Tag Archives: older girls

Troop 65659 Seniors complete Sow What? Journey

Submitted by Jessica Spangler

Metro Denver

Denver

Two Senior Girl Scouts in Troop 65659 teamed up with a Juliette Senior to complete the Sow What? Journey. They named their team the “Potato Deer Turnips” after local foods. They had an idea to do a Take Action project that would bring gardening to those experiencing  homelessness. However, when they met with staff from the Denver Rescue Mission and from the CSU Extension, they learned that what the shelter really needed was more volunteers to serve meals. They wanted to meet the need that was most pressing.

Meeting virtually, the girls explored hunger by watching a video about a photo exhibit called “Hunger Through My Lens.” The girls were inspired by the exhibit. They agreed to share their message using their own photography. They took photos of their own meals and then, paired the photos with a recorded a message to ask viewers to consider volunteering. The girls felt the best part of the project was all the community members they were able to network with virtually. “It is important because it can help others,” said Senior Girl Scout Donna.

The message and photos can be viewed at https://youtu.be/gbFnN6oGw98 .

We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here.

Announcing . .  Cookie Box Innovation Challenge, sponsored by Arrow

Create. Innovate. Make the world a better place.

Making the world a better place starts with innovation. Arrow is challenging Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors to design a prototype that addresses a problem in our community and beyond by using Girl Scout Cookie packages and other recycled materials for the Cookie Box Innovation Challenge.

  • Connect with experts in innovation at Arrow Electronics
  • Let your imaginations run wild with possibilities
  • Put your cookie boxes to good use
  • Earn your Cookie Box Innovation Challenge patch!
  • Compete to win exciting prizes
  • Younger girls can save their boxes too! You can partner with an older girl troop in your area to collect recycled materials for their innovations.

Watch for a virtual kickoff in May, final designs will be submitted and judged at an Arrow Innovation Fair in October.

Fill out the online interest form and we will send you more details when they are announced.

Questions? Email girlexperience@gscolorado.org.

We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She was at the can send in her story here.

Silver Award Project: Activity Boards for Alzheimer’s Patients

Submitted by Heather Browning

Metro Denver

Denver

Current conditions have provided both opportunities and roadblocks for our girls to reach out and help their communities. Despite difficult times, Alexis was able to collect enough donations to create 11 activity boards for Alzheimer’s patients at Juniper Village located in Aurora, Colorado. The boards were made for people suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease and other memory disorders for the purpose of helping keep their minds active. The boards included items such as light switches, fabrics, beads, loops for stringing, and more.

By completing this project, Alexis earned the Silver Award, the highest honor for a Girl Scout Cadette.

We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here.

Silver Award Project: A Bag of Their Own

Submitted by Danielle T.

Metro Denver

Arvada

McKenna, a Cadette with Troop 62629 in Arvada, is pushing through with her Silver Award project during COVID! Her project, “A Bag of Their Own,” consists of collecting backpacks/diaper bags, clothing/pajamas/hygiene items/books/activity items (birth-17) for kids in foster care/adoption facilities. She had her first drop off yesterday with Packs of Hope in Arvada!

We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here.

Girl Scout Illustration Featured on Special Postcard

Congratulations to Cadette Abigail R. from Castle Rock! Her illustration was featured on a special postcard sent to Girl Scout supporters statewide in December 2020.

“The coat drive is a project my service unit, Service Unit 652 from Castle Rock, did in October. My troop and I participated in the coat drive, and I really enjoyed giving back to the community and helping those in need. The coats that we collected were donated to the organization Facing Homelessness Denver.  I hope to take part in a canned food drive in the future.” – Abigail R. 

Today’s girls have never faced more challenging circumstances.

  • Remote learning and the difficulties that come with it
  • Disrupted routines and the isolation of social distancing
  • Financial hardship and personal stress impacting mental health and well-being

When times are tough, Girl Scouts rise to the challenge. Girl Scouts of Colorado has adapted its programming, and the skills, connections, and resiliency girls gain in Girl Scouting are needed now more than ever.

Your support is always important, but this year more than ever, our girls need you. This holiday season, please consider a gift of $30, $65, $125 or more to Girl Scouts of Colorado so that together we can ensure that our girls have the tools to prepare themselves for a lifetime of leadership.

Join us by making a gift at www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/donate or mailing a check to 3801 E Florida Ave, Denver, CO 80210.

Thank you for giving the gift of leadership to a girl!

We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here.

The CELL’s Virtual 365 Series: Radicalization and Violent Extremism Today

Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors are invited to attend The CELL’S Virtual 365 National Security Event Series: Radicalization and Violent Extremist Today on Thursday, February 4, 2021 from 4 – 4:45 p.m. This program session is for Girl Scouts in grades 9-12 only. Girl Scouts from outside Colorado are welcome to participate.

Register now: https://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/en/events-repository/2021/feb04_the_cell_s_vir.html Registration will close Thursday, January 28 OR when capacity is met.

The Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL) is dedicated to the prevention of terrorism through education, empowerment, and engagement. As a nonprofit, non-partisan institution, its exhibit, speaker series, and training initiatives provide a comprehensive look at the threat of terrorism and how individuals can play a role in the prevention of terrorism, ultimately enhancing public safety.

This program has been adapted specifically for virtual learning. A CELL educator will take girls through a lesson and they will hear from Jesse Morton, former Al-Qaeda propagandist, and Christian Picciolini, a former white supremacist. Their remarkable stories will address:

  • Violent extremist threat today
  • Who is vulnerable to radicalization and why
  • Ways to recognize and help prevent extremist recruitment tactics

Information on how to join the program online will be included in your confirmation email.

This program will be available to watch as a recording for one week after the program date. If interested in watching, please register and use the information provided in the confirmation email to watch the recording. The recording will not be available to those who do not register and will not be available past February 11.

Questions? Email aimee.artzer@gscolorado.org.

40963104_cell_gsco_365_flyer_02.04.20

We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here.

Gab with OGAB: November 2020

Hey Girl Scouts! The November 2020 episodes of Gab with OGAB are up on GSCO’s YouTube channel. This month, we are talking about volunteering, what’s happening with GSCO, how to navigate those difficult table conversations, and a reason why to stay with Girl Scouts.

These videos are 100% created by the Older Girl Advisory Board, which is here to raise the voices of girls across Colorado! Each video is about two – three minutes long and provides a snapshot into information for girls, by girls.

Check out all their videos here.

Have an idea for Gab with OGAB? Want to chat with OGAB? Email GirlExperience@gscolorado.org.

We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here.

Awesome Girls: Marketing Me!

This program is hosted by Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA).

Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors are invited to Awesome Girls: Marketing Me! on December 1, 2020 from 4-5 p.m.

Register now: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7941283615771306251

You’re great. So, how do you share your accomplishments and talents with others without under selling your skills or seeming too conceited? It can be hard to talk about yourself, so we are here to help! Join us as we hear from three inspiring job recruiters about how to advocate for yourself, build your skills, and tell your story to colleges, employers, and even your cookie customers!

This interactive event will connect you to three experts from RSM who will share their career journey and a little about their past. You’ll learn what it means to think like an entrepreneur and how to market to your customers in the upcoming Girl Scout Cookie season. Then, you’ll have a chance to have your own career exploration questions answered and hear questions from your Girl Scout peers.

RSM is a leading audit, tax and consulting firm , and they can’t wait to share their knowledge and experience with you!

This program is designed for girls in middle and high school. The event will inspire you to get started on a Girl Scout badge, like Business Etiquette or My Portfolio, and prepare you to let your skills shine as you connect with cookie customers.

Please note, this event begins at 6 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Central, 4 p.m. Mountain, and 3 p.m. Pacific. We acknowledge that the timing may not work with your schedule; you can register and view the playback when it is convenient for you!

We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here.

Girl Scout Gold Award Project: Helping Veterans Experiencing Homelessness

Submitted by Katelyn M.

Metro Denver

Aurora

I had always wanted to complete the Gold Award. Not just because it is the highest honor a Girl Scout can receive, but also due to the idea that I could make an impact in my community just by using my ambition and brain. Even though this dream was always present, it was really difficult to find a topic that was important to me and that I could tackle in the year and a half I had left as a Girl Scout Ambassador. Then, one day as I was driving to my job and came face-to-face with someone I wanted to help: a veteran experiencing homelessness. 

We all have a connection to the military, whether it is someone in our immediate family, a friend, or a distant relative. Because of their willingness to give their lives to protect the lives of this country, I have the utmost respect for people in the service. My heart broke when I saw a veteran on the street corner as I drove by. When I arrived home, I went straight on my computer to learn more about veterans experiencing homelessness. What I found was shocking. Colorado has the seventh highest population of veterans experiencing homelessness, and it is continuing to grow every year.

And so my project was born. My original plan involved a lot of face-to-face conversations and volunteering, unfortunately due to COVID my project had to be completely rewritten. Instead, I spent my time doing deep research on: the problems this population faces and the reasons they fall into homelessness. I used this information and created a website where people can learn more about this population and hear from some veterans on their experiences. 

In order to share my learning with others, I am creating a documentary video which will be given as an optional assignment for the juniors and seniors at my high school explaining my project and the issue I tackled. Project Homefront doesn’t just hope to bring awareness, and raise clothing and food donations for a population in need, it hopes to teach how to face an issue and start to solve it through education and action.

Every Gold Award will bring challenges. It forces you to grow and learn more about yourself than you might not have had the opportunity to do without it. The biggest impact working on this project has had on me is teaching me that we have the drive to create the world in our dreams, however we can’t do it just with words we have to do it with work and time. If you dedicate time and open your mind to the possibilities of change, you can build a world we all want to call our own.

We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here.

Election 2020: Pizza, Cupcakes, and Badges

Submitted by Nancy Mucklow

Mountain Communities

Steamboat Springs

Election season has been a learning opportunity for Girl Scouts in Steamboat Springs! Senior Troop 54538 has been using election season to discover more about the process. From a visit to the County Clerk’s Elections Office to researching how other countries vote, to creating our own campaigns, these innovative Girl Scouts have been finding out more about voting. Along with that, while learning more about various offices and running effective meetings, we recently created a pizza using parliamentary procedure ~ the Parli Pro Pizza!

The Behind the Ballot badge is a perfect way to educate future voters AND have fun too!  We ended our campaign season with an election-themed cupcake challenge. Tayla’s and Aylen’s creations represented the bipartisan system. Jacey’s cupcakes represented the Green party and the multi-layered nature of a political campaign. Catherine’s creation reminded us to think outside the box and do your homework when voting. Elizabeth got right to the point with the vote-themed cupcake!

These go-getters are finding out more about our election system, how the mail-in ballots work, and how accountable our counties are when it comes to voting. There are lots of checks and balances and safety nets to be sure all of our votes are counted! They realized that sometimes it takes being a risk-taker to get your voice heard.

We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here.