Howdy to all older Girl Scouts! We have room in our camp sessions for this upcoming summer! We have room in our Rocks and Ropes session as well as some of our other outdoor high adventure back packing sessions. Come spend week rock climbing and get away from the climbing wall! Come climb in nature as intended and see amazing views of the continental divide and sit at top of the world where eagles soar. . .
Announcing GSCO Participation in the FIRST Lego League Robotics Challenge!
“It’s the hardest fun you’ll ever have!”
Girl Scouts of Colorado is excited to announce that we have been awarded funding to support two teams in the *FIRST Lego League Robotics Challenge!
This year’s challenge? Come up with an innovative “Senior Solution” to a problem facing the elderly and aging in your community. Learn how to use technology to take action!
See more information about the challenge here: http://firstlegoleague.org/challenge/2012seniorsolutions
ONLY 20 girls will be chosen to participate in this highly respected international program.
A few requirements:
Girls ages 9-14 are invited to apply here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P9JKMLP
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES! The Girl Scouts of Colorado is also looking for coaches and assistant coaches to help with the First Lego League Robotics Program! Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of girls? Do you want to help girls develop technology-based solutions to issues facing seniors in your community? Becoming a FLL coach is the ideal volunteer opportunity for someone really looking to roll up their sleeves and work directly with girls in a meaningful way!
Volunteers will be asked to give approximately eight hours a week to this program. YES – parents of participants can be coaches or assistant coaches! We will be hosting an introductory volunteer meeting at 5:30 PM on Tuesday 9/25. If you want more information or to get involved, please email beth.ryan@gscolorado.org.
*More information about FLL:
In FIRST LEGO League (FLL), children are immersed in real-world science and technology challenges. Teams design their own solution to a current scientific question or problem and build autonomous LEGO robots that perform a series of missions. Through their participation, children develop valuable life skills and discover exciting career possibilities while learning
Girls ages 9-14 are invited to apply. They will:
I got a phone call this weekend from a friend whose daughter is in my son’s 6th grade class. She says her daughter worries a lot about if she is liked by the other kids, especially the boys. She wants to wear makeup and clothes that my friend doesn’t think are age appropriate. That got me thinking about how hard it has to be a kid these days, especially a girl. How women and girls are shown in the media, especially on reality TV shows, has such a powerful impact on how we treat each other. In fact, a recent study by the Girl Scout Research Institute found that tween and teen girls who regularly watch reality TV “accept and expect a higher level of drama, aggression and bullying in their own lives, and measure their worth primarily by their physical appearance.”
That’s why Girl Scouts of Colorado is ramping up our focus on giving girls the confidence and tools they need to navigate those tricky situations they move through every day – programs like Power Up, to help them understand and defuse bullying situations, and Fight Like A Girl Scout, to help them recognize and act when they’re threatened. It’s why we’re involved with efforts recently like The Colorado Clothesline Project, addressing issues of violence against girls and women. (View photos and video from this event.) And why we’re planning a Feb. 23rd viewing of the film Miss. Representation , which explores how the media influences perceptions – and misperceptions – of women.
As we ramp up these efforts, we’re looking to our community to support us by volunteering for one of these programs and/or making a donation to help offset the costs of providing them. To learn more about how you can volunteer for or donate, visit Girl Scouts of Colorado’s website.
We’d also like to ask you to show your support by weighing in on a “healthy media” poll put together by the Geena Davis Institute, Girl Scouts of the USA and the Healthy MEdia Commission. This poll will hopefully get lawmakers and the entertainment industry thinking about just how much influence they have on building women leadership in this country.
It’s sad that girls like my friend’s daughter feel so much pressure when they are so young. Girl Scouts is all about helping girls to see that their value isn’t in what they wear, what others think of them or the girl drama. Join me and Girl Scouts of Colorado in helping our girls grow up to be strong, brave, capable leaders.
More photos from the 9NEWS event
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-I-POsR0hc?rel=0]
It was a memorable day at Girl Scouts of Colorado on Wednesday, July 13th, as we celebrated the completion of the Denver Service Center building mural with the community! We were excited that our celebration coincided with an all-state membership staff meeting in Denver so staff around the state could be present for this Girl Scouts of Colorado celebration. (Read more about this project, including viewing photos and videos, in previous blog posts.)
NBC 9NEWS based in Denver helped us cover the mural celebration live on their morning newscasts. View the news coverage.
Girl Scouts of the USA also shared the exciting news on their Blog and Facebook page.
If you haven’t had a chance to come by and check out the new mural, we invite you to our offices at 400 S. Broadway in Denver soon. This mural truly celebrates all Girl Scouting is and will be for centuries to come!
By Girl Scout Ellie Wroble from Girl Scout Senior Troop 448 of Denver
Being a Girl Scout isn’t just selling cookies and singing around the campfire. Being a Girl Scout means you get to change things into something more beautiful.
It took three tries for our Girl Scout troop to finally be able to help graffiti the Girl Scout of Colorado headquarters. After weekends cancelled because of horrible weather, we managed to get an absolutely spectacular day. We were assigned the piece of wall that goes down the stairs to the basement.
When we first arrived at Girl Scouts all we saw was a plain wall with blue outlines. Graffiti and tattoo artist Chris “PhEud” Bernal was the lead artist, working with Johnny Santos of the Gang Rescue and Support Project. Chris explained how to control the paint and the process that we were about to go though. We were allowed to choose our colors to take the flowers and butterfly outlines into vibrant beautiful colorful paintings. In a matter of less than four hours, the wall was transformed with countless colors and shapes using only cans of spray paint.
When you first think of spray paint, you don’t think of much except a can with paint in it that you can spray. Spray paint turns out to be way more complicated and interesting then we all first thought. It turns out that spray paint isn’t all the same. There is spray paint from America, Europe and more. We used spray paint on the wall mostly from Europe in order to get more vibrant, stunning colors. The European spray cans are much easier to spray and have colors that drip less. By directing the cans in certain directions and holding the cans different lengths away from the wall, we were able to change the painting style. It was incredible to see the transformation using only spray paint.
Painting doesn’t have to be with a brush on a canvas. It can be on a wall with spray paint. But the simple act of adding color to a blank space can transform it forever. Watching the Girl Scout building evolve and transform with color and beauty has been amazing. We as a troop consider ourselves to be very lucky to be able to help with the process to graffiti (legally!) the Girl Scouts of Colorado Denver office.
GSCO Denver Service Center Mural Project 2011, a set on Flickr.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovGnNl-dOy8?rel=0]
Despite the cold weather and rain, Girl Scouts have continued to be hard at work on the mural outside the Denver Girl Scout office at 400 S. Broadway during the month of May. However, due to the cool and wet spring weather, the unveiling of the mural has been moved from June 22nd to July 13th to allow for a few more weeks of mural work during, hopefully, a dry and warm weather build up to summer.
Troop 3322 worked on the mural on Saturday, May 21st, and troop member, Elisabeth, thought the experience was “like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Seeing the true beauty behind the incredible artwork and how much work really goes into it was astonishing. If I could do this again, I would.”
Troop 448 of Denver worked on the mural just this last Saturday, May 28th. Read about one of the troop member’s experiences.
After being plagued with repeated incidents of illegal tagging on their office building, Girl Scouts of Colorado has partnered with the Denver Police Department and a group of reformed taggers the police department works with from the Gang Rescue and Support Project to create a fun, girl-friendly mural to wrap their building, dissuade taggers and illustrate and embrace the Girl Scout mission and leadership programs. The lead artist on the project is Chris “PhEud” Bernal.
On Saturday, May 7th, Girl Scouts with the Family Crisis Center, a residential care facility, helped work on the mural. Many of the Girl Scouts from this program have been previously involved in illegal tagging activities and were anxious to learn how they can use tagging as a hobby or possible career and make a positive impact on the community.
“This project is helping bring out my true colors,” said one of the Girl Scouts from the Family Crisis Center as she displayed her hands covered in paint from the mural project. “Girl Scouts has taught me to be more patient and creative. I would like to be an artist in the future. I’ve spray painted before, and now know how to do it in a fun, legal way. This is something I will always remember. I’m learning a lot. This mural is awesome!”
The Girl Scout leader for the Family Crisis Center group, Ivana, also thought the project was a memorable experience. “The girls enjoyed themselves very much and learned a very positive way to experience and do graffiti art. It meant a lot to the girls and me. Thank you for all staff of Girl Scouts who gave me and them this opportunity,” she said.
Keep updated on the latest mural news and share it like others have been doing for weeks via Girl Scouts of Colorado’s website or blog or our Facebook and Twitter pages. Channel 7 (ABC, Denver/statewide) did a story on the mural project on several of their May 7th and 8th weekend newscasts, and there is a story about the project posted in the Denver Post’s YourHub.
