Gold Girl Scout Spotlight: Gwendolyn Cochran

Today's Gold Girl Scout Spotlight is Gwendolyn Cochran, who empowered middle and high school girls in her community to be more engaged in the fields of math and science.  Congratulations on earning your Gold Award, Gwendolyn! 

The Dripping Springs community lacked a strong foundation of young women interested in the sciences. There was an absence of female members of the Robotics Club, the Physics Club, and active member’s math and science UIL events.

I targeted this problem in a two part project, first by implementing the Women in Math and Science clubs at the Dripping Springs High School. And secondly, by organizing and leading a symposium to rally young women together and engender them to be more active in the science communities at the middle and high school levels. With this project I engaged young women in my community to be involved in the math and sciences and give them useful contacts and opportunities to get involved in Dripping Springs. 

My club at the school will continue to engender school age girls to be active in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and expand their horizons.  I created a sustainable and beneficial foundation of girls to be inspired and get involved in expanding female influences at school and around our community. 

While the symposium was a one day event, it created a foundation for the group to begin being noticeably active and emphasized the importance of participating in math and science-based extracurricular events occurring locally. The club will be sustained at the high school level by new members taking over as seniors graduate, our teacher sponsor’s continued support, and the affiliation with the longstanding Inventor’s Club on campus. The community now has, and will continue to have, a larger amount of girls empowered to take action in math and the sciences. 

My advice for younger girls would be to first and foremost pick a topic that you feel passionate about, because you will devote a large majority of time and soul into this project. Secondly, never be afraid to ask for help from volunteers and troop members. Chances are if you are passionate about something, so is someone else who would love to get involved. Lastly, keep your head up! This isn’t a project to get just for the prestige of saying you earned it, it is a chance to inspire change. When you face a great challenge, which you undoubtably will, do not give up. Look for a different perspective, because from a different angle a mountain might seem like a molehill.

Gold Girl Scout Spotlight: Hannah Buffington

Today's Gold Girl Scout Spotlight is Hannah Buffington, who established a letter-writing campaign for elementary school children to send notes to soldiers stateside. Congratulations on earning your Gold Award, Hannah! 

At the beginning of my project, I knew I wanted to pick an issue that I really cared about; and something that was going to make an impact on many people. I chose my project because our soldiers are something that are truly close to my heart, and I personally know many people who have fought for our country. Once I had my issue, I started thinking about ways that I could potentially impact our troops. Which is where my project, Letters to Soldiers, originated. 

Many of our troops overseas receive letters and care packages and reminders that we are very appreciative of their service; but what about our troops back home? What about our troops who have been wounded in service? 

So I decided to address this issue directly by writing letters to these soldiers that would hopefully show them that they are appreciated and cared for. But I did not want to just do this alone. I wanted to tell more people about my project and spread my enthusiasm for it to many others as well. 

So I thought, what better way to impact two groups of people than teaching children about our troops and helping them write the letters. This worked out perfectly. I was able to teach the second grade classes at Blackland Prairie Elementary School how to write a friendly letter, and then to put those skills to work by writing letters to the wounded soldiers at Brook Army Medical Center. 

Working with the second grade students was really such a wonderful experience because I got to talk about something that I cared about and watch a group of children start to learn and want to make a difference also. I hope that in my setting an example of how even a teenager can make a difference, these children will grow up and take issues that they care about and also work to make a difference. It doesn't matter how old you are, or how large or small the issue is. Anyone can make a difference; all that’s needed is the motivation and the will to make a change. 

Gold Girl Scout Spotlight: Isabel Prado

My name is Isabel Prado, I am a 17-year-old high school junior, getting ready to start applying for college. For my Gold Award, I created and taught 10 different lessons about the environment to children ages 5-12. I taught at the Turner-Gibbons Recreation Center as part of the Austin Parks and Recreation Center Summer Program. All of my lessons have been put into their database for use in the future.

When I first started the project a year ago, I thought I would never actually get it done, but with support from my family and friends, I managed it. It was a long and often challenging process. I switched what I wanted to teach at least twice. When I finally nailed down a subject, I had to create lessons plans for 10 classes. It took a lot of hard work but the end result was worth it.

Many times along the way I wanted to quit and I was told that it was okay if I did not want to do it. I am so glad I decided to finish it. My experiences teaching the children were so remarkable that when it ended I was sad because I had so much fun doing this project. It was tough and took a good deal of time, but it made me a better person. I learned so many valuable skills that I cannot imagine learning anywhere else. Doing the Gold Award was a journey that I will never forget and it is one of the best ones a Girl Scout can experience.

Seniors Go Tech! - Helping Every Age Stay Connected

This month's featured Gold Girl Scout is Rachel Freeman who focused her efforts on helping senior citizens learn how to use technology to stay connected and active with their communities. Congratulations on becoming a Gold Girl Scout, Rachel!

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My Gold Girl Scout Project, 'Seniors Go Tech!', was designed to provide senior citizens the knowledge and hands-on practice with technology so they would be empowered to maintain and expand their connections with family, friends and their community.  Medical studies have shown seniors who remain socially connected live happier and healthier lives which benefit everyone around.  Technology is one way to help senior citizens can stay connected but many do not know how to use a computer, the Internet or smart phones.  

Although the retirement centers I worked with provided free internet access, only one offered access to community computers and none provided any type of technological support or education to their residents. I created lesson plans and held classes, as well as individual tutoring sessions on several topics including Introduction to the Internet, Introduction to Google, Using Facebook, iPads, iPhones, Email and Kindle for two local retirement centers.  As part of my project I created 'how-to' handbooks for the senior centers and local community groups so others could continue presenting the technology classes I created and possibly expand on the topics.

The 78 senior citizens who attended Seniors Go Tech! classes and tutoring sessions are now able to use their technology much more effectively. In the long-term they will become more connected with their families, friends and communities.  At one Seniors Go Tech! class I met Muriel. Muriel told me she was invited to meet some friends for lunch but she wasn’t going to go. When I asked why not she said she didn’t know where the restaurant was. I told her we could find the address and directions on the internet using her iPhone but she replied she couldn’t read maps very well any more. When I explained to her we could have Google Maps give her verbal directions on her iPhone she was so excited.  We found the address online, programmed the address into her phone and she drove off to meet her friends. I am happy I was able to help her learn how technology can work for her. In the future Muriel will be able to meet her friends for lunch, dinner and movies. She can share what she’s learned with her friends and they will all maintain their connections with families and friends and their community.

Seeing my new friends successfully using technology—some for the first time—was very rewarding. Seniors Go Tech! helped them learn to retrieve voicemail messages, send pictures, texts, emails and “surf the web” with confidence.  I was thrilled to help all of them learn how technology can help them in their daily lives and keep their social connections strong.

Sensory Mural Station: Helping Children with Severe Disabilities

Gold Scouts

The following entry was written by Elizabeth Geisinger, and covers her Gold Award Project "Sensory Mural Station." Learn all about why she chose this project, the challenges she faces and the satisfaction she gained from it! Amazing work, Elizabeth!

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A thousand words could not describe the Gold Award and the journey it takes to get to it. I recently received my Gold Award for a Sensory Mural Station I created for Rosedale School, which helps students with severe disabilities.  I began my journey towards the Gold a little over 2 years ago. When I first came up with my idea, to paint murals on the portables at Rosedale, I was elated.  I got my proposal approved and immediately began planning and researching what to do. By the end of year though, I had to change my project because it was expected the portables would be removed so I decided to build a mobile sensory station. I was still excited and researched Adaptive Learning and eventually built the station.  However the school year came and I began procrastinating my project. I lost motivation to finish my project and couldn't convince myself to do it. However this past year, with the encouragement of leaders in my Service Unit, I pushed myself to complete my project. I painted the various mural scenes and attached the sensory objects. I finished it and turned my paperwork in by the end of September. While the journey will have bumps in the road, it is all worth it to finish your project and feel an overwhelming amount of joy when the letter comes and says “congratulations”.

Volunteer Spotlight: Kathy Beifuss, keeping the Service Unit together

"Kathy Beifuss serves in numerous positions on the service team and she stepped forward to serve when there was a re-organization of their service unit (SU) made by the council.

A while back, the SU was hit with a blow in leadership. Kathy quickly stepped up to assist new leadership, which allowed the unit to stay together. She not only maintained it, but made it stronger over the next two years. The Girl Scouts in that SU would have suffered had it fallen apart. It would have taken a huge effort to rebuild it.  Then, when a second round of leadership changes occurred, this volunteer kept the SU together once again!  

She has wonderfully served the Bryan-College Station SU in more capacities than her assistant director position calls for: Silver Award consultant, travel application approvals, facilitator in camping and program levels, communications, troop problem solver, SU date reminders, she ensures cookie sales information is submitted, and is also the Camp Howdy site crew and camping manager. 

Kathy Beifuss is a strong, silent (unless it involves tent folding) force, who helps keep a large metropolitan SU together, providing girls the fullest, most rewarding Girl Scout experience they can have."

Kathy is a treasure to Girl Scouts of Central Texas and we couldn't be more proud of her. Thank you for all your hard work, Kathy!

Today's volunteer feature was submitted by Debra Turner, a troop leader and SU Troop Organizer for the Bryan-College Station SU. Thanks, Debra!

Dripping Springs Girl Scouts Help Helping Hands Food Pantry

Dripping Springs/Wimberley Girl Scouts came to the rescue of a current protein shortage at the Helping Hands Food Pantry! Brownie Autumn P. from troop 406, and Cadette Sarah H. from troop 755, used donations from local Girl Scouts to fill a food cart to the point of overflowing with canned meats, fish, beans, peas, nuts, nut butters, dried beans and peas, hearty meat soups for the those in need in the Dripping Springs  area. These girls are setting the example for other community organizations and individuals to help make the world a better place through serving food nutrition for those that are down on their luck.

Following that trend, in early November, Dripping Springs/Wimberley Girl Scouts will contribute time and energy to the upcoming Empty Bowl Project, an effort that will feature area chefs at their best. This annual family-friendly event invites the community to select their favorite locally crafted ceramic bowl—many made by Girl Scouts— and fill it with gourmet soup & bread, and listen to live music while enjoying their meal. 

This year’s event will take place on Sunday, November 2, 2014 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Sunset Canyon Pottery located at 4002 E. Hwy. 290 in Dripping Springs, TX 78620. Proceeds from the event will benefit Helping Hands, Inc. in providing food and aid to those in need.

Dripping Springs/Wimberley Girl Scouts is a 350 girl member unit organization, which specializes in growing girls into leaders through community service, and teaching girls skills in personal leadership that will last them a lifetime.  The area parent organization, Girl Scouts of Central Texas, serves 46 counties with  over 17,000 girl members who are making the world a better place. Girl Scouts make a lasting impact in the communities where they live!

All Cooped Up: A Gold Award Project for the (Chicken) Masses

Gold Award Girls

The following entry is about Kelli Robertson's Gold Award Project--a chicken coop for the students at Travis Heights Elementary School. In it you'll read about the idea behind the project, the benefits it will bring and a shout-out to those who helped her accomplish her goal. Thank you, Kelli!

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"The Coop" is Kelli Robertson's finished Girl Scout Gold Award project, which can be found at Travis Heights Elementary. 

Kelli has been a Girl Scout for 12 years and dedicated her project to the students at Travis Heights Elementary School, where her father is the principal. She had many advisers on this project and they are cited on the blue plaque on the side of the coop. 

They include: Krista Ernst, Gail Laubenthal, Veronica Arispe, Tonya Penney, and Andee Knutson. Also, wonderful family friends, Gene, Karen, and Mike Sanders supported Kelli in this project by sharing their expertise since the small space has a 2.5 foot drop from one end of the coop to the other. 

The project was funded through Kelli’s Girl Scout cookie sales, fall product sales, and donations from the following businesses: McCoy’s Building Supplies, Home Depot, Viking Fence, and Callahan’s. 

This spring, The Coop will welcome chicks raised by 2nd graders from Travis Heights Elementary and students in the specialized units under the watchful eyes of Ms. Arispe and Mrs. K! 

Through raising and caring for the chicks, students will learn about life cycles, caring for animals, and the role they play in a habitat. In addition, as the residents of The Coop continue to grow and produce, future groups of students will understand the phrase “farm to table”, the elements of business and finance, as well future planning for an urbanized world.

Thanks to Kelli's project, dozens of students will have access to a real-life, hands-on farm experience. 

Trail of Thought: Positivity Rocks

A nationwide movement is afoot and it's all thanks to  members of Troop 219. These amazing girls wanted to create a way to spread positive ideas and energy for their Silver Award, so they did.  They came up with the Trail of Thought, a way for girls to spread good-will and happiness, making the world a better place. The troop wrote inspirational quotes and phrases on rocks and then distributed them to members of their community. They describe the project to being similar to geocaching, but with the Girl Scout twist. 

                The troop now holds regular “Thought Parties” to start up their project and made party instructions available on their website.   Once there, visitors can view those who have participated in the Trail of Thought movement, which has taken over the East Coast. The troop is excited for the movement to spread even further, so check out their website and Facebook page and join in on the fun!

Helping them Remember: How one Girl Scout helped Alzheimer's patients

Gold Award Girls

The following entry was written by Marissa Konde about her Gold Award project--helping Alzheimer's patients--where she drew inspiration from and how she accomplished it. Thank you, Marissa!

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For my project I made and led activities for an Alzheimer’s /dementia respite group called Mike’s Place. Mike’s Place program is part of Meals on Wheels (MoW) and is held in east Austin in the MoW building. About 16 families were being served with my project. The activities engaged the Alzheimer’s patient’s minds and helped them to keep communicating. It also strengthened family bonds since some activities were taken home and done with a family member.  It benefited others because the Alzheimer’s patients engaged their minds, reduced anxiety/ restlessness and kept them intellectually active. Also, their caregivers got a break, and the volunteers helped the participants grow.  Indirectly, I believe that others in Austin (and in the United States) benefited from my blog, which listed activities and directions to complete the activities. These groups or families would then have ideas for interacting with persons who have dementia.

I chose this project because my grandma has been having memory problems, and this project could help me learn more about memory difficulties.  I also selected it because my mom volunteers at Mike’s Place and she thought it would be a great place that could use my contribution. 

My goals were to impact the Alzheimer’s/dementia patients and families in a positive way, advertise my activity blog, and have some money donated for supplies for the sustainability of the project. I also created an interest survey for the participant’s families to complete so different kinds of focus could be incorporated into activities at Mike’s Place. 

 Many of them are sustainable because they can be reused again, time after time (see list of sustainable activities attached). I purchased some decorations to go with Mike’s Place weekly themes that can be reused year to year too.  I also raised $400 along with my church, which went to Mike’s Place to provide funding for purchasing materials needed for activities. I recruited the craft group from my church to commit to making a few activities for Mike’s Place next year. Hopefully my blog will continue to be a source of inspiration for others to do the same in their communities.

One of my biggest obstacles was collecting funds for supplies. I sent letters and emails explaining my project to various businesses requesting funds to support with little to no response.  I was able to get a couple of businesses to donate supplies and one of them donated laminating services, which was very helpful.  Once I saw where most of the money was going, I did find ways to cut costs.  My church allowed me to make color copies using their copier, as did Mike’s place.  This helped me cut down significantly on costs. I was able to raise money in my church to support Mike’s Place for next year.

My advice to anyone getting their gold award is to pick a subject that you really like and won’t get tired of. Most importantly never give up!

Conservation: A Way of Life Worth Teaching

Gold Award Girls

The following blog entry is by Catherine Vrabel, a Gold Award girl from Central Texas. She wrote about her experience attaining her award and the positive impact it had on her community and her as well. Thank you, Catherine!

                                                                                                                                  

My name is Catherine Vrabel. Over the past year I've worked very hard to achieve something I have always wanted to earn: the Gold Award. When I got old enough to start working on the Gold Award I was not sure exactly what I wanted to do for my project. My dad is a farmer and when he received an award for Outstanding Conservation Farmer, it really inspired me to do something about conservation. I was reading an agriculture magazine when I came across a page about the topic. It hit me that it would be amazing if I did something similar-- reaching out to people about conservation. However, instead of reaching out to adults, I thought “What about youth?” This was the project I wanted to do, so I began to fill out the proposal and my project began. 

My project was called “Conservation for Youth” and it was about all things conservation. I did many projects. One was doing a class at a Girl Scout camp where I did experiments with Girls explaining conservation and its meaning. I also did projects with other girl groups, like nature hikes. I talked about soil conservation and did projects with them. In the spring I ran a booth at a festival in Belton, TX. Here I handed out coloring books about conservation to children and they got to plant their own tomato seed that they could take home and transplant. I also had some adults that were interested in what I was doing and asked about conservation and what they could do. The whole idea of my project was to reach out to as many youth as I could about conservation because they are the face of the new generation. I envisioned them conserving as they grow up, then they pass it on to others to make this world a better place!

I did have challenges along the way.  For example, I didn't know how I would put my project into action. I was a bit overwhelmed. I also faced the challenge of not really wanting to get in front of people and talking and giving directions because I felt I was being bossy. I realized if you need something to get done and you ask in a nice way that is not being bossy, it is being a leader. All this hard work was definitely worth it and I don’t regret one minute of it! I had so much fun, met different people who were so nice and helpful. The most rewarding outcome was looking back and seeing how many people benefited from my projects and how many people I helped.

My advice to any girl who is thinking about going for their Gold Award is to have great friends and family to help you out. Pick a project you really feel strongly about. Most importantly, don’t get discouraged because if you set your mind to anything, it is possible. You can do it!

How Getting My Gold Award Changed My Life

Hi, my name is Mandy Jústiz.  I am 17 years old and have been a Girl Scout for 10 years.  As a Girl Scout, I have always loved community service, whether it be wrapping gifts for Blue Santa or collecting blankets for an animal shelter.  It was not until about half way through my Girl Scout career that I learned about the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards, but once I did, I knew I had to complete them. 

The summer before my sophomore year, I learned about National Young Women of Distinction, an award which is annually given to ten Girl Scouts who showed exemplary leadership, innovation, and problem solving skills in their Gold Award.  I applied for the award and, a few months later, learned that I would be one of the 2013 recipients.  Soon after, I was informed that I was also one of five National Young Women of Distinction chosen to represent Girl Scouts at a brunch with Congress in Washington DC where female Congress members were inducted into Troupe Capitol Hill. My trip to DC was incredible and the brunch was beyond words!  I had the opportunity to talk with several members of Congress as well as Anna Maria Chávez, the CEO of Girl Scouts.  A month later, I flew to Phoenix, Arizona to receive my award. There, I was interviewed by Justine Magazine and Girl Scouts of the USA.  I also participated in a panel for Girl Scouts who were interested in completing their Gold Awards.
 The award ceremony was amazing.  The room, filled with Girl Scout CEOs and COOs from councils across the country, was charged with an amazingly high energy.  I was terribly nervous to give my thank you speech; I had never made a speech before, although this one became my first of many.  At the ceremony award winners recieved a $4,500 scholarship from Kappa Delta and were given our National Young Women of Distinction and life time membership pins.  

  
 I started thinking about my Gold Award the summer before freshman year. I have always been very interested in marine biology and knew I wanted to incorporate my hobby into my Gold Award.  After bouncing several ideas off of my father, I decided that I should build a fish tank for an elementary school.  I figured that it would be an effective, fun way to introduce children to the aquatic world.  I contacted the University of Texas Elementary School and got approval to build a tank in their main office.  However, after some thinking, I decided that I was not content with just building an aquarium.  I again started talking with my dad and finally decided that, in addition to the aquarium, I would create a 3-day module, which could be incorporated into an elementary school curriculum, which I could use to teach children about aquatic ecology and conservation. 

The elementary school put me in contact with a 5^th grade science teacher, who welcomed my idea and offered her help should I need it. With my plan completed, I started to design and build the aquarium. For the next several months, the 60 gallon aquarium was my baby. I checked on it often, ran tests on the water, and added various chemicals and bacteria at least once a week. I couldn't wait for the water to be stable enough to add fish.  When it was finally ready, we went to the pet store and picked out the fish.  The fish I chose were cherry barbs, Mickey Mouse platies, black mollies, otocinclus, powder blue gourami, and ghost shrimp. The array of fish allowed me to teach children about how different lifestyles and habitats affect the fish and its adaptations.  Once the fish were added to the aquarium, I started creating the module.  I played around with the organization of the material, did a lot of research, and tried desperately to find ways of teaching that would not bore the children. I decided the best way of doing so would be to keep a healthy balance between anatomical, physiological, conservation, and environmental information mixed with fun facts and pictures.  I continued to update the module whenever I learned something new, but I always tried to maintain the balance.  My first time teaching the 5^th graders was a life changing moment.  Experiencing the student’s energy and excitement, and hearing their insightful questions made me realize my love for teaching. 

          
  When I was a Brownie, I never imagined the impact that Girl Scouts would have on my life.  It has led me to discover myself, my passions, and my dreams.  Because of this wonderful organization, I have become the confident leader I am today.