GSSEF Linking Leaders E-Newsletter April 2017

April 2017

Volunteer Spotlight ..............1 Girl Voices Survey..................1

Feeding Florida......................2

Adult & Leader Highlights Green GrapevineAdult Uniforms.......................2

Membership Early Bird Re-Registration...4 Membership Update.............5 Bridging Kits..............................5 Bunny Surprises......................5 Award Season is Here...........5

Girl Scouts really is a family tradition. Jessica Cook is the daughter of Hibiscus Service Unit Volunteer Manager, Lisa Cook, a Gold Award recipient, Lifetime member and registered volunteer with our Council. Whew!

She’s on the go as a busy, young professional, but when in town she helps the Service Unit by organizing activities and this year she took on the Fall Product Sale for Hibiscus with great success! She is giving back by helping the girls in Hibiscus meet their goals and staying involved in the Girl Scouting community every step of the way!

Kudos to Jessica Cook, proving again that once a Girl Scoutalways a Girl Scout!

Submit Troop or Volunteer News here!

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At Girl Scouts, we care about your experience, good or bad, and we want to hear from you! In April, Girl Scouts of the USA will be conducting a national survey with girls, parents/ guardians and troop volunteers called Girl Scout Voices Count to find out what’s working, and what’s not, in Girl Scouts. They will use your feedback to improve our services and programs.

The surveys open on April 3rd. Save the date and be sure to check your email for the invitation to participate. As a Thank You, everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a raffle to win one of twenty $50 gift cards! We can’t wait for you to make your voice count! Got questions? For more information, email GSVoicesCount@girlscouts.org.

Membership

Girl Scout Voices Count Survey

Adult & Leader Highlights

Volunteer Essentials............3 Canoe Certification..............3 Great Give.................................3

Volunteer Spotlight

Programs at a Glance

Programs at a Glance

We’d love to hear what you’re doing with your girls!

Send us an email or post on Facebook! Feel free to contact marcomm@gssef.org with comments, pictures or ideas.

All of the Linking Leaders issues are archived on the Training page for easy reference.

Spotlights

Spotlight

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Feeding Florida Together Food Drive Our annual Feeding Florida Together council-sponsored food drive begins April 1. Troops from all over our six county service area will join together to collect non-perishable items for area food banks throughout the month. Help your community and earn a cute patch too. For more information, click here.

Green Grapevine - ADULT UNIFORMS With Adult Recognition season approaching some of you may get some new, well-deserved “accessories” to add to your Girl Scout uniform. With that in mind, here’s a Green Grapevine classic to help you look your best!

Dear Green GrapevineI see a lot of information on your website and in the stores about girl uniforms… what are the adults supposed to wear? Is there an adult uniform?

Stylishly yoursCoco

Adult members are in uniform when they wear their membership pins, which include the Girl Scout Pin (either the Traditional or Contemporary version) and the World Trefoil Pin. These can be placed on an Adult Insignia Tag, or worn on the lapel of a suit.

Navy blue is the color of the official uniform for adults. This can be a navy suit for formal occasions, a navy sweater, all the way to a navy polo with khakis for less formal occasions.

For a diagram of where to place your pins, click here.

There are also a variety of Girl Scout t-shirts you can purchase, or even create with your girls, that will identify you as a member of the Girl Scout family.

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On the flip side, adults should never wear a girl uniform component. So that means, no khaki vests, no sashes and no beanies. Sorry ladies! If you’ve amassed a collection of participation patches you may want to sew them onto a large denim shirt you can wear over a t-shirt, or sew them on a tote bag. Either way, you’re able to display your commitment and highlight some of the fun you’ve had while remaining within the uniform guidelines.

Membership

Adult members can achieve a “unifying look” with their uniforms by wearing an official Girl Scout scarf, or tie for men, worn with the official membership pins, combined with their own navy blue business attire.

Adult & Leader Highlights

Great question, dahling! There is no “official” adult uniform. Adults are afforded some flexibility and some stylish options when it comes to getting their Girl Scout look on, and just like white after Labor Day, there are a few things they should never wear.

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Volunteer Essentials Classes Take the first step in your leadership experience by getting informed of the policies and procedures of Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida. This class covers key policies and procedures and accountabilities, provides information on setting up your bank account and connects you with resources available to you as a new leader.

Any adult member or volunteer is invited to attend; however, this orientation training is required for all new troop leaders and must be taken within 60 days of appointment. Classes are FREE, but pre-registration is required. Click on the links below to register: Wednesday, April 12 Tuesday, April 25 7:00-8:30 p.m. 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Register here! Register here!

Canoe Certification

Cost: $50 per volunteer. No tagalongs permitted. **This training is physical and you will get wet! Training includes a swim test to be performed in the pool. You will also practice tipping the canoe, falling overboard and climbing back in. Water rescue and canoe safety techniques will be practiced and performed while in the water.

Sunday, April 9 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Camp Welaka 10205 SE Girl Scout Camp Rd Tequesta, FL, 33469

Great Give 2017

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On May 17, 2017, from midnight to midnight, Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida will participate in the Great Give, a 24-hour online giving event designed to raise as much money as possible for local nonprofits in just one day! Last year, thanks to generous donors, more than $3 million was raised collectively for 504 local nonprofits! This year, we know we can do even more – will you join us?

Membership

Register here!

Adult & Leader Highlights

Interested in leading your troop on local quiet water trips? A canoe trained adult volunteer is required in order to experience this activity with your girls. In this class you will learn to deal with various flat water boating situations. We will practice a variety of rescue situations, and we will demonstrate the equipment necessary to provide a positive and safe experience.

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Early Bird Re-Registration Begins April 1!

Re-register between April 1 – May 15, 2017, and this year, the Early Bird Gets the WORM! Early Bird Re-registration begins Saturday, April 1st!

Each spring you can re-register girls and adults for the next Girl Scout Membership year, which ensures a seamless transition from year-to-year and allows your troop to earn fun rewards. So, if your troop really digs Girl Scouts, then Early Bird re-registration is for you!

And this year, Early Birds get the WORM! Who can participate in Early Bird Re-Registration?

• Everyone registered by MARCH 31st are eligible to participate in Early Bird reregistration. The annual registration fee for the 2017 – 2018 membership year, October 1 – September 30, is $40 for girls and $25 for adults.

What are the Early Bird Guidelines?

• All individually registered girls and troops must submit their online re-registration with payment by 11:59 p.m. on May 15 to be considered an Early Bird.

• Troops must re-register 80% of their currently registered girls AND two Leaders to be eligible for the 2017-2018 Early Bird incentives.

• Can’t remember your MY GS login? That’s ok…just email troopsupport@gssef.org and our Troop Support Specialists will follow up with you.

And since the Early Bird gets the WORM (Weekly Opportunity for Rad Merchandise), we will be offering a “Worm of the Week” drawing! Register at least one member of your troop to be eligible for that week’s WORM. Mark your calendars and play along!

And be sure to tune in to Facebook LIVE on WORM Wednesdays to find out which troop wins the WORM of the Week!

Questions? Contact Heather Hileman, vice president of member engagement and experience, at 561-427-0189 or hhileman@gssef.org. Need your MY GS community information? Contact our Troop Support specialists at troopsupport@gssef.org.

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Check out this year’s WORMAZING incentives, “Worm of the Week” drawing dates and the Early Bird flyer here

Membership

Why should I be an Early Bird?

• Early Bird re-registration ensures girls a place in the troop and allows the Leader to know how many new girls she can add throughout the year.

• Troops may utilize funds from the Troop Treasury to re-register girls easily with the money earned together all year long.

• For families that do pay for their girl to be re-registered as an individual or with her troop, we find there are fewer financial burdens in the Spring than in the Fall. (i.e. school supplies, uniforms, etc.)

• Best of all, there are WORMderful incentives!

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Membership Update We’re pleased to share that our girl membership is currently at 9,968 girls, which represents 90% of our 11,000 goal. Our adult membership is at 4,758 adults, which represents 91% of our 5,200 adult goal. In addition to that great news, FIVE Service Units have reached 100% of their membership goal and continue to grow!

Congratulations to Gemini, Sea Star, Jupiter, Luna, and Hibiscus Service Units on your success! And it’s clear the passion that you have for Girl Scouts as you continue to recruit new girls even if your goals are reached. Recruiting doesn’t stop in our world because goals are met; recruiting continues because we are all here honoring our mission to create girls of courage, confidence, and character that make the world a better place.

What’s Next?

March 31 marks the last day for Service Units to achieve 100% of their membership goal in order to earn the luncheon with our CEO for up to 6 members of your Service Unit Leadership Team. Your goals are absolutely within reach andwe’re confident that we can cross the finish line together.

Placement of Girls into Troops We are constantly seeking troop placement of new and current girls, but it is not something that we can do on our own - we need your help. Please double check your Troop details in your MY GS Community to ensure that all the meeting day, time and location information is accurate and will display correctly in the Opportunity Catalog.

If you need to make changes, please submit them to your Troop Support Specialist, Sarah Knight, sknight@gssef.org or Asha Robinson, arobinson@gssef.org, so updates can be made. When a new girl is placed into your Troop, we ask for a timely follow-up with their parent to ensure that they get all the information about their Troop that they may need so that they can get started as soon as possible.

All-In-One Bridging Kit

Bunny Surprises for You

Membership

Are you planning a bridging ceremony? We can help. Our retail store has a convenient, all-in-one Bridging Kit that has everything you need. Each kit includes the items that are presented to girls bridging to the next age level. Just add the girls’ name to the sheet provided and you’re ready for your bridging ceremony!

We invite you to stop by the retail store and get your Bridging Kit before they are gone.

Hop into the retail store on April 15 and see what the bunny has left behind for you.

Stay tuned for further egg-stra-vaganza details.

Give that special girl who has earned one of the highest awards that a Girl Scout can earn - a Silver or Gold Award, a reminder of her accomplishments with these lovely dangling earrings for $9.99, necklace for $19.99 or bracelet $11.99 (not pictured). You can find them in our retail store.

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Award Season is Here