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.

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. 

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. 

Transformation Tuesday: Made With Code

Guest post from Sarah Y., Gold Girl Scout and intern at GSCTX. Her intern challenge? To get GSCTX girls interested, involved and inspired with computer coding. You can follow her internship at her blog, Journeys to the Summit 

Its Transformation Tuesday!

It was actually a couple days ago that my mom and I were talking about how you can tell just how old a piece of technology is just by its thickness.A computer, a phone, TV's,  movies (VHS vs. DVD), music (cassettes vs. CD's).

                                                                      

And along with these advances in... size, came the advancement in how they work. I see this advancement every second and fourth Friday of every month when I work with my Made w/Code girls. Coding and programming have come a long way and I am so glad that I get to help the next generation get ready to make the next big advancement!

I would love to talk to your troop, youth group, club, and/or school about the Made w/Code project. If you're at all interested, please contact me at sarah@discovergreenyel.org

Ready to code? Start now!

Until then, Happy coding!

Yours in coding,

Sarah Y.

Let's Celebrate National Women's History Month with Candid Convos!

Let’s Celebrate National Women’s History Month with Candid Convos!

Guest Post from GSUSA Blog: blog.girlscouts.org 

                                                                             

At Girl Scouts, we’re all about girl power. That’s why, every day, all over the world, we work hard to advocate for girls and women and to elevate dialogue not only about their amazing accomplishments and unique journeys, but also about the challenges they face.

This year, the theme of the National Women’s History Project, part of National Women’s History Month, is “Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives.” To mark the occasion, we encourage you to find opportunities to weave women’s stories—both as individuals and as part of a larger group—into the fabric of our nation’s history. This is the perfect time to have critical conversations in your own circles—with your family, friends, and neighbors—and to create a space for expression and ideas to really flourish.

Don’t stress! It doesn’t have to be anything formal. Invite a couple of friends over, set out some snacks, and get to talkin.’ Remember: big change often begins with something as simple as a conversation, in an environment that fosters authentic, open dialogue about important issues. So it’s okay to start small.

And it doesn’t all have to be so serious, either. Take this opportunity to also celebrate one another and to rejoice in the richness of women’s history and the strength that lives within all of those present at your gathering. Maybe each person can speak about a woman in history who has inspired her, changed her, or otherwise made a difference in her life.

There are so many simple, meaningful ways to celebrate National Women’s History Month—so let’s do it! Go out and start that conversation today. This month and every day, let’s continue to reflect on the amazing strides women have made in the world and the work yet to be done to ensure true equality for future generations of girls.

Happy National Women’s History Month!

"Discover, Connect, and Take Action: Girls Change the World"—GSCTX at the 2014 Girl Scouts national convention

"On Wednesday, October 15^th Texas bound girls headed for Salt Lake City, Utah. Why you ask? For the 53^rd annual Girl Scout National Convention, of course! 

Twenty representatives made up of girls, volunteers, staff and board members represented Girl Scouts of Central Texas among the 6,000 participants in the week-long conference. Scouts who are members of GSUSA flew in from all over the world to participate in delegate sessions, Girl Scout leadership institute (GSLI) activities, meeting with collaborators, and listening to inspirational speakers. International guests and Girl Scouts were welcome too, introducing our girls to Girl Scouting outside of the states. Our GSLI girls represented the entire council area and were chosen to work on projects in their communities from the information they gained at the convention. 

Right now, our girls are working on such topics as addressing basic needs, education, teen violence and gender equality. Discover, Connect and Take Action was the theme of the conference and after meeting our new board, learning great ideas and sharing general practices our girls, staff and volunteers are ready to Take Action and change the world! The next conference will be held in Columbus, Ohio in 2017."

Thanks to Emily Magnotta for sharing the excitement of the national convention with us. We can't wait to see the projects our Girl Scouts will take on after this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Girl Experience Special Announcement: Outdoor Badge Voting

Girl Experience Special Announcement! When asked what the girls should do, Juliette Gordon Lowe responded, “What do the girls WANT to do?” During the national convention, GSUSA announced that starting in the fall 2015 program year, girls will be able to enjoy new outdoor badges and they want your input into what those badges will be. Girl Scout Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes and Seniors will vote first on an outdoor badge content area (i.e.: Outdoor Recreation, Outdoor Environment, or Outdoor Survival). Once there is a majority vote on the content area, girls will vote on the actual badge topic (i.e.: Hiking, Camping, Trail Blazing, etc.). Click here for more details!

This is going to be great!

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 .

Girl Scout Teens Unite to Plan Conference

With many events, committees must be formed to ensure every aspect of the function is planned with careful consideration and detail. The same can be said for the 2011 Teen Conference. What makes this event unique is that the conference is planned by teens for teens. Typical meetings include Central Texas girls discussing what is important to their peers and what needs to be done to implement their ideas.

The GSCTX Marketing Department has had the pleasure of working with a group of four girls to plan and create the promotional materials for the upcoming conference. Under our guidance, Annie L., Alison S., Clara S. and Belle T. have been able to take the lead on implementing many of the projects that are usually given to seasoned professionals. The girls are currently creating the event logo along with developing content for the website, social media, TV, radio and print materials.

Join us February 19, 2011 at the UT Alumni Center to celebrate the hard work of these girls and experience a day that can help any high school girl get ready to take on the next stage of her life.

Photo: GSCTX Graphic Designer Larisa Chavarria guides Annie L. on designing the logo.

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.

How do we help?

Bullying has been a problem for generations but recently it's getting a little more exposure. After a tragic suicide in South Hadley, MA, possibly caused by severe bullying (see Boston Globe article), more conversations regarding bullying, the responsibility of adults and the long-term effects are being had across the country.

To reduce or eliminate this mean-spirited trend, here are a few resources.

• Working It Out, Brownie Try-It Kit
• Conflict Resolution, Cadette-Ambassador IP Kit
• Volunteer Essentials, Creating a Safe Space for Girls
• What is Cyber Bullying? From LMK
• Stop Bullying Now

What actions do you take to discourage bullying? What do you do when you witness it? How do you help someone who is being bullied?

-Cheryl Black

5 Easy Ways to Support Girls

When it comes to Girl Scouts and Girl Scout volunteers, there are two truths that almost always hold true:

1. You think girls rock and you care about their success.
2. You are busy!

Sometimes these truths don't necessarily complement. There are only so many hours in the day and you want to use every one of them to their fullest potential. We're all about it. Here are five quick and easy ways you can support girls and Girl Scouting without cramping your very busy lifestyle.

1. Take the Power of Girls pledge. The well-being of girls is not just an issue for girls and their parents; it's an everyone issue. When girls succeed, families are healthier and economies are stronger. Take this pledge to tell the world, you care about the well-being of girls everywhere.
2. Share our Facebook page on your profile. You are on Facebook already so take a quick second and let all your friends know that you love Girl Scouting. You are bound to open a few people's eyes to the many benefits of Girl Scouting and girl leadership.
3. Brag about Girl Scouts. Stop your neighbor, chat at coworker's cube, call your sister and tell them all what fun it is to be a Girl Scout. Tell them about learning to build campfires or helping girls program robots or having slumber parties at the zoo. Bottom line: let them know, Girl Scouts is where it's at.
4. Read Volunteer Essentials. It's your one-stop Girl Scout spot for emergency procedures, girl development, volunteer recognition and more. Make it your bedtime reading or take it on the plane with you. Either way, take a second and explore this amazing resource.
5. Take our survey. Every month we have a new survey on our Web site (this month it's about the shop). By spending just a couple minutes completing it each month, you are helping make Girl Scouts better for you and all your Girl Scout sisters. You can also recommend survey topics by reaching out to the Communications Staff.

Thank you for loving Girl Scouts! We love you right back!

-Cheryl Black

Photo: Amazing committed service team members at the 2009 Service Team Conference.

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.

Money, Money, Money

A recent study from Pew Research reports that 74% of Americans ages 16-25 think college is necessary to get ahead in life (interesting: Latinos have a higher percentage of folks with this opinion, 88%). Yet only 42% of people ages 18-24 are enrolled in school. What gives?

Money.

College Board reports that for a public 4 year college, the average tuition for 09-10 is $7,020 (6.5% increase from last year) and for a 4 year private college, the average tuition is - get ready for it - a staggering $26,273. Hold on to your hats folks; it's a lot of money!

The good news is that College Board also reports 2/3 of full-time undergrads receive grant aid. Whew, thank goodness! Even with all that grant aid coming in though, we know it's not always enough. And that's why we're sharing these scholarship and money making opportunities with you.

• Texas Scholarships - for students at the University of Texas
• Texas Elks Scholarship - $2,500 for Girl Scout Gold Award recipients
• Scholarships for Military Children - exactly what it sounds like
• Founders Scholarship - $1,000 from GSCTX, deadline is 2/12/10
• Fast Web - scholarship and financial aid search engine
• Every Chance, Every Texan - lists of scholarships available to students in Texas
• Federal Work-Study - part-time jobs for students paid by federal funds
• GSCTX Camp Counselor - make a little $$ for college by spending the summer at camp
  

Don't let mula (or lack thereof) stand in your way of a college education. If a college education is for you, then get out there and say it loud "show me the money!"

-Cheryl Black

The photo is GSCTX Founders Scholarship recipients from 2009.

10 Status Updates to Support Girl Scouting

You're already tweeting and Facebooking just about every day. Why not use one of those updates to support girl leadership and Girl Scouting? Here's 10 status updates (or tweets) you can use to support GSCTX.

1. I love being a (insert "troop leader", "Girl Scout mom" or other relevant description)! Time for you to join too - http://www.gsctx.org/?nd=join.
2. I'm a fan of GSCTX on Facebook! Are you? http://www.facebook.com/gsctx
3. I just made a difference in a girl's life by donating to Girl Scouts. http://www.gsctx.org/?nd=donate_summary
4. Learn the three keys to leadership - http://www.gsctx.org/?nd=gsle
5. Nobody knows cookies like Girl Scouts. http://www.gsctx.org/?nd=fall_products_and_cookie_programs
6. Follow Friday (#ff) @GSCTXcouncil
7. Its always s'more fun at Girl Scout Camp. http://www.gsctx.org/?nd=girl_scout_camps
8. My Girl Scout just earned the (insert patch name)! I'm so proud! http://www.gsctx.org/?nd=patch_programs
9. The best thing about Girl Scouts is (your most favorite Girl Scout thing ever).
10. Courage, confidence and character - its what Girl Scouts is really all about. http://www.gsctx.org/?nd=mission_promise_and_law.

And here's my next tweet/status update - I'm a professional Girl Scout and I love it!

Happy tweeting/status updating!

-Cheryl Black