2022 December Newsletter

Monthly Newsletter

Girl Scout Mission

Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

The Girl Scout Program

Grounded in the Girl Scout Promise and Law, Girl Scouting is an experiential, cooperative education program that promotes girls’ personal growth and leadership development. Partnering with caring adults, girls design fun and challenging activities that empower them and raise their voices within a local, national, and global sisterhood.

Girl Scout Promise

On my honor, I will try: to serve God and my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law.

Girl Scout Law

I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.

Product Program

Fall Financial Literacy Program

Congratulations on a successful 2022 Fall Financial Literacy Program. You and your girls sure did GO BRIGHT AHEAD and had great successes!

All deliveries to customers should be completed and money should be turned into the Troop by December 5th. If you have caregivers who have not turned in all money due to the Troop by December 5th, please go online and complete an Outstanding Balance Form by December 6th. You will receive the ACH email on December 8th and the ACH Sweep will be processed on December 13th. Please email gsmwaccounting@gsmw.org with any questions, or if you need assistance with verifying bank account information.

Fall Rewards should be arriving mid-to-late December. Your Service Unit Product Managers will notify you when to pick up rewards for your Troop for your Girl Scouts!

Keep an eye out for the Top Fall Entrepreneurs that will be announced on December 21st via a Facebook Live Video. We will announce the lucky Girl Scout who gets to adopt Sassy our GIANT Seal – and don’t forget there will be a sneak peek at the 2023 Cookie Mascot!

2023 Cookie Confrences and Trainings

Mark your calendars and register today! 2023 Cookie Conferences will be back on the road this year! We also have other trainings for new troops, Smart Cookies (our new baker system) and Service Unit and Juliette specific training. Please click on and register for all the trainings you would like to attend. Every troop should have at least one person who attends a Regional Cookie Conference live OR the 2023 Virtual Cookie Conference AND all troops must attend the 2023 Smart Cookie Training & Live Demo. We look forward to sharing the latest and greatest to help you and your girls have a successful Cookie Program!

Click on the date and time that works best for you to register:

Troop Trainings:

• New Troop Training: January 10th @ 7PM

• Regional Cookie Conference Registration: January 16-24th: RSVP here to reserve your SWAG!

• Virtual Cookie Conference (if you are unable to attend in-person): January 26th @ 7PM

• Smart Cookies Training & Live Demo: January 31st @ 7PM Service Unit: Service Unit Cookie Kick-Off: January 5th @ 7PM

Juliette Mentors/Caregivers: Please read through your mailed packet and plan to join us on Thursday, January 12th at 6 PM for your Juliette Mentor/Caregiver Kickoff. Click here to register today!

Volunteer Retreat

We are excited to be gathering together again for the 2023 Volunteer Retreat! Save the date for Friday, August 4th at 4:00PM to Sunday, August 6th at 10:00AM MT! Volunteer Retreat is for our Service Unit and Troop Leaders. More details and registration information will follow. We cannot wait to see you all at Camp Timbercrest again soon!

Volunteer Recognitions

GSMW has amazing volunteers and a great way to show how much they are appreciated is to nominate them for an adult recognition. Caregivers, is your daughter’s troop leader amazing? You can let her know by nominating her for the Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Troop Volunteers, is there someone who volunteers with your troop who goes above and beyond? Perhaps your cookie mom keeps everything going smoothly or a volunteer brings awesome programming to the troop meeting, you can recognize them by nominating them for the Volunteer of Excellence Award.

Don’t forget to recognize your Service Unit Manager or Product Program volunteers for everything they do by recognizing them with the Appreciation Pin. Want to find out how to recognize the amazing volunteer, use the Adult Award Criteria to walk you through the steps or reach out to your Member Experience Manager. Deadline to submit your nomination is February 3, 2023.

Day Camp Director Preparation

‘Tis the season to start thinking about your volunteer-run summer day camps! Do you want to help our Girl Scouts become better people by hosting a Day Camp in your community? If you want to volunteer as an esteemed Day Camp Director, your contribution is very important – the girls will look up to you as a role model, teacher, and friend. Visit GSMW’s Volunteer-Run Day Camp web page for information regarding policies and procedures to ensure your day camp is insured and safe!

To provide Day Camp Directors with support, GSMW requires our Day Camp Directors to complete three important steps:

Download and review the Day Camp Director’s Manual. The manual holds policies and procedures for every Day Camp Director.

Take the online Day Camp Director Questionnaire. The questionnaire is meant to familiarize directors with the manual content. It is not a test. Day Camp Directors and Co-Directors should complete the online questionnaire every three years. After you complete the questionnaire, a GSMW representative will contact you to confirm your completion and to help you prepare for your Day Camp. Once your day camp plans are solidified, GSMW will require an online Day Camp Intent form meant to help your camp meet GSMW’s insurance standards.

We hope you find these resources helpful. Do not hesitate to reach out to customercare@gsmw.org with questions about Day Camp.

Journey Summit Awards

Journey Summit Award Pins are earned by girls who have completed three national Leadership Journeys at their grade level. This award is available at every grade level and is the highest award a Girl Scout Daisy and Girl Scout Brownie can earn. Journey Summit Awards are available through our GSMW store and we also offer Summit Award Certificates to help the girls celebrate their achievement! These certificates are colorful and suiting to each Girl Scout Level, and signed by Sally Leep, GSMW CEO! If you know of any girls who have summited in the last membership year, please contact customercare@gsmw.org so we can get the certificates sent out.

Troop Giving

Tis’ the season for giving back to the community! Troops, groups, and Juliettes are encouraged to support other organizations in the form of community service or take action projects. Troops are allowed to purchase items for another organization (for example, purchase pet supplies to donate to a local animal shelter), but are NOT allowed to donate money to another organization or group. If you have any questions, please contact Briana Rickman at give@gsmw.org.

New

in the

GSMW Shop Shop items, including ornaments, hoodies, bandanas, trefoil finds, trucker hats and so much more are now available at our Billings shop! Email shop@gsmw.org or call Carol at 406-252-0488 to place your orders!

are excited to announce our brand new website that will be going live in December! If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us directly at customercare@gsmw.org.

Patch in a Package & Celebrations

Winter Series

Patch in a Package

From January through March 15th, GSMW will be offering a Patch in a Package program featuring our council-own American Sign Language (ASL) patch!

What you need to know:

• We will be receiving orders from January 15th to March 15th and they will be fulfilled twice monthly.

• Price: $25 for in-council members and $30 for out-of-council members.

• Order link here!

What your girl can expect:

• To learn basic American Sign Language, study careers in the ASL field, and more!

• Patch in a Package will expose your girls to important life skills—all on their own schedule.

• Each package will contain everything girls will need to earn their patch.

Silver Award of the Year

The inaugural GSMW Girl Scout Silver Award of the Year was presented to Troop 3574 from Shields Valley, MT for “The Period Project."

Teah, Alicia and Jessica addressed the issue of period poverty by partnering with Crescent Montana who will regularly ship pads and tampons to the Shields Valley Middle and High School bathrooms.

The team also wrote and received two grants that they used to purchase essential menstrual items in bulk.

After completing their project, the team surveyed parents and female students and learned that 87.5% of the population had already used menstrual items.

Congratulations Girls!

GSMW Girl Scout Silver Award of the Year 2022

Information on how to earn the Girl Scout Silver Award or how your Girl Scout's Silver Award project can be considered for this recognition, visit our website or email customercare@gsmw.org.

Celebrations

Highest Award Spotlight

Grace R. of Jackson, WY recognized the lack of resources in her community for those struggling with their mental health to develop a project to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award. With the guidance from a clinical psychologist and a fine arts instructor, Grace created a coloring book; “Coloring Through Anxiety”. The coloring book contains activities, coloring pages and information to support those struggling with anxiety. Grace had the book printed and distributed it, along with a digital copy, throughout her community to organizations and professionals that would be able to utilize it making sure it got into the hands of those who would benefit from it.

Highest Awards

Want to learn more on how your Girl Scout can earn her own Highest Award?

Visit us at www.gsmw. org/highest-awards to learn more or contact us at customercare@gsmw.org

Calling All Girl Scout Alumna

We want to hear from YOU, our Girl Scout alumna. You know more than anyone about the benefits of being a Girl Scout and we want to share your experience.

If you’re interested in sharing your Girl Scout story, please reach out to us at alum@gsmw.org or give us a call at 406-252-0488.

Alumna Spotlight

"I am a lifetime member of Girl Scouts. September 2022, marked my 60th year of membership. The opportunities and blessings I have received during those years are too numerous to count. A few highlights are camping, attending many council conventions which resulted in many friendships, taking girls to council events, attending two national conventions, and attending Girl Scout’s one hundredth anniversary celebration in 2012."

Read Jean's Story Here!

Congratulations, Grace!

Grace R. Coloring Through Anxiety Gold Award Girl Scout

Jean Harm Girl Scout Alumna

Upcoming Programs

Upcoming Programs

Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors Program: Creative Arts

Last summer, older Girl Scouts across Montana and Wyoming submitted survey responses to tell GSMW the theme they want to pursue for their CSA-only events in January. CSA Girl Scouts told us what they want, and GSMW listened. This January, our older Girl Scouts have requested creative art programs across the council. From wood sign painting, to culinary arts, and art museum education and creation, our girls will experience art with interactive experiences all over Montana and Wyoming. Check out our events page for an art program near you!

For those CSA girls looking for a virtual art program, be sure to check out our Kawaii Doodle Art Party on Monday, January 9th. Under professional instruction from our Girl Scout alum educator, Girl Scouts will learn to draw all types of cute kawaii animals, plants, and foods that come to life! In pop culture, Kawaii has come to mean anything that is cute, and generally is used to describe art, characters, plushies, toys and figures that are drawn in a cute Japanese style.

World Thinking Day

Making the world a better place is Girl Scout Law, so it’s no surprise we have a holiday dedicated to doing just that. Each February 22nd, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides across 150 countries celebrate World Thinking Day. It’s a day of international friendship and a time to stand up for causes that could improve the lives of girls around the globe. And while the holiday itself comes in February, the World Thinking Day Award can be earned at any time of year.

Observed by 10 million Girl Guides and Girl Scouts worldwide, World Thinking Day has a different theme each year. In 2023, the theme is “Our World, Our Peaceful Future: The environment, peace, and security.” To earn your World Thinking Day Award, you will explore environmental problems and learn how you can work with nature to create a more peaceful and secure future for girls everywhere. Check out the activity guides below to get involved and learn about how you can make a difference in the world.

Across GSMW, our troops, service units, families, and volunteers come together to host World Thinking Day events. To help our Girl Scouts earn the awards, please review GSUSA’s 2023 World Thinking Day Award activity guides:

• Activity Guide for Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors

• Activity Guide for Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors

In addition, for our Globally-minded Girl Scouts, consider taking-part in Girl Scouts Global Action Days. GSUSA has again provided our volunteers with a handy toolkit to help your Girl Scout engage in global days of action. Girls can earn the Global Action Days patch by celebrating three of the Global Action Days during the year. The toolkit illustrates how your Girl Scouts can complete activities to meet the patch requirements.

Upcoming Programs

Montana Meth Project

The Montana Meth Project is launching 2023 Paint the State, Montana’s largest public art contest, with the goal to engage young Montanans in on-the-ground drug prevention outreach. All Montana troop leaders and parents of youth in 7th - 12th grade are invited to sign their group of girls up for Paint the State to lead youth participation in this exciting art contest. The Meth Project is also providing a limited number of $250 art supply stipends for youth teams. Please have an adult register on behalf of the girls, and do it as soon as you can to capitalize on the $250 supply stipend.

Sign-up now to hold your spot for the stipend here: https://paintthestate.org/girls-scout-leader-sign-up/

Students who participate in Paint the State will:

· Learn about the risks of Meth use and the Meth problem, the state’s top drug problem.

· Engage in authentic peer-to-peer conversation about drug use.

· Create monument-size pieces of art that spark community dialogue and raise awareness.

· Inspire Montanans to live vibrant drug-free lives.

· Enter to win cash prizes up to $3,000 for the winning teams.*

The project you pursue can stand alone as a great community service project for your Girl Scouts, but girls should also consider whether they want to pursue this project as a Silver or Gold Award. If you want to know more about how this program can help you fulfill the Highest Awards requirements, please contact customercare@gsmw.org, and we will help you! *If your Girl Scouts should win a cash prize as a result of your project, the money would need to be given to GSMW and maintained here for future Girl Scout financial assistance.

Yukon Derby Resources

The Missoula Service Unit has arranged an amazing outdoor survival-themed program called a Yukon Derby, for Junior and older Girl Scouts. The Yukon Derby is patterned after the heritage of the Yukon Gold Rush in the late 1800’s when gold prospectors traveled in cold weather by means of dogsleds. They needed adequate survival skills such as fire building, knots, lashing, etc.

At the event, patrols, acting as sled dogs, pull homemade sleds with all their equipment, around a field course, with outdoor skills stations all along the way. Girls operate in teams of about four. The girls love the event, and through their participation they learn how to cooperate as a team while honing their outdoor skills.

The Missoula Service Unit wants to help all volunteers make Yukon Derbies happen all across Montana and Wyoming. They have a complete resource kit to share, including patch and sticker designs created by a local Gold Award Girl Scout. Using the template, volunteers will need to secure a location and provide guidance and supplies to participating Girl Scouts and troops. Included in the template is a design for the Derby sleds.

If you are interested in learning more about this program, GSMW can provide you with contact information for the Missoulaarea volunteer. Contact customercare@gsmw.org for more information on the Yukon Derby contacts.