Momi (mo·mee) and Mililani (mi·luh·laa·nee) are the Hawaiian Monk Seal mascots for the 2022 Fall Product Program!

The small and large plush seals are two of the rewards that Girl Scouts can earn. Mililani is earned at the $350 level, and Momi at $750.

To see all 2022 Fall Product Program girl rewards, check out the order card posted on our website. Remember that all rewards are cumulative.

 Fun Facts About Hawaiian Monk Seals:

Scientific Name – Monachus schauinslandi.
Size – Monk seals can grow up to seven feet long and can weigh as much as 600 lbs.
Diet – These seals are considered “generalist” feeders. Which means they eat a wide variety of foods depending on what is available. The most common include fishes, squids, octopuses, eels, and crustaceans (crabs, shrimps and lobsters).
Life Span – The average Hawaiian monk seal lives between 25-30 years.
Habitat – These seals are found on the main and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They live in warm, subtropical waters and spend two-thirds of their time at sea.
Predators – Sharks tend to be their biggest predators, specifically, Tiger Sharks.

Other cool thinks to know:
• They can remain under water for up to 20 minutes.
• They can dive more than 1800 feet deep, the length of FIVE football fields, but prefer to swim in shallow waters of two hundred feet or less.
• They love to sleep on beaches for days at a time.

To learn more about Hawaiian Monk seals, the scientists who study them, and the activists working to protect them, visit the websites below:

• https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Hawaiian-Monk-Seal
• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/hawaiian-monk-seal
• https://www.marinemammalcenter.org/animal-care/learn-about-marine-mammals/pinnipeds/hawaiian-monk-seal
• https://oceanographicmagazine.com/features/hawaiian-monk-seal-pup/
• https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/hawaiian-monk-seal

If you have questions about Fall Product Program or need assistance, please contact GSCO customer care. Call 1- 877-404-5708 or email inquiry@gscolorado.org.

If you have family or friends who are currently deployed, please send their APO address to hatm@gmx.com and kaymartley@gmail.com no later than Monday, March 14, 2022. Volunteers will be packing packages of Girl Scout cookies on Saturday, March 19 at the Colorado Armory in Aurora to be mailed to the addresses provided.

If you have cookies to donate to the Military, please make a reservation for drop off to hatm@gmx.com. You will receive an email with drop off instructions for March 19. Troops may be able to help with the packing if we get approval because of COVID.

If you would like the girls to make cards for the Military, you can mail them to Kay Martley, Girl Scout volunteer. To get mailing address or answer any questions, email Kay Martley at kaymartley@gmail.com. They Girl Scouts and Hearts Across the Miles have been working together on this project for many years.

DEI Updates: Week of 02.21.22

• Upcoming: Black History Month Events
  • Feb 23 – DuSable Museum Virtual Talk Back Session: Equiano.Stories
  • Feb 28 – Black History Patch Showcase
    • Please check gsEvents to register or share these events.
  • Upcoming: Monthly Equity Talks – ADA Accessibility in the Outdoors
    • Our next MET session is on Feb 23. Please check your calendar for an invite. The chat will be recorded for those who can’t attend and would like to tune in later.
  • New: Implicit Bias & Microaggressions gsLearn Course
    • We have a new gsLearn course that focuses on understanding unconscious bias and its connection to microaggressions. The course has three modules: definitions, everyday examples, and strategies for intervention. Please check it out and reach out with any input.
  • DEI Learning Track
    • Complete this brief formto let us know which DEI trainings and events you’ve attended.

Call to Action

• Learn about the history and significance of braiding in Black culture
  • Did you know Cornrows were used to help enslaved people escape slavery? Enslaved people used cornrows to transfer information and create maps to the north. Since slaves were not allowed to read or write, they used braiding as a method of passing knowledge, delivering messages, and creating escape routes. For example, some styles had curved braids, tightly braided on their heads. The curved braids would represent the roads that enslaved folks would use to escape. Also, enslaved people kept gold and hid seeds in their braids to help them survive after they escaped. They would use the seeds to plant crops once they were liberated. Braiding was one of the best ways to avoid raising any suspicion from slave owners. Read more here.
• Reflect: How community-centered is your work and who’s holding you accountable?
  • Check out this recordedinterview on authentic community engagement and partnerships, and best practices for anchoring your work within the context of community interests, issues, and capacities.

Upcoming Opportunities

• Action Beyond the Quote
  • Join Points of Light and Morehouse College on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 11:00am MST, for a conversation that will explore a collection of MLK’s most well-known quotes. Learn how you can use his words as a foundation to advance his teachings and nonviolent philosophy in your own community. Click hereto register.
• History on the Plate: Deconstructing African American Food History
  • Wednesday, Feb 23 at 5pm MST. Join Phipps Conservatory for a virtual free special presentation with Dr. Jessica B. Harris on African American cuisine. At this special virtual event, Dr. Harris will use traditional stories, illustrations and history to discuss the importance of food in African American history and culture. Beginning with a traditional African American plate, the presentation will focus on eight plants important to African American cuisine: rice, corn, peanuts, okra, watermelon, chili peppers, leafy greens and sweet potatoes. The presentation will run 40 – 45 minutes and be followed by a 15 – 20 minute Q&A. Sign up here.
• Race in America: Tensions and Solidarity across BIPOC Groups
  • Thursday, Feb 24 at 6:30pm MST. What are the roots of existing tensions among BIPOC groups? How have those groups been intentionally pitted against each other by those in power? Where do we see examples of BIPOC folks building effective coalitions and standing in solidarity with one another? And, critically, how do we plant seeds of inclusivity in young BIPOC children so that they grow into racial justice advocates for ALL oppressed people? We are excited to be joined by Margo Okazawa-Rey and Soojin Pate, who’ve made solidarity among people of color central to their work as educators and activists. Join us! This will be the first in a series of four webinars about building strong relationships among BIPOC children.
• Gender in the African Diaspora
  • Monday, Feb 28 at 6:30pm MST.Join the Center on Colfax for a talk that will cover the history of gender, gender non-conformity, and finish with a look at transgender in the African Diaspora.  The talk will name categories of queer ancestors, spaces, and lifeways from the pre-classical through contemporary period.  We will look at third gender in African societies.  Then gender non-conformity through European contact, transatlantic slavery, and resistance to the slave system.  Then finish with a look at gender-nonconformity in the US in the 19^th and 20^th century leading to black, transgender history in the 21^st
• Preserving Women’s Voices: The Life and Legacy of bell hooks and the bell hooks Archives
  • Monday, March 7 at 4pm MST. Join Professor Qrescent Mason as she discusses the impact of the life of bell hooks and her legacy of her archival collection. In 2016, scholar, author and feminist bell hooks donated her archives to Berea College. Her decision to place her papers at a small liberal arts college was based largely on her sense of community and identity. Formerly a professor at Berea College, Dr. Mason has the unique experience of both personally knowing bell hooks and having the experience of teaching her undergraduate students about bell’s life and work utilizing her personal papers. Please register here. A Zoom link will be emailed to you 24 hours before the event. Find more ways to celebrate Women’s History Month here. Sign language interpreters and real-time captioning via CART are available upon request with notice of three business days to SignLanguageServices@denvergov.orgor 720-913-8487. For other public accommodation requests or concerns related to disability: DisabilityAccess@denvergov.org. Automated voice-to-text captioning is available for all virtual programs.
• Language Support – Beyond Babble
  • Tuesday, March 1 at 6pm MST. Description: Beyond Babble – a Project Worthmore training focused on working across language barriers and supporting English language acquisition. Encountering a new language can be frustrating and fascinating, exhausting and enlightening, hilarious and humbling. How can you build a relationship across language barriers? What can you do to help learners through this process? What tools, resources, and best practices exist for language acquisition? What simple activities can you comfortably lead? Come and join us for Beyond Babble, where we will explore these questions, and learn new ways to encourage language learning while helping someone navigate their new life in America. Please come ready to share your own insights and experiences and open your mind to new ones! Covid: To provide a safe and healthy space for our clients and volunteers, we are currently requiring everyone who participates in our language programs to be fully vaccinated. Click hereto register.
• Queer Teaching for Racial Justice and Against White Supremacy
  • Wednesday, March 2 at 4:00pm MST. This workshop promotes methods for integrating anti-racist pedagogies into queer educational spaces for the purpose of identifying, understanding, and ultimately disrupting the logics of white supremacy. Specifically, it contemplates the pedagogical practice and considerations necessary for educators to do anti-racist work, to promote racial justice, in the context of learning in queer studies and queer theories. Live captioning and sign language interpretation provided. Click hereto sign up.
• Embodying Antiracist Allyship: A Workshop for Non-Black Allies
  • Sunday, March 13 at 2:00pm MST. Discover a new way to approach racism in America with ruthless compassion and community support. Do you feel overwhelmed by guilt or horror, yet don’t know what to do with those feelings? Do you want to consider yourself an antiracist ally, but aren’t exactly sure what that means or looks like? Do you want to have different conversations about race in the United States, and don’t know where to start? Join this space for non-Black people to do the real work of dismantling their racism. You will be invited to awaken to painful truths about the white supremacist beliefs that operate within yourself and the spaces you occupy. With radical compassion and self-acceptance, you will be guided on the first steps of a lifelong journey of dismantling these destructive and traumatizing systems of belief and power. Click hereto sign up.
• Movement of the SAGES Classes
  • Fridays at 10:30am starting Feb 25. The Center on Colfax is starting a dance class series that focuses on movement and breathing, and is instructed by Cristina Michaels. Each session will focus on meeting participants where they are at with their bodies. Covering breathing techniques, Qigong (Chee-gong) techniques cultivate and nourish the natural energy that moves through the body. Eventually expanding to some basic Tai Chi postures and movements. Some aspects of each session will incorporate Modern/Contemporary dance movements along with some Classical Ballet techniques. Participants are encouraged to wear socks or comfortable shoes for this class. Comfortable clothing is very much encouraged. Proof of vaccination required to attend. RSVP to: Contact 303.951.5222
• Melanin MagiQ: QTBIPoC Community Group
  • Calling all LGBTQIA2+ and BIPOC young people! Melanin MagiQ is a new program that Inside Out is hosting in partnership with Joy as Resistance! Meet and connect with queer BIPOC adults and other youth, and embrace your melanin magic! Groups meet on alternating Thursdays. Next Melanin Magiqwill be Feb. 17

Girl Scouts of Colorado is excited to be partnering with Beaver Creek Resort for a Girl Scout family ski and snowboard day including a free lift ticket for Girl Scouts! Girls Scouts will meet Beaver Creek’s female COO Nadia Guerriero, a female ski patroller, mountain rescue dog and work on their snow adventure badge by spending time skiing or snowboarding with their family.

Registered Girl Scouts will receive a free lift ticket (100 tickets available while supplies last). Please help us use resources wisely only register if you will be able to attend this event. Girl Scouts must be registered to receive their free lift ticket and have their parent / guardian present at pick up to complete required Vail Resorts liability waivers. Lift tickets are only for registered Daisy – Ambassador Girl Scout members. Girl Scouts must be under the supervision of their parent / guardian while skiing or snowboarding.

Check out the full activity schedule and register here: https://gscolorado.formstack.com/forms/girl_scout_family_ski_snowboard_day_at_beaver_creek_04_02_2022

Questions? Anna.danila@gscolorado.org

GSCO Delegates Across Colorado 2020-2022

Delegates: Metro Denver:

• Leanna C. (CEO) – Denver
• Rae Ann D. (Prior- Chari Person of the Board) – Golden
• Caroline C. (Prior- Chair Person of the MCC) – Aurora
• Marie W. – Golden
• Cassidy C. – Highlands Ranch
• Melissa H. – Highlands Ranch
• Teya F. – Centennial
• Robin M. – Denver

N/NE Colorado:

• Bonnie L. – Yuma
• Penny R. – Estes Park

Pikes Peak:

• Martha A. – Colorado Springs
• Kimberly J. – Colorado Springs

Western Slope:

• Elena G. – Grand Junction
• Sue S. – Grand Junction

SW Colorado:

• Angela K – Durango

Pueblo & SE Colorado:

•Katy E. – Pueblo

West Mountain Communities:

•Christine K. – Steamboat Springs

What delegates had to say about becoming a delegate:

“I wanted to go to Orlando, because I had never been there. I had been to NCS sessions twice before, and the events are really wonderfully uplifting to remind us how great the Girl Scout movement is. I loved the “fun” parts, like the break-out sessions, the concerts, the sing-alongs, etc. I loved seeing the involvement of the girls, some of whom were delegates, too. It is also great to get the up-to-date scoop on what’s happening in Girl Scouting on a national level. I am hoping to be able to convey some of that energy, information and commitment to GSCO as the delegation unfolds its plans to increase communication among our membership, both girls and adults.” -Penny R.

“I am currently a trainer, a mentor for new leaders for our service unit, a member of the Western Slope Outdoor Explorers, and a member of the MCC. I started volunteering as a troop leader when my granddaughter asked to join Girl Scouts 15 years ago, I became a trainer after my experience of learning what the heck I was doing and wanted to help others. Then of course that led to several other volunteer opportunities. Why did I apply to become a delegate? I read in our area Facebook page that GSCO was looking for delegates, at a local event I asked local staff what a delegate does and was encouraged to apply. Although I didn’t get to experience the camaraderie with other delegates at the convention it was a great experience and an honor to have a voice representing Colorado and would do it again.” -Sue S.

“I’m a Girl Scout volunteer to help ensure today’s girls are tomorrow’s leaders. My delegate connection is because I was the chair person of membership, a member of the MCC and am now the Board Chair. FYI – those 2 people plus the CEO are automatically part of GSCO’s delegation. I enjoyed being a delegate to the NCS in both 2017 and 2020 to help introduce our girl delegation to the wonders of the democratic process – showing them the ropes and empowering the girls to discover first hand that its not impossible to participate in the governance of our movement today and tomorrow the state, nation or even the world!” -Caroline C.

“I am leader with a multilevel troop here in Colorado Springs. The girls really like camping and outdoor skills. I applied to be a delegate to learn more about the governance system of Girl Scouts–the why and how of the organization works.” -Martha A.

“I am an Ambassador Leader, advisor to the high school Girl Scouts for Service Unit Events, Trainer, Delegate and previous Camp Director. I find my volunteer experiences very satisfying and know that I am making a difference. After attending National Council Sessions, I am always inspired to become more involved locally. Making my voice heard and impacting the entire Girl Scout Movement is thrilling. I cannot encourage others enough to apply to become a delegate. It is a life-altering experience.” -Christine K.

As a guinea pig owner I wanted to make a difference in my community as I have been seeing an upward trend of guinea pigs being surrendered to our humane society in large numbers. As a result of this not all are adopted and have to be either euthanized or placed in a guinea pig foster home. I wanted to reverse this trend by putting together a brochure and a video on caring for a guinea pig to reduce the number of guinea pigs surrendered.