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| I stand with all Girl Scouts across the country and around the world in offering my thoughts and prayers to all of those who have been affected by the massive and devastating tornado that tore through the Oklahoma City area on Monday. As Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said, it was a tragic day for the people of her state and, indeed, for all of us, as the death toll now stands at 24 and includes a Girl Scout, who was a member of the Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma Council.All staff members of the Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma Council, which is based in Oklahoma City, are accounted for and safe. The council appreciates all of the good wishes, but is unable to handle all of the calls and emails at this time. We ask that you not call or email the council, but instead check its website or Facebook and Twitter feeds for the latest information. The council also cannot accommodate material donations, such as blankets and other goods. Instead, the council has created the Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma Tornado Relief Fund that will help get troops back up and running, provide scholarships for program and camp participation, and offer other support to Girl Scouts in the affected areas. You can text the word GIRLS to 20222 to make a $10 donation. In addition, the council is encouraging girls to send messages or art in the shape of the Girl Scout trefoil that it will present this summer to Girl Scouts affected by the storm. Send your trefoil artwork to:
Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma I want to thank everyone for their thoughtful messages of caring and concern for our sisters at the Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma Council. Even as we grieve for our sister Girl Scout and all those who lost their lives, we are sustained by the resilience of the human spirit and the knowledge that the people of Oklahoma will, in time, recover and rebuild. We have endured in the past year a number of terrible and tragic events, and throughout it all, Girl Scouts have shown remarkable courage, commitment, and leadership. I know that our girls and adult volunteers will do so again in the wake of this tragedy. Sincerely, |
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Archive for the ‘Community’ Category
Ways to help Girl Scouts in Oklahoma
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013Girl Scout Gold Award Alliance Directory
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013
Celebrating the Highest Achievement in Girl Scouting
The first Girl Scout Gold Award Alliance Directory is coming soon! Look for your invitation by mail to participate mid-June 2013. This is an opportunity to share your community success and inspire others.
The Girl Scout Gold Award Alliance Directory will represent an elite group of women who have achieved the Highest Award in Girl Scouts since 1916.This publication will include those who earned the Golden Eagle of Merit, Golden Eaglet, Curved Bar, First Class and the Girl Scout Gold Award. These women embody community leadership leaving behind a sustainable legacy.
In addition to the directory, a brand new Girl Scout Gold Award Alliance pin is being created. You will have an opportunity to purchase the pin individually or in combination with either the printed or CD-ROM editions of the directory.
Here is the price list*:
- Girl Scout Gold Award Alliance Pin $20
- Soft bound (glued spine) directory $79.99
- Hard bound (stitched spine) directory $99.00
- CD Rom $99.00
- Soft bound directory plus CD = $99.99
- Hard bound directory plus CD = $109.99
* applicable to sales tax + shipping and handling.
To reach our Gold Award Alliance network, GSUSA has partnered with an industry leader in publishing alumnae directories, Harris Connect, LLC. Harris Connect is a trusted partner of GSUSA and their commitment to protecting the privacy and ensuring the integrity of the information collected for the project is reflected in their privacy policy online.
Thank you in advance for making the first Girl Scout Gold Award Alliance Directory exceptional!
Service vs. Action: What’s the Difference?
Tuesday, May 21st, 2013Girl Scouts often do both community service and Take Action and higher awards projects. Both kinds of projects help communities in different ways. What’s the difference?
Direct and immediate service changes something right now. Longer-lasting action gets at the root cause of issues.
Community service makes the world better for some people “right now.” For example, collecting cans of food for the local food pantry feeds people “right now.” Gathering toys for a homeless family shelter makes kids happy “right now.” Providing clothing and toiletries to people who have suffered a disaster helps them get through a traumatic event
“right now.” These acts of kindness are important ways to help some people—right now.
Take Action projects, along with the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards, address the root cause of an issue, and come up with sustainable, longer-lasting solutions. These projects strive to make the world a better place for more people for a much longer time. Sometimes, service and action just naturally blend together into one sustainable effort. As a Girl Scout, you use both service and action to live out the Girl Scout Law and “make the world a better place!”
Girls Scouts combat graffiti in South Tucson and honor city with a mural
Friday, May 17th, 2013When: Saturday May 18th, 2013 6am -1pm
Where: Corner of 27th St and 5th Ave in South Tucson
Girl Scout Troop 645 will be helping to paint a mural dedicated to the City of South Tucson on Saturday in their efforts to combat graffiti in South Tucson while providing an example of street art that can enhance the community. The project will begin at 6am and continue until early afternoon on the same day that the city will be observing the 20th annual memorial to the life of John Valenzual, who was the first office to die in the line of duty in South Tucson. The wall will incorporate his service to the community. The girls have chosen to do this as part of their Bronze Award which is the highest award 4th and 5th graders can earn.
The girls have been busy the last few months in the community working towards this goal. They have done research on how street art is a great deterrent to taggers, as well as creating an nice environment that encourages people to get outside and walk and exercise in their community. They then shared this information with the community at a local health fair. At this fair the girls also conducted surveys of the community as to what they would like to see and where in South Tucson. The community was very positive in it’s responsive that they would like to see more street art in South Tucson, and many locations were suggested. The next step was finding a location, which after meetings with South Tucson city government officials, a wall was identified for their mural.
Local artist Germaine Pesquiera has volunteered his time to help the girls with this project and create a mural depicting the South Tucson community which will proudly showcase the best of South Tucson. We hope that this will create a further sense of pride in the community, and at the same time be an example of how aerosol art can be expressed in a positive way that enhances the community.
Funding for this project was made possible through community partnerships with the South Tucson Police department and Williamson’s heating and cooling.
Girl Scouts is an organization which provides Girls with all the skills they need to be great leaders now and in the future. Through their experiences the girls gain in Courage, Confidence and Character, while making the world a better place. The girls came up with this idea and have worked very hard to make it a reality.
Contact: Pilar Ruiz, 358-2853, pilara1@attg.net
Troop 1518 says “Take it to the Curb”
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013Girl Scout Troop 1518 helped the City of Yuma create this public service announcement for the new recycling program coming to city residents. The first recycling bins are being delivered today.
from YumaSun.com
STEM Education in Tucson
Tuesday, May 7th, 2013From the Mayor’s newsletter.
With representatives of the Girl Scouts at the UA’s announcement of its STEM Education Center
Together with representatives from industry, the community and academia, I spoke at the launch of the University of Arizona’s STEM Learning Center last month. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
The Center will focus on teacher training and support, research and evaluation, pre-K to college STEM curricula and community partnerships.
STEM education is important for several reasons. STEM careers tend to pay higher wages. STEM innovations improve our quality of life. And while we don’t need (or want) everyone to choose a STEM career, we do want everyone to be scientifically literate. We need an informed electorate to make decisions on such critical issues as climate change—without being swayed by uninformed opinion.
In March, I called a STEM meeting of my own, bringing together folks from the University and the community to discuss needs and resources. The meeting was hosted by the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, who have worked on getting girls interested in STEM subjects for some time now. That group will continue to meet, with University faculty taking the lead.
Troop 306: A Journey to Remember
Monday, May 6th, 2013What ideas have your girls come up with to make the world a better place? Sound off in the comments!
GS Cookies serving the community
Wednesday, May 1st, 2013We received this letter today:
Celebrating Female Leaders at Girls and Women of Distinction
Friday, April 19th, 2013WHAT: Girls and Women of Distinction Ceremony
WHEN: Saturday, April 27, 2013 | 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Doors open at 11:30 am)
WHERE: Fox Theatre | 17 W Congress St. | Tucson, AZ 85701
COST: Free
Tucson, AZ- Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona (GSSOAZ) honors girls between the ages of 5 to 17 and adult volunteers who have made an impact in their community through service and leadership in Southern Arizona.
Girls will be recognized for earning their Bronze (for Junior Girl Scouts in 4th and 5th grades) Silver (for Cadette Girl Scouts in 6th through 8th grade) and Gold Awards (for Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts in 9th- 12th grades), the highest achievements in Girl Scouting. The highest awards challenge girls of all ages to take action in the community by developing projects that incorporate discovering, connecting and taking action to create sustainable community change.
This year Gold Awardees include Ambassador Courtney Shelton who is working on a project called “DefinePerfect.” DefinePerfect is an internet movement that aims to spread positivity through social media by asking people to identify things that are perfect in their lives. Courtney said of her project, “Every person has a positive quality worth mentioning, so why wait to do it?” Tara Henry is also working on a Gold Award by contributing to an overall renovation of the town of San Luis, AZ. Her project is titled “Orduno Park Beautification,” and begins with improving the appearance of the park by planting trees and painting ramadas.
“The Gold Award is the highest achievement in Girl Scouting and asks that girls identify a problem within their community and do something about it, not just in the present, but something that is sustainable through the years” explains Debbie Rich, CEO of Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona. “Earning a Gold Award qualifies high school girls for college scholarships and provides a sense of responsibility and leadership within their community,” she continued.
Honorees also include Erika Yee and Mary Stoft, who both will be recognized with a lifesaving achievement award. These two Girl Scouts performed life saving techniques to prevent serious injury or death. GSSOAZ will also recognize graduating seniors, top cookie sellers and adult leaders nominated by the Girl Scout community.
GSSOAZ is proud to welcome national Girl Scout CEO, Anna Maria Chavez to Southern Arizona as the keynote speaker for this
important event. Ms. Chavez was born and raised in Eloy, Arizona and returned to UA Law School after graduating from Yale University. From law school Ms. Chavez moved into public service working in Washington DC and in Governor Janet Napolitano’s administration. Ms. Chavez will speak on Leadership and Gender Equity to the over 1000 girls and adults who are registered for the Girls and Women of Distinction event. Later in the evening, Ms. Chavez will be recognized for her leadership by the University of Arizona Law School at the Roger’s School of Law Foundation dinner.
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Girl Scouts is the world’s preeminent leadership development organization dedicated to building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. GSSoAz serves over 14,000 girls in eight counties in Southern Arizona and engages over 2,000 adult volunteers. GSSOAZ’s goals are to provide a wide range of contemporary programs that reflect the unique needs and interests of all girls living in Southern Arizona, to empower girls to reach their full potential, and to give girls a voice in their community and in their own lives. For more information, please contact Veronica Ohl at (520)-319-3152.
Earn a badge spending the day at The Nature Conservancy!
Monday, April 15th, 2013When: Saturday May 11, 2013 from 9:00am – 4:00pm
Who: Girls grades 2-12
How Much: $3 girl fee
Girls Scouts have the chance to go out onto one of Five TNC Preserves throughout the state of Arizona and participate in a day-long program geared to help them explore nature, learn about Arizona ecosystems, water conservation, and have the chance to speak with environmental professionals about careers in conservation. And you get a cool TNC Badge at the end!
The two preserves in Southern Arizona are:
Ramsey Canyon Preserve | 27 East Ramsey Canyon Road, Hereford, AZ 85615
Contact | Liz Lott ealott@tnc.org (602) 322-6980
Register | http://goo.gl/D8bZ2
Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve | 150 Blue Heaven Road, Patagonia, AZ 85624
Contact | Liz Lott ealott@tnc.org (602) 322-6980
Register | http://goo.gl/GwDut
If you want to register, either:
- Follow the link and create a profile through Cactus-Pines http://gsusa.ebiz.uapps.net/vp/ProgramActivitiesEvents.aspx?pid=37
- OR Send in a paper registration and note that you are from SoAZ! http://www.girlscoutsaz.org/forms-library#/?i=8 send to reghelp@girlscoutsaz.org or fax (602)452-7100
For more information contact Crystal at ckilkenny@girlscoutsaz.org