Friday, September 27, 2013

Girl Scout Cadettes in Oregon City clean up Filbert Run Park


Thanks to Shawnda Horn for sending in this photo and piece from the Oregon City news this summer!

The Girl Scout Cadettes and leaders of Troops 42143 & 42448 in Oregon City planned and implemented a "Clean Up the Park Day" at Filbert Run Park on August 10. With assistance from additional volunteers from the Hazelgrove Westling Farms Neighborhood Association, the girls were able to achieve their goal of removing fifty wheelbarrow loads of debris from the Oregon City park. This was one of the girls' community volunteer projects.

The participants in the Filbert Run Park Cleanup Day were, from left to right: Front: Ashylnn Lucas, Ciara Fritcher, Madisyn Montgomery, Amanda Lee, Kelsey Horn and Angelyca Strand.
Back: Beth Strand, Shawnda Horn, Pam Lee and Kristie Bacon

Monday, September 23, 2013

New GSUSA destinations announced, plus local travel trainings and workshops!

GSOSW's Troop 11380 traveled to London in 2013!

Ever wanted to go to London, Morocco, Japan or Scotland? Those amazing places and more have just been announced on Girl Scouts of the USA's list of amazing destinations! You can find the list on the Travel section of the GSUSA site

If you're planning on applying for one of these trips, have already been accepted or want to take your older girls for a similarly big trip, don't miss these upcoming travel workshops!

Travel Discovery Workshop
Elks Lodge, Bend OR
If you have been accepted or are ready to apply for a destination, council sponsored trip or patrol, this workshop is for you!  You will learn about council expectations, earning money for your trip, forms, packing, passports, financial aid, travel safety and much more!
Bring a sack lunch.
October 5, 2013
10am - 4pm
$10/girl

Extended Travel Training
Elks Lodge, Bend OR
Want to take your Older Girls to the coast for a week, up to Canada, back East or even to Europe? This training is designed for leaders/advisors to learn how to plan a successful Girl Scout trip.  Discussion items include: Girl Scout requirements, transportation, lodging, eating, progression in travel, resources and more.  All the logistical details of how to plan and execute a trip will be discussed….and how to make a trip a girl led and girl decision process.
Bring a sack lunch.
October 5, 2013
11 am - 3pm
$5/person

Friday, September 20, 2013

Rock stars for a day: Girl Scouts perform at Latino Night Celebration

Thanks to Lorraine Navarro, a volunteer with Girl Scout Troop 20504, for contributing this blog post!

Last October, we were approached by Centro Latino Americano to perform in their 40th Anniversary and Latino Night celebration. After speaking with the girls and their parents at our next meeting, we all agreed that it sounded like a fun idea! We had had so much success at the girls' first show at Solvang Retirement Center that we decided to keep up with the community performances. After much practicing and picking out our outfits, the Girl Scouts in Hispanic Initiative were ready to go on stage again!

We all met at the Valley River Inn on a cold and rainy Friday night. Some of the girls had their troop vests over their traditional Mexican folk dance outfits. It was an unspoken tradition that we had adopted at our first show. After getting a little lost in the lobby, we made our way to the “Dressing Room.” Much to our surprise, it was catered by Cinnabon and other delicious looking food! In over 20 years dancing, I have never even had a catered dressing room! They really made the girls feel like stars.

After much excitement and a little bit of exploring around the inn, a representative came to our room to inform us that we were going on soon. Everyone seemed a little nervous but we giggled and gave pep talks to reassure the girls. We made our way down the stairs and were stopped by many guests and staff who wanted to compliment our outfits. We stopped near the Centro Latino banquet hall and waited for our names to be called.

There had much practice before the show for our dances and choreography but we didn't really know what our entrance would look like. Once our names were called, we walked in to a very large banquet hall with cameras and lights flashing. It was very much like being super stars. We made our way to the stage and began our dances: La Botella, Los Machetes, La Raspa and Jarabe Tapatio.

We finished up to an enormous applause! Back out in the lobby, we took many pictures, congratulated each other and thanked the Centro Latino coordinators for inviting us to such a fabulous event! We were very proud of the girls. They really pulled together and improvised. We had been missing a dancer and they worked their way around it. It was a show that all of us will definitely never forget!

Friday, September 13, 2013

Girl Scout Daisies from Troop 45741 help at Oregon Food Bank


Girl Scout Daisies from Troop 45741 (SU15) had the pleasure of donating an afternoon of their time to help repackage bins of carrots for the Oregon Food Bank earlier this year. They had no idea what their assignment would be prior to arrival, but were willing to help out wherever they were needed. Along with other volunteers that afternoon, their efforts helped to provide 11,557 meals to those less fortunate, which equated to 13,868 pounds of carrots that were packaged into family-sized bags. The girls had a wonderful time knowing that they played a part in helping our community, and are anxious to return again. The Oregon Food Bank can accept volunteers as young as 6 years old, so this was an excellent opportunity for our Daisies to learn what community service is all about.