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!

National

Girl Scouts Ranks Top 10 in World Value Index

Courage. Confidence. Character. Individually, these three words are strong, compelling, and generally something a person strives to have or to be. Together, these words are powerful to anyone who is a Girl Scout, was a Girl Scout, or associated with one even just through buying cookies. These three words create an everlasting, nostalgic, yet effective impact that allows Girl Scouts of the USA to hold the number 10 spot out of 200 companies in the World Value Index rankings, and number 9 in the Top 10 nonprofits, overall.

As defined by enso, “The World Value Index measures the extent to which Americans are inspired by brands’ missions — and the extent to which that inspiration drives active support and purchase.” Thanks to our Girl Scout girls and adults, past and present, we are recognizable and memorable. The Girl Scout mission is strong on it’s own, but it’s our members and alumnae who bring that mission to life.

Thanks to a Gold Award Girl Scout, people are aware that Girl Scouts is so much more than camp or cookies.

Thanks to a Cadette troop’s Take Action Journey project, people find themselves with a better alignment of their beliefs supporting the Girl Scout mission.

Thanks to a leader who no longer has children of their own in Girl Scouts but continues to volunteer her time and energy because she is so passionate and excited to support a life-changing organization.

Thanks to a Girl Scout Daisy dad who is “Man Enough to Be a Girl Scout,” and wears the shirt he purchased with pride as he bumbles through his first meeting alongside his brand new co-leader.

Awareness, alignment, support, purchase. These are the four dimensions enso measures to determine the rankings of the World Value Index. Whether it’s participating as a Girl Scout, troop leader, cookie captain, donor, or even just buying a can of nuts or box of cookie, we know and are fortunate that Girl Scouts is such a highly viewed and supported organization.

And we just want to say thank you. It’s a great time to be a G.I.R.L.

National

#gsoutdoors challenge!

Show us how you take the lead outside by accepting the #gsoutdoors challenge! 

Each week in June, Girl Scouts of the USA will present a unique challenge that will push you to explore the great outdoors in exciting, new ways—not to mention inspire you to keep the adventure going all summer long! At the end of each challenge, Girl Scouts will randomly select one lucky winner (four total) to receive an awesome prize from The North Face.

Your Challenges (Should You Choose to Accept):
June 1-8: Go the Distance
June 9-15: Rock the Lifestyle
June 16-22: Embrace Adventure
June 23-30: Nurture Nature

How to enter:
1. Head to Instagram and follow @girlscouts.
2. Post a photo tagged with #gsoutdoors that shows how you’re taking on Girl Scouts’ outdoor challenges.
3. Wait for a confirmation from @girlscouts that we’ve received your entry. Once you get the message, claim your post to complete your entry.

Participants can enter once a day, so get creative and join Girl Scouts all month long to increase your chances—and, most importantly, get outside! (Psst . . . you don’t have to be a Girl Scout to participate. You just have to lead like one.)

The sweepstakes will be open from June 1 to June 30, 2018, and one winner will be selected weekly starting June 11. Check the Official Sweepstakes Rules and FAQs.

To power the next generation of women who push boundaries and move mountains, The North Face has recently teamed up with Girl Scouts of the USA to inspire girls to challenge themselves, learn about the natural world, and continue the Girl Scout tradition of having life-changing outdoor experiences. Through our multiyear collaboration, The North Face will support the development of 12 new Outdoor Adventure badges, with programming ranging from mountaineering and climbing to backpacking, hiking, and trail running. These 12 new Girl Scout badges, which will roll out over the next two years, will teach girls in virtually every U.S. zip code about the benefits of outdoor exploration. Learn more about this exciting collaboration.

National

Summer Camp Series: Secret to the Perfect S’more

We’re thinking Spring! And here at Girl Scouts of Citrus, we’ve convened our top camping and outdoor cooking experts for a very important business meeting: to compile the basics you need to know to create the perfect s’more this summer. This is a critical skill for every Girl Scout to know and practice!

1) Start with a solid campfire. If you’re cooking your s’more over a campfire, you’ll want to get nice, hot coals ready in the bottom. Start your campfire at least 30 minutes before you plan to toast your marshmallow. Remember all your safety skills as you’re building and tending your campfire.

2) Choose a roasting stick. You can definitely use a store-bought roasting stick. Make sure you choose a long handled one or an extendable version, so you can keep a safe distance from the flames. However, if you’re not opposed to a little bit of nature in your s’more, feel free to choose a nice long stick from the nearby forest floor!

3) Be prepared. It’s the Girl Scout motto! Prepare your graham crackers and chocolate square ahead of time, so once you have a melty, droopy marshmallow, you’re all ready to start sandwiching! Pro tip: place your graham with chocolate piled on onto a large rock or fresh log near the campfire to start warming up your chocolate square for ideal meltability.

4) Get to toasting! Unless you like your marshmallow burned (Hey, some people do – we don’t judge…), keep your ‘mallow out of the flames, but hold it over some of the hot coals that have burned down, or to the side of the flames (if you can’t get to the coals).

5) Rotate, for best results. Slowly spin your roasting stick, to ensure every side of the marshmallow becomes equally toasted.

6) Squish and enjoy! Carefully remove your golden brown marshmallow from the heat of the fire. It will be a little loose: Be careful – don’t let it fall off! Squish it between your two graham crackers. Ask a friend for help, if needed. Set your hot roasting stick off to the side to cool (and later clean). And enjoy!

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.”

National

4 Reasons to Gear up for Early Bird Season

“The early bird gets the… PRIZES!!” No worms here, just fabulous prizes and the satisfaction of getting something marked off your to-do list early.

Let’s start at the beginning: What is “early bird”? What are we even talking about here? Good question! Here’s some background: the annual Girl Scout membership year officially begins on October 1 and ends the following September 30. If you’re a current member, you’ll need to renew your registration for next year by September 30 or sooner. And if you do it super early…[you guessed it?!]… you’re an Early Bird! The Early Bird season kicks off on April 1 across the country, and it will end on May 15 for Girl Scouts of Citrus. You can still renew your registration from May 15-September 30, but you’ll just be “on time,” not an early bird. Got it? Ok, great.

——

Here are the 4 reasons you’ll want to participate in Early Bird Renewal:

  1. You’ll earn a free, exclusive Early Bird patch. All girls who register between April 1 and May 15 get our commemorative Early Bird patch to sport proudly all year long on their vest, sash or tunic. Oh, and re-registered adults get one too!
  2. Prizes, prizes, and more prizes. Each week, there are new incentives for you and your troop, and/or chances to be entered into a prize drawing. The earlier you renew your registration, the more prizes you can win! All incentives are cumulative, so if you renew during week 1, you’ll be eligible for ALL the prizes throughout early bird season.
  3. It makes life easier for Troop Leaders, too. Troop Leaders get to head into the summer knowing whether their girls will be back in the fall and can begin looking forward to more adventure together. Or if they have some openings in the troop, they can offer spots for new girls ready to have the experience of their young lives. You’ll be able to hit the ground running once the new year begins.
  4. Parents get some benefits as well. By renewing now, parents get to make sure their daughter(s) will be right back in the same troop come fall by securing their spot. Plus, it will be one less item on your very full list when fall arrives and you’re deep in back-to-school mode.

Stay tuned for more information about prizes, patch design, and even more Early Bird fun!

———

Helpful Reminders:

Key Dates
Early Bird Renewal: April 1-May 15, 2018
On-Time Renewal: May 16-September 30, 2018

Girl Scouts of Citrus Early Bird Page

Renewal Fees
Girls: $25 annual
Adults/Volunteers: $25 annual
–or invest in lifetime memberships for adults (age 30+) for $400, or young alums (age 18-29) for $200.
More information on Lifetime Membership.

National

It’s Girl Scout Week!

Girl Scout Week is celebrated each March, starting with Girl Scout Sunday and ending with Girl Scout Sabbath on a Saturday, and it always includes Girl Scouts’ birthday, March 12. On that date in 1912, Juliette Gordon Low officially registered the organization’s first 18 girl members in Savannah, Georgia.

There are so many ways to share your Girl Scout pride this week! And it’s never too late to celebrate. Check out these awesome ideas for girls, from our very own Girl Scout sisters!

  1. Recite the Girl Scout law to your family or friends, and talk about which parents are most important to you right now in your life.
  2. Wear your uniform to your religious service.
  3. Draw a picture of your troop and list 3 things you can learn from your Girl Scout friends. Post it at home or at school.
  4. Pick up 10 pieces of litter in your neighborhood.
  5. Tell a friend about why you love being a Girl Scout.
  6. Wear your Girl Scout uniform to school.
  7. Write a thank you note to your Girl Scout troop leader.
  8. Sing your favorite Girl Scout song – or learn a new one.
  9. Learn about the Girl Scout Gold Award and National Young Women of Distinction.
  10. Explore Girl Scout history with a little online research or by talking with an expert.
  11. Teach a Girl Scout tradition to a younger Girl Scout troop.
  12. Learn about a famous Girl Scout.
  13. Make a time capsule to open when you graduate from High School.
  14. Coordinate a community service project.
  15. Decorate cupcakes, sing Happy Birthday, and celebrate!

Learn more about Girl Scouts’ traditions and special days: http://www.girlscouts.org/en/about-girl-scouts/traditions.html

Leadership

Celebrating Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society. What you may not know is this event began as a small-town school event in California in the late 70’s and started out as a week-long event, known as Women’s History Week. International Women’s Day on March 8 was seen as the focal point for this week.

In 1980, President Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring this week as National Women’s History Week. Over the years, several states had declared the month of March as Women’s History Month. The momentum influenced Congress to declare the month of March 1987 as National Women’s History Month.

Traditionally, Women’s History Month in schools has focused on the U.S. women’s suffrage and reform movements of the late 1800s and early 1900s, but there’s oh-so-much more! Girls and women are making history every day!

Ways to Celebrate:

  • Get inspired with videos from makers.com.
  • March 8: International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women, took place for the first time on March 8, 1911.
  • Thank a woman who inspires you. Write her a letter. Send her a message on Facebook. Send her a gif of appreciation.
  • Read about women throughout history who’ve done amazing things.
  • Share your story through a creative outlet. Women’s stories need to be heard. Submit a piece to your favorite publication. Start a blog. Launch a YouTube channel.
  • Mentor a young woman or Girl Scout. Girls everywhere are in need of positive role models that can help them grow and develop into leaders.
  • Earn a Badge!Like the “Girl Scout Way” badge, Celebrating Community or My Family Story for Brownies, or Playing the Past for Juniors. Or check out the GIRLtopia Journey for Seniors.

Just a note: Throughout history, women trailblazers have fought both for and against controversial topics. As you explore the resources linked here, and do your own research and discovery alongside girls, you might find topics and causes that are still controversial today. If you’re a troop leader, communicate openly with parents of the girls in your troop so they know what you’ll be discussing at your troop meeting. If a polarizing topic arises, be sure to cover both sides of the issue briefly, and then move on.

Cookies

Cookies: Business Ethics

Our cookies are on a mission: to help girls learn five skills that are essential to leadership, to success, and to life.

Skill #1—Goal Setting
Skill #2—Decision Making
Skill #3—Money Management
Skill #4—People Skills
Skill #5—Business Ethics

When girls have mastered the business ethics skill, they’ll be saying:
“Selling cookies is more than just business.”
“The other day at the cookie booth I made my friend’s mom laugh really hard and she totally forgot her change. I made sure she got it back. She was so impressed she bought another box of cookies. Now I’m even closer to reaching my goal for robotics camp.”

Girls act honestly and responsibly during every step of the cookie sale. This matters because employers want to hire ethical employees—and the world needs ethical leaders in every field.

Go-getter troops are preparing for cookie season now by role playing sticky situations that might come up throughout the cookie program. Families sign and submit a cookie program permission slip, that outlines the families commitments and responsibilities for accurately managing inventory and finances.

Pro tip: Experienced cookie business leaders should share advice and expertise with younger Girl Scout troops by collaborating for booth sales or helping a troop earn their Cookie Activity Pin.

Because your Girl Scout is honest and responsible at every step of the cookie sale…

  • Her friends, classmates, and teachers count on her and think of her as trustworthy.
  • She’ll develop excellent references for when she looks for her first job or applies for college.

What do you hope your Girl Scout is honest with you about?