Linking Leaders E-Newsletter February 2017

February 2017

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

Programs at a Glance

Adult & Leader Highlights Green GrapevineBackground Checks.............3

Membership

Calendar..............................9

Membership

Membership Update............6 Bling Your Booth.....................7 How the Cookie Crumbles..7 Retail Bounce Back................8

“I can’t imagine life without Girl Scouts!

It’s been such an important part of my life,” says Jamie Turner. “I don’t have a troop now, but I stay on because I see the importance of helping leaders to have the same experience I had.”

Jamie is a long-time volunteer on the Treasure Coast and is currently active with the Gemini Service Unit. She states, “Scouting has changed over the years and it is Top: Jamie as a scout; Below: Jamie Turner (right) and still a very important Candy Fender (left) experience for girls… but also for leaders. As an adult Scouting encouraged me to grow and learn and bond with other leaders.” Thanks Jamie for being such a dedicated Girl Scout!

Adult & Leader Highlights

Volunteer Essentials.............4 Troop Essentials.....................4 Troop Travel.............................4 Archery......................................4 Troop Camp Training............5 Presidents Volunteer Service Award.........................5

Volunteer Spotlight

Programs at a Glance

Mall Madness...........................2 Journey in a Day......................2

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 on the Training page for easy reference.

Spotlights

Spotlight

Calendar

Submit Troop or Volunteer News here!

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Mall Madness

Save the Date!

Membership

Mark your calendar! Journey in a Day is coming up on April 22, 2017 at Camp Nocatee in Clewiston, FL. This year’s journey series is “It’s Your Story, Tell It”. Space for each age level is limited and will fill up quickly. Registration starts on March 1, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. and will be on our activities calendar here. To volunteer, contact Mica Minor at mminor@gssef.org

Adult & Leader Highlights

When: Saturday, February 25 at 10:00 p.m. to Sunday, February 26, 2017 at 5:00 a.m.

Where: Coral Square Mall, located at 9469 W Atlantic Blvd, Coral Springs, FL 33071 General Admission: $30 per person and includes a patch Who can participate: Registered Girl Scouts of all age levels and their registered female Troop Leader or parent/guardian. All participants, including female adults, MUST hold a current GSSEF membership.

Questions? Contact Catalina Cano at ccano@gssef.org

Programs at a Glance

Hear, Ye! Hear, Ye! My ladies, maidens and your majesties - the honor of thy presence is requested to attend their majesties Medieval Mall Madness. Join us and revel at thine castle, located at Coral Square Mall. Partake in renaissance-themed crafts, games of chance and skill. Earn renaissance councils own badges as well as ye olde time favorites.

Rejoice and carouse with the renaissance court as in Medieval Times. Admire the goods at the vendor’s faire. Music and merriment will match the renaissance cast and your festive attire. Don’t stay in the dungeon, register today at www.gssef.org

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Green Grapevine - BACKGROUND CHECKS Dear Green Grapevine: I was informed that some volunteers in my troop have expired background checks.

What do I need to do to fix this?

ThanksSue Flay Parents, guardians and girls trust that Girl Scouts is a safe place for them, and Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida does not take that trust lightly. We are committed to maintaining policies and procedures that create a safe environment for girls to discover, connect and take action.

Criminal background checks are one of the strategies used to ensure that girls are safe with us. Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida’s policy is to conduct criminal background checks on all new volunteers, and to repeat them on all volunteers every three years. Our new database makes it easy to track who has a current criminal background check (CBC) on file, and when a renewal needs to be completed.

For more information on when a registered volunteer is required, please see our GSSEF Volunteer Policies and Procedures. We recommend having as many registered volunteers in your troop as possible so that you have more chaperone availability and flexibility when planning events and activities. By having cleared, registered volunteers in your troop in advance, your trip planning will be even easier!

If you have any questions about our screening process, or need help knowing how many volunteers you need for your next trip or activity, we can help! Email any questions to troopsupport@gssef.org.

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The decision to exclude or limit an applicant’s participation as a volunteer is solely within the discretion of GSSEF using screening criteria similar to that used by many other councils throughout the country.

Membership

Only adults who are registered members of GSUSA for the current membership year and have successfully completed a criminal background check will be appointed to volunteer positions. Volunteers are those adults who take responsibility for girls, drive girls other than their own and are counted in the required girl-to-adult chaperone ratios.

Adult & Leader Highlights

As a troop leader you can see which adults in your troop have a current background check on file and when it will expire by logging in to your Member Profile and clicking on your Troop tab. Adult members in your troop who have current background check on file will have a date in the CBC Expiration column; if no date is listed, they do not have a current check on file and will need to complete the process in order to be a registered volunteer within the troop. You can trigger a background check by selecting a volunteer role for the adult member. Try this method first. If an invitation to complete the background check is not received by the volunteer, then you can email troopsupport@gssef.org and we can ensure the individual’s member record information (birthdate, email, address) is correct and then re-trigger the invitation to complete the background check.

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Volunteer Essentials Classes Take the first step in your leadership experience by getting informed of the policies and procedures of the 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: Tuesday, February 7 Thursday, February 23 7:00-8:30 p.m. 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Register here! Register here!

Troop Essentials 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. Cost: $3

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 when to submit them.

Cost: $3

Archery

Saturday, February 25, 2017 2:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Plantation, FL Click here to register!

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An archery certified adult volunteer is required for your girls to experience this fantastic sport. You’ll learn how to set up and operate a safe, short-term archery program, how to teach, how to maintain program equipment and learn common shooting errors and correction. After taking this class, you can teach your troop (or other troops) archery. Cost: $50

Membership

Tuesday, February 28, 2017 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

West Palm Beach, FL Click here to register!

Adult & Leader Highlights

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

West Palm Beach, FL Click here to register!

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Troop Camp Training - March 4-5 at Camp Welaka Love camping? Or want to try it for the first time? Want to go camping with your Troop? Then Troop Camp Training is for you! Completion of Girl Scout Troop Camp Training (TCT) is required by one adult volunteer in your troop in order for your girls to go camping. This training is designed to help Girl Scout volunteers prepare themselves and the girls they work with to enjoy outdoor experiences together. Training will introduce progression in the out-of-doors, review camp facilities and provide basic skills for outdoor program. Fire building, outdoor cooking techniques, safety issues and camp rules and regulations are reviewed.

This skills-focused training involves one overnight on camp property. Registration is open to registered volunteers only; No tagalongs are permitted. Information on what to wear, bring and know before you come will be emailed to registered participants prior to the event.

Saturday, March 4- Sunday March, 5, 2017 Check in between 9:30-10:00 AM on Saturday.

The class concludes after breakfast and clean-up on Sunday morning.

$35/per volunteer - food (lunch, dinner and breakfast), training supplies and TCT manual are included in the registration cost Register here!

Presidents Volunteer Service Award - Earn your Award for 2016

Membership

GSSEF offers the opportunity for our members to earn the President’s Volunteer Service Award. This prestigious national award is given by the President of the United States and honors our members who have demonstrated a commitment to volunteer service. Adults, girls and troops can earn this award. GSSEF serves as a certifying organization for the award and the window is now open to submit your hours. Please click here to receive instructions on how to submit your volunteer hours for 2016. You only have until February 1, 2017 to submit your hours, so don’t delay! If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Hummel at khummel@gssef.org.

Adult & Leader Highlights

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

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Dear Leaders,

14,000

Membership Updates Adults: 4,330 - 83% of the goal Girls: 9,236 - 83% of the goal

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Service Unit Membership Updates Happy New Year! I’m pleased to share with you some amazing news regarding Service Unit Membership information. As you may recall, there are three tiers of incentives that Service Units can achieve once they meet specific benchmarks. Here’s a refresher:

6,000 5,000

10,000 4,000

8,000 6,000 83% of 4,000

Goal

3,000

83% of Goal 2,000

2,000

Goal 11,000

Goal 5,200

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Tier 2 incentives earned: Still on the rise: Sunny River 85% Leo 56% Sandy Beaches 86% Atikah 66% Royal Palm 88% Orange Blossom 67% Magnolia 89% Blazing Star 71%

Jupiter 91% Everglades 73% Tri Star 74% Kowechobe 74%

Membership

To date, here are the Service Unit percentages along with incentives earned: Tier 1 incentives earned: Tier 3 incentives earned:

Pegasus 75% Hibiscus 100% Sunchariot 79% Sea Star 102%

Phoenix 81% Luna 104%

Wildflower 83% Gemini 109% Indian Treasure 86%

Adult & Leader Highlights

Tier 1 Incentives: • All SUs achieving 75% of annual Girl Membership Goal by Girl Adult OCTOBER 31, 2016 will receive a custom SU Parade Banner OR Membership Membership $100.00 Tier 2 Incentives: • All SUs achieving 85% of its annual Girl Membership Goal by DECEMBER 15, 2016 will receive a custom SU Parade Banner AND $100.00 Tier 3 Incentives: • All SUs achieving 100% of its annual Girl Membership Goal by MARCH 31, 2017 will receive lunch with the CEO, for up to 6 members of the SU Leadership Team

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Bling Your Booth is Back! Deadline to enter is Janary 29th Love to showcase your Girl Scout style at your cookie booth? Want to show your customers that you are a #cookieboss? All you have to do is grab that big imagination, get creative and enter the GSSEF Bling Your Booth contest.

This year’s contest is 100-themed in honor of the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts selling cookies. The winning troop gets Bling Your Booth patches and a $250 gift card to the food or entertainment venue of your choice. Photos can be submitted through our GSSEF app. The deadline to enter is January 29th. Click here for all the details on what you need to do and how to enter. Questions? Contact Melinda Glasco at mglasco@gssef.org.

How the Cookie Crumbles Other than the cost of cookies, 100% of all funds raised through the Girl Scout Cookie Sale stays right here to support Girl Scouting in our local community. See how the cookie crumbles and share this information with your girls and parents too!

Here’s how it all breaks down:

$4.00 The sales price of a box of cookies

-$1.02 The cost of a box of cookies

$2.98 Profit on each box of cookies

-$0.70 Average troop proceed on each box of cookies

-$0.09 Average cost of girl rewards per box of cookies

management and fundraising.

-$1.75 Spent on Girl Scout program -$0.41 Spent on management and fundraising expenses $0.00

Of the $2.98 in revenue generated from each box of cookies sold, $2.54 goes directly to the girls, in the form of troop proceeds, girl rewards, and the delivery of Girl Scout program. That’s 85.2%!

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So how much from each box of cookies goes directly to the girls?

$0.70 Troop proceeds

$0.09 Girl rewards

$1.75 Delivery of Girl Scout program

$2.54

Membership

$2.19 Council revenue after troop proceeds and girl rewards per box of cookies

-$0.03 Average cost of promotion and advertising per box of cookies (yard signs, collateral, advertising)

$2.16 Council net revenue per box of cookies According to our 2015-2016 year-end audited financial statements,

81% of all Council expenses were program expenses, and only 19% were

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Bounce Back into the Retail Store Winter is in full swing – even here in South Florida – so bounce on back into the stores to see what’s hot in February. Don’t forget February 22 is World Thinking Day and the chance to earn the Global Action award, so celebrate with some fun things for your troop. Click here for more information about Thinking Day and the Global Action award. Now’s the time to take advantage of the Winter Bounce Back* promotion coupon you earned early this month. *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 in-store coupons online and online coupon codes cannot be used at the GSSEF council stores. Coupon is good for $10 off a purchase of $25 or more.

See store for complete details.

Missed Us? No worries, you can shop online 24/7! Visit www.gssef.org/shop

Membership Calendar

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Emerald Awards

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Girl Scout Anniversary event at the Retail Store

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