Linking Leaders E-Newsletter November 2016

November 2016

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

Programs at a Glance

Adult & Leader Highlights Green GrapevineRegistered Volunteers.........5

Membership

Calendar............................12

Nancy Pavlica is the new Service Unit Volunteer Manager for SeaStar in Martin County. Nancy joined the SeaStar team in 2015 when she immediately jumped in to help with cookies. Originally from New York where she was a Troop leader for two years, Nancy now is a leader with a multi-level troop where her daughter is a Brownie.

As SUVM, Nancy has hit the ground running! She organizes team meetings, creates best practices, and invites all SeaStar leaders to help in program planning. Anyone who meets her can see her passion for Girl Scouting. When asked about her favorite aspect of Girl Scouting Nancy replied, “I just like seeing the girls enjoy it. It’s great when they understand what they are learning and enjoy it. The girls have limitless opportunities to try new things!”

Nancy’s goals for the upcoming year include bringing in more volunteers that will make the Service Unit stronger and creating new opportunities for the girls to explore. We are excited to have her!

Membership

Opportunity Catalog............8 Membership Update...........10 Service Unit Rewards..........10 Deal of the Week..................10 Use Your $10 Coupon........10 Cyber Monday Specials.....10 Important ACH Information for Troop Leaders.................11 Ready, Set, S’mores!............11

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

Adult & Leader Highlights

Certificates of Insurance....6 Accident Reports...................6 Volunteer Essentials.............6 Archery Certification............7 Troop Essentials.....................7

Volunteer Spotlight

Programs at a Glance

Important Information about Camp Welaka.............2 Welaka Winter Wonderland.............................3 Cookie Rookie.........................3 Mall Madness...........................4

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

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Submit Troop or Volunteer News here!

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Important Information about Camp Welaka We have important news to share about The Lodge at Camp Welaka. On October 6th, strong sustained winds from Hurricane Matthew lifted the Camp Welaka Lodge up from its foundation. This movement caused some unforeseen damage that weakened it. Council staff have already met with a structural engineer, and while repairs are required, the structural integrity of The Lodge can be restored.

The next steps will include: receiving sketches from the structural engineer, selecting a contractor, coordination with the City’s Buildings and Inspection team, repair period, inspections and finally the reopening of The Lodge. We anticipate this process will take place beginning now through February; therefore barring any unexpected delays or expenses, The Lodge can reopen in March 2017.

Adult & Leader Highlights Membership

We also realize that this situation could potentially interrupt plans to utilize the property. Here’s the steps we have already taken to share this news and accommodate our GSSEF Troops, Service Units, volunteers and girls:

• Our Customer Care staff have already communicated with each Service Unit

with a Camporee/Ingathering date, scheduled at Camp Welaka in this time

frame, through its’ Service Unit Volunteer Manager (SUVM). Each Service Unit,

in partnership with the Camporee/Ingathering team, will be able to make a

decision about the individual events. If you know that your Service Unit is

affected, please contact your SUVM directly.

• We must relocate the upcoming Signature Program “Welaka Winter

Wonderland” – scheduled on Saturday, December 3, 2016. There are so many

dedicated community partners and passion ate volunteers working on this

program, we absolutely want to offer it! The new location is The Pine School

located at 12350 S.E. Federal Hwy, Hobe Sound, FL 33455. All of the other

“Welaka Winter Wonderland” details are staying the same…time, price, program

and patch! If you haven’t had the opportunity yet, we hope you will register your

troop today!

Programs at a Glance

This is unfortunate, but we are pleased to report, it looks to be a temporary situation.

GSSEF is actively seeking the required professional repair bids, per our Council Financial Policies and Procedures, because we intend to repair the damage. We know how important access to outdoor activity and education is for Girl Scouts – we want girls and troops to continue utilize and enjoy GSSEF camp property. Our highest priority is ensuring the safety and security of our members.

If you have any questions about the information is this email, here’s a list of contacts: • Information about The Lodge and it’s repair schedule: Vice President of Operations Cindy McHeran at 561-427-0179 • Information about Camporees/Ingatherings: Troop Support Specialist Asha Robinson at 954-513-3762 • Information about “Welaka Winter Wonderland”: Director of Girl Experience Meredith Slaymaker at 561-427-6905

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Welaka Winter Wonderland

Click here to register! This is a troop program and girl/adult ratio is required. $15.00 per person. Contact Meredith Slaymaker with questions or to volunteer at mslaymaker@gssef.org.

Mark Your Calendar for Cookie Rookie

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Later that day, ALL Girl Scouts and their families are invited for our Great Cookie Campfire to celebrate our brand new S’MORES cookie for 2017!

Membership

NEW this year! Cookie Rookie is a program specifically for girls participating in their very first (or second) Cookie Sale. Girls will be given the tools to HIT their 2017 cookie sale Out of the Park! In addition, our parents and volunteers will receive their official Coach training! Save the date for Sunday, January 15, 2017.

More information will be available soon!

Adult & Leader Highlights

Due to unforseen damage at Camp Welaka (see Page 2) we must relocate “Welaka Winter Wonderland”. There are so many dedicated community partners and passionate volunteers working on this program, we absolutely want to offer it!

The new location is The Pine School located at 12350 S.E. Federal Hwy,

Hobe Sound, FL 33455. All of the other “Welaka Winter Wonderland” details are staying the same…time, price, program and patch! If you haven’t had the opportunity yet, we hope you will register your troop today!

Programs at a Glance

Mark your calendar for December 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for Welaka Winter Wonderland. The celebrations throughout the Winter season are some of the most exciting times of the year. At Welaka Winter Wonderland, travel throughout our camp to explore Chinese New Year, Christmas, Eid, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Each stop along the journey will include a several activities to experience the celebration to the fullest.

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Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Mall Madness Has Been Declared!

Questions? Contact Catalina Cano at ccano@gssef.org.

Programs at a Glance

By royal council decree, Mall Madness general and VIP online registration will open on Thursday, December 1st at 10:00 a.m. The merriment of Mall Madness will be held February 25-26, 2017 at the Coral Square Mall in Coral Springs.

Don’t be a damsel in distress. Mark your calendar now!

Adult & Leader Highlights Membership Calendar

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Green Grapevine - REGISTERED VOLUNTEERS Dear Green GrapevineI have several parents who want to help out. They are already members, but want to do more. Is there something they need to do to be “official”?

ThanksGladys Eeya Thanks Gladys, great question! And yes, there is a difference between being a member and a registered volunteer. You can look at it this way: all volunteers are members, but not all members are volunteers.

The safety and welfare of our membership is the primary concern of Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida. Our volunteer placement process is designed with that in mind.

Registering as an adult member of GSUSA does not equate with serving as a regular volunteer for Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida. So what’s the difference between being an adult member and being a registered volunteer?

Our Volunteer Policies and Procedures still clearly indicate that “parental level of involvement in troop operations/activities is at the discretion of the troop leader” (p. 16). So it is not required that all registered volunteers participate in every activity; that decision is still up to the leader, as long as adult-to-girl ratios are met.

However, having more registered volunteers does provide more options, and more opportunities to include parents in meaningful, helpful ways.

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If you would like more information on the benefits of more registered volunteers in your troop, or need assistance with current adult members who want to step up to volunteer, we are here to help. Email troopsupport@gssef.org and we can work to get your adult members registered as volunteers.

Membership

Registered volunteers are adult members who, in addition to paying membership dues, successfully pass a criminal background screening. Registered volunteers are those persons 18 years and older who take responsibility for girls, which includes driving girls, supervising or chaperoning as part of the required adult-to-girl ratio, accompanying the troop on overnight outings or trips and working with or managing troop funds. Troop leaders are required to be registered volunteers and we encourage all other adults in the troop to be registered members AND registered volunteers. This way all members have access to the insurance if an accident occurs during an approved Girl Scout activity AND troops are sure to have the number of adults required for trips and travel, who can take responsibility for the girls if needed in the event of an emergency.

Adult & Leader Highlights

Every registered girl and adult member of GSUSA is automatically covered under the Mutual of Omaha Basic Activity Accident Insurance. This accident insurance policy is for members while participating in supervised activities approved by Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida. This is why we require you to submit Travel Applications when you are planning an activity outside of your usual meeting time and place. We have to approve the activity in order to ensure the insurance is available to participating members, in the event of an accident.

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Certificates of Insurance If you’re having a troop meeting, Service Unit event or cookie booth, chances are the host facility will need a Certificate of Insurance (COI). We have a new Wufoo form for COI requests to ensure we receive all of the necessary information to process the request quickly and efficiently.

Volunteers just need to complete the Troop Certificate of Insurance Request Form and click submit. Please allow 10 business days for processing. A copy of the COI will be sent to you via email.

This form can be found in the FORMS section of our website at www.gssef.org or accessed directly here.

Accident Reports Girl and Adult accident report forms are now electronic! Converting the forms into Wufoo means we will have an electronic record of each accident reported, and we will be able to review the form more quickly.

The new accident reports can also be found in the FORMS section of www.gssef.org.

Adult & Leader Highlights

We understand that many troops have files filled with paper forms. However, all troops are encouraged to begin using the electronic forms as soon as possible.

Paper forms are no longer available for download on the website. Although it is our intention to phase out any use of paper forms, for now, paper forms will be accepted and should completed per the instructions on the form.

Volunteer Essentials

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

Membership

Take the first step in your leadership experience by getting informed of the policies and procedures of Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida. Know the do’s and don’ts of GSSEF! Volunteer Essentials - Orientation training is required for all new leaders and must be taken within 60 days. Classes are FREE, but pre-registration is required.

November 2 at 7:00 p.m.

Register now!

November 30 at 7:00 p.m.

Register now!

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November 14 at 7:00 p.m.

Register now!

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Archery Certification 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 archery skills, 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.

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: $3.00

November 10 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. – Vero Beach Register now!

Membership

November 2 from 7 - 9 p.m. – West Palm Beach Register now!

Adult & Leader Highlights

Wednesday, November 16 from 6 - 10 p.m.

Ft. Lauderdale Archers, 4590 Peters Road, Plantation, FL, 33312 Cost: $50 Register here!

November 15 from 7 - 9 p.m. – West Palm Beach Register now!

November 29 from 6 - 8 p.m. – Oakland Park Register now!

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November 15 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. – Hollywood Register now!

Dear Leaders, Happy Girl Scout New Year! I’m confident that by now, each of you have had the opportunity to log into your MY GS Community and explore the Volunteer Tool Kit to register for activities, manage your membership, plan your troop year, and really find all of the wonderful features Volunteer Systems has to offer. Even within the last few weeks, GSUSA has launched the latest Volunteer Tool Kit update which now offers Troop Leaders a multi-level troop option! Be sure to include this exciting new feature in any of your Service Unit updates.

As more and more troops come back ‘online’ from summer and ‘fall’ into the new Girl Scout year, we are equally as excited to hear how the implementation of Volunteer Systems and the Volunteer Tool Kit align your expectations.

When a new member enters the organization, they will be able to utilize Volunteer Systems to input their geographic needs to populate lists of troop options within their desired radius and select the troop that they want to join. Long gone are the days of submitting their information and having to wait weeks just for confirmation of troop placement. As Service Unit Team volunteers, you know how frustrating this can be for new people waiting to get started. The Opportunity Catalog is available to reduce these frustrations, but it’s only as good as the information that is put into it.

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Membership

We need your help to make this system run as efficiently as possible. Volunteer Systems can only work efficiently when the Opportunity Catalog has current and accurate troop information. We have a number of troops that display ‘TBD’ or blank fields where meeting day, time, or general location should appear. I need your assistance to ensure that you are logging into your MY GS Community/Volunteer Tool Kit and making the updates to your troop information; this includes but is not limited to accurate grade levels, meeting location, meeting time, number of available spots for girls, and available adult roles for the troop. You will be able to update your troop information which then sends a notification to a member of our Placement Team so that they can officially make the changes ‘active for display’ in the catalog.

Adult & Leader Highlights

A major feature of Volunteer Systems is the Opportunity Catalog. For years, GSUSA had been looking for a universal system for new, incoming members, as well as dedicated members of our organization, to have the capabilities to search and select available troops in their area that meet their needs—and the Opportunity Catalog is here to do just that.

As you know, troops offered through the Opportunity Catalog are set at a minimum of 12 girls.

This is the standard that GSUSA has established for all troops. Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to wait until 12 girls are placed into the troop to initiate meetings—you can begin regularly scheduled meetings with five girls in the troop. This change has been a big deal for some of our Troop Leaders. The idea of 23 girls can be intimidating, uncomfortable or even confusing.

We want you to feel supported through this transition. By having the minimum number of desired girls set to 12, we are complying with the standard set by GSUSA and creating more opportunities for girls to join the troop experience. Take just a moment to recall your first troop experience – or that of your daughter or granddaughter. It’s a powerful and terrific feeling to be included! The Opportunity Catalog is just that, the opportunity to be included in a Girl Scout troop. Maybe it’s your Girl Scout troop or someone else’s.

As always, I thank you for your commitment to Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida and look forward to working with each of you to provide quality customer service and everlasting experiences to our membership.

Membership

The success of GSSEF relies on the volunteer structure and every piece that you have to offer. With your guidance and assistance, we can and will continue to build girls of courage, confidence, and character. I ask that you stand with us as we enter a new membership year and a new way of work as we grow the Girl Scout movement. Your efforts go beyond reaching our membership goal of 11,000 girls—your dedication to our girls and our Council leave a lasting impact on our future female leaders.

Adult & Leader Highlights

In addition to the Opportunity Catalog and the updating of information, we need to ensure that the new parents and girls being placed into these troops are receiving timely follow-up from their Troop Leader. We’ve received a high volume of responses from new parents with girls that have been successfully placed into troops, but have received no communication from the Troop Leader. Currently, when this issue arises, our Placement Specialists may have contacted you, seeking assistance in contacting the parent. It can be a simple email welcoming them to the troop and providing any additional information that they may need prior to attending their first meeting. Together, we can ensure that the excitement of joining Girl Scouts stays ever-present with new and returning girls to the organization!

Thank you for all that you do.

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Director of New Member Engagement laskar@gssef.org

6,000

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Membership Update GSSEF’s girl membership goal for 2017 is 11,000, and the adult membership goal is 5,200. Over 8, 398 girls and 2,921 adults have already registered for the 2017 Girl Scout year.

12,000 5,000 10,000

6,000 76% of 4,000

Service Unit Rewards

4,000

8,000

2,000

Goal

3,000

56% of Goal 2,000

Goal Goal New 16-17 Service Unit Goal Rewards 11,000 5,200 • All SUs achieving 75% of annual Girl Membership Goal

by October 31, 2016 will receive a custom SU Parade Girl Adult Banner OR $100.00 Membership Membership • All SUs achieving 85% of its annual Girl Membership Goal

by December 15, 2016 will receive a custom SU Parade Banner AND $100.00 • 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

Deal of the Week Be on the lookout for the Retail Store Deal of the Week. Starting October 31, every Monday until Thanksgiving the GSSEF Facebook page will feature the Deal of the Week in the Retail Stores. These specials are only good for that week, so don’t miss out!

Use Your Coupon

Membership

Earned a $10 coupon during our Back to Troop promotion? Now is a perfect time for a shopping trip. There are so many awesome new items in the stores – especially great gift ideas like these new Girl Scout themed ornaments from Department 56. Click here to see the entire collection.

Cyber Monday Specials

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

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If Black Friday makes you blue – we’ve got your covered. Shop from the comfort of your computer on Cyber Monday instead. There will be some great online specials on lots of fun Girl Scout merchandise. No computer? No problem! Stop by one of our retail stores on November 28th only and we’ll have a limited quantity of the Cyber Monday specials for you to buy in person (while supplies last).

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Important ACH Information for Troop Leaders Attention Troop Leaders! Please be aware that in order for your troop to participate in either the 2016 Fall Product Sale or 2017 Cookie Sale Program, your troop must have an ACH Banking Process Authorization Form on file with Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida (GSSEF) that includes your current Troop bank account information.

Participation in the ACH Banking process is MANDATORY for Troops for the Fall Product Sale and Cookie Sale Program.

If you have not previously filed out a form with GSSEF, please complete an ACH Banking Process Authorization Form, attach a voided Troop check, and submit both documents no later than October 1, 2016 to:

Suzanne Canter

Product Sales Department

Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida

1224 West Indiantown Road

Jupiter, FL 33458

Fax: 561-427-0460 or Email: scanter@gssef.org Troops must also submit a NEW ACH Banking Process Authorization Form anytime there is a change to the Troop’s banking information.

Troops will deposit all Product Sale Program funds into their individual Troop bank accounts promptly and frequently. All monies from either Product Sale due to GSSEF will be collected from Troops via ACH (Automatic Clearing House) debit. ACH is a nationwide electronic funds transfer network which enables banks to distribute electronic charges (debits) and credits to bank accounts and to settle such entries.

ACH Withdrawl Schedule

Fall Product Sale Wednesday, November 30, 2016 – we will withdraw from your Troop account via ACH, 100% of the amount due to GSSEF for all Fall Product Sales.

Cookie Sale Monday, February 6, 2017 – We will withdraw from your Troop account via ACH, 60% of the Initial Order that is placed on December 10, 2016.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017– we will withdraw from your Troop account via ACH, the balance of all funds due from your Troop for the Cookie Sale.

Membership

If your Initial Order is greater than or equal to the Troop’s 2016 final sales, we will withdraw from your Troop account via ACH, 35% of the Initial Order that is placed on December 10, 2016.

If funds are not available at the time of any scheduled Product Sale ACH withdrawal, the Troop will be responsible for any fees incurred by GSSEF as a result.

This year we’re celebrating 100 years of Girl Scouts selling cookies and introducing a new cookie variety - Girl Scout S’mores! It’s a crunchy graham sandwich cookie with creamy chocolate and marshmallow-y filling. These new delicious treats will be waiting for you when our cookie sale starts on January 19, 2017. Click here to see all yumminess!

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Ready, Set, S’mores!

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