Events coming up in December!

There are some great things to do with Girl Scouts in December!

Check out these events on Personify

• Bricks 4 Kidz - December 6
• Bricks 4 Kidz - December 13
• Oregon Zoo - December 6
• Oregon Zoo - December 12
• Bugs R Us - December 6
• Young Rembrandts - December 6
• Young Rembrandts - December 6
• Young Rembrandts - December 13

Coming in August 2015: Wicked "For Good" Workshop and Matinee!

Tickets are not on sale or available to the general public! Announcing the Premiere of the Award-Winning Exclusive Girl Scouts & Families Portland Event: WICKED “For Good” Day. Participate in an Interactive WICKED Workshop then see a matinee performance of WICKED.

The workshop includes: Learn about themes and issues found in WICKED led by StudentsLive Teaching Artists, meet a High-Profile Key Note Speaker who is a successful industry leader, learn Music and Choreography from the Show from WICKED Cast Members, and much more!
Learn more or register here: http://www.portlandopera.org/GSWorkshop/

Gold Award Project Interview with Elizabeth Bryan

We were delighted to interview 2014 Girl Scout Gold Award recipient, Elizabeth Bryan, about her inspiring project!

Describe your project for us.
My project was a sort of donation drive for musical instruments for low-income students that couldn't afford to buy or rent one of their own. Mr. Schlabach, the band/choir director at Meadow Park Middle School, was my project adviser, and the instruments donated went to the Meadow Park band program. I collected about 40 instruments from May 2013-October 2013, they were fixed and assessed by Tigard Music in winter 2014, and the instruments will go to MP for the 2014-2015 school year.

Why did you choose this project?
During my freshman year of high school, as I was brainstorming ideas for my gold award, my younger brother was in sixth grade and joined band at Cedar Park MS. He mentioned at some point, October maybe, that some of the kids in his band class had had to drop out because they couldn't afford to buy or rent instruments (Cedar Park, like Meadow Park and most other Beaverton School District (SD) schools, has very few "school" instruments and they are in very poor condition - keys missing, etc.). I've been involved in school band up through my sophomore year, I've played in the Portland Youth Philharmonic Association since freshman year, and I now do choir at school - so obviously music has been a very important part of my life. It seemed like a big problem to me that some kids weren't allowed that opportunity. So I approached Mr. Schlabach to see if he was interested in being my project adviser, and my project grew from there.

Did you learn anything you didn't expect from completing the project?
I was surprised about how many instruments I received, honestly. I knew some people that had instruments in their closets that they hadn't played for years, but wasn't sure about the general public. So it was great when I got over 40.

Is your project still impacting the community?
In December 2013, I met Laurel Bookhardt at a Christmas party. She is part of the Music Task Force for Beaverton SD and the Beaverton Friends of Music and as I was explaining my project to her, she seemed very interested. As it turned out, many of the members of the task force were also there and they all seemed very interested in possibly taking up my project after I was finished. I met with the entire task force several times throughout the spring and it was finally decided that Beaverton Friends of Music would join with me and the Beaverton Education Foundation (BEF) to continue my project.

"Beaverton Band Together," as the project was called, launched in early June, spearheaded mostly by me, Laurel, Kristine Baggett (head of BEF), and some other members of the task force. You can read about it on the following sites:
Beaverton Friends of Music at http://www.musiceducationmatters.org/wordpress/?p=1467.
Beaverton Education Foundation at http://beavertonedfoundation.org/band-together-beaverton-instrument-donation-program/.
Interview by local newspaper at http://www.pamplinmedia.com/bvt/15-news/224011-85465-band-instrument-donation-program-gains-momentum (an interview with me, Laurel, Kristine, & Mr. Schlabach).

Updates on the Beaverton Band Together project: At last email sent out, almost a month ago, a little over 60 instruments had been collected. More recently, Kristine got a matching grant from the Starseed Foundation up to $3500 ($7000 once it's been matched), which we are very close to meeting!

Events coming up in November!

There's so much to do with Girl Scouts in November!

Check out these events on Personify

• Daisy Day at ScienceWorks - November 8
• Digital Media Studio: Movie maker - November 16
• Silver Award Information Workshop - November 8
• Gold Award Information Workshop - November 8
• Product Designer Badge Workshop - November 1
• Zoo Snooze - November 7
• Outdoor Skills Day - November 8
• Kitchen Chemistry - November 8
• Energy Burst - November 8
• Cartooning Class: Juniors - November 1
• Cartooning Class: Juniors - November 8
• Cartooning Class: Daisy & Brownies - November 1
• Cartooning Class: Daisy & Brownies - November 8
• Cartooning Class: Cadettes, Seniors & Ambassadors - November 8
• Chalk Pastel Workshop: Juniors - November 22
• Chalk Pastel Workshop: Cadettes - November 22
• Girls Yoga - November 20
• Girls Yoga - November 20
• STEM: Shrink Circuits - November 17

Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Opportunity

Know a Girl Scout who has provided significant community service over the last year? Maybe she's been working on her Girl Scout Gold Award? Or maybe the Silver Award? Encourage her to participate in the 2015 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards!

This unique youth recognition program, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, has recognized more than 100,000 middle and high school students-including thousands of Girl Scouts-at the local, state and national level for outstanding acts of volunteerism over that past 19 years. Top winners receive sizable cash awards, engraved medallions and an all-expense paid trip with a parent or guardian to Washington, DC, for the national awards ceremony in May 2015.

Girl Scouts can apply online at http://spirit.prudential.com/view/page/soc. The application portion for certifiers (in this case GSOSW) must be submitted to the Portland Service Center by November 4, 2014. GSOSW staff will then review applications and select one or more honorees to represent our council in the state-level judging. If you have any questions or need a paper version of the application, please call toll-free 877-525-8491.

We’re excited about this opportunity to re-emphasize the importance of volunteering, and to possibly gain statewide or even national recognition for our Girl Scouts. Please help us spread the word!

Events Coming Up in October!

There's so much to do with Girl Scouts in October!

Check out these events on Personify

• Fall 2014 Rock Climbing Series - October 4
• Junior Drawing Badge Workshop - October 4
• Volcano Natural History Hike - October 11
• Elementary Drawing: Daisy & Brownie - October 11
• Product Designer Badge Workshop - October 11
• The Writer's Block - October 11
• Elementary Drawing: Cadettes - October 11
• Elementary Drawing: Juniors - October 11
• Zoo Snooze - October 11-12 (overnight event)
• STEM: Shrink Circuits - October 13
• Girls Yoga - October 16
• Girls Yoga - October 16
• Digital Media Studio: Movie maker - October 18
• Animal Habitats and Bugs Badge Workshop - October 18
• Become a Textile REvolutionary! - October 18
• Fall 2014 Work Party - October 25
• Engineering Challenge Overnight - October 25-26 (overnight event)
• Cartoon Fall Session - October 28

PLUS these other great program opportunities!

• Girl Scout Sleepover at the Portland Aquarium
• Oct. 18th (Saturday)
• More information
• Make a Difference Day tree planting event with Vancouver Watershed
• Saturday, October 25, 9 am – Noon at Leverich Park
• Avoid day-of registration lines by pre-registering using their web form!
• More information
• Oregon Children’s Theater Girl Scout Day (receive the group discount even if you go without your troop)
• Performance: The Magic Tree House: A Night in New Orleans
• October 26
• More information
• Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership - Volunteer plantings 
• October 11 - Salmon Creek
• October 25 - Salmon Creek

Girl Scout Silver Award project continues to find kindness

We're excited to have a guest writer for today's blog post. Phala Montgomery is the mother of Madisyn, a 14-year old Girl Scout Senior who completed her Girl Scout Silver Award by launching a campaign to stop bullying and Continue to Find Kindness (C.T.F.K.). Congratulations, Madisyn, on all of your success!

So much has happened since Madisyn has officially completed her project for her Girl Scout Silver Award. Her goal was to start a project that would carry on a message and continue to help the community far past the end of her project. In the end, she chose such a great topic that it has done exactly what she set out to do.

Madisyn screen printing her shirts! Photo borrowed from https://www.facebook.com/continuekindness.

Madisyn completed her project by speaking to over 250 girls in the Oregon City community about how to recognize being mean and know when it becomes bullying. She teaches how to recognize bullying, resolve bullying, and revolutionize kindness. Madisyn designed a logo for her campaign and put it on t-shirts to have a visual for everyone to recognize her message to Continue to Find Kindness and STOP Mean Girl Bullying! To this day, over 200 shirts are being worn throughout not only the Oregon City community, but other communities as well.

This summer Madisyn organized a parade march with her troop #42448 and troop #42123 and many friends. Over 22 participants marched in the Sandy Mountain Festival Parade this year representing her campaign to stop the mean girl phenomenon by Continuing to Find Kindness. Madisyn, the Girl Scout troops, and our friends took the first place blue ribbon home this year! A special thank you to all the girls and boys who played such an important part in Madisyn’s message. We totally appreciate the support given by everyone having such a fun time and believing in a really incredible cause.

Madisyn and friends at the Sandy Mountain Festival Parade. Photo borrowed from https://www.facebook.com/continuekindness.

The Continue to Find Kindness banner at the Sandy Mountain Festival Parade. Photo borrowed from https://www.facebook.com/continuekindness.

On Monday, September 1, 2014, Madisyn was interviewed about her Continue to Find Kindness campaign by KATU's Kerry Tomlinson (see link below). Madisyn had the opportunity to share and talk about her message and her work on the 4, 5, and 6 p.m. news that night.

Madisyn’s work has brought hope and confidence to so many young girls in our community. She is truly inspired by how the girls are responding to her by their positive feedback and pledge to Continue to Find Kindness.

Congratulations Madisyn and thank you for truly inspiring so many others! Your message really does stand strong with the Girl Scout Promise and Law. Way to go!

If you'd like to learn more about Madisyn's project, check out these links:

• KATU news feature: http://www.katu.com/news/problemsolver/Local-teen-teaches-kids-to-battle-bullying-with-kindness-273505291.html?tab=video&c=y
• Continue to Find Kindness Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/continuekindness

A special thank you from GSOSW to Phala for writing this post!

Sea Turtles, Surfing and Service: One Girl Scout's Adventure in Costa Rica

GSOSW's own Allie Kehret, 17, participated in Outward Bound Costa Rica’s Catching Waves destination. This 10-day course provided girls with truly meaningful service projects, physical and mental challenges, and the chance to learn to surf on world-famous surf breaks.

Allie and her group spent the majority of their time at Outward Bound Costa Rica’s base camp at Avellanas Beach, located in the Guanacaste Province. Instructors taught them to learn how to read and catch waves, pop-up and ride them in.

“It was adventurous, creative, new, challenging, fun, amazing, and memorable.”

As Allie reflected more on her time in Costa Rica she said, “after this course I am more confident, more of a leader, and have great memories.”

When they weren't surfing, Allie and other Girl Scouts volunteered at a local school where they repainted the exterior. They also had the opportunity to spend time with a local turtle conservationist, learning and assisting conservation efforts.

After returning to Outward Bound’s rainforest base in Costa Rica, the group tackled Class II and III rapids on the Pejibaye River, ziplined through the tree canopies, and visited the vibrant artisan market of San Jose where they practiced Spanish and finished up their adventure.

Since 2006, Outward Bound Costa Rica has been partnered with Girls Scout of the USA to offer unique and exciting Girl Scouts destinations trips in Costa Rica and Panama. These trips provide young girls the opportunity to see the world, meet fellow Girl Scouts from across the nation and challenge themselves through adventure in unfamiliar settings.

Allie experienced the trip of a lifetime surfing Costa Rica’s pacific coast, completing local service projects, and creating friendships that will last for years to come.

Want to learn more about Girl Scout destinations? Visit forgirls.girlscouts.org/travel or attend one of GSOSW's Travel Discovery Workshops coming up in fall 2014 and spring 2015. Watch for dates and registration information in the fall Program Guide, coming out soon!

2014 Girl Scout Convention—You’re invited to the Ultimate Girls’ Weekend!

Have you heard? You don’t need to be an official delegate to attend convention. Whether you’re an alumna, volunteer, staff, or just a big believer in all the great things Girl Scouts do, you’re invited to Girl Scouts’ 53rd national convention! We’re looking forward to welcoming you to spectacular Salt Lake City, Utah, October 16-19, 2014. (Select events—GirlScout History Conference 2014, BoardChair/CEO learning sessions, and Girl ScoutUniversity sessions—start a few days prior to the full convention kickoff.) Girl Scout conventions only happen every three years. So don’t wait! This is your year to reunite with friends, deepen and share your knowledge of Girl Scouts, and help invigorate a global movement of girls, women, and men around the theme "Discover, Connect, Take Action: Girls Change the World." And, your chance to save big—$70 big—on a four-day pass ends July 15. Don’t delay! Register now to save big at www.girlscouts.org/convention. 

Spotlight on GSOSW's 2014 Girl Scout Gold Award recipients!

Congratulations to our council's 2014 Girl Scout Gold Award recipients, honored June 5 at a ceremony in Salem, Oregon. These 30 young women collectively contributed more than 2,400 hours of service to communities throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington. Incredible!

Kelly Bame • 2013

Beaverton, OR

"Classroom Book Leveling"

Recruited a team to identify and color code over 1,000 books by reading level at a local school so that teachers and children could more effectively match book choices to reading level.

Hollynd Boyden • 2013

Portland, OR

"One Community, One Goal"

Organized a soccer and cleat drive and distributed cleats to African organizations and a transitional community in Hillsboro.

Elizabeth Bryan • 2014

Portland, OR

"Band Instrument Collections"

Gathered used musical instruments from the community and arranged for them to be repaired and refurbished for use by middle school students who cannot afford to buy or rent instruments.

Molly Buell • 2013

Jacksonville, OR

"Senior Smiles"

Arranged for students with financial hardships to receive professional senior portraits at no cost.

Amanda Crawford • 2014

Portland, OR

"Vietnamese Culture Workshop"

Researched, prepared and presented a multi-cultural program about Vietnam to elementary school students.

Anisha Datta • 2013

Hillsboro, OR

"Back to School Run"

Organized a 5k run in partnership with a local Parks and Recreation District.
Read an article published about Anisha's Gold Award project.

Mikal Dewar • 2013

Eugene, OR

"Hats for a Smile"

Designed a pattern, taught others how to make her design, and made 200 hats for a local children’s hospital.
Read an article published about Mikal's project.

Alyssa Duke • 2013

Salem, OR

"Fire Safety 101"

Developed and presented a fire safety teaching unit for Cub Scouts.

Raichle Dunkeld • 2014

Portland, OR

"Project Evergreen"

Created and presented environmental awareness curriculum to an eighth grade class and worked with them again in the fall when they were in the ninth grade.
Read an article published about Raichle's project.

Rachel Geiger • 2013

Portland, OR

"Oil, Oil Everywhere and the Interwoven Nature of Oceanic Trash"

Created awareness of environmental contamination through an educational video presentation.
See a video that Rachel created for her project.

Synthia Gifford • 2013

Vancouver, WA

"A Journey Through Art"

Provided art and cultural awareness workshops for third graders at a local elementary school. Worked with Rebecca Thompson, and focused her lessons on the cultural aspect.
Read an article about Synthia's Gold Award project.

Laura Goff • 2013

Wilsonville, OR

"Knit Two, Give One"

Taught girls how to knit and provided hats for premature babies.
Read an article about how Laura implemented her project.

Marissa Hagglund • 2013

Portland, OR

"Pet Palooza"

Held an animal awareness event to address the problem of abandoned or abused pets.
Read an article about Marissa's project.

Natalie Hendren • 2013

Battle Ground, WA

"Be Smart - Eat Smart"

Created multiple videos on health and fitness topics and hosted viewing days in her community.
Read an article about Natalie's project.

Karina Jaroch • 2013

Wilsonville, OR

"Brother Andre Café Benefit Food Drive"

Planned and executed several drives to collect food to be donated to the Brother Andre Café. In addition to collecting food, she helped raise awareness about programs that provide services to people in need.
Read an article about Karina's project.

Elissa Johnson • 2013

Oregon City, OR

"Girl Scout Book Drive"

Planned and coordinated a book drive to provide reading material for low income children and adults.

Virginia LaGrow • 2012

Beaverton, OR

"Sustainable Wetland Restoration"

Taught the community of a nearby wetland about invasive species and involved them in wetland restoration.
Read an article about Virginia's project.

Kelsey Leinbach • 2013

Lake Oswego, OR

"Adopt-a-Project"

Developed a system to connect organizations and individuals that desire to complete needed projects at Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp.

Hallie Lichen • 2013

Oregon City, OR

"Unmasking Identities"

Led and organized a workshop at the 2012 Gay Straight Alliance Summit, encouraging teens to share how they see themselves on the inside.
Read an article that includes information about Hallie's project.

Anikaleah McDowell • 2014

Fairview, OR

"Mother Daughter Symposium"

Organized a free half-day symposium for 20 to 30 adolescents and their mothers where they learned the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of puberty.

Claire Palmiter • 2013

Gresham, OR

"Little Free Library"

Created free little library mailboxes to share books in her community.
Read more about Claire's project.

Kalee Paxton • 2013

Roseburg, OR

"LOL! Texting is No Laughing Matter!"

Created a video, student pledge, information boards and a presentation for teens  to promote awareness of the dangers of texting while driving.
Read more about Kalee's project.

Vanessa Rogers • 2013

Salem, OR

"Project Protein"

Developed, tested, distributed and taught instructors how to prepare recipes using a protein patty for a local food bank.
Read more information about Vanessa's project.
Check out her Pinterest board with the recipes.

Keely Scherzinger • 2013

Monmouth, OR

"Invasive Plant Removal & Song Bird Habitat Restoration Project"

Built and set up bird houses and removed invasive species for habitat restoration at Rickreall Creek.
Read more about Keely's project (on page 3).

Karishma Shah • 2013

Portland, OR

"Family Bridge Day Care Program"

Provided snacks, crafts, reading, and other activities to enrich the lives of children at Family Bridge.

Anna Shelby • 2013

Eugene, OR

"Kestrel Bird Boxes"

Designed and created kestrel nesting boxes and placed them in various locations in her community as a natural alternative to pesticides for areas with overwhelming rodent infestations.
Read more about Anna's project (including a picture of her nesting box in action!)

Bridget Strang • 2014

St. Helens, OR

"Soles 4 Souls"

Developed a multi-faceted drive to collect new and used shoes for distributing to areas of the world in-need.

Rebecca Thompson • 2013

Vancouver, WA

"Open Your Mind"

Provided art and cultural awareness workshops for third graders at a local elementary school. Worked with Synthia Gifford, and focused her lessons on the art aspect.
Read an article about Rebecca's Gold Award project.

Samantha Tompkins • 2013

Irrigon, OR

"Beautiful Butterflies Self Esteem Camp"

Organized self esteem workshops and activities for pre-teen and teenage girls.

Madison Tritico • 2013

Oregon City, OR

"Ivy Pull"

Created a presentation to educate children on invasive species and organized ivy pulls at a local park.

SU 7 has a unique way to say "Thank you" to their volunteers

We all know that Girl Scouts couldn’t run without great volunteers. Volunteers give their time on top of busy school activities and family duties, which is why it’s so important to say thank you! It’s always fun to hear about the unique ways girls, troops and service units say thanks this time of year. Service Unit 7’s service team came up with a great way to not only tell the leaders of their SU that they were appreciated, but to also announce it to their entire neighborhood!

Sign put in front yard for
Volunteer Appreciation Week

For Volunteer Appreciation Week (April 20-26), the team decided to have yard signs made that acknowledge the hard work of the leaders in their service unit and give them a public thank you. Once the signs were made, service team volunteers and parents went around to 105+ houses and posted the signs for everyone to see that a hard-working volunteer lived there and was appreciated.

At GSOSW, we’re inspired by such a creative way to let volunteers know that all of their work and commitment is truly valued. Awesome work, SU 7! How do you thank your volunteers during Volunteer Appreciation Week and throughout the year? Tell us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GSOSW. 

Girl Scout Cookie Season is Here!

Cookie order taking has officially started! Now is a great time to use Cookie Club to send emails to potential cookie customers (especially if you're out of town, or lots of your regular contacts are still out of town).

Cookie Club customers purchase an average of 2 boxes more per ask than other customers - so flex those fingers and log in to the Cookie Club! (Make sure your cookie permission slip is on file with your troop and your troop has set up girls in Cookie Club in order to access.)

And don’t despair if you are ready to sell Girl Scout cookies and your troop doesn't have order cards out yet - there is one extra week of order taking this year! The #1 reason that most people give for not buying Girl Scout cookies is that they were never asked, so use this time to plan out your cookie contact strategies!

Coming Up this Weekend

The premiere of “Girl Scout Cookie Wonderland” is this Saturday, January 11! It’s a fun – and easy – way to inspire and teach girls about the Girl Scout Cookie Program. This magical, behind-the-scenes bakery tour is the must-see show of the season.

During the show, each girl will be invited to complete her own Recipe for Success, a business plan for the Cookie Season. This simple tool will help girls develop skills they will take with them for life.

All you really need are about 50 minutes and an Internet connection. Starting January 11, 2014, you will find Cookie Wonderland on the home page of littlebrowniebakers.com. Can’t watch it this weekend? No problem! Watch later with your family at home or together with your troop at your next troop gathering. Enjoy the show!