Linn County Girl Scouts Celebrate Centennial with Tree-Planting

Special thanks to Linda Brown of Albany, OR for sending in this blog post and the accompanying photos.

Turning 100 is always something to celebrate and that is just what the Girl Scouts in Linn County, Service Unit 26, did the week of March 18.. 

Girl Scouts in Lebanon gathered in River Park and planted a Coast Redwood that had been donated by Sherm Sallee of Linn County Small Woodlands. The event was hosted by Meegan Forster and Jill Rankin was the guest speaker. The girls sang songs and enjoyed Girl Scout cookies. 

At the same time Albany Girl Scouts gathered in Lexington Park to plant a tree that had been donated by Craig Carnagey of Albany Parks and Recreation. Again the girls sang songs and eat cookies, this time hosted by Linda Brown. It was a cold and windy day, but the girls were enthusiastic about planting  trees that can be shared with others for years to come.

Congratulations to the 2012 Shaver Scholarship winner, Cassie Hansen

Girl Scouts OSW is pleased to announce the winner of our 2012 Luella and George Shaver Scholarship winner: Cassie Hansen of Girl Scout Troop 250. Cassie is part of Service Unit 9 in Lake Oswego. She has been a Girl Scout for 13 years and currently attends Lake Oswego High School. 

In her application, Cassie wrote:

“Girl Scouts has made me the strong woman that I am today. I know that I’m going to do great things despite my odds and circumstances that I am a good person. I know that I am a beautiful person inside and out because I was taught that by all the wonderful women who are Girl Scouts, and my mentors. At the end of this year I will be getting my lifetime membership, and I hope that someday I’ll get to make an impact on girls’ lives through Girl Scouts.”

Only Gold Award recipients are eligible for the scholarship. For her Gold Award project, completed September 2011, Cassie planted a sensory garden at Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp.

"Many campers have ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder," Cassie wrote. "This makes eating in the large, crowded and loud dining room a challenge. The sensory garden provided a quiet place just outisde the dining hall for campers with ASD to calm down. It also provided a quiet place to relax in the middle of the busy camp."

Congratulations, Cassie! Girl Scouts OSW wishes you best of luck in the future.

The Luella and George Shaver Family Scholarship is given to an outstanding Girl Scout who best demonstrates the same qualities that Luella Shaver, a longtime, dedicated volunteer showed in her life as a Girl Scout. The scholarship began in 1982 and is awarded each year to an exceptional graduating Girl Scout Ambassador who earned her Girl Scout Gold Award. It is awarded for educational pursuits, such as college, vocational training and/or apprenticeship programs at an accredited school. The scholarship recipient is determined by a special committee and panel of judges, including Luella’s daughters Mary and Zizi Shaver.

About Luella Shaver
Luella Shaver started with one Girl Scout troop but soon was leading three troops! Her deep dedication to Girl Scouting was apparent in the remembrance shared by her daughter, Mary, that quitting piano lessons could be tolerated but quitting Girl Scouts – never! Luella also served in several leadership roles and was well known and loved as she exemplified true Girl Scout values and vision. The family has established an endowment to ensure that the Luella and George Shaver Family Scholarship Fund will be available forever.

Vancouver Girl Scouts Travel to Olympia for State Proclamation

Thanks so much to Debi Woods, a troop leader from Vancouver, WA's Girl Scout Troop 43024, for this blog post.

Olympia, Washington. What a day. It was snowing in Vancouver when we left, but we didn’t cancel. One Brownie was up at 3 a.m. according to her mother - she was so excited to be part of making history. We were going to the capitol to watch the state legislature adopt a proclamation to declare 2012 the Year of the Girl. We had five girls - four Girl Scout Brownies and 1 Junior, and three leaders from two troops.

It was amazing. It was so inspiring to hear the legislators talk about when they were Girl Scouts and what it did for them in their life. I cried - it was so touching and inspiring the way we have been touching girl’s lives. Then they voted and not one person was against adopting the Proclamation of 2012 being the Year of the Girl.

We were invited, and escorted down the secret marble staircase that took us to the legislative floor below. There we got our picture taken by the official photographer which will be attached to the proclamation. We were then invited to the caucus room to meet many of the legislators. Each girl was asked to introduce herself , and say where she was from.


It was an honor and privilege to represent the Girl Scouts at this historic event. However, what I was most amazed at were two things: first, the way the girls at such an early age were so comfortable talking to law makers. The second almost makes me cry just thinking about it. As we toured the building, there were an amazing number of women that came up to us and said that they were Girl Scouts as a girl, I would always respond with, “Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout” and we would share a friendship smile.

What I realized was that in a place like this, with legislators and law makers at the state capitol, there was such a high concentration of women who had been touched by Girl Scouts. That what we do as Girl Scouts, as Girl Scout Leaders, and Girl Scout Alumnae - we are giving girls what they need to be successful women, we are teaching them leadership, and encouraging girls become women of courage, confidence and character.

Girl Scout Taylor Lenzen Testifies at Portland City Council

Girl Scout Ambassador Taylor Lenzen was on hand this morning at the Portland City Council meeting to testify that the Council should declare March 12, 2012 Girl Scout Day in honor of our 100th Anniversary. Watch Taylor's speech in this video and see the text version below.



Every year I help my mom plan West of the Willamette Girl Scout Day Camp.  In 2000, a family friend started this camp and about 20 people attended. Twelve years later, we now serve around 400 campers and adults from the Portland area. My mom took over the position of Director in 2008 and I knew that I wanted to help in some way. I had grown up at this camp and I felt that the best way to give back to the camp that helped mold who I am today was to step-up and get involved in the planning.

My position started out small, attending core staff meetings and occasionally giving input, but with confidence, would increase in the following years. I started entering the registrations in the database and would place the campers into their units that they would be in for the camp week.

This year, I have the official title of “Program Aide coordinator,” where I will be mentoring the 8th grade to 12th grade leaders throughout the week of camp.

I cannot say how much this camp and Girl Scouts has changed the person who I am. I used to be the shy girl who would never leave her mother’s side and now I am a senior at St. Mary’s Academy, getting ready to take on her next stage in life. Currently, I hold a high position on my school’s newspaper staff and am the editor of the school yearbook. All of these are feats that I never envisioned I would achieve and I do not believe that I would be here without the support of my camp and Girl Scouts.

SU 4 Celebrates World Thinking Day

Thanks to Chelsea Morton and Laura White who wrote about Service Unit 4's multi-Troop event focusing on World Thinking Day!

  Thinking Day. One day each year where Girl Scouts celebrate international friendships and ideas. This year Service Unit 4 reduced, recycled, and reused at their Thinking Day on February 4, where girls learned about ways to better their environment.

            The event was started off by Troop 40485 with an informative skit about recycling. “Every bottle counts!” Then it was off to the stations. Some stations were dedicated to teaching girls ways to use old materials to make something new. One station, put on by Troop 41358, transformed one-gallon milk jugs into beautiful bird feeders. Another, this one ran by Troop 42136, turned old t-shirts into stylish handbags using only scissors and a sewing machine. Regular everyday magnets were renovated into cute little refrigerator magnets by Troop 40310.  Christmas cards were turned into gift boxes by Troop 40485 and fun games were made out of common household items by Troop 40151.

            Two stations were dedicated to teaching Girl Scouts about individual countries. One, ran by Troop 42406, was committed to showing girls the wonders of India through cuisine and stunning bracelets. The second was prepared by Troop 45567, who devoted their station to displaying the wonders of Japan and the outstanding art of origami. Girls had their choice of making a box, heart, or fish out of squares of old magazines.

           

The cycles of nature also played a key role at this year’s Thinking Day. The wonders of worm composting were explained through pictures and models of the process by Troop 41358. Girls were able to plant their own tomato seeds and sample some locally grown vegetables such as carrots and beets at a stations put on by Troop 40151.

            Lastly, a station called Destiny’s Closet, presented by Troop 45551, offered a unique way to exchange clothes. For every two items of gently used clothing girls brought in they could receive one item of their choice. All items not chosen will be used by the nonprofit organization Angels Making A Difference at their garage sale.

            All in all, Service Unit 4’s Thinking Day was a great success. Girls walked away with smiles on their faces and many memories, not to mention a ton of crafts and plenty of new recycling ideas.

Troop 42227 Focuses on Cookie Sale Safety Skills

Lucy Fulton and Raechel Cowell, leaders of Troop 42227, focused on cookie sale safety at the SU 2 Cookie Rally:



Note: the above slideshow contains photos from both the event for older Girl Scouts and for the Safety Skills event for the younger girls.
 
Because our troop consists of first and second year Juniors, we wanted to find a meaningful way for them to participate in Service Unit 2's annual Cookie Kick-off/Rally. Given that our girls were very familiar with the younger girl program from years of attending it, and since they were too young to attend the older girl program, we fully supported our girls in helping to plan and run this year's event, along with the sponsoring troop(s).

After our girls decided to tackle the Safety and 100th Anniversary booths, we met twice outside our troop meeting time to plan out our ideas and gather the necessary supplies. One of the highlights was recording the "Safety Song" to the tune of "You Are My Sunshine."

At the event, our booths had two activities each. At our "Safety" booth, girls could practice door-to-door sales and safety rules. Through this simulation, attending girls learned to handle common and not-so-common scenarios. The other activity taught five important safety rules (represented each by a colored bead placed in a cup). Once wax paper was secured to the cup, the girls now had their own "instrument" to play with and remind them of what they learned. To further embed the principles, every girl received a popscicle stick "flag" that had the five safety rules and the lyrics to the "Safety Song" that they heard looping in the background and had a chance to sing themselves.

The "100th Anniversary" booth was both meaningful and eye-opening. One activity included telling the story of Juliette Gordon Low selling her pearl necklace to keep Girl Scouts alive. The overall message was about giving back. At this booth, girls received a paper "pearl" on which to write one community service activity they have done or wished to do individually or with a troop. The paper pearls were then placed on the wall behind the booth in the shape of a giant multi-strand necklace representing the many ways girls, who are part of this legacy, are giving back. For their participation, girls were given a plastic pearl swap to help them remember Juliette's sacrifice for Girl Scouts. The other activity for this booth included brainstorming on butcher paper the activities girls have done through their troop, Service Unit, and/or council. Then we asked girls to share what events they would like to do and we posted those as well. As a culminating activity, girls "voted" on three activities, sharing with us those they like and didn't like on specially made ballots. 

Overall, it was a very busy cookie rally. Our girls worked hard to plan and execute their ideas. And, they had fun! For them, it was very motivating because they worked together to present their vision, combining their previous experiences with the cookie rally and their desire to demonstrate Girl Scout ideals through leadership. As for the troop leaders involved, we are very proud of our girls in their ability to discover a needful role they could uniquely fulfill, connect with other adults for supplies and guidance, and take action for our part in this event.

100th Anniversary Patch revealed! Along with a word from the artist who created it.

Congratulations to Kate Weeks, the winner of the design contest for our Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington 100th Anniversary Patch! Kate is a Cadette in Troop 40168 of Portland.

         

Kate writes: When I discovered that there was a contest for the Girl Scouts OSW 100^th Anniversary Patch, I immediately knew that I was going to enter. I love drawing, and I love Girl Scouts. So this opportunity was too good to pass up.

            As I was sitting at my desk brainstorming for the patch, an idea popped into my head: Fireworks! They meant a serious celebration, and I felt that the 100^th anniversary of Girl Scouts OSW was something to celebrate. I carefully drew my vision and sent it in.

            When I found out I had won, my troop was at the Moonstruck Chocolate Café. We were there to celebrate that we had just donated twenty-seven turkeys to the Salvation Army Veteran Center. One of my amazing troop leaders, Tambra, said she had a special announcement. She said that the winner of the Girl Scouts OSW 100^th anniversary patch contest was in this troop. Then she said, “Congratulations, Kate!” I was so surprised! All my friends congratulated me, and one of them made little fireworks with her cup of water. That night was the best night of my life.