Linking Leaders E-Newsletter April 2016

April 2016

Volunteer Spotlight ................1 Great Give Palm Beach.........1

Programs at a Glance

Adult & Leader Highlights

Calendar............................13 Submit Troop or Volunteer News here!

Save the Date for the Great Give!

Great Give Palm Beach and Martin Counties is a 24-hour online giving event led by the Community Foundation for Palm Beach County, United Way of Palm Beach County and United Way of Martin County. It is designed to raise as much money as possible for local nonprofits in a single day. This community-wide event celebrates the spirit of giving and the collective effort it takes to strengthen our community by raising critical funds for local nonprofits.

Once again, GSSEF will participate in this extraordinary day of giving.

Every local gift will be multiplied with additional dollars from a bonus pool raised by the Community Foundation.

Save the date of May 3rd to make your donation and look for more information about this year’s Great Give for GSSEF in upcoming E-Blasts!

Calendar

Membership Update.............9 You Tou-Can be an Early Bird...................................9 Product Sales.........................10 Retail Stores............................11 Data Clean Up........................12

Soni Krasky became a new Daisy Troop Leader as soon as her daughter reached scouting age. Soni was ready to go!

The reason? She had been a Girl Scout herself! And her mom, Jill Holstein, planted this love of Girl Scouting deep in her soul. Soni is following the family tradition and is now bringing the 3rd generation Girl Scout forward, in her daughter Eliana. Daisy Troop 10801 has had a very exciting year so far. They completed their first cookie sale with flying colors and the troop represented Israel in Atikah’s Thinking Day Event. Soni’s love of Girl Scouting continues to grow and it shows! Atikah’s Service Unit team is glad to have her on-board!

Membership

Membership

Every month, we showcase a volunteer who exemplifies the Girl Scout mission and serves as a role model for other leaders.

Adult & Leader Highlights

Green Grapevine- Troop Activity......................................4 Adult Learning.........................5 Volunteer Essentials.............5 Troop Essentials.....................5 Archery.......................................5 Songs and Ceremonies........6 All About SWAPS ....................6 Troop Travel .............................6 The Bronze Award..................6 Bridging to Brownies..............7 Jumping to Juniors.................7 Climbing to Cadettes............7 Register for Troop Camp Training.......................................7 Troop End of Year Reporting...................................8

Volunteer Spotlight

Programs at a Glance

Gold Award Deadline............2 2016 Gold Award Centennial Celebration..............................2 Coral Springs Worldfest ......2 Barbara Ann Turner Scholarship Application......3 Wet ‘n Wild’s Summer Splash Bash..............................3

We’d love to hear what you’re doing with your girls! Send us an email or post on Facebook! Feel free to contact Rachel Goossens with comments, pictures or ideas at rgoossens@gssef.org. All of the Linking Leaders issues are archived in the Volunteer Vault here for easy reference.

Spotlights

Spotlight

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Gold Award Deadline Approaching!

April is just around the corner! All girls working on Councilapproved Gold Award projects will have until Monday, April 4, 2016, at 6:00pm to turn in all completed final reports and scrapbooks to either Service Center. Girls that submit completed projects will be invited to an exclusive Gold Award Centennial Celebration on Saturday, May 14, 2016, at the Waterstone Resort and Marina in Boca Raton.

Save the Date! 2016 Gold Award Centennial Celebration

Membership

If you have any questions about your projects, please contact the Director of Program, Lammy Askar at aaskar@gssef.org

Adult & Leader Highlights

GSSEF will host the 2016 Gold Award Centennial Celebration on Saturday. May 14, 2016 at the Waterstone Resort and Marina in Boca Raton. At this event, we will be honoring our Class of 2016 Gold Award Recipients as well as recognizing our sister Girl Scouts on their achievement of this prestigious award.

Programs at a Glance

If you have any questions about your projects, please contact the Director of Program, Lammy Askar at aaskar@gssef.org

You’re invited to the City of Coral Springs Worldfest!

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The city of Coral Springs is looking for girls that are interested in participating at the event to represent Girl Scouts. Worldfest is Sunday, April 3, 2016 from 11:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. For more information, please see the flyer here or contact Joyce Campos at jcampos@coralsprings.org.

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Barbara Ann Turner ‘Service from the Heart’ Scholarship Application Due April 1st

Wet ‘n Wild’s Slumber Splash Bash

Lammy Askar, Director of Program, aaskar@gssef.org Meredith Slaymaker, Regional Program Manager, mslaymaker@gssef.org Catalina Cano, Regional Program Manager, ccano@gssef.org Diana Mills, Program Registrar, dmills@gssef.org

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Program Team Contacts

Membership

Wet ‘n Wild’s Slumber Splash Bash is here and this year it’s a glow party just for Girl Scouts! No ordinary campout can compare to the nonstop fun of all the rides and attractions of Wet ‘n Wild by the light of the moon. It’s a splash and a bash - for the whole troop! Event admission includes exclusive use of Wet ‘n Wild’s attractions, commemorative patch, all-you-can-eat breakfast, a live DJ and themed entertainment. Advance Registration is NOW OPEN! Click here to get started and to find out more about the event.

Adult & Leader Highlights

Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida has been extremely pleased that, thanks to the generosity of ongoing donations, the scholarship has been increased to $1000.00. In this spirit, the “Service From the Heart” Scholarship will continue to be awarded annually to a high school age Girl Scout, who is currently registered in this council who has given exceptional service in her community. Congratulations to our 2015 Barbara Ann Turner “Service From the Heart” recipient, Raquel Dunn. Raquel was a Gold Award recipient in 2014 and her award was entitled “Project L.O.V.E”.

For more information including the application, click here. The deadline for applications is April 1, annually. Scholarship presentations will be made in May, annually.

Programs at a Glance

Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida is honored to award the “Service From the Heart” Scholarship in memory of Barbara Ann Turner, a dedicated volunteer. Barbara had many interests in her life, but nothing was as dear to her as the Girl Scouts. She served as a leader, council trainer, service unit manager and women’s history committee member. She shared her enthusiasm and commitment to the Girl Scout volunteer spirit in the many service projects she organized. Her wish was that an ongoing scholarship be established to recognize exceptional community service. This dream was realized when the first scholarship was awarded in 2008 to one Girl Scout in the amount of $500.00.

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Green Grapevine - TROOP ACTIVITY Dear Green GrapevineMy troop is really excited that spring is here and we’re making plans to do some fun, challenging activities we’ve never tried before. Is there anything we should keep in mind?

Many thanksEva Knievel How can you, as a Girl Scout volunteer, determine whether an activity is safe and appropriate? Good judgment and common sense often dictate the answer. What’s safe in one circumstance may not be safe in another. An incoming storm, for example, might force you to assess or discontinue an activity. If you are uncertain about the safety of an activity, you should call Council staff with full details and don’t proceed without approval. Err on the side of caution and make the safety of girls your most important consideration.

These documents will provide guidance on the types of activities girls may participate in, the number of chaperones you’ll need and any special skills or certifications they should possess (i.e. is a First Aider required, and if so, what level of certification is required). They also outline the paperwork and submission timeline you’ll need to follow in order to get the approvals you need from Council.

If Safety Activity Checkpoints do not exist for an activity you and the girls are interested in, check with Council before making any definite plans with the girls. A few activities are allowed only with written Council pre-approval and only for girls 12 and over, while some are off-limits completely.

Membership

When planning activities with girls, note the abilities of each girl and carefully consider the progression of skills from the easiest part to the most difficult. Make sure the complexity of the activity does not exceed girls’ individual skills—bear in mind that skill levels decline when people are tired, hungry, or under stress. Also use activities as opportunities for building teamwork, which is one of the outcomes for the Connect key in the GSLE.

Adult & Leader Highlights

Once the girls have made some suggestions of things they’d like to try, be sure to check the Volunteer Essentials Manual and our Councils’ Policies and Procedures.

You should always be sure to review the Safety Activity Checkpoints for each activity.

The Safety Activity Checkpoints have been recently updated and include additional activities. You can find all of these documents on our website in the Volunteer Vault.

If you have questions about the suitability of an activity, or have questions about activity approval, please email volunteer@gssef.org.

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Adult Learning Highlights Take a look at the Spring Adult Training calendar for a listing of all classes available!

Volunteer Essentials Take the first step in your leadership experience by getting informed of the policies and procedures of Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida. Know the dos and donts of being a Girl Scout volunteer! Volunteer Essentials - Orientation training is a required for all new leaders and must be taken within 60 days.

Class Location: Online. An email with login information will be sent prior to the class.

Cost: FREE, but pre-registration is required Volunteer Essentials (Online) April 12 at 7:00 p.m.

Register here!

Volunteer Essentials (Online) April 27 at 7:00 p.m.

Register here!

Troop Essentials Grade Level Training offers grade-level specific information on how to set-up your troop, from deciding when, where and how often to meet and how to’s on managing troop finances, to working with parents and planning engaging troop activities. This class will inform and inspire you in your new role as a Troop Leader.

Cost: $3.00 Troop Essentials: Daisy- Brownie- Junior (South Broward) April 3 at 9:00 a.m.

Register here!

Archery

Membership

Troop Essentials: Daisy- Brownie- Junior (South Broward) April 5 at 6:30 p.m.

Register here!

Adult & Leader Highlights

Troop Essentials

You will learn how to set up and operate a safe short-term archery program, how to teach new archers, and how to maintain program equipment.

Cost: $50.00

Archery (Camp Welaka) April 17 at 9:00 a.m.

Register here!

Calendar

Archery (Plantation) April 9 at 2:00 p.m.

Register here!

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Songs and Ceremonies Ceremonies and songs can commemorate accomplishments or simply make the beginning or end of a group’s meeting special. Girls can plan a ceremony around a theme, such as friendship or nature, and express themselves in thought, words or song. In this workshop learn popular and meaningful songs and ceremonies you can share with your girls.

Cost: $3.00 Songs and Ceremonies (Camp Welaka) April 9 at 9:00 a.m.

Register here!

All About SWAPS In this class you will learn what a SWAP is - Small Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere! Make them and love them! Great themes, ideas and samples for the crafty and not so crafty volunteer are provided. SWAPS are a tradition at many events; with this class you (and your girls) will always be prepared.

Cost: $3.00

Ready, Set, Go Troop Travel Is your Troop planning to travel? Learn if there is a safety activity checklist, what paperwork is necessary, where to find the forms, and who and when to submit them.

Cost: $3.00

All About the Bronze Award All about the Bronze Award!! Help the girls achieve the first of the highest Girl Scout Awards they can earn on their way to the Gold! This in an ONLINE class.

Cost: $3.00

Calendar

All About the Bronze Award (ONLINE) April 21 at 7:00 p.m.

Register here!

Membership

Ready, Set, Go Troop Travel (Camp Welaka) April 9 at 3:00 p.m.

Register here!

Adult & Leader Highlights

All About SWAPS (Camp Welaka) April 9 at 12:30 p.m.

Register here!

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Bridging to Brownies Troop Essentials Grade Level training specifically for existing leaders who are transitioning from Daisy to Brownie Level.

Cost: $3.00 Bridging to Brownies (Ft Lauderdale) April 25 at 7:45 p.m.

Register here!

Jumping to Juniors Troop Essentials Grade Level training specifically for existing leaders who are transitioning from Brownie to Junior Level.

Cost: $3.00 Jumping to Juniors (Ft Lauderdale) April 25 at 7:45 p.m.

Register here!

Troop Essentials Grade Level training specifically for existing leaders who are transitioning from Junior to Cadette (and up) Cost: $3.00 Climbing to Cadettes (and up) (Ft Lauderdale) April 25 at 7:45 p.m.

Register here!

Adult & Leader Highlights

Climbing to Cadettes (and up)

Register for Troop Camp Training!

TCT - Basic

Membership

Love camping? Want to go with your troop? Then Troop Camp Training (TCT) is for you! Completion of Girl Scout TCT is required by one adult volunteer in your troop in order for your girls to go camping.

Basic Training will certify you to camp with your girls at any GSSEF camp property or similar facility. Fire building, basic cooking, safety issues and other necessary outdoor skills will be the focus. Lunch and supplies are included. Information on what to wear, bring and know before you come will be sent to you prior to the event.

Cost:$30 per adult Calendar

TCT Basic (Camp Telogia- Parkland) April 2 at 9:00 a.m.

Register here!

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Coming Soon! Troop End of Year Reporting Online end-of-year Troop reporting is almost here! All Troops are required to submit an end-of-year finance and Troop activity report each year by July 31st. The link for online end-of-year reporting will open in early May. In order to be prepared to complete your report, there are a few things you’ll need.

Below is a list of things you should have handy:

• A saved bank statement; this can either be downloaded and saved from your bank’s website, or scanned and saved to your computer. You will be asked to upload your Troop’s most recent bank statement to complete the report.

• A photo of your Troop doing something fun; we want to see you in action!

• A calculator; no worries, the math is simple!

• About 30 minutes to dedicate to completing the report, maybe less.

The WuFoo system does require the report be completed in one sitting, and unfortunately does not allow you to save work and finish later.

When you click submit, your report will be sent via a secure server to Council. The bank account and routing number data is encrypted for your protection. You will receive a confirmation email indicating successful completion of the form, along with a copy of the information you’ve submitted.

We’ll also have several FREE online workshops to walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have. Workshops will be offered in May, June and July. Stay tuned for more information on specific times and days.

Adult & Leader Highlights

If there’s anything missing, the system will highlight these fields and prompt you to enter the information before allowing you to submit the form. The form is user friendly and you can’t break it!

Questions about adult learning? Email volunteer@gssef.org Membership Calendar

6,000

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14,000

Membership Update GSSEF’s girl membership goal for 2016 is 12,500, and the adult membership goal is 5,800. Over 10,004 girls and 4,888 adults have already registered for the 2016 Girl Scout year.

12,000 5,000 10,000

6,000 80% of 4,000

You Tou-Can be an Early Bird!

The Early Bird is flying back! Early Bird re-registration is that special time during the spring when troops are invited to re-register for the next Girl Scout membership year…AND earn awesome incentives for both girls and leaders. Troops may re-register as Early Birds between April 1 and May 15, 2016. Click here to view the 2016-17 Early Bird Flyer.

4,000

8,000

Goal

3,000 91% of

Goal

2,000

2,000

Goal 12,500

Goal 5,800

Girl Membership

Adult Membership

Below are some tips and reminders to help you prepare for Early Bird re-registration:

Membership

• To be eligible, girls must be registered and on the troop roster by March 31 • To receive the complimentary leader and co-leader incentives the troop must re-register 80% of the girls on their roster as of March 31 • To receive the 3-cent or 1-cent cookie sale incentive, the troop must re-register 80% of the girls on their roster as of March 31 • NOW is the time to review your troop roster to move out any girls no longer participating in the troop (i.e. those who have never been to a meeting, moved, relocated to another troop) • Troops are encouraged to re-register the girls using the troop funds earned throughout the year • Financial Assistance may not be requested for Early Bird • Registration is completed online, and troop leaders (01s only) will receive an email with the registration link on April 1.

• Leaders needing their e-Council login information may contact Mileneda Joseph at mjoseph@ gssef.org and as backup, LaSwan Dinson at ldinson@gssef.org

Calendar

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Product Sales 2016 Cookie Sale Results are Something Truly Worth Sharing

WE DID IT!!!!! Thanks to our awesome Girl Scouts, their supportive parents and our awesome volunteers, Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida experienced the best to date Cookie Sale in the history of the Council. We reached the goal set of 1.5 MILLION boxes of cookies sold.

Saturday, March 7th, we celebrated this with our dedicated Cookie Sale SUPSM’s. Lots of best practices, recognitions and preliminary sales numbers were shared. Your SUPSM’s will be sharing this with you at your next Service Unit Meeting.

Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida has begun the process of reconciling the sale and ordering girl rewards. We will share final numbers soon and rewards will be ready for distribution the end of March and the first part of April.

Much more than a business run by the numbers, IT’S ALL ABOUT GIRLS!! And it’s about our passion to improve the lives of girls and to teach them those essential life skills that will last a lifetime. The more you get inside a girl’s inspiring world, the more you are inspired by her. Volunteers like you cultivate what’s inside each girl.

As we close this year’s cookie sale we wanted to take a moment and thank the volunteers and parents that helped make this year’s sale a success for every Girl Scout in our Council. Look for additional announcements next month on all the success stories…by a girl and her troop. Thank You!!!!!

2016 Cookie Sale Top Sellers

Membership Calendar

GSSEF had a fantastic Girl Scout Cookie Sale Program this year thanks to the hard work of girls, their families, troop leaders and volunteers. We’re thrilled to share that 178 girls reached Extreme Team status, selling at least 1,000 boxes of Girl Scouts Cookies. At the very top of that list, for the third year in a row, is Amanda K from Troop 10442 who sold 4,304 boxes.

This year’s second and third place cookie sellers were Saya G from Troop 10708 with 3,318 and Kalliopi K from Troop 20254 with 3,202 boxes. Congratulations!

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Retail Stores Gold Award Centennial: Celebrating 100 Years of Changing the World!

Over the last century, young women have honed their leadership skills to earn the highest award in Girl Scouts. While this award has gone by many names—starting as the Golden Eaglet of Merit in 1916 and becoming the Gold Award in 1980—it’s always recognized girls who take action to make our world a better place. Gold Award earners do good work in our backyard, throughout our country and on the other side of the planet!

Whether you are a current or former award recipient, be sure to stop by the Retail Store to commemorate the centennial of the Gold Award. Items are only available for a limited time so stop in soon.

Gold Award Centennial Patch $6.75 The Gold Award centennial patch is considered unofficial and can be purchased and worn by any Girl Scout to commemorate/celebrate the centennial year of the Gold Award. The patch is to be worn on the back of the sash or vest. However, it will only be available during the 2015-16 Girl Scout year, so get started now!

Gold Award Centennial Pin and Brooch $20/$30 The Gold Award centennial pin and brooch is being treated similar to the 100th anniversary pin and can be purchased and worn by any Girl Scout to commemorate/celebrate the centennial year of the Gold Award. This pin is to be worn above the official Girl Scout Tab for both girls and adults in the same fashion that the 100th Anniversary Pin was placed.

Gold Award Centennial Pin

Gold Award Centennial Brooch

Membership

Gold Award Centennial Patch

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Data Clean Up and Preparation for the Customer Engagement Initiative (CEI) Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and corrected information in your Troop’s roster! Having accurate contact information for each girl, parent/guardian and adult volunteer in the membership database ensures that important information and program announcements reach you and girls’ families in a timely manner.

GSSEF continues our council-wide effort to update and “clean” the data in each membership record in the e-Council database. As you prepare your troop roster for Early Bird re-registration, now is a perfect time to review everyone’s contact information, including troop grade level.

Please check your troop roster to ensure that each girl and adult record has the following fields completed with current, correct information: name, address, city, state, zip, county, birthdate, phone number and email address. Now is also a good time to make sure all girls and adults registered into your troop are listed on your troop roster.

In addition, please review the meeting location, meeting date and time listed in e-Council for your troop meeting. For safety and compliance purposes, this information must be included in your troop summary.

For assistance with any of these data updates, please contact Mileneda Joseph, council registrar, at mjoseph@gssef.org, LaSwan Dinson, troop development coordinator, at ldinson@gssef.org, or Rhonda Netzel, director of membership, at rnetzel@gssef.org.

Membership Calendar

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Thin Mint Sprint 5k (Stuart) Thin Mint Sprint 5k (West Palm Beach)

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Gold and Silver Award Final 4 Project Reports and Scrapbooks due

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GSSEF 30 Offices Closed for Memorial Day

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Gold Award Centennial Celebration

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