Tag Archives: erie

Cookies, Girl Scout News, Girl Scouts News

Girl Scout Cookies booth at Pepsi Center

Troop 76134 from Erie hosted a Girl Scout Cookies booth at Pepsi Center! The troop was one of the winners of the ticket referral contest for Girl Scout Night with the Avalanche. The girls and their families had a great time at the game. In particular, many of the dads enjoyed watching the girls run their booth because they don’t usually get to see their daughters earning and learning the 5 Skills.

The troop sold more than 500 packages of cookies—and is still counting the Hometown Hero donations. One of the leaders told GSCO, “People were giving $20 bills for one package and said to keep the rest! Our troop’s Hometown Hero is the Weld County Sheriff’s Office this year, so they will be loaded up!”

 

Council News, Girl Scout News, Girl Scouts News, Gold Award Honorees, Take Action/Highest Awards

11 Colorado Girl Scouts earn Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouts

40962780_gsusa_gold_award_starburst 

11 Girl Scouts from across Colorado have earned the Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts.

  • Emma Albertoni from Arvada, Ralston Valley High School, took action after noticing that many of her peers lacked financial literacy. She wrote a curriculum that will be implemented in her school and proposed to the Jefferson County School Board to add a required Financial Literacy class.
  • Megan Beaudoin from Monument, St. Mary’s High School, created a ten-minute video for middle school students to help ease the transition to high school. Topics covered included: academics, social interactions, and self-esteem.
  • Megan Burnett from Colorado Springs, James Irwin Charter High School,worked with community leaders and businesses to build a softball practice field at the school. The project would have cost the school $25,000.
  • Michayla Cassano from Colorado Springs, Pine Creek High School, created a memorial to recognize the sacrifices made by women who have served in the military.
  • Kelsey Collins from Aurora, Grandview High School, created a curriculum to teach preschool and elementary school children about park safety and Colorado history.
  • Carissa Flores from Westminster, Broomfield High School, shared her knowledge and passion for Taekwondo by creating, coordinating, and leading self-defense seminars for children, teens, and adults.
  • Baily Holsinger from Larkspur, Castle View High School, not only crocheted hundreds of beanies for newborn babies at Denver Health Medical Center and Baby Haven in Fort Collins, she also held classes to teach people of all ages how to make the beanies.
  • Kathleen Otto from Fort Collins, Fossil Ridge High School, worked to increase awareness for dyslexia by hosting a viewing of “The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia” and leading a panel discussion afterwards.
  • Daniell Plomodon from Erie, Niwot High School, organized several “Disability for a Day” presentations to educate others about living with a disability. Activities included: trying to button a shirt while wearing mittens, playing patty cake while wearing Vaseline covered glasses, and using person first language.
  • Anastasia Rosen from Fort Collins, Rocky Mountain High School, created a workshop to educate others about human trafficking, tactics recruiters use, and how to prevent it.
  • Debra Zerr from Arvada addressed the problem of the lack of connection between the military and general public. Through a series of events, she worked to educate the public about the importance of the military and the men and women who serve.

These young women have demonstrated exceptional commitment to taking action to make their world a better place. By earning their Gold Award now, these Girl Scouts will also be part of this spring’s celebration of Girl Scouts’ highest honor. Since 1916, Girl Scouts have been making meaningful, sustainable change in their communities and around the world.

The Girl Scout Gold Award culminates with a project led by one young woman between 9th and 12th grades who builds a purpose-based team to work with the larger community to meet a need. The focus of a Gold Award project is identifying and researching a community issue she is passionate about, developing a plan to address it in cooperation with her team and community members, establishing a global connection with others and providing sustainability for the project.

Girl Scout News, Girl Scouts News, Gold Award Honorees, Take Action/Highest Awards

Girl Scout Gold Award Project: Daniell Plomondon, Erie, “I Am Different, Who Are You? Are You Different Too?”

daniell-plomondon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What did you do for your Gold Award project?

My project addresses the lack of education surrounding the awareness of and interaction with those with disabilities. I addressed the issue of what a disability is, the acknowledgement that not all disabilities can be seen, introduced the concept of people first language, and what it means to be inclusive.

How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience?

At the beginning of my presentation I asked how many of my audience members knew someone with a disability, as well as if they knew that vision loss and blindness are within the top 10 disabilities. One of the activities I had my audience members participate in was called “Disability for a Day.” This is a simulation of what it is like to live with a disability. This includes trying to button a shirt while wearing mittens, playing patty cake while wearing Vaseline covered glasses, walking around on crutches, and wearing a knee brace. This activity helped the students to get a better understanding of what some disabilities might be. This activity was closely followed by a discussion on how they, the students, were going to be inclusive, and a challenge for them to do that when the opportunity arises.

How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact after your involvement?

My project is to be sustained through the EXPAND program. The Exciting Programs, Adventures, and New Dimensions (EXPAND) program helps people who have disabilities improve and gain new recreation and leisure skills that will enhance the participants’ overall well-being and their quality of life. My presentation will be used when presenting to younger age groups by the EXPAND program. I have also created a website where I have placed a link to my presentation. It will be open for others to use as a guideline if they are looking to create a presentation. The website includes pages on what disabilities are, ways to be inclusive, and examples of how to simulate disabilities. This website has been placed on social media pages and will be posted on an international blog.

Website: http://plomondondaniell.wixsite.com/differencematters

What is your project’s global and/or national connection?

Disabilities affect people of all cultures; they are not limited strictly to Americans. As part of the project’s sustainability, I have located blogs both nationally and internationally, on which to share my experience and post a link to my website/social media pages as resources for others. My hope is that with my project people will be able to transcend cultural boundaries and help those of all nations.

What did you learn about yourself?

As ironic as it sounds, I learned to be myself. I have always felt self-conscious about living up to other’s expectations such that I didn’t always do what I wanted to do. When originally picking my Gold Award topic I had first chosen a topic that I wasn’t 100% committed to. I had an interest, but it wasn’t quite right. At this point, I had little time and I knew that if I wasn’t fully interested in my project, then I wasn’t going to succeed. It wasn’t until I had decided to focus on education about disabilities that I had found what I wanted to do. During this project, I learned that if you want to succeed, then you first have to learn to be yourself. That is when you find what you are looking for.

How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future?

My Gold Award taught me how to be a leader, face challenges and issues that may arise, and always be an advocate for what I believe in. Earning my Gold Award has helped prepare me to face new challenges that may present themselves in my future.

Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience?

This Gold Award was an important part of my Girl Scout experience because it helped me to look beyond myself, troop, and community. With the Gold Award, I was able to apply, reinforce, and fine-tune skills that I developed through my years of Girl Scouts while earning my Bronze and Silver Awards. From kindergarten to senior year, with a troop change, often times my troop(s) and I would look at issues within our community, but with my Gold Award I was able to apply my skills and expand, looking at problems beyond my own community, to both national and international communities.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog represents only a small fraction of the hard work, dedication and requirements that go into earning a Girl Scout Gold Award. It is simply a brief summary, which is meant to inspire Girl Scouts to Go Gold in the future. For more information on earning your Gold Award, please email highestawards@gscolorado.org

Girl Scout News, Girl Scouts News, Gold Award Honorees, Take Action/Highest Awards

Girl Scout Gold Award Project: Emma Hassman, Erie, “A Children’s Garden for Black Rock”

Hassman_Emma[5]

What did you do for your Gold Award project?

For my Gold Award project I, with the help of the students and parents of Black Rock Elementary, created a garden.  This included removing weeds and old dirt from previous attempts to set up this sort of project.  I had to get in contact with the Grounds Lead for the school district to have them remove the weeds and dirt because it was too big of a job for the team I had. I also had to go and get plants and other material donated from stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s to fill the garden.  Finally, I recruited students and parents to come and help with most of the planting.

How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience?

I measured the impact of my garden with how many students and parents I was able to get involved.  I am also measuring in how available the garden is to students.  The garden will be taken care of in part by students, along with a parent group, and will be available for classes to use.

How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact after your involvement?

My project will be sustained through two groups, one of students who will be part of a class that will be learning about plants and gardening.  The other is the Black Rock PTO, who has agreed to maintain funding for materials.

What is your project’s global and/or national connection?

My global/national connection for my project is a website I created which can be reached here: Black Rock Children’s Garden. This will allow people to have access to what I did and advice on creating a garden for schools and communities for themselves.

What did you learn about yourself?

I developed confidence in talking to people and being in a position of authority.  As I went through the process of gathering materials and help I became more confident and it became easier to communicate with people.

How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future?

It will help me to be able to afford a higher education, which will increase opportunity in the future.  This project has also helped me develop skills that will help in the future with jobs and being in leadership jobs.

Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience?

This was an important part of my Girl Scout experience because it was a big commitment that I had to follow through with and allowed me to use the skills previously developed through my Bronze and Silver Awards, skills such as perseverance, communication and dedication.  These will help me to be able to navigate complicated situations as an adult.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog represents only a small fraction of the hard work, dedication and requirements that go into earning a Girl Scout Gold Award. It is simply a brief summary, which is meant to inspire Girl Scouts to Go Gold in the future. For more information on earning your Gold Award, please email highestawards@gscolorado.org

Girl Scouts News, Silver Award Honorees, Take Action/Highest Awards

Silver Award project: Warrior clean-up

Submitted by Jessica Jager

Erie

Northern and Northeastern Colorado

The link below shows how three 8th grade Cadettes got a whole cross country high school team and other volunteers to help clean up the local high school and the memory garden and plant some flowers.

Congratulations, Perrin, Eden, and Rachel for working hard on your Silver Award project!

Jessica Jager – Cadette Leader
Ruthie Ahlers – Co-Leader

Learn more about our project here:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NnBG8sRsuVVtr9V-3waeEzV1aISQVkmC_aYNREAH5HI/pub?start=true&loop=false&delayms=5000

This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too.

Take Action/Highest Awards

Daisy/Brownie troop’s service project helps prevent child abuse

Submitted by Mandy Fernandes

Erie

Denver Metro

Girl Scout Troop 70021 of Erie completed their service project last week in partnership with Boulder County Housing and Human Services and Prevent Child Abuse Colorado. The girls chose this as a service project and poured their hearts into it, bringing handfuls of gifts for kids who are in foster care or at risk of placement. They handmade about 35 puzzle pillows for the kids and they planted a pinwheel garden in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The girls also brought several boxes of diapers of various sizes and some books. They learned about preventing child abuse through strong and healthy families and talked a little about what makes their families strong. It was a beautiful service project that the girls will remember forever.

This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too.

Girl Scouts News, Gold Award Honorees

GIRL SCOUT GOLD AWARD PROJECT: Sarah Santilli, Erie, “GOT BLOOD?”

Sarah Santilli pic

What did you do for your Gold Award project?

For my Gold Award project, I decided to address the need for blood and blood products by starting up ongoing blood drives at a local hospital that was currently not able to sustain a successful drive.

Why did you pursue this Gold Award project?

I pursued this project because I have always been interested in the medical field. Currently, I volunteer weekly at North Suburban Medical Center, where they do not currently host blood drives yet there is a great need for blood products to save lives.

How did your Gold Award project make a difference?

My Gold Award made a difference by setting up a donor base for the hospital to continue regular blood drives. There is now a direct link between Bonfils Blood Center and the hospital staff. With the donations received from the first drive, we were able to save 72 lives! It made a difference for Bonfils, the hospital, and the lives saved through our drive.

What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award?

The skills I gained during the Gold Award process include taking on leadership, creating a team, and restoring confidence in myself. Through the process of contacting businesses by phone, email, and having face-to-face meetings with team members, I learned that I have the ability to lead a group and have the confidence to do it. I also gained the skill of time management and learning to set goals for myself.

How did you make your project sustainable?

My project will be sustained beyond my involvement indefinitely by creating contacts between the hospital and Bonfils to get back in touch and continue to organize blood drives. After the first drive, we now have a donor base system set up that allows us to contact potential donors.

What was your connection to the national or global community?

Not only are these blood drives helping the community and the hospital, but if more blood donations take place locally, that will decrease the need to obtain products from other areas. If Bonfils and other associations such as the Red Cross have an abundance of blood products, then they can better assist other areas both nationally and internationally when there is need.

What will you most remember about your Gold Award project?

I will always remember the day of the first blood drive when people were donating and I got to converse with many of them about the lives they were saving. The donors being excited about having future blood drives inspired me to continue this project even after receiving the Gold Award. The next blood drive is already scheduled and I am excited at the thought that this will help save more lives. Although I won’t meet those who receive the blood, I am thrilled that I have helped make a difference in their lives.

How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future?

Earning my Gold Award has taught me that when I identify a problem or issue, I have the confidence and skills to create a solution. This will help me with future challenges I will face in school and in my career.

Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience?

This award is an important part of my Girl Scout experience because I was able to make a huge difference. Over all my years as a Girl Scout, from Kindergarten through 11th grade, I now realize that I have developed important skills through earning badges and my Bronze and Silver Awards. I was able to fine tune them and apply them towards a greater cause. The Gold Award helped me to appreciate everything that Girl Scouts has provided me from confidence, to character, to courage.

***IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog represents only a small fraction of the hard work, dedication and requirements that go into earning a Girl Scout Gold Award. It is simply a brief summary, which is meant to inspire Girl Scouts to Go Gold in the future. For more information on earning your Gold Award, please email highestawards@gscolorado.org