COUNCIL & PROGRAM UPDATES

Updated Fall Guide PDFs Available for Download Monday, Oct. 5

Since the Fall Guide PDFs were posted to the website Aug. 13, a few changes/additions have been made. Revised versions of the PDFs will be posted to the website Oct. 5. If you have the Fall Guide bookmarked on your calendar, please be sure to navigate to the Programs & Activities page for important updates and new programs. You don’t want to miss out!

For quick reference as to the changes made to the Fall Guide, please visit the webpage set up to reflect these changes/additions to see new events that have been added and are open for registration.

Crunching the Numbers on the Fall Guide - Why Did We Go Green?

As you know, the Fall Guide is available on our website, www.gswcf.org, in PDF format. The decision to make a ‘green’ move and make the guide available in a PDF format rather than printed was volunteer-driven, and a request we jumped right on board with.

To crunch the numbers, here’s what the council saved by going green with the Fall Guide (estimate):

  • $8,400 in printing

  • $8,400 in postage

  • TOTAL SAVED BY GOING GREEN: $16,800

Support Girl Scouts and Save $$$ On Bucs Tickets!

Girl Scouts of West Central Florida is pleased to announce a partnership with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2009-2010 NFL season! Purchase your Tampa Bay Buccaneers tickets by clicking here. Up to $10 from each ticket supports girls in West Central Florida!

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will support Girl Scouts as an integral non-profit in our community – building nearly 30,000 girls’ leadership development skills. Through partnering with the Bucs, Girl Scouts of West Central Florida will be able to:

  • increase Girl Scout awareness in our community;
  • fundraise by offering tickets to all regular season games at a discounted, exclusive rate for Girl Scouts, friends and families (with focus on Jan. 3 game);
  • sell cookies at the stadium following the Jan. 3 home game v. the Atlanta Falcons;
  • promote the launch of the 2010 cookie season; and offer unique girl program experiences.

 

“We are very excited about partnering with the Tampa Bay Bucs for the 2009-2010 season,” said Jody Johnston, CEO, GSWCF, “and look forward to developing a long-term relationship between our organizations that will ultimately offer girls more opportunities to grow into successful, confident young women.”

PR liaisons and Family Partnership coordinators – keep an eye out for information about how you can help spread the word about this great opportunity!

Bronze, Silver & Gold Awards Update

Girl Scouts of the USA recently provided us with the new requirements for the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. GSUSA has established a two-year transition period that will run through Sept. 30, 2012. In order for GSWCF to facilitate the award process, support volunteers and girls, we will not make any changes to the current requirements until October 2010.

Girls should continue to work under the current guidelines until then. However, if the majority of the work on earning the award will occur after fall 2010, girls can begin using the new guidelines by working on a Journey this membership year, and then next membership year (October 2010), begin working on their project. We will fully implement the new requirements October 2012, so if the majority of the work will be done during the 2012 membership year, the new guidelines must be used. 

NOTE: The Girl Scout Stores carry all supplies for Silver & Gold Award requirements. If they are out of what you need, you should ask them to place an order for you, or you can borrow from the Resource Centers. Girls should not be using the requirements that are written in the Cadette and Senior Handbooks; they should be using the Silver/Gold Award Go For It! Interest Project & Focus books (formerly STUDIO 2B books).

For more information on the new requirements, click here.

For more information on these awards, please visit our website or contact:

Bronze Award: Terri Costello – (813) 262-1688

Silver/Gold Awards: Shari Money – (813) 262-1833

Gold Award Tidbits

The Gold Award is a leadership award intended to be completed by an individual girl. Gold Awards have to go beyond service (beautification projects/collect and donate). Girls should try to address the root cause of an issue and develop a “take action” project that is sustainable, ongoing and easily recognized and traceable to their work that will carry on after they are finished with their projects. Also, remember the idea of the Gold Award is not piggy backing on something that already exists, but something that they initiate and implement.

Following are some tips for adults as they work with girls on their pre-requisites and develop their projects.

  • It is strongly recommended that girls attend Gold Award workshops or that the troop leader check out the Gold Award Program Tote if they cannot take a workshop in person. Each girl should have her own copy of Girl Scout Gold Award “Go for It” book and should not be using requirements in the Girl Scout Senior handbook (those requirements have been outdated since 2004 and we do not accept them).

  • The Girl Scout Gold Award is something that has to come from self-motivation — adults can’t do it for a girl.

  • The Gold Award is earned by an individual girl. If she has discovered a problem in her community that would easily support more than one Gold Award project, it is natural that one or several interested girls would form a team to coordinate their work. However, each girl needs to start with her own clearly defined plans for a project before she forms a team.

  • Remember that the focus of the project has to reach beyond the Girl Scout community. Girls should brainstorm issues that they are passionate about (for example: the environment, animals, the elderly, literacy, etc.) and then conduct a community investigation to identify the top five needs within their community. They should then focus on one of those needs and try to network with people in the community that share the same passion; hopefully a project advisor will be identified through this process (4B Challenge will help with this).

  • Girls should then build a team and recruit a project advisor who will bring special skills to their Take Action project. They will need to network and find someone in the community who is an expert in their chosen area of service to work with them and advise them as they move forward in their project. The purpose of using an expert is that they can help girls network with the people and resources that they need to complete their project by working collaboratively to develop a plan for their project that creates lasting change.

Example

Community issue: Food waste from school lunches poses a danger to the environment.

Root cause: Lack of community composting or recycling program.

Take action: Create a food-waste composting program for the school.

Making the solution sustainable:

  • Work with school officials to find biodegradable plates and cups to use in the cafeteria.

  • Work with town/state food waste officials to ensure the system is in place.

  • Implement a plan in your school to separate their cafeteria waste into composting, recycling, and trash bins. (Farmers can use the compost to fertilize crops, improve the quality of the soil, decrease soil runoff and so on.)

  • Get a commitment from school administrators to carry on when your project is complete.

 

Making a project bigger (national and/or global link): Recruit students at schools in the area to develop the program for their schools and/or contact local and state officials about adopting the program.

Global link: Find out how people in other parts of the world deal with food waste in schools. What kinds of programs do they have in place? How can you learn from this?

Click here to watch a video with some real Gold Award Projects that offer examples of sustainability.

Casting Call – Girl Media Team

We’re looking for a few more Girl Scouts who may be interested in working with the media and at special events held throughout the year. Are you interested in talking with a reporter about your Girl Scout experiences? How about attending grand openings and special events representing GSWCF?

This year, we’re hoping to expand the Girl Media Team and add some cool elements… but can’t reveal them just yet!

 If this sounds like fun, please e-mail the public relations manager to become a part of our Girl Media Team. Availability note: please be aware that media opportunities can arise at any time.

GETSMART at the University of Tampa

The upcoming GETSMART session on Saturday, Oct. 24 at the University of Tampa (UT) is designed for middle school girls and will be facilitated by UT MIS professors, female industry executives, academics and female UT math and MIS majors. The event is open to girls who may or may not have an interest in math, science, or technology, but have potential to exceed in the discipline and would like to meet some mentors and learn more about those fields.

Girls can attend the event with their parent(s), and the event is open to 50 girls. The GETSMART session will be held in the John Sykes College of Business building on the University of Tampa campus Saturday, Oct. 24, 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Check out the flyer and agenda for more information!

Spaghetti Dinner Benefits Camp Wai Lani Service Project

Beautiful Waters Service Unit is holding an All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Dinner Sunday, Oct. 25 from 4 – 7 p.m. at the Camp Wai Lani Dining Hall. All monies raised from the event will benefit a service project at Camp Wai Lani.

The dinner menu includes spaghetti sauce (with and without meat) and noodles, garlic bread, green salad, cold drink and dessert. Tours of the campgrounds will be available until dark.

  • Adults (12 and over): $10/each

  • Children (3-11): $5/each

  • Under 3: free

  • Please add $2 to each ticket price if purchased at the door on the day of the event.

If you’d like to attend, please send your name, troop number, phone number, address, the number of adults and children attending, and check number, and mail to Girl Scouts – Beautiful Waters, P.O. Box 2493, Tarpon Springs, FL  34688.

Questions? Please call Debbie McKinney: (727) 804-2994

Have You Made Your Camp Reservations?


Please be sure to make your troop camping reservations! Check out the availability calendar and make your reservations today! Questions about troop camping? Contact Kristie Wiley: 813-262-1765.

GS EXPRESS

October 1, 2009

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