Gold Girl Spotlight: Claire Kurio

Introducing Claire!
It’s always an honor to share the accomplishments of our Girl Scouts and today we’re highlighting Claire Kurio. Always striving to fulfill the Girl Scout Promise to help people at all times, Claire created an opportunity for fellow youth to serve their community through the Interfaith Hospitality Network. We could go on and on about Claire’s amazing Gold Girl project, but we’ll let her tell you more!

A Rewarding Journey

My name is Claire Kurio and I’ve been a member of Troop 484 in the Bluebonnet Valley service unit for almost 12 years now. I worked on my bronze and silver awards, completed a journey and have just recently finalized my Gold project. I would encourage all girl scouts to complete each project and award opportunity along the way because it really prepares you for the 80+ hour Gold Award later in high school.

Leading With Faith

For my project, I added a high school youth volunteer component to an already very successful program called Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN). IHN includes over 30 host churches, temples, synagogues, etc. in the Austin area that welcome homeless families into their buildings and congregations for 4-5 weeks each year. These families are able to stay free of charge while they meet with counselors and advisers helping them look for a stable job that can fully support their family again. While the program already used adult volunteers to set-up for their stay, provide dinner to the families each night, stay overnight with the families, do laundry, etc., none of these positions catered to the children. I saw the need for this component after volunteering with my parents to take dinner each time IHN visited Covenant Presbyterian Church over the past 5 years. Each time I noticed that the homeless parents were tired from a long days work or searching for work and wanted to relax, while their kids were longing for attention and someone to hang out with after school!

Getting Others Involved 

I recruited high school volunteers from the Covenant Pres youth group along with National Honor Society students from Anderson High School who volunteered 1-2 hours of their night during IHN’s stay at Covenant to hang out with, mentor and tutor the homeless children. Additionally, as part of my project, I provided a supply box with school supplies, board games and balls for the volunteers and kids to enjoy. The youth volunteer component of IHN will be sustained by the Covenant Student ministries for many years to come!

You Can Do it Too! 

My advice is to pick something you love and are extremely passionate about. I built incredible friends with these homeless kids during their stay and I wanted to give my peers an opportunity to do the same!  But most importantly, choose something that you personally see a need in. It’s crucial that you believe what you are doing is worthwhile and seeing the direct impact afterwards is the best feeling in the world.

A New Way to Meet Seniors' Needs

Today's featured Gold Girl Scout is Ella Fischer who created a program to rent medical equipment to senior citizens. Congratulations, Ella, on earning your Gold Award!

My name is Ella Fischer. I am from Troop 1473 out of the Pecan Trail Service Unit. For my Gold Award project, I worked with Drive a Senior to create Ollie’s Closet. Ollie's Closet loans medical equipment to senior citizens who do not have access to medical equipment due to various financial situations. In the process I helped write a grant to pay for the building and purchase software for an inventory and asset control program.  

First, I moved, cleaned, inventoried, barcoded, and entered all of the equipment into a barcoding system. Next, I added a loft and braces to hang walkers and crutches and started moving all of the equipment inside. Lastly, I trained personnel at the Drive a Senior office on how the system works.  This all will allow the organization to better serve their 500 clients and to help them keep track of what is needed in their loan closet for the future.

 My journey towards earning my Gold Award is one that I will never forget. Through Girl Scouts, many new doors have opened for me and even more now that I have earned my Gold Award. The adventures and experiences that I have been able to be a part of, as well as all the things I've learned, all became possible by being in Girl Scouts and striving for Gold. I have also met many inspiring and interesting individuals along the way. There are always challenges involved in accomplishing great things, but the feeling I have now that I've earned my Gold Award is very rewarding. My encouragement towards others to pursue earning their Gold Award is tremendous based on the amazing experience I had and the feeling of happiness I gained from helping others. 

Girl Scouts Help with Flood Relief

During the past weeks central Texas has received the some of the highest rainfall leading to the flooding of many homes. Troop 1594 saw the devastation and decided they needed to help out their community so they partnered with the Capital Area Food Bank to provide some relief.

For two weeks the girls collected healthy food options for the food bank which desperately needed contributions. The troop didn’t stop there--they volunteered with the food bank to distribute the items so they could see where their efforts went. The troop spent three hours passing out their collected items to those in need in the Cedar Creek area. It was an extremely moving experience for the troop and they were very happy to help the victims of the flood.

Way to go troop 1549!

Backpack Buddies is Gearing Up for Annual Drive

This happens to all troop leaders at some point: you're without a service project and you're fresh out of idea. Jen Neve was trying to find a service project for her then Girl Scouts to do during the holiday season. She had the idea to contact a foster care program for children to see if there was anything her girls could do for the children. The program told her the children often arrive with their few belongings in a trash bag and nothing more. They only asked for donations of backpacks.Jen was so overcome by their need she started to organize other troops to participate in the donation. Jen did not know at the time, but she was creating something much bigger than a one time service project: Backpack Buddies.

12 years later Backpack Buddies has continued to grow and is now serving homeless children and families in the Austin and Round Rock area. Jen gets names, ages and gender of the children from the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) in order to guarantee every child gets a new backpack. Jen asks that individuals/troops fill backpacks with age appropriate goodies for the children and that they do not spend more than $50 on the backpack.

Toward the end of October  Jen will start to match up the troops with the children and will send out the child’s “About Me” information. The backpacks will need to be returned to her before December 8 so you have a whole month to get cracking! If you are interested in participating or want more information on how you can help contact Jen Neve at Jen_Neve@sbcglobal.net .

Sleep Experts and Girl Scouts Share the Warmth

Join Sleep Experts and Girl Scouts in sharing the warmth this holiday season with families in need!

Fast facts on this year's giving back program:

• Sleep Experts' 1st Annual Share The Warmth Blanket Drive in Austin asks families to drop off new or gently used blankets at any of the retailer’s 7 Austin locations, starting October 29th through Thanksgiving. For store locations, visit sleepexperts.com.

• This year’s Blanket Drive will benefit four area non-profit organizations across Austin, each sharing a mission to help homeless families become self-sufficient: SafePlace, Center for Child Protection, Saint Louise House, and Foundation Communities. 

• The Girl Scouts of Central Texas will be helping to Share the Warmth by collecting blankets in their area.

• Everyone has an extra blanket around the house, so clean out your closet and donate a blanket today. We also accept donations of comforters, sheets, towels and pillows. It’s a simple way to help a family in need by sharing the warmth during a difficult time.

• Girl Scouts are encouraged to participate in a variety of service projects so that they learn the importance of giving back to the community. Share the Warmth is a great way for them to do something good for families in need. For more information, visit www.gsctx.org.

 About the beneficiaries: 

• SafePlace (www.safeplace.org) provides a 105-bed emergency shelter; extensive transitional services; counseling, prevention and education programs for domestic and sexual survivors.

• Center for Child Protection (www.centerforchildprotection.org) is a child-friendly, specially-equipped facility where children go for recorded forensic interviews, medical exams, counseling and intervention during the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases. It is the only nonprofit in Travis County involved in the investigation of crimes against children.

• Saint Louise House (www.saintlouisehouse.org) provides affordable housing and essential services to mothers and children experiencing homelessness in Central Texas. In their apartment-style housing environment, families are embraced and encouraged to be a part of our supportive community as they work or attend school.

• Foundation Communities (www.foundcom.org) provides first class, affordable homes and support services for thousands of low-income families and individuals, empowering them with the tools they need to succeed. They own and operate 16 properties in Austin and North Texas.

-Kate Lipinski, GSCTX Program Lead

Troop 250 Holds Book Drive for Brownwood Girls

Girl Scout Troop 250 will earn their Bronze Award through a service project that benefits girls ages 12-19 at the Ron Jackson State Correctional Facility in Brownwood. The Girl Scouts aim to establish dorm-based libraries for these girls who face challenges such as mental health issues and parental abuse. Troop 250 would like to give them access to literature that is inspirational, motivational and fun. 

Half-Price Books has already generously donated 600 books and the following merchants will donate a percentage of your purchase to the cause. Interested parties purchasing from Book People should ask for the Troop 250 coupon during check out on March 25. For those shopping with Barnes and Noble, use ID number 10702678 when purchasing between March 19-25.

If you would like to donate new or gently used books, you can bring them to the Troop 250 table at the Centennial Capitol Celebration on March 12. The Brownwood girls have an average reading level of 8^th grade. GSCTX and Troop 250 thank you in advance for your support! 

Troop 2141 Gives to Haiti

Girl Scouts of Central Texas has had the first troop report back their donation to relief efforts in Haiti! We're very proud of these girls and their charitable contribution. Below is a short interview with their leader, Lourdes, about their experience.

Q. Tell us about your troop.

A. We are Troop 2141 with 5 active Girl Scout Cadettes. They love getting together and spending time together since they hardly get to see each other now that they are in middle school. They love camping and doing community service.

Q. How much did they raise and how did they do it?
A. They raised $57.94. They had a sign at their booth that read "Haiti Donations" and people liked that the money was going towards a good cause and would donate their change. We had one man donate $20.

Q. Which organization is the troop giving to? How did they select that organization?
A. The organization they picked was World Vision because they help children.

Q. What do you, as the leader, feel they learned from this experience?
A. They learned to see how blessed they are to have their family and friends, and how valuable our every day resources are like water, bed, food, etc.

-Lourdes, Troop 2141 Leader

Learn more about making charitable gifts to relief efforts in Haiti.

Suggestions for Haiti Fund Raising

In response to the recent devastation in Haiti, Girl Scouts of the USA has adopted a special rule of order to allow girl members to fund raise for relief efforts. To create a meaningful lesson in community service, girls are encouraged to discuss the meaning of philanthropy, develop their own giving plan and purposefully act to benefit those in need.

As one giving option, Girl Scouts of Central Texas suggests girls consider donating a portion of their Cookie Program profits to relief efforts. Girls can and should educate Girl Scout Cookie customers of this new, philanthropic goal through posters and conversation. In addition to donating a portion of their Cookie Program profit, Girl Scouts may directly solicit donations for relief efforts in Haiti. Any donations for relief efforts in Haiti must be donated through an organization approved by Girl Scouts of the USA. Troops and individuals who donate to relief efforts in Haiti will have the opportunity to report their donation to the council and be recognized on the council’s Web site.

Girl Scouts is proud of its legacy of philanthropy and community service. It is our hope that gifts to relief efforts in Haiti will not only ease the suffering of the Haitian people but will also act as a lesson in compassion, philanthropy and community service for our members.

-Girl Scouts of Central Texas

Girl Scouts Can Raise Funds for Haiti Relief

GSUSA National Board Ratifies Policy to Allow Girl Scouts to Raise Funds for Haitian Relief Efforts
January 22, 2010

The outpouring of support for the people of Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake last week has been remarkable, and Girl Scouts across the country have pitched in to help in many different ways. We know, however, that after natural disasters like these, sending funds is often the best way to help.

Given the catastrophic events in Haiti, the Executive Committee unanimously adopted, and the National Board this morning ratified, the following:

THAT the Executive Committee of Girl Scouts of the USA's National Board of Directors, on the National Board's behalf, adopts a special rule of order to allow girl members to engage in activities, which may include the direct solicitation of money, from January 14 through September 8, 2010, to support emergency relief for the January 12 earthquake disaster in Haiti. Monies raised shall be contributed only to organizations on the approved list of agencies; additions to the list shall be approved by the National President and CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA.

This now makes it possible for our girls to raise much needed funds for relief efforts in Haiti. Please take note that the money our girls raise can be contributed only to those agencies on the list below.

Much of Haiti is in ruins and a second major earthquake struck the country on Wednesday. The loss of life and suffering has been heartbreaking. I hope that this action by the National Board will serve as yet another opportunity for all of us as a Movement to do what we can to help the people of Haiti in their time of need.

List of Agencies

• The American Red Cross is accepting donations through its International Response Fund.
• Pan American Development Foundation is encouraging people to donate through its Web site at http://www.panamericanrelief.org/
• UNICEF requests donations for relief for children in Haiti via their Haiti Earthquake Fund. You can also call 1-800-4UNICEF.
• Oxfax accepts donations online at http://www.oxfamamerica.org/
• Save The Children has launched an emergency relief effort for Haiti.
• Mercy Corps
  Donate online, call 1-888-256-1900 or send checks to:
  Mercy Corps Haiti Earthquake Fund
  Dept NR
  PO Box 2669
  Portland, OR 97208
• Doctors Without Borders has set up clinics to treat people in Haiti.
• The UN World Food Programme is gathering all available resources to deliver food to the recently homeless and impoverished in Haiti. Donations can be made through https://www.wfp.org/donate/haiti
• CARE is deploying emergency team members to Port-au-Prince to assist in recovery efforts. It's focusing its efforts on rescuing children who may still be trapped in schools that collapsed.
• The International Rescue Committee is deploying an emergency response team to Haiti.
• World Vision has more 370 staff members in the Haiti.
• United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is used for emergencies like the earthquake in Haiti.

About Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) is the preeminent organization for and leading authority on girls with 3.6 million girl and adult members. Now in its 95th year, Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. The organization serves girls from every corner of the United States and its territories. Girl Scouts of the USA also serves American girls and their classmates attending American or international schools overseas in 90 countries. For more information on how to join, volunteer, reconnect or donate to Girl Scouts, call (800) GSUSA 4 U (800-478-7248) or visit http://www.girlscouts.org/.

-Kathy Cloninger
Chief Executive Officer
Girl Scouts of the USA

See the original post on girlscouts.org. 

Print this informational flier about approved relief organizations. Please print and use this flier as you fund raise.