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Bridging Service Area Event Guide
Table of Contents
Welcome! Larger bridging ceremonies can be very moving and powerful. A Service Area bridging event can be helpful to a newer troop leader who is still learning about Girl Scout traditions. And when younger Girl Scouts see the accomplishments of the older Girl Scouts, they see Girl Scouts they look up to celebrating Girl Scout activities they will get to do one day! For event planning help, check out our Service Area Event Planning resources. When you finish your event, we’d love to hear how it went! Tell us your story here.
Council Support
2
Planning Your Event
2
Other Nice Things You Could Consider
2
Ceremony Outline
3
Supplies
3
Formation
3
Promotional Materials
3
For Reference
3
Sample Script
3
Flyer
4
Social Media
5
▶▶ Council Support • How will you handle handing out special awards? You may want to save some time after the bridging ceremony to pay special attention to girls who have earned special awards. Consider honoring the highest award earners, leadership awards, highest cookie sellers, and volunteer awards.
Consult your Council staff representative about your Service Area bridging. They can help you determine who is bridging this year, provide you with additional script samples, and help you promote the event to the Service Area. If you don’t find everything you need in this guide—we can help! Contact us with questions, comments, or suggestions via an email to info@gsnwgl.org.
• What about uniforms? Give the troop leaders in your Service Area some direction about uniforms. Typically, Girl Scouts attend the ceremony in their current uniforms and their troop leaders can have the new vest or sash ready for them.
▶▶ Planning Your Event When you plan an event for a large group you need to embrace the Girl Scout motto: “Be prepared!” Communicate with the troop leaders in your Service Area ahead of time to make sure everyone knows their roles and responsibilities
• Don’t forget to assign kapers! There are lots jobs (kapers) to do and you can use some help! Decide who will be in charge of tasks such as setting up and tearing down, organizing food, running a slide program, etc. Identify an emcee.
• Who will you invite? Expect that each girl will invite about three guests. Will your guest list include anyone beyond the families? • Where will you hold the ceremony? Make sure that your event will be held in a space large enough to fit everyone and is accessible to those of all abilities. Do you need electricity? Make sure you know if the site has electricity available. Reserve a space if necessary. If you choose an outdoor site consider setting a rain date or make sure there is a safe space indoors to hold the ceremony.
▶▶ Other Nice Things You Could Consider
• How will you invite attendees? Will you use flyers and email, or mail invitations to each girl? Talk with the troop leaders in your Service Area and discuss the best way to reach everyone. Combining methods is always a good idea to ensure that everyone gets the message. • Will you hand out certificates? It is common to have each troop leader prepare and hand out certificates to their own troop members when they cross the bridge. Be sure to communicate this to the troop leaders ahead of time. Direct them to New > Bridging Essentials to purchase bridging awards and certificates.
• Assign the emcee to teen Girl Scouts in your Service Area. • Make programs or a slide show so attendees know the order of events. • The event could be a potluck or there could be a treat like a cake or cupcakes. • Coordinate a photo opportunity. Lots of people will want to take pictures or video. Try to keep this from detracting from the ceremony by making sure people can get close enough for photos/video, or by organizing a photo opportunity after each bridging session and letting the audience know ahead of time. • You could invite a guest speaker. • You could invite the troops in your Service Area to share pictures of their activities from the last year or make displays of their activities from the last year. • Classic Girl Scout songs are a nice addition to the ceremony.
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▶▶ Ceremony Outline • • • • •
Post one troop leader from each bridging troop at the start of the bridge ready to call out names. Post a troop leader from the level girls are bridging to at the other end of the bridge, ready to give a Girl Scout welcome and handshake.
Flag or opening ceremony Recite the Girl Scout Promise and Law Bridging ceremony by level (see script below) Present certificates and other awards Closing or closing flag ceremony
▶▶ Promotional Materials See the attached flyer and social media graphic.
▶▶ Supplies
▶▶ For Reference
A bridge, stepping stones, or arch (Girl Scouts who are not bridging could make an arch with their arms, canoe paddles, or branches)
The Troop Bridging Guide is for troops planning a bridging ceremony. It contains Bridging Basics, Bridging Steps, Ceremony Tips, Insignia and Uniforms related to Bridging, and Awards and Ceremonies for each level.
▶▶ Formation Seat your guests together in a large area. The bridging is held one troop and one level at a time. When troops are ready to bridge, they stand and go to the bridge. They return to their seats once they have bridged.
▶▶ Sample Script Emcee: I’d like to invite all bridging Daisy Girl Scout troops and their troop leaders to the beginning of the bridge and a Brownie troop leader to the end of the bridge. Daisy Girl Scouts bridge to Brownie Girl Scouts. Emcee: And now I’d like to invite all bridging Brownie Girl Scout troops to the beginning of the bridge and a Junior troop leader to the end of the bridge. Brownie Girl Scouts bridge to Junior Girl Scouts. Emcee: And now I’d like to invite all bridging Junior Girl Scout troops to the beginning of the bridge and a Cadette troop leader to the end of the bridge. Junior Girl Scouts bridge to Cadette Girl Scouts. Emcee: And now I’d like to invite all bridging Cadette Girl Scout troops to the beginning of the bridge and a Senior troop leader to the end of the bridge. Cadette Girl Scouts bridge to Senior Girl Scouts. Emcee: And now I’d like to invite all bridging Senior Girl Scout troops to the beginning of the bridge and an Ambassador troop leader to the end of the bridge. Senior Girl Scouts bridge to Ambassador Girl Scouts. Emcee: And now I’d like to invite all Ambassador Girl Scouts that will be bridging to adult Girl Scouts to the beginning of the bridge and a Daisy troop leader to the end of the bridge. Ambassador Girl Scouts bridge to adult Girl Scouts.
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Blank Service Area Presents
Bridging
▶▶ We’re celebrating Girl Scouts bridging to their next level! ◀◀
Join us! Date: Time: Location: How to register: For more information, contact:
info@gsnwgl.org | gsnwgl.org | 888.747.6945
▶▶ Social Media
Service Area
Published by Girl Scout Volunteer
1 min ago
Join us for a Bridging ceremony with Service Area! Girl Scouts, are you ready to celebrate the continuation of your Girl Scout journey? For girls in grades: K–12 Where: Local community center When: Saturday, May 23 | 12–2 PM Register today!
Bridging Event
Girl Scouts, are you ready to take the next step in your Girl Scout journey?
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