Leadership

World Thinking Day: It’s Our Time to Lead

Girl Scouts work every day to make the world a better place. It’s just what we do! 

But there’s one day a year that’s extra special, a day when girls from more than 150 countries around the planet come together to explore the global dimensions of Girl Scouting and take action to change the world for the better. 

Of course, we’re talking about World Thinking Day! It’s coming up on February 22, so let’s get ready to make it one of the best ever. 

The theme for World Thinking Day 2019 is leadership—now, that’s an idea we can all support. 

This World Thinking Day, let’s take the opportunity to:

Honor the leadership of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides worldwide, and celebrate what it means to be part of this global sisterhood.  

Advocate for positive change on global issues that girls and their supporters care about. 

Support international opportunities for girls and young women by contributing to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund. 

A project of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), World Thinking Day is the perfect opportunity for girls to think globally and take action. But first, let’s take a moment to understand why and how World Thinking Day came to be. 

The Origins of World Thinking Day

It all dates back to 1926, at the fourth World Conference of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts held at Girl Scouts’ very own Camp Edith Macy (now Edith Macy Conference Center) in New York. The conference delegates agreed that there should be a special day every year when Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world think of one another and celebrate global sisterhood. They decided to call it Thinking Day and chose February 22 to celebrate it. (Fun fact: the date was picked to honor the birthdays of Girl Guide founders Lord and Lady Baden-Powell.) 

Then, in 1999, at the 30th World Conference in Dublin, Ireland, delegates from around the world wanted to emphasize the international aspect of the day and the global nature of the Girl Scout Movement, so they changed the name to World Thinking Day. 

Every year since, World Thinking Day has called for Girl Scouts and Girl Guides to unite and take part in activities that promote changing the world for the better.  

How You (and Your Troop) Can Participate

World Thinking Day is for everyone—from the youngest, mightiest Daisy to the Ambassador working toward her Gold Award. And it’s super easy to find your inspiration for how to take action in your community and the world at large. 

Check out these World Thinking Day resources to get started: 

Activity Guide for Girl Scout Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors (PDF)  

Activity Guide for Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors (PDF) 

In these convenient, downloadable resources, you’ll find age-appropriate activities for younger girls as well as older girls. The activities fall into three categories: discovering your leadership style, celebrating a sisterhood of leaders, and taking on leadership roles. When girls complete one activity from each category, they’ll earn the World Thinking Day 2019 Award. Although only one activity in each category is required to earn the award, don’t let that stop you—you can do as many as you like! 

Now It’s Your Turn to Take the Lead!

Looking for some extra inspiration to make World Thinking Day even more awesome? Check out this amazing story about a group of Brownies who reimagined World Thinking Day to build community. Or this story of a group of Muslim Girl Scouts extending friendship across cultures. That’s what we’re talking about! 

To earn your World Thinking Day 2019 Award, try some of our suggested activities. Then tell us how you’re taking the lead through Girl Scouts and Girl Guides—and how you’re celebrating. You can share your story directly with us or post it on social media with #WorldThinkingDay and #TimeToLead! 

On World Thinking Day 2019, let’s lead together for a better world.

Leadership

How Girl Scouts Gave Me Confidence by Mackenzie Carey

My mother has always been my leader. My family has always supported girl scouting. I am a 4th generation Girl Scout and now a lifetime member. But these are only what brought me to girl scouting. My journey began just before entering elementary school.Receiving the Golden Ticket to Hollywood on the 2018 reboot of American Idol is the culmination of a dream I had when I was 4 years old and watch the first American Idol crowned. The very next week when I graduated from Berri Patch Pre School, I announced to everyone, I was going to be the “the American Idol, call me!”.

Fast forward 15 years and the dream became a reality when I auditioned at the very first open call in Orlando August 2017.

Up to that time, I participated and entered contests near and wide in pursuit of a dream, being named Palm Bay Pee Wee Idol 2010, Palm Bay Idol 2011, Funtown Talent winner 2012, 2016 Nash Next Winner in the Melbourne Cumulus Market.

I graduated from Bayside High in 2016 and I am a Lifetime Girl Scout Alumni and active Girl Scout Leader.

I have been featured at the Johnny Mercer Theatre as a headlining performer, opened for Easton Corbin at Sea World and opened the Runaway Country Music Festival in March 2018 on the main stage.

But there is more: I always wanted to sing! And Girl Scouts gave me the most opportunities. From singing for cookie sales at booths, to Citrus Idol, to performing at Disney Springs Mainstage to Sea World Cookie Kick Off and then to the American Idol audition with Luke Bryan in Savannah Ga. I was able to host a whole troop of Girl Scouts at the auditions and they were featured on American Idol’s instagram and in Episode 5 of Season 1 on ABC! Check it out on Hulu!

As a result, I recently performed for 11,000 Girl Scouts in July at the Savannah Girl Scout Quest, for the Savannah tourism bureau and made my national debut @Wolftrap October 29, 2018, in Vienna, VA.

I can be followed at all social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at MackenzieCareyMusic. Here are some links to my music:

Www.Facebook.com/mackenziecareymusic
<http://www.facebook.com/mackenziecareymusic>

www.Youtube.com/macklolful <http://www.youtube.com/macklolful>

www.instagram.com/mackenziecareymusic

If it wasn’t for Girl Scouts and the support of Citrus Council, I may not have ever auditioned for American Idol.

Featured

10 Fun Things You Might Not Know About Juliette…

Girl Scouts across the country celebrate October 31 each year as Founder’s Day. The date was chosen to celebrate our Founder, Juliette Gordon Low, because it’s the anniversary of her birthday. There are tons of ways to celebrate! To challenge your JGL knowledge, here are 10 Fun Facts about the ultimate G.I.R.L. that you might not yet know!

  1. She was born on October 31, 1860 in Savannah, Georgia.
  2. Her childhood nickname was Daisy which serves as inspiration for the first two years of Girl Scout membership (K-1 grades).
  3. That nickname also led to a biography written about JGL by Fern G. Brown called Daisy and the Girl Scouts.
  4. Though she never considered herself a skillful sewer, while home from boarding school one year, this Go-Getter named herself an instructor of sewing and started a club called “Helpful Hands” in which JGL and her friends would sew and donate clothes to children in need.
  5. In lieu of using ribbons and flowers to decorate a hat like the other girls, she was an Innovator and used her creativity to decorate with carrots and parsley instead!
  6. She was nearly deaf – not that she’d let it  stop her from being the life of the party!
    1. She got an earache in one ear and insisted her doctor treat it with the up-and-coming treatment of silver nitrate, which the doctor did not want to do but with JGL’s persistence (and her Risk-Taker tendencies), he could not turn her away. This ultimately left her partially deaf in one ear!
    2. The second eardrum was damaged by a piece of rice that got stuck in her ear during the rice shower after her wedding! This small piece of rice damaged her eardrum so terribly that it left her completely deaf in the second ear.
  7. Skills she excelled at included tennis, swimming, horseback riding, and hunting.
  8. In May of 1911, JGL met General Sir Robert Baden-Powell, author, and Founder of Boy Scouts. Three months later she got involved by inviting every girl in Glen Lyon, Scotland (where she lived at the time) to her home for the first ever Girl Guide meeting. Seven girls attended, one of which walked over seven miles to get there.
  9. In 1912, JGL aimed to bring Girl Guides to America and on on March 12, 1912, 18 girls were inducted from Savannah, GA as the first Girl Guides of America.
  10. After traveling back to Europe to seek counsel from the British Girl Guides on how to grow membership, she arrived back to America in 1913 with the plan to change the name to Girl Scouts after finding out that the Savannah girls did so themselves because it “reminded them of America’s pioneer history.” Soon after, this Leader designed and patented the trefoil badge becoming the official insignia of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.
Badges and Patches

New Journeys and Badges added

Heading into the new Girl Scout year means new exciting badges, journeys, and opportunities for Girl Scouts of all ages! With the update of the Volunteer Toolkit brings an array of new content from Daisy to Ambassador and every girl in between. We are thrilled to announce the following badge and Journey resources have officially been released and you can start planning your new Girl Scout year as early as today in the Volunteer Toolkit online!

Daisies:

  • Space Science Explorer
  • Eco Learner
  • Progressive Cybersecurity badges:
    1. Cybersecurity Basics
    2. Cybersecurity Safeguards
    3. Cybersecurity Investigator

Brownies:

  • Space Science Adventurer
  • Eco Friend
  • Progressive Cybersecurity badges:
    1. Cybersecurity Basics
    2. Cybersecurity Safeguards
    3. Cybersecurity Investigator
  • *Brownie Quest Journey

Juniors:

  • Space Science Investigator
  • Progressive Cybersecurity badges:
    1. Cybersecurity Basics
    2. Cybersecurity Safeguards
    3. Cybersecurity Investigator
  • Mechanical Engineering badges:
    1. Balloon Car Design Challenge
    2. Crane Design Challenge
    3. Paddle Boat Design Challenge
  • *Agent of Change Journey

Cadettes:

  • Think Like an Engineer Journey
  • Think Like a Programmer Journey
  • Progressive Robotics badges:
    1. Programming Robots
    2. Designing Robots
    3. Showcasing Robots
  • Leader in Action
  • Eco Trekker

Seniors:

  • Think Like an Engineer Journey
  • Think Like a Programmer Journey
  • Progressive Robotics badges:
    1. Programming Robots
    2. Designing Robots
    3. Showcasing Robots
  • Eco Explorer

Ambassadors:

  • Think Like an Engineer Journey
  • Think Like a Programmer Journey
  • Progressive Robotics badges:
    1. Programming Robots
    2. Designing Robots
    3. Showcasing Robots
  • College Knowledge
  • Eco Advocate

*Brownie Quest and Junior Agent of Change are part of the It’s Your World – Change It! series, not new content but now available in digital format on the Volunteer Toolkit.

Progressive badges are suggested to be earned in the order they are listed for the best experience.

Remember that even though 2017-2018 content was archived on June 30, you have access to view it to see where you need to start your new year!

To ensure you have access to this amazing new content, renew your membership and troop leader status for 2019. If you are having trouble seeing specific content, try clearing your cookies and cache before reaching out to customercare@citrus-gs.org (or your local council) for support.

Happy planning!

Leadership

Getting to Know the VTK

What is the Volunteer Toolkit (VTK)?!

When I became a troop leader in 2009 the VTK was not available. I spent countless hours planning, researching, reading, training and asking many questions before my first troop meeting.

The VTK has truly been an incredible resource from Girl Scouts USA, and they keep adding more functions to it.

 

Setting up your My Year Plan

I use the toolkit regularly to add council events to “My Year Plan”. As the name implies, it is a resource on the VTK that guides you as the troop Co-Leader to plan your Girl Scout year with your troop. You can customize a troop plan, include the troop meeting location (time/day/meeting frequency), and even upload a troop picture of you and your girls. This is also very transparent for parents, who can see what is being planned every step of the way.

Now, I’ll be honest, I didn’t use the VTK when I planned my outdoor activities this past year. I’ve just always used another resource to enter these type of troop activities. But the more comfortable I become with the VTK, the more likely I’ll rely on it for all of my troop functions.

Keeping track of your troop

Through the VTK, you can review all contact information (email address/home address/phone numbers) for each girl and parent. This is vital to have in good order before fall product training & sales begin. I have also been able to manage specific troop position assignments and verify background check status for troop volunteers.

When it’s time for early bird I use the VTK to re-register my troop. The VTK allows me to communicate with my troop and troop parents through email.

I really like the convenience of logging into my MYGS to view all the adult and girl event registrations.

My Meeting Plan

You can also use the VTK to help plan your troop meetings. View upcoming Citrus Council events and discuss with your troop. You can access your meeting overview, set up an activity plan, and make materials list.

I also like the ability to manage troop communications through email reminders and attendance records. This helps me organize myself while keeping the girls and their parent updated on upcoming activities.

Resources

Here are just some additional resources you can find on the VTK to help guide you as a troop Co-Leader:

  • Safety and Travel forms
  • Troop Leadership
  • Volunteer Aids
  • New content to be added July 2018 include the Explore tab, Badge tracks, STEM Journeys and more for all grade levels!

 

How Do I Access the VTK?

Login to the VTK through your MYGS Member Profile at https://gsmembers.force.com/members/login.

Be sure to watch the Volunteer Toolkit Tutorial at www.girlscouts.org/en/adults/volunteer/volunteer-resources.html.

 

Some Key Things to Remember….

 

Citrus Email Preferences

Don’t miss emails from Citrus Council, Subscribe to the bi-weekly newsletter today!

www.citrus-gs.org/en/about-girl-scouts/our-council/email-preferences.html

Be sure to share the link with your adult volunteers, parents and girls.

 

Update My Troop

Maintain accurate records for your troop for easy renewal and registration.

The updates will be implemented into the MYGS community so that everyone has access to the troop information.

www.citrus-gs.org/en/about-girl-scouts/our-council/forms/UpdateMyTroop.html

Troops accepting new girls or troop volunteers can be displayed in the Citrus Council online catalog for parents or new girls to go online and register for your troop.

 

All Things Girl Scouts

Additional Troop Tips are available at https://allthingsgirlscouts.com.

Follow me at @floridagirlscout for more insights and tips on Girl Scouts.

Leadership

The Men Who are Man Enough to be a…

Are You Man Enough to be a Girl Scout?!

The Man Enough to be A Girl Scout campaign is about recognizing men who are involved in Girl Scouts. When the men in a Girl Scout’s life step up to be Man Enough to be a Girl Scout, they are standing with all girls in our community as they strive to become women of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

Here are just a few stories of the Girl Scout dads stepping up to take an active role in their daughter’s Girl Scout experience.

Brownie Troop Dads

A group of dads from Troop 3054 went on a hiking day activity with their daughters to earn the hiker badge. One dad helped his daughter walk the trail the week beforehand, teaching her how to read the trail map and help her prepare as it was his daughter who girl-led the hiker badge. The troop dads attended the “Get Outdoors” end of year celebration and game night. They also attended a daddy daughter date night at Steak and Shake.

 

The troop dads include Jared Weinhold, Steve Krueger, Matt Garboski, Scott Bompkamp, Ed Morales, John Mazzanovich and Mark Dowling.

Juliette Dad

Jim Marchione has been a registered Girl Scout with Citrus Council since his oldest daughter Angie, started as a Daisy. Eight years later, he’s a fearless co-leader and watched his other daughter Gabriella, bridge to Juniors.

Jim, better known by his camp name of “Burpee,” has helped with loading hundreds of cookie cases in his community every season, teaching about safety with from his years in law enforcement, health and fitness from his many nutrition degrees and certifications and has facilitated a Bronze Award through the South Lake Animal League and a Silver Award through the Red Cross. He researches and guides the girls through many scouting adventures including Scouts Rock at Graceland, primitive camping, overnighters, badge workshops, and a recent trip to Savannah, GA to visit Juliette Gordon Low’s Birthplace and The First Headquarters!

Jim started out helping his wife Yvonne’s multi-level troop in South Lake Community, but then, as his girls became Juliettes, he has taken over as their leader, guide and mentor.

Behind the Scene GS Dad

Joe Howe is the Behind the Scene’s Girl Scout dad.  “Not only is he understanding and always makes sure GS comes first on schedule but he is a HUGE help” expressed his wife and first year troop leader, Vicky.  While Joe works late during the week and is unable to make the troop’s regular meetings, he makes an effort to attend as many Girl Scout/Troop activities as he can.

He has helped out with all of the troop’s cookie booths, their snooze at the zoo event, and special outings to the police, fire departments and ice skating.  He’s has helped read over meeting plans and shared many ideas for potential projects for the troop.

During cookie season he was Vicky’s right hand. Joe would spend nights sitting with Vicky on the computer sorting and counting the many boxes of cookies that took over their house.

“When my counts didn’t add up he poured me a glass of wine and sat counting boxes again and again until we found the error. This was my first year being a troop leader and cookie mom and I would not have been able to do it without this amazing Girl Scout dad” shared Vicky.

Recruit your man!

Girl Scout volunteers come from our communities. Whether they are the dads, uncles, brothers or the volunteers who support her leadership journey. Men can make a difference in the lives of girls today and help them become the leaders of the future.

When girls succeed, society succeeds.

Leadership

Girl Scouts Launches The Girl Scout Network on LinkedIn…

More than 50 million Girl Scout alums can now follow the Girl Scout Network page on LinkedIn to support female advancement in the workforce and help prepare girls for a lifetime of leadership and career success.

Today, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) and LinkedIn launched the Girl Scout Network on LinkedIn. Just a few days before Equal Pay Day on April 10, GSUSA and LinkedIn are manifesting their shared commitment to equal opportunity in an invaluable new career resource that promotes girls’ and women’s empowerment, leadership, and advancement in the world. With the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2017 findings revealing that gender pay parity is still more than 200 years away, Girl Scouts and LinkedIn are taking action to help tip the scales for women in the workplace.

The Girl Scout Network invites YOU (and our more than 50 million Girl Scout alum sisters) to connect with one another on The Girl Scout Network to enhance your career development. Anyone who was a Daisy, Brownie, or higher in Girl Scouts is an alum and is welcome to join—whether she was a Girl Scout Brownie for one year, or went through the whole program and earned her Girl Scout Gold Award. Millions of girls already benefit from being a part of Girl Scouts as they grow up, and this new community on LinkedIn will similarly offer support for female professionals. It will also allow alums the opportunity to share their experience with the next generation and join forces with like-minded women to effect change.

Stories about unequal and unethical treatment of women continue to populate headlines across the United States. The Girl Scout Network  on LinkedIn will offer inspiring personal stories from girls and alums as well as ways to support and help prepare girls to lead. The page will also provide new and relevant statistics about female leadership to inform and energize female professionals in their careers to take the reins and be trailblazers in our country and the world.

The Girl Scout Network will also provide a place for employers and human resource professionals to recruit women who possess both the hard and soft skills crucial to career success, such as complex problem solving, process skills, and teamwork and communication—all of which girls learn through Girl Scouts. In fact, Girl Scouts completed a grand total of 12.6 million skill-development programs over the past four years. Girl Scouting Works: The Alumnae Impact Study, a 2012 Girl Scout Research Institute report, also found that Girl Scout alums outperform non-alums in key economic indicators, including higher household incomes and higher socioeconomic statuses. And a 2014 Girl Scout Research Institute report found that 68% of alums attribute their success in life to Girl Scouts.

“As the largest girl leadership organization in the United States, Girl Scouts is responding to the clear national need for strong leadership, pay parity, and a robust talent pool to meet our nation’s skilled labor needs,” said GSUSA CEO Sylvia Acevedo. “We are thrilled to align with LinkedIn to establish a network of tens of millions of Girl Scout alums. I encourage all Girl Scout alums to help fuel the talent pipeline and enhance their professional networks by joining the Girl Scout Network on LinkedIn.”

“Being a Girl Scout opened my eyes early in life to what it means to be a leader and team player,” said Alyssa Merwin, vice president, Sales Solutions Americas, LinkedIn. “Now online communities like the Girl Scout Network will provide critical outlets for millions of girls and young women to continue benefitting from the power of this network as they navigate their careers. LinkedIn is proud to collaborate with Girl Scouts to advance a shared commitment to creating economic and workplace opportunity for all women using our LinkedIn Company Page platform.”

And if you’re an alum, you’re in good company! Girl Scout alums include 76 percent of current female U.S. Senators, 67 percent of current female U.S. Governors, and every female U.S. Secretary of State. In addition, more than half of women leaders in business are Girl Scout alums. Girl Scouts’ legacy is one of girls and women supporting one another and effecting change through civic engagement.

Girl Scout alums interested in joining should visit The Girl Scout Network and click “follow.”

Cookies

Troop Funds and Troop Spending

Earning the troop funds this year was hard work, but selling fall product and cookies really paid off in the end. So how will your troop spend their earnings?

Helping girls decide what they want to do, and coaching them as they earn and manage money to pursue their goals, is an integral part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE). Your Girl Scout troop plans and finances its own activities, with your guidance. At the same time the girls learn valuable skills that serve them throughout their lives.

Girls can save the money for something big they want to do… like go on a trip or end-of-year party. They can also look to do a lot of little things throughout the year. It really depends on what the troop decides on.

I suggest putting the money into three piles to help your troop decide what to do with the earnings.

  1. Spend a Little
  2. Save a Little
  3. Give a Little

You and your troop can decide how much of your earnings should go into each pile.

Spend a Little

Last year my troop decided to go to Wonder Works and iFly Orlando. Both were fun and entertaining experiences. The girls braved indoor skydiving one day and challenged themselves at the high ropes course at Wonder Works another day.

We also wanted to be sure our troop continued as a troop. So while the girls had fun with some of the money, they were also responsible enough to save for troop expenses and older girl programs. We spent some of the saved funds for badge supplies and Citrus Council programs.

There are many ways a troop can spend their troop earnings. They can decide to spend it on everything from uniforms to summer camp registrations, and everything in between.

Some items that come to mind:

  • Early Bird Registration fee for adults & girls
  • Uniforms
  • Journey books
  • Bridging Supplies or Kits
  • Girl Scout Summer Camp registration
  • Discounted Program events hosted by Council
  • Service Community Camporee

Save a Little

It’s always a good idea to save a little money for a rainy day. You just never when you’ll need that extra bump. It might be tapped to help the troop reach a goal or to help with unforeseen expenses. Generally, it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

This can also be a great way to build for a long term goal. So while the troop spends some of their funds on fun activities throughout the year and troop expenses, they can also put aside a little at a time. The goal being to build enough of a reserve for a big party or a nice troop trip.

Give a Little

Our girls are always thinking of others before themselves. Setting up a pile for them to donate to a charity of their choice can be a great way to support them in this. It was amazing to hear about how so many troops donated a portion of their earnings to help their community and to those in need during Hurricane Irma and Maria.

Some troops also work on Take Action Projects. Often times there are specific supplies needed for these projects. Rather than looking for donations, troops can use this portion of their funds to buy the much needed supplies.

Your Role

As a co-leader it is your role to help guide your girls in their financial decisions. Having them learn about saving, earning, and spending can help them in adulthood.

It is also important to remember that all volunteers listed on troop/group bank accounts are ultimately responsible for troop/group finances. Misuse of Girl Scout funds is a serious offense and will be treated as such, including but not limited to termination as a Girl Scout volunteer.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook @floridagirlscout

Leadership

Did someone say FUN and ADVENTURE?!

I love taking my troop outdoors.  They always get to develop their skills and I’m able to give them new scouting challenges. The best part about the experience is as they get older you can expand on the outdoor activities. This helps to keep them engaged over the years.

We first started our outdoor adventures in 2011, when we attended Running River’s (now Wild River) Magical Camporee at Camp Mah-Kah-Wee. They made crafts, learned new campfire songs and took their first hike. There’s really nothing like that first hike.

My daughter Elyse and I, 2012

In 2012 we went to Riverpoint Program Center for a WOW Wonder of Water day program. This was out in Brevard, and they really enjoyed the water activities. The girls completed the Mailbox Trail activity that day too.

The following year, we ventured outside of Council properties and went to the Florida Elks Lodge for the Tradition Expedition Camporee hosted by the Wild River Community. The girls roasted marshmallows around a campfire, exchanged swaps, went canoeing and tried archery for the first time.

Elyse exchanging swaps at Tradition Expedition

Most recently, my troop attended the Wild River Cadette Retreat at Riverpoint Program Center. They cooked meals, completed two outdoor badges and participated in archery, paddle boarding, canoeing, and kayaking. It was great because no experience was like the last. There’s always something new and different we all got to share in.

 

Whether you are an outdoors enthusiast or prefer staying inside there are many options to get your girls exploring nature. Here are just a few ways I’ve come across that could help:

  • Attend a service community camporee… like I did with Wild River.
  • Earn an outdoor badge during your troop meetings.
  • Ask an older girl troop from your service community to host an outdoor badge workshop or teach an outdoor skill.
    • One of the bridging requirements is for girls to teach younger scouts a skill they have learned!
  • Reserve a Citrus Council property for a couple hours to canoe, kayak, or archery.

Girl Scout Camp!

Every year, Girl Scouts of Citrus Council will send out a Camp Book in the mail. The Camp Book has information on all types of camp programs being offered by Council. It can also be found online http://www.citrus-gs.org/en/about-girl-scouts/our-council/publications.html

Paddle Boarding at River Point

There are camp programs for Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors. Camp adventures can include archery, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, paddle boarding, campfires, songs, hiking, and other activities.

If you’re a first time troop leader or a troop leader that hasn’t jumped into camp experiences, then you might want to attend a Citrus Open House. This can be very helpful to understand what is offered by Council and when. It can be even more useful for when parents have questions.

At these open houses, you’ll learn more about day camps, sampler camps, travel camps and resident camps. The Council staff is there to answer questions and you can take a tour of the sleeping and activity areas.

If you can’t make it to one of the Open House, then reach out to Council for additional information. There are great resources on the council website and you can always reach out to council staff for more info…especially if your interested in reserving a space.

Be Safe and Be Prepared

Whether you’re planning to take your troop camping or do an outdoor activity, here are some key things you want to keep in mind:

  • Visit your health provider to complete a girl physical and receive a current tetanus shot.
  • Watch the eight outdoor skill-building videos before taking girls outside at www.girlscouts.org/en/adults/volunteer/volunteer-resources/outdoor-resources.html. These videos can help volunteers give girls a sense of empowerment in the outdoors, show them how to use natural resources more wisely (including respecting our environment and wildlife), and help them become lifelong stewards of the land and our natural resources.

The Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) has some great resources to help plan your Outdoor Experience. Most recently, the VTK has been updated with some great activities in the STEM Journey & Badges, and the Outdoor Journeys & Badges.

Whatever you decide, I know it will be an amazing experience. As I look back at my time as a Troop Leader, I can say that some of my favorite time spent with my Girl Scouts, has been in the outdoors.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook @floridagirlscout