PUBLISHED FOR THE VOLUNTEERS OF GIRL SCOUTS OF COLORADO SPRING 2011

An evening for the earth300 Girl Scouts join global effort for our planet

Three hundred Girl Scouts, their family and friends, as well as Girl Scout volunteers from around the state

gathered outside the State Capitol on March 26, taking a stand for the

environment as they joined hundreds of millions of people

around the world participating in the World Wildlife Fund Earth

Hour project.

At 8:30 p.m. with green glow sticks in hand, the group of Girl

Scouts formed the letters GS on the west lawn of the Capitol. Singing songs and chanting “Girl

Scouts rock” and “turn off the lights,” Girl Scouts reminded

the community of the importance of being green.

Earth Hour is a chance for people and communities across the globe to come together for the common purpose of a sustainable future for our planet. From 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on March 26, lights switched off around the globe and people pledged to go beyond the hour.

Girl Scouts of the USA teamed up with World Wildlife Federation and Earth Hour as part of the Girl Scouts Forever Green 100th Anniversary Take Action Project.

There is still time to participate in the Girl Scouts’ Forever Green project.

Read more on page 4.

coloradoLEADER

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Stuffed animal project shows girls the power of service. page 3

The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting coming this September. page 5

Building parent/daughter bonds: Leaders find they get rewards too. page 6

2 Colorado Leader

Generation Wow! 100 girls to be honoredIn celebration of our 100th Anniversary, Girl Scouts is proclaiming

2012 The Year of the Girl! 100th Anniversary celebrations and events

are now being planned across the country and in Colorado as Girl

Scouts focus on our promise to future generations of girls. Starting

this fall, Girl Scouts of Colorado will kick-off our 100th Anniversary by honoring 100

girls statewide as the leaders of tomorrow — the Generation Wow. Generation Wow

recognizes outstanding girls whose individual achievements in the community set

them apart as leaders. The honorees will embody the Girl Scout Promise and Law

in their actions and have exemplary leadership skills and a high level of volunteer

achievement.

Watch the website for more information about the application and nomination

process. The deadline to nominate a girl (any registered Girl Scout ages 5 to 18) is

May 15. Girls will be selected through an online application to a statewide selection

committee composed of civic and community leaders. The 100 girls representing

Generation Wow will be announced on July 1.

Help girls do great things, donate to the Family and Friends CampaignIt’s not too late to support the Family and Friends Campaign and help your Service Unit earn incentive prizes. The deadline for gifts to be eligible for incentives is April 30, 2011.  Incentives need to be redeemed by Sept. 30, 2011.

Go to girlscoutsofcolorado.org > Donate > Family and Friends Campaign to learn more and see the latest participation report.

Shining a spotlight on great things girls doWatch girlscoutsofcolorado.org this spring for more information about kickoff events to celebrate and honor bridging troops, exceptional accomplishments and Highest Awards. We’ll help you shine a spotlight on all that girls have achieved as they bridged to the next program level, earned Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards, or entered the top-tier of cookie sellers. We’ll also highlight volunteers who earned adult recognitions. Detailed directions will be provided for a volunteer-led geographical event that crosses troop, service unit and regional boundaries to celebrate Girl Scouts of Colorado and all we accomplish.

Western Slope Core Camp coming this JuneCORE Troop Camp will be June 3-5 in Highline Lake State Park for Brownies to Ambassadors. For busy leaders, CORE Troop Camp is a great way to camp and bond with your troop but leave the activity planning and food preparation to staff.

During camp, troops will have an opportunity to go on a ranger-led hike, geo-caching, water activities, crafts, archery, star-gazing and more. Cost per girl is $48.

Contact the Grand Junction Service Center for registration information.

Time for Early Bird registrationAvoid the fall registration rush and register your troop through Early Bird this spring. All girls and adults registered in 2010-11 can participate. You can use your Cookie Credits or troop funds to pay the registration fee, and, of course, opportunity grants are available if needed.

Who benefits? Girls get the gift of one more year. Leaders get peace of mind and avoid fall rush. And parents have one less thing to think about in the fall.

All girls who register by June 15 will receive a patch. All troops who use online registration will receive a 10 percent off coupon good for a one-time purchase in a council shop.

SAVE THE DATE! Fallapalooza 2011Jump start your fall!  Mark your calendars for Fallapalooza – training and enrichment events coming to communities across the state. Fallapalooza will be held at seven different locations across the state on Saturdays in August and September.  Volunteers are invited to attend the date and location fits their schedule.Aug. 13: Northern Colorado Pikes PeakAug. 20:  Northeastern ColoradoAug. 27:   Western SlopeSept. 17: Southwestern ColoradoSept. 24: Denver Metro Southeastern Colorado

Visit girlscoutsofcolorado.org for complete information and registration in early June.

COUNCIL NEWS

Spring 2011 3

A key characteristic of Girl Scouting is putting the skills girls learn to use in service to the community. The girls in Troop 1951, of Highlands Ranch, thought about how they would feel if they were in an emergency situation; how scared they might be and how they would want to reach for a stuffed animal to hug.

As they began working on their Bronze Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout Junior can earn, they decided to organize a stuffed animal drive for SAFE (Stuffed Animals for Emergencies), and, in the process, they learned so much about themselves and how they each have different charac-teristics that make them powerful.

“By coming together as a team, the troop could accomplish an even bigger goal than if they had worked alone,” Leader Karen Story said.

Briana Cahill, 10, said, “Helping people can be fun and easy when you work together!”

Foremost they wanted to help those in need, and the stuffed animal drive fit the bill. They also realized they were helping the environment.

“We were also able to help the environment by collecting used stuffed animals that might have been otherwise thrown away,” said Ally Story, 11.

It took a lot of courage to get others to help with their project, but when the troop got more people involved, it made an even bigger difference.

“When we asked all of Bear Canyon Elementary for stuffed animals, we got a ton!” said Kaitlyn Krason, 10.

The girls collected, sorted, cleaned and distributed 1,719 stuffed animals to local emergency organizations such as homeless shelters, women’s and domestic violence shelters and hospitals.

They received so many stuffed animals they were also able to donate to “Loving Hugs,” a local based nonprofit that sends stuffed animals to children in need all over the world.

“It took a lot time and effort, there were so many!” said Pourna Sengupta, 10, but by working together the girls were able to get the job done and deliver them to the shelters just in time for the holidays.

When Briana Scherrer, 11, delivered the bags of stuffed animals to the shelters downtown it opened her eyes about our nation’s homeless problem. Emily Jones, 11, and Sydney Trichler, 10, said it made them feel good to donate the stuffed animals from the Girl Scouts to children who might not otherwise have received anything special, especially during the holidays.

Lexi Brooker, 10, put it best when she said, “The gift of giving is something that some children just don’t get the chance to experience. Working on our Bronze Award project really encouraged us to think about others before thinking about ourselves.”

Highlands Ranch girls feel the power of working together in service

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Three hundred Girl Scouts and their families formed a GS on the Capitol lawn on March 26 with glow sticks in hand, shedding light on environmental action and education.

The Girl Scouts were participating in Earth Hour, a global movement to support a sustainable future for our planet. It’s an hour when people from across the world, from all walks of life, turn off their lights and come together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we have in common — our planet.

“We are all Girl Scouts, and we care about our planet,” said Lori Steen, 13, from Troop 634 of Thornton.

Started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, Earth Hour has grown to include hundreds of countries and hundreds of millions of people doing their part. Each year the lights go out on global landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. This year, Earth Hour asked participants to go beyond the hour and think about what else can be done to make a difference.

Girl Scouts have pledged to go beyond the hour as part of the Girl Scouts Forever Green 100th Anniversary Take Action Project.

At the March 26 event, incandescent light bulbs were swapped out with ENERGY STAR-qualified lights, donated by Xcel Energy. The light-bulb swap project will continue through April. Girl Scouts can exchange incandescent light bulbs in their households, schools or those collected from local businesses with the ENERGY STAR-qualified lights. For more information, contact Marty Lockhart at marty.lockhart@gscolorado.org or at 719-597-8603.

In addition to the GS formation, Girl Scouts made origami cranes to send to their Girl Scout sisters in Japan. Many in that country are still without power and are limiting their power consumption following a devastating earthquake, tsunami and aftershocks.

“Girl Scouts always help people at all times,” said Kelly Hanrahan, 11, from Troop 1630 of Arvada.

The girls also participated in environmental awareness stations hosted by Aurora City Parks and Dinosaur Ridge.

Pocoyo, the World Wildlife Fund’s Global Kids’ Ambassador for Earth Hour, even made a guest appearance.

Troops and individual Girl Scouts across the state were invited to take part in Earth Hour in their hometowns by turning out the lights, playing board games by candlelight and taking flashlight walks.

All girls and troops who participated registered through the GSUSA gsforevergreen.org website, where the impact girls made is being tracked around the country.

“Our earth takes care of us, and we need to take care of everything that lives,” said Rebecca Stankiewicz, 11, from Troop 3289 of Arvada.

4 Colorado Leader

Girl Scouts go beyond the hour300 girls do their part for Earth Hour

Participants made more than 100 origami

cranes to send to Girl Scouts of Japan.

Three hundred Girl Scouts and their families formed a GS on the Capitol lawn on March 26 with glow sticks in hand

FOREVER GREEN

The transition to the new Girl Scout Leadership Experience is nearly complete as the 2011 program rollout brings The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting and gives girls variety, choice and relevancy in their Girl Scouting experience.

Girl Scouting has always been about leadership, but now we’re doing it better than ever with national out-

comes-based program activities that give girls the specific knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will make them leaders in their own lives and in their communities.

A key part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience is the leadership journey, a coordinated series of activities grouped around a theme. Each journey is tied to some of Girl Scouts’ 15 national outcomes for girls, as defined in the Girl Scout Leadership Model.

Through the journeys girls discover the keys to leadership and:• Gain a global and multicultural perspective.• Learn about the history of Girl Scouting and its traditions.• Embrace the values expressed in the Girl Scout Law.• Become environmentally aware and develop attitudes and

self- understanding that promote healthy living.

The first three journey series—It’s Your World—Change It!, It’s Your Planet—Love It! and It’s Your Story—Tell It! are being used by troops and individual Girl Scouts everywhere.

The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting (available for purchase in September 2011) will give every girl a fun way to tie it all together. The badges girls will earn are consistent and support the national outcomes of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.

The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting includes a handbook section, legacy badges, financial literacy badges, cookie business badges and a My Girl Scouts section. It will become not only a guide but a scrapbook of her Girl Scout memories.

Daisies will continue to earn Petals and will also have the opportunity to earn Financial Literacy and Cookie Business Leaves to go with their Petals.

Each badge has a clear purpose and ends with how a girl can use the skills and knowledge she has learned to help people and make the world a better place.

The National Proficiency Badge categories are: Legacy (These badges engage girls in topics that have been important to Girl Scouting since 1912.); Financial Literacy (These badges teach girls how to use money wisely.); Cookie Business (These badges put girls’ financial literacy skills into practice during the Girl Scout Cookie Activity.); Skill Building (These badges build skills in many areas of interest for girls.); and Make Your Own (Girls can explore personal interests by creating and completing one badge of their own each year.)

Like all things in Girl Scouting, the badge skills are progressive. As girls grow up, they can build on the skills they’ve learned by earning the next badge in each topic area.

Each badge has five steps to complete and three choices for each step. The purpose statement tells girls what they will be able to do once they’ve earned the badge. And each badge includes a tip for tying the activities into a Journey. After earning the badge, there is a Giving Service section. This closing statement offers three ideas about how a girl can use her new skill to give service.

As the new Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouts resources are rolled out, existing Try-Its, Badges, Interest Project Awards, Badge Books, Handbooks and Leader Guides will be retired. You can continue to use these existing resources and awards during a one-year transition period through September 2012. We will continue to carry these resources in the GSCO online shop and service center shops and do all we can to order items you need.

Spring 2011 5

Coming this fall! The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting

Being an ‘old time’ leader (14 years), I was one who was not thrilled with the Journey concept.  To me, it was confusing, and I was so much more comfortable with handbooks and badge books!  Now, I have to admit that someone who knew much more than I, really brought a much bigger experience to Girl Scouts. If we had stuck with the old requirements for the Silver Award, I believe the girls would have been much more restricted by a set plan that they had to adhere to.  As it was, they were able to follow their hearts through doors we adults could never have imagined.

Cathy Parrish, leader of Troop 800, a Longmont-area troop with several girls earning their Silver Award with a massive project to make and provide pillow case dresses to girls in need in Uganda, Kenya, Haiti and elsewhere.

6 Colorado Leader

Traveling together, trying new things and experiencing adventures bonds people to one another. That strong bond is never more obvious than when a parent chooses to lead her daughter’s Girl Scout troop.

“We’ve created tons of memories that we never would have had if I hadn’t been a Girl Scout leader,” said Theresa Greichen, who has been leading her middle school-aged daughter’s troop for seven years and now also leads her other daughter’s Brownie troop. “We never would have hung off a cliff wall together, or snowshoed to an avalanche zone to learn how to avoid them, or be saving toward a Costa Rica Outward Bound trip if we didn’t have a troop to share it all with.”

Troop 1573 of Centennial has always taken an adventurous, outdoorsy approach to Girl Scouting. The weekend before the troop of nine girls were to start middle school they went on a high-adventure rock climbing and camping trip.

“On trips, we are able to get away, talk about what is going on in all of our lives, and get to know each other better,” she said. “The girls support and encourage each other to try new and courageous things and bonds are continually strengthened. The trips, especially the new skills and experiences, and time spent together are what keeps them in Girl Scouts.”

These same experiences also can help keep a strong mother-daughter bond during the ‘tween and teen years that many parents struggle through.

“My daughter loves that I lead her troop and plan such exciting adventures for them. She is proud the other girls like to hang out with her mom,” Theresa said. “Our Girl Scout time together is special. The memories will last a lifetime.”

Melissa Collett, a single mother of three from Rifle, enjoyed her own Girl Scout experience so much that she knew she’d want the same for her daughter. “I knew I wanted all my kids involved in good, positive activities that instill values.”

Her troop of Girl Scout Seniors is planning a trip to Europe in 2012 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting. It will be an 11-day tour with stops at two Girl Scout World Centers. The 14- and 15-year-old girls in the troop are hosting a camp on the Western Slope to help raise funds for their travels.

“We never would have been able to go to Europe together without Girl Scouting; especially without her brothers along,” Melissa said.

Being a Girl Scout leader has helped Melissa and her daughter get through some growing pains. “There comes a time when teenagers look at their parents as an annoyance and someone who is out of touch,” she said. “Ashton has had those times too, but when she sees her peers getting along with me ... it gives us a better balance on those mood swings.”

Barb Hoyt, a Boulder-area leader who has been leading her older daughter’s troop from kindergarten through 9th grade, so far, and also leads her younger daughter’s troop of 4th graders, agrees that Girl Scout activities, especially travel, help to strengthen bonds.

“You can’t help it when you spend more than 24 hours at a time together,” she said. “Facing the unknown and facing challenges really magnifies what kind of person you are, and it becomes difficult to hide that from the rest of the group.”

Barb said another benefit to leading her daughters’ troops is knowing her daughters’ friends and seeing the different personalities helps her to better understand her daughters.

The benefit for her daughters is they get to have a Girl Scout troop and all the great experiences that go with it, she said.

Barb’s advice for other parents who might consider leading a troop is to not be afraid of it: “You don’t have to be an expert at everything - remember to have fun. Besides, if you don’t do it, someone else may not step up and then your daughter would miss out on the entire Girl Scout experience, and that would be a shame!”

LEADER TO LEADER

Building bondsLeaders find they get rewards too

GIRL SCOUTS IN ACTION

Spring 2011 7

Mitten Tree a 25-year tradition in Grand Junction

Two hundred and fifteen Girl Scouts from the Mesa County area gathered at Mesa Mall on Dec. 1 to participate in the annual Mitten Tree event.

Girl Scouts decorated trees with donations of new hats, scarves, gloves and mittens to keep all Mesa County families warm. Girl Scouts also collected jackets, new toys, storybooks and canned goods. In all,

the donations filled seven 35-gallon bags. All items benefited Mesa County organizations, including Catholic Outreach, Grand Junction Housing Authority, Homeward Bound and Kiddin’ Around Learning Center.

Girls prep for cookie season at Cookie College in DenverNearly 75 teenaged Girl Scouts spent the day at Cookie College at Young Americans Bank on Dec. 18, honing their business skills as they got ready for the Girl Scout Cookie activity.

These older Girl Scouts set high sales goals, and they know they must master marketing, know their product, put technology to work and be prepared to reach their goals.

 Girls from Aurora, Arvada, Littleton, Brighton, Monument and Parker rotated through seven interactive stations that focused on treating the cookie sale as an entrepreneurial opportunity.

Highlands Ranch girls help make holidays special for sick kidsTroop 2593 of Highlands Ranch participated in a very special event known as Santa’s Fantasy Sleigh Ride. 

On Dec. 11, the troop along with United Airlines, the Starlight Foundation and several other groups helped to make the holidays special for about 60 very ill children. 

The children and their families took a very short flight from DIA, over Denver.  The plane landed, at DIA, with the windows closed, and was parked in the United Airlines Hangar at

DIA. The Girl Scouts were in the hangar and able to see the kids’ faces light up as they opened the windows to see that they had landed in the North Pole. 

The place was filled with holiday decorations, Santa and elves.  Each child got to see Santa and was given a bag full of gifts (donations from United employees).  There were several stations set up throughout the area, including the Girl Scouts’ cookie-decorating station. 

Daisy troop visits Monument Police Dept.Daisy Troop 4164 from Northern El Paso County visited the Monument Police Department. The girls learned when to call 911, the different peace-keeping jobs of the police department and much more. They ooohed and aaahed at the fingerprint-ing machine and all the different tools a police officer uses. Displaying their courage, the girls even stepped inside a jail cell for a quick photo and sat inside the police car.

Girls learn about ‘cool science’ at Air Force AcademyGirl Scouts got to learn about “Cool Science” with hands-on activities at the Air Force Acade-my on Feb. 5. About 30 Daisy and Brownie Girl Scouts attended. 

Girls testify before Transportation Committee for 100th Anniversary license platesFive girls from Cadette Troop 1373 in Conifer testified before the Colorado State Transportation Committee on March 22 about the pivotal role Girl Scouting has played in their lives and the importance of the commemorative 100th Anniversary Girl Scout license plate in Colorado. They were joined by two girls from Senior Troop 1989 from Denver. The Transportation Committee approved the bill to create the plate and sent it on to the Appropriations Committee. Thanks for all the Girl Scout support in securing the 3,000 signatures to advance the bill to the Transportation Committee. In early April, the bill was being heard on the Senate floor. We’ll keep you posted as this historic bill passes through the state legislature.

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GIRL SCOUTS IN ACTION

Nearly 100 Girl Scouts, families attend Prospect Valley Thinking Day

Nearly 100 Girl Scouts from Kindergarten through 6th grade and their families attended Prospect Valley’s World Thinking

Day Celebration on Feb. 23 in Wheat Ridge.

The troops represented the United States, Japan, Bolivia, France, England and Vietnam, offering food, games, swaps and cultural offerings.

The evening of international sisterhood sharing ended with an Irish step dancing demonstration by the Bennett School of Dance. The Irish dancers even taught the other girls a few moves! 

Nucla/Naturita troop donates cookie moneyThe Girl Scouts from Nucla and Naturita, on Colorado’s Western Slope, were excited to donate $100 of their hard-earned cookie money to the West End’s local animal rescue group Hoof & Paw. 

EveryBody is Different builds girls self-esteemThe EveryBody is Different Inside and Out event at The Children’s Hospital event helped girls learn who they truly are. The girls practiced yoga, made self-esteem flowers and created “Me Boxes.”

“That day was one of my favorite Girl Scout activities because I learned something new about myself that I had never known before,” Jane.