Try these winter outings to keep your Girl Scout experience cool

With the holidays and winter coming, many people want to retreat indoors … but not Girl Scouts!

Plan a trip with your girls to Aspen for the X Games on January 26! All Girl Scouts are invited to an exclusive viewing section for the Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle Final and the Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe. Girl Scouts will have an opportunity to meet and greet with the female athletes and find out which ones boosted their courage as Girl Scouts! Register today.

Or, older Girl Scouts can try the Outdoor Adventure Club through single-event registration for January adventures:

• Sixth graders can spend a weekend at Tomahawk Ranch practicing primitive wilderness skills, outdoor cooking and working on their Cadette-level Trailblazing Badge, January 12-13.
• Seventh grade girls and older will head to Sky High Ranch for snow-shelter building, snowshoeing and even some human curling on the frozen pond,January 26-27.
• Or, Girl Scout families can get in on the winter action at Me and My Gal, January 18-20 at Tomahawk Ranch or Expedition Antarctica Me and My Guy, January 18-20 at Sky High Ranch.

Service Unit growth incentive

Has your service unit grown over the last year? Girl Scouts of Colorado wants to reward you!

Service units who see a growth of at least 10% from March 4, 2018 to March 3, 2019, will receive $100 plus $0.25 per registered girl. Service units must have a bank account and a current ACH to receive their incentive. Service unit growth will be evaluated on March 4, 2019, and incentives will be deposited into the service unit’s bank account no later than April 1, 2019.

Contact your  volunteer support specialist with questions and to find out how many girls your SU would need to have registered to earn this incentive.

Get ready for cookies

The cookie program begins February 3! Are you ready?

Make sure your troop has a current  ACH  and signed  TCM Agreement .

Check out our event list to find a training or cookie rally near you!

Volunteer service awards: Recognize outstanding volunteers

Nominations are due on or before March 31 of each year. The form to nominate a volunteer for an award will go live in January. Now would be a great time to designate a service unit team member to coordinate nominations and endorsements!

Girl Scout volunteers change the lives of girls in their communities every day. Some volunteers go above and beyond all expectations and have a positive impact on their troop and/or their service unit and sometimes the whole council.

Recognize an outstanding volunteer by nominating them for a Volunteer Recognition Award. Nominators are responsible for ensuring that enough endorsements are submitted to support their nomination of a volunteer for an award. Your volunteer support specialist can check nomination and endorsement submissions for you, or you can contact Shannon Weaver, adult experience manager.

More information about the awards, and the number of required endorsements for each award, is listed on the volunteer appreciation page on our website and in the  Volunteer Recognition Award Guide . You can also learn more about how to write strong nominations and endorsements. 

Questions? Please contact Shannon Weaver, adult experience manager.  Email: Shannon.Weaver@gscolorado.org  Call: 303-607-4897

Improved Volunteer Toolkit

Have you checked out the improved Volunteer Toolkit? Changes were released this summer to make accessing content easier for all experience levels. Use this handy guide to walk you through the new features. Insider tip: Check out the Resources tab for easy access to Cookie Program resources!

Highest Awards celebrations

Troops working on their Bronze or Silver awards have until March 1 to submit the Bronze and Silver Notification Form to be included in the 2019 Highest Awards Celebrations.

Gold Award Training is required for girls pursuing their Gold Award:

Saturday, January 26 at 9 a.m., Denver office

Saturday, March 30 at  9 a.m., Colorado Springs office

Any Questions? Email Kaitie LoDolce, highest awards manager at highestawards@gscolorado.org

Upcoming Events

Check the events calendar for exciting events in your community. Girl Scouts of Colorado is always planning fun and educational events for girls across the state. Some of these events are highlighted below!

Habitat Day at Pueblo Zoo

January 12, Pueblo

Girl Scout Juniors (4th and 5th grades) are invited to the Pueblo Zoo to work on the Habitat badge.

Cybersecurity 1: Basics with Coalfire

January 12, Westminster

Girl Scout Juniors will earn their Cybersecurity 1: Basics badge with Coalfire, a cybersecurity company in Westminster.

Secrets to Success

January 26, Grand Junction

Girls will have the unique opportunity to ask that question and many more of top local women leaders at the 2019 Secrets to Success event. Registration is now open. 

Badge Workshop at Fort Morgan Museum

January 26, Fort Morgan

Join the staff at Fort Morgan Museum for a morning full of badge activities! The museum specializes in telling the stories of Fort Morgan and Morgan County through permanent and temporary exhibits, educational programs, and photos, documents, and artifacts from yesterday and today.

Level 1 USAAA Archery Training 
February 2, Hamp Hut
Archery training is required for adults who wish to take Girl Scouts (Brownie through Ambassador) archery shooting in any way. You will be able to lead your troop in archery and reserve the statewide archery set. Questions? Marissa Rooney.

Girl Scout Day with the Colorado Avalanche
​February 16, Denver
Ticket sales now open! Join us for Girl Scout Day with the Colorado Avalanche and cheer on the Avalanche as they take on the St. Louis Blues! The troop with the most ticket referrals will get to have a cookie booth at the game! Last year’s troop sold more than 500 packages at their booth.

Troop Recruitment Event Incentive

No one is better at recruiting new Girl Scouts than current Girl Scouts! Troops who host a recruitment event between October 22 and December 9, 2018, will be provided with recruitment resources and a $50 credit to the Girl Scouts of Colorado shop as a thank you.

In order to receive the $50 shop credit, troops need to complete four simple steps.

Learn more

Service unit growth incentive

Has your service unit grown over the last year? Girl Scouts of Colorado wants to reward you!

Service units who see a growth of at least 10% from March 4, 2018 to March 3, 2019, will receive $100 plus $0.25 per registered girl. Service units must have a bank account and a current ACH to receive their incentive. Service unit growth will be evaluated on March 4, 2019, and incentives will be deposited into the service unit’s bank account no later than April 1, 2019.

Contact your local Volunteer Support Specialist with questions and to find out how many girls your SU would need to have registered to earn this incentive.

Get ready for Cookies

Thank you for an amazing fall product program! Girls should deliver fall product items this week, and rewards will be delivered to service units during the week of November 26.

This is the time to decide who your troop cookie manager is going to be. They need to be a registered and background checked Girl Scout volunteer. One troop cookie manager per troop; the agreement can only be signed by oneperson. (Training is required for all TCMs.  First and second-year TCMs are required to attend in-person training either with SUCM or at Cookie University.  Experienced TCMs may take online trainings). Get more information about Cookie University!

In order for your troop to have access to eBudde (our cookie management program) you must have a TCM agreement on file as well as a current ACH form. You will not be able to complete your initial order or any other actions before this is completed! The IO is due January 14, remember the initial order is guaranteed!

Complete your TCM Agreement

Complete your ACH

Outdoor Programs

Join us at our upcoming Outdoor Program events! Visit our page to find all of the exciting year-round events. 

• Sky High Ranch Tree Lighting and Brunch December 2, Sky High Ranch, Woodland Park: Celebrate the beginning of the holiday season by joining us at Sky High Ranch for our annual Tree Lighting ceremony. This community/family event is fun for all ages! We’ll have a buffet, family photos, ornaments, a visit to the Holiday Barnyard, hot drinks and GOODIES!
• Brunch and Barnyard with Santa December 9, Tomahawk Ranch, Bailey: A fun community event for all ages! Eat a delicious brunch buffet and visit and take photos with Santa. Listen to his tales of adventure while savoring sweets and lollies aplenty. Even warm up with hot cocoa and cider after a visit with the barnyard animals.
• Expedition Antarctica Me & My Guy January 18-20, Sky High Ranch, Woodland Park: Are you ready to test your mettle against the elements?! Join us for an introduction to winter camping at Sky High Ranch for you and your guy! This Friday-Sunday excursion will introduce cold-weather tent camping, basic survival skills, and tips and tricks of the trade. Weather depending, we will practice snow skills such as snowshoeing, shelter building, and ice fishing. If we don’t have enough snow, we’ll do more general survival skills and camp activities such as archery and farm.
• Me & My Gal January 18-20, Tomahawk Ranch, Bailey: An exciting two-night camping experience for individual girls and the significant female adult role models in their lives. Planned activities may include archery, crafts, hiking, stargazing, s’mores, barn visits, dance party, mattress surfing and more! Cost: $110 per person, this includes all activities, a two-night stay, five meals, and snacks.

Improved Volunteer Toolkit

Have you checked out the improved Volunteer Toolkit? Changes were released this summer to make accessing content easier for all experience levels. Use this handy guide to walk you through the new features. Insider tip: Check out the Resources tab for easy access to Cookie Program resources!

Complete your volunteer training

After taking GS 101 and Nuts and Bolts online, register for program level 101 training. Below is the upcoming training class calendar for volunteers. To register, click on the class title or go to our events calendar on the GSCO website, and select the class you want.

In-Person Volunteer Training

November 17, 9-12 p.m. Older Girl 101 (Grand Junction)

November 25, 2-5 p.m. D/B 101 (GSCO Corporate Office)

November 26, 6-9 p.m. Older Girl 101 (Castle Rock)

November 28, 6:30-9:30 p.m. D/B 101 (Boulder)

December 1, 9-3 p.m. AMR First Aid/CPR (Centennial)

December 1, 1-4 p.m. Brownie 101 (Castle Rock)

December 6, 6-9 p.m. D/B 101 (Pueblo)

December 6, 10-1 p.m. Multi-level 101 (Littleton)

December 7, 9-12 p.m. D/B 101 (Loveland)

December 10, 10- 1 p.m. D/B 101 (Arvada)

December 10, 6-9 p.m. Older Girl 101 (GSCO Corporate Office)

December 10, 9-12 p.m. D/B 101 (Colorado Springs)

December 10, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Junior 101 (Colorado Springs)

December 15, 9-4 p.m. AMR First Aid/CPR (Arvada)

December 15, 2-5 p.m. Junior 101 (Pueblo)

December 15, 11-1:30 p.m. AMR Babysitting Class (Fountain)

Online Volunteer Training

November 27, 7-9 p.m. D/B 101 Webinar (Statewide)

December 13, 7-9 p.m. D/B 101 Webinar (Statewide)

Gold and Silver Award Change

Effective October 1, 2018 Gold and Silver award projects can be for the benefit of the Girl Scouts community. Please send anyone with questions directly to our highest awards manager at highestawards@gscolorado.org.

Any troop that is considering a Silver Award project that would solely benefit theGS community should run their project idea by our highest awards manager prior to starting. 

Gold Award Girls to Attend Michelle Obama Book Tour! 

20 active Gold Award girls are attending an Intimate Talk with Michelle Obama on December 15 thanks to Stephanie Foote & GSUSA!

Gold Award Training: 

Wednesday, December 5 from 6-9 p.m. (webinar) – Registration is open through the event page.

Monday, December 10 from 6 – 9 p.m. at Castle Rock Library (in person) – Registration is open through the event page.

Upcoming events

Check the events calendar for exciting events in your community. Girl Scouts of Colorado is always planning fun and educational events for girls across the state. Some of these events are highlighted below!

LGBTQ+ Youth 101 and Alleyship 

Cadette, Senior and Ambassadors: Join Rainbow Alley youth leaders for LGBTQ+ Youth 101 and Alleyship training that will provide an understanding of LGBTQ+ terminology, current trends and statistics, the six spectrums of gender and sexual orientation, and to highlight the importance of demonstrating alleyship to their peers. While this training is geared towards youth, adults may attend virtually to receive the information.

There are two options for attending this training:

• In-person at GSCO Denver Offices 
• Virtually 

Registration is required for both options. Sign-up today before spaces fill up!

Register now for Packing for Impact!

Project C.U.R.E.’s Packing for Impact is back! Packing for Impact is an opportunity for Girl Scouts from all over Colorado to come together to change the lives of families around the world by filling Kits for Kids, engaging in fun activities, and learning about the children around the world that they will be helping. Multiple shifts are available throughout the day on December 1 at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children. This is a great event for girls of all ages, from across the state to join together in making the world a better place! Registration closes November 27.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical Day Event for Girl Scouts

December 16, Colorado Springs

Save the Date: Girl Scout Day with the Colorado Avalanche

February 16, Denver

Details coming late 2018! Email aimee.artzer@gscolorado.org to be added to the interest list.

Secrets to Success

January 26, Grand Junction

Girls will have the unique opportunity to ask that question and many more of top local women leaders at the 2019 Secrets to Success event. Registration is now open.