Linking Leaders E-Newsletter August 2017

August 2017

Volunteer Spotlight .................1

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.

Adult & Leader Highlights

Becky Spicer began her journey with Girl Scouts when her daughter was a first year Brownie. One year later, her Troop Leader stepped down and asked Becky to take over the troop. She now has a multi-level troop of 20 girls that are Juniors and Cadettes. Becky also became involved in the Wildflower Service Unit, serving in many different Service Unit Team positions such as the Registrar then the Assistant Volunteer Manager. This was followed by her becoming the current Wildflower Service Unit Volunteer Manager. She is committed to bringing Girl Scouts to as many girls possible in her Service Unit.

Becky has dedicated herself to providing the Girl Scout Leadership Experience to girls while supporting and inspiring adult volunteers in her Service Unit.

Adult & Leader Highlights

Adult Learning Opportunities....3 New Troop Camping Property Reservation and Travel Applications......................................3 Get Outdoors with these new Volunteer Resources............,.........4 Registration is Open for Girl Scouts Lead the Way Luncheon in Broward County!..........................4 Troop End of Year Report Reminders........................................5-6 Why Participate in the Fall Product Sale.........................................7

Volunteer Spotlight

Programs at a Glance

Save The Date For Signature Programs....................................2

Spotlights

Spotlight

Membership

Submit Troop or Volunteer News here!

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Membership

Mascot voting is now open for the 2019 Cookie Season! .............8 Tax Free Shopping............................8 Get Ready for Back to Troop...... 8 Get your Starter Kit and receive an Emoticon Bag for Free............9 National S’mores Day August 10th.........................................9 The Solar Eclipse and Back to Troop..................................................9 Summer Closures............................9

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Save The Date For Signature Programs!

October 14th - BeHEALTHful November 21st - 22nd: Movie Mania December 2nd - Outdoor Signature Program at Camp Welaka January 13th and 14th - Cookie Program with a brand new twist!

April 21st and 22nd - Journey in a Day (Its Your Planet Love It! series) More information will be released soon for each event. For all of our other Girl Scout programs, check out the activities calendar at www.gssef.org!

Programs at a Glance

February 24th - 25th: Mall Madness

Adult & Leader Highlights Membership Calendar

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Adult Learning Opportunities!

Many learning opportunities will be available to view on the activities calendar for new and experience Girl Scout volunteers.

Coming Soon: New Troop Camping Property Reservation and Travel Application Approval Process Your time is valuable and we are dedicated to finding ways to take up less of it for mundane (yet critical) tasks - and save more for having fun with you troop! We are in the process of streamlining the Council’s property reservation system for our troops using GSSEF camp properties. The objective is to simplify the way troops reserve and pay for camp sites October 1st, 2017 through May 31st, 2018. The new process includes a calendar troop leaders can utilize to select a camp property, a date and the specific site - and pay for it all in one visit to the website.

Of course, the process for property reservation is just one part for leaders. Troops are also required to submit a Travel Application, too.

Stay tuned to Linking Leaders for more details about how to use of both the new property reservation system and the new camping travel application. You may contact Cindy McHeran, cmcheran@gssef.org or 561-427-0179 with any questions in the interim.

Membership

The Council’s “Universal Travel Application” will be retired and replaced with a new camping travel app (new title hasn’t been determined). This new camping travel application will only contain space for information required for approval of specific camping activities. To help leaders save even more time, GSSEF will designate one staff person as a contact, to provide answers to questions about camping on a GSSEF camp property. FAQs include questions about what campsites to select, clarification on Safety Activity Checkpoints, help understanding our GSSEF Policies & Procedures and great advice, too!

Adult & Leader Highlights

This is in development right now and is scheduled to be available as of October 1st, 2017. GSSEF has retired the former platform, called the “Keep & Share Calendar” and removed it from our website.

See you at camp!

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Get Outdoors with these new Volunteer Resources What can you do to help create an awesome experience while exploring the outdoors? Being comfortable and confident when planning will help. There are six new outdoor skill-building videos especially for volunteers both new to Girl Scouts and older Girl Scouts as they take younger girls outside. The videos follow the Outdoor Progression in skills-building.

Each video includes helpful tips that can be used when planning outdoor adventures. They are easily share-able too. Check them out:

1 Step by Step: Developing Outdoor Skills in Girls Click here 2 Taking the Journeys Outside Click here 3 Planning Your Troop’s First Campout Click here 4 Introduction to Campsite Setup Click here

6 How to Leave No Trace Outdoors Click here

Registration is Open for Girl Scouts Lead the Way Luncheon in Broward County!

We are excited to share that the event will be hosted by Mistress of Ceremonies Ellen Jaffe of Easy 93.1 and the Keynote Speaker will be Laurie Jennings of WPLG Local 10 News.

Membership

Join us on Tuesday, September 12th, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Signature Grand in Davie for a luncheon honoring inspirational women of Broward County.

Awards will be presented to three professional women who are leaders in their industries and serve as role models for today’s girls. Stay tuned for the announcement of our honorees!

Adult & Leader Highlights

5 Introduction to Cooking Outside Click here

Register online today! Click here

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Troop End of Year Report Reminder Troop Leaders Act Now! Deadline is Monday, July 31st!

WHY DO I NEED TO SUBMIT AN EOY TROOP REPORT? The short answer is... It’s required per Volunteer Policies and Procedures.

But, this is why it’s in there: •D oing so allows the organization to reconcile finances in preparation for our annual audit.

• We want to know more about what troops are really doing in our communities.

•W e can use the information we gather to increase girl program offerings that appeal to our members at manageable price points.

•T he data can be used in grant applications to bring Girl Scouting to more girls.

•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 June bank statement to complete the report

Adult & Leader Highlights

There are consequences for non-compliance that you must be aware of which can include disbanding of the Troop and dismissal of the Leader (page 18, Volunteer Policies and Procedures). But let’s focus on the positive... even though it is required, we’ve made it convenient and easy so you can do it quickly and then get back to the fun stuff this summer! Items you will need 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!

Things to keep in mind:

Membership

•3 0 minutes or less to dedicate to completing the report.

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

• The form is user friendly and you can’t break it!

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• I f there’s anything missing, the form will highlight these fields and prompt you to enter the information.

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• When you click submit, your report will be sent via a secure server to Council.

•T he bank account and routing number is encrypted for your protection.

You will receive a confirmation message indicating successful completion of the form. Deadline for Troops to complete and submit their EOY report form is July 31st annually.

Remember: Wufoo doesn’t have the capability to ‘stop and save’ the entries. You must complete the form in one sitting, or risk losing data entered into the form.

Helpful tip: You may want to print the form, add your answers then go back in and fill in the electronic form. This lessens the time you spend ‘in’ the form online, and leaves you with a paper record of your answers for your file.

ACCESSING THE FORM

Additional information and assistance: You can watch a recorded webinar that walks you through the form. The webinar can be viewed here*: * Please note, you will need to enter your name and email in order to view the recording. Keep in mind it is not necessary or required that you view the recording.

Adult & Leader Highlights

You can access it 24/7 on our website on the Forms page and view it as many times as you need to before completing it. You can also print it, but remember, in order to be compliant with the policy, only electronic copies may be submitted to Council. If you’re all set now or if you just want to take a look, you can access the form directly via this link here

QUESTIONS?

Megan Nole Volunteer Experience Manager - Treasure Coast 561-701-2881 mnole@gssef.org

Membership

If you’ve any questions about completing the report please email troopsupport@ gssef.org or contact your Volunteer Experience Manager.

Candace Osias Volunteer Experience Manager - Palm Beach County 561-632-7965 cosias@gssef.org

Yesenia Bonseñor Volunteer Experience Manager - South Broward County 561-701-0323 ybonsenor@gssef.org

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Joanna Menard Volunteer Experience Manager - North Broward County 561-632-7809 - jmenard@gssef.org

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Why Participate in the Fall Product Sale Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida 2017 Fall Product Sale Program begins October 1st. It is intended to reach family, friends, teachers and neighbors, and will help troops earn money to fund troop programs and activities throughout the year. Individually registered girls can also participate. Don’t miss out on the awesome rewards!

The Council’s Fall Product Sale Program helps girls develop five key life skills: goal-setting, decision making, people skills, money management and business ethics.

WHY PARTICIPATE? Troops earn early start-up funds.

Girls earn individual recognitions.

The funds help our council sustain and expand our programs for girls and volunteers!

Online option makes it so easy for girls to sell.

WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW TO PREPARE Help us by being our Data-Hero! In preparation for the Fall Product Sale Program, we’re asking you as leaders to review your troop roster in MyGS to make sure that all the data is correct and that you and your troop are registered for the 2017-2018 Girl Scout year.

We are putting together a very exciting Fall Product Sale Program so that all girls and troops will be able to reach their goals. Help us Unleash the Hero inside all the girls so they may Be Fearless and Achieve their Goals!!

Membership

Later this summer, there will be an online form available to make corrections to your troop roster.

Adult & Leader Highlights

• • • •

For additional information or questions, contact Gabriella Gaita, director of product sales, at ggaita@gssef.org.

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Mascot voting is now open for the 2019 Cookie Season!

Just what furry friend will be the mascot that helps inspire girls for cookie season in 2019?

Here’s your chance to help us choose the mascot for the 2019 cookie season!

Vote now until July 31st! Here

Tax Free Shopping – August 5th Take advantage of the 2017 Tax Free Shopping Weekend and stop by either Jupiter Retail Store or the Pop-Up Shop in Tamarac on Saturday August 5th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Did you know that Girl Scout uniforms (apparel items only) are included? That means you can save on those items that never go on sale! Plus grab a gradelevel polo, a cute bag or even a shirt. And don’t forget beanies, scarves, wallets and pens/pencils are included too. They’re all tax-free!

For additional information see this State of Florida list of items Here.

Get Ready for Back to Troop

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To help you get started, the GSSEF Retail Stores are running a Back to Troop promotion. Spend $75 or more on a single transaction beginning August 21st, 2017 through October 16th, 2017 and earn a $10 coupon. The coupon will be valid on one in-store purchase of $25 or more November 1, 2017 through November 22, 2017.* See stores for details. *Please Note: The $10 coupons given out at stores can only be used at the store that issues the coupon. $10 coupon codes that are sent to customers who shop online can only be redeemed online at www.girlscoutshop.com.

Customers cannot use instore coupons online and online coupon codes cannot be used at the GSSEF council stores.

Membership

It’s that time of year when office supply stores are full of parents and students buying notebooks, pens and crayons to prepare them for a new school year. Don’t forget that besides new school supplies, you’ll also need all your Girl Scout gear because your next Girl Scout adventure is ready and waiting for you!

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Get your Starter Kit and receive an Emoticon Bag for Free A great item to add to your shopping list is a Starter Kit or Essentials Kit that has everything you need to get your Girl Scout year started right. And it includes a super cute Emoticon drawstring bag while supplies last. For additional information, see flyer here.

National S’mores Day August 10th Just in time to celebrate National S’mores Day like a Girl Scout, you’ll receive 15% off all s’mores merchandise beginning August 5th to 10th.

Two amazing things are happening August 21st!

The Solar Eclipse and Back to Troop!

Get eclipsed! Do not be left in the dark wondering what just happened. Be prepared for one of the greatest events of the century on August 21st. 30% off all eclipsed merchandise in-store only while supplies last.

Summer Closures Just because we’re closed doesn’t mean you can’t shop ‘til you drop online.

Missed Us? No worries, you can shop online!

Membership

July 25th - July 31st - Inventory August 3rd - Staff meeting

Visit http://www.gssef.org/en/our-council/shop.html

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GSSEF closed for staff meeting

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Tax-Free Shopping Day

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Membership 12 Year Kick-off Event

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Back to School Retail Promotion StartS

Summer Funshine ends

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