMMUNITY The compassionate Cadettes in Troop 1129 are committed to making refugees feel welcome and safe when they arrive in their new homes in the U.S. The girls embraced a changemaking project to truly impact relocating families. They collected blankets and sheets, then washed and packaged the linens for families to be able to use their first night in Madison. The girls also rounded up and donated other supplies including the universal toy with no language barrier: crayons and coloring books. The Girl Scouts even arranged for someone to come to a troop meeting and teach them how to write in Arabic to make welcome signs for each new home in the refugees’ native language.

“We are teaching our girls how to be a positive influence, how to be empowered, how to have courage to stand up and do the right thing.”

Erica Bouska, Co-Leader Troop 1129 6 | FOCUS ON BADGERLAND GIRL SCOUTS

Junior Troop 1123 outfitted their Sun Prairie elementary school with a STEM maker space for kids to explore and learn through play. The girls raised and donated $20,000 of hands-on goodies for the ideas lab and earned their Bronze Award in the process.

Incoming kindergartners at Westby Brownie Troop 4234’s school will get a surprise in the mail in August. The troop purchased ‘what to expect in kindergarten’ books for each new student and wrote personalized welcome letters to get them confident about school. Awesome!

Wisconsin Dells Troop 7508 gave back to their community this year. The kindergartners made and donated fleece blankets to a local hospital and earned their Considerate & Caring and Friendly & Helpful petals.

Sparta Troop 4092 is all about making the world a better place. The troop did tons of service this year, including sewing dresses they donated to needy girls around the world. Closer to home, the troop donated diapers, toys and clothes for children at Mayo Health foundation.

MAKING THE WORLD BETTER THROUGH

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

31 days

875

local girls

27,125 Acts of Kindness

Do you know the Girl Scout slogan?

Do a good turn daily.

Badgerland encouraged girls to embrace Community Service this year and make the world a better place through big and small acts of kindness. Giving back and doing good deeds is part of our DNA. We challenged girls to ‘do a good turn’ every day in October. That was 31 days of good deeds and Girl Scouts were innovative and impactful... in their homes... their schools ... their communities. And, wow, did Badgerland Girl Scouts ever embrace the challenge!

By Popular Demand: We’ll offer this service patch again this October. See details in the PathFinder Program Guide coming to your home in August.

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Postcard from Switzerland Meet Hailey Morey, a Badgerland Girl Scout About Me I started my Girl Scout adventures at the age of 6 with Troop 2715 in Oregon, Wisconsin. My favorite memories include Camp Echo Valley, Camp Brandenburg, selling Girl Scout cookies, community service projects and a troop trip out to Olympic National Park.

After High School I became a lifetime Girl Scout member and graduated from UW-River Falls with a Bachelor of Science in Community Planning. I spent my last semester of university studying abroad and knew I wasn't ready to come home yet!

Oh The Places I Could Go I remembered one of my Girl Scout leaders had traveled to the GS center in Switzerland so I decided to research opportunities through Girl Scouts. I discovered there are Girls Scouts and Guides in almost every country around the world and that there are 5 Girl Scout World Centers: Our Cabaña in Mexico, Pax Lodge in the United Kingdom, Our Chalet in Switzerland, Kusafiri in Africa and Sangam in India.

Swiss Life if a Great Life I applied to be an Our Chalet Assistant and got the job which means I’ve been living here in the Swiss Alps! My duties include a rotation between cooking, cleaning, reception and running programs for our guests. It’s strictly a volunteer position but food and lodging are provided. I highly suggest coming and experiencing this amazing place either as staff or a guest!

India’s Next Later this summer, I will join the Sangam World Center staff as a Long Term Monsoon season volunteer and experience life in India! I am unsure what Asia has in store for me but am excited to continue to spread the word and work of Girl Scouts and Guides around the world.

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Graduating senior Emily Jean Zerger shared how Girl Scouts impacted her life at the Awards Ceremony.

Each graduate spoke at the event then received Girl Scout Honor cords from Board President Maggie Utterback (pictured right) before bridging to Adult.

Grad and Gold Honoree Cordelia Regenold

GRADS GO GREEN

Seventy Badgerland Girl Scouts graduated high school this spring. And, new for this year’s grads: Girl Scout Honor Cords! The green cords were presented to seniors to show their GS pride at commencement. Girls who earned their Gold Award also got a second cord (gold, of course!) and a satin stole embroidered with the Gold Award logo. Here’s an impressive statistic: 19% of our graduating seniors have either received or are in the final stages of completing their Gold Award.

That’s a remarkable statistic for the class of 2017!

Girl Scout Graduates Troops 293 and 0523 Monona Grove High School

THE POWER OF GOLD

2017 GOLD AWARDEES: Morgan Radaj, Carissa Witthuhn, Kaylee Larson, Elizabeth Bullock, Lexie Fitzsimmons, Sayde McDermott, Cordelia Regenold, Tylerann Norby, Kim Thompson, Rowan Koester-Jess and Rebecca Stone.

GO AHEAD...ask Sayde McDermott if earning her Girl Scout Gold Award was worth all the work. She’ll say it was. It’s been a big year for Sayde, who was pinned with the Gold Award in March and graduated from Albany High School with $150,000 in scholarships and grants toward college! Sayde credits the scholarship dollars to her Gold Award.

She’ll be attending College of Mount Saint Vincent in Bronx, New York and has been asked by the college to bring her Gold Award project to the community. Sayde developed a volleyball camp for elementary and middle school girls and, as a college student, will coordinate with New York schools and organizations to build the camp for needy girls there. How much is the Gold Award worth? Priceless.

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Entrepreneurship and Service In Action Milk & Girl Scout Cookies Pilot

Meet Wisconsin’s Tip Top Cookie Seller

“A great success!”

This past cookie season we piloted the Milk & Cookies program, inviting Dane County troops to donate extra boxes of cookies to food pantries. For every box of cookies the Girl Scouts donated, the Dane County Dairy Promotion Committee offered to donate one gallon of milk, up to $5,000 in value.

Girl Scouts answered the call to action with 147 troops donating 4,615 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to 23 food pantries.

That means that there will be 2,617 additional gallons of milk for families in need.. We’re looking at ways to expand the donation partnership throughout Badgerland for 2018.

147 Troops | 4,615 Cookie Boxes

2,617 Gallons of Milk Donated

Molly Lenius!

Molly, from Madison Troop 1163, was one determined 4th grader going into the 2017 cookie season. She set ambitious goals to be Badgerland's top seller, as well as the number one cookie seller in all of Wisconsin. With a lot of hard work and persistence, she sold a stunning 6,004 boxes of cookies and achieved her twin goals.

How'd she do it? She chunked it out. Molly set small, daily selling goals. On average, she sold about 200 boxes every day during the 5-week Cookie Program. And, thanks to the math skills she's learned as a cookie boss, Molly is super good at figuring out her goals and making change with customers.

Molly earned a trip to the Grand Canyon this summer through her audacious achievement. Congrats Molly!

to needy families because of Girl Scouts

SIGN HER UP Challenge Her to Try Something New At Girl Scouts, we’re all about exploring and experiencing new adventures. A great place to sample new ideas is through a Badgerland program. Your Girl Scout can sign up and attend programs led by the professional Badgerland Program Team. These ‘extra’ programs enrich her Girl Scouting experience outside the activities she enjoys with her troop.

Frequently, troops sign up to attend programs together. And, just as often, girls come with their grown-up to these outings. In addition to programs led by the Badgerland Team, we partner with businesses in hundreds of communities to bring Girl Scout programming to girls everywhere. Whatever her interests, she can find it at a Girl Scout program! Look for all the programs listed in the PathFinder that will be mailed to your household in August.

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Runs for leadership positions 11 | FOCUS ON BADGERLAND GIRL SCOUTS

Nonprofit Organization US Postage PAID Madison, WI Permit No. 2127 2710 Ski Lane Madison, WI 53713

gsbadgerland.org | 800.236.2710 At Girl Scouts, girls get to explore the great outdoors and challenge themselves to tackle new activities and projects in a space that’s safe to take a risk. Just like these Badgerland Girl Scouts, who attended their very first Girl Scout overnighter at the Daisy Flower Friends Slumber Party this spring.