Help Girl Scouts Feed Families on Christmas Morning

Girl Scouts of Oregon and Southwest Washington is holding a canned food, winter clothing and toy drive for the Washington County Girl Scouts Christmas Breakfast for the homeless.

The community is encouraged to drop off donations at:
• Girl Scouts OSW Portland Service Center, 9620 SW Barbur Blvd, Portland, Monday-
Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. through December 21, 2012
• Grocery Outlet in Hillsboro, 354 South First Ave.,
Hillsboro, Saturday, December 15, 2012

Items needed include:
• Canned food
• Winter clothing items (such as: coats, hats, gloves,
scarves, etc)
• New toys

The Washington County Girl Scouts Christmas Breakfast for the Homeless is coordinated by volunteers. The event was started by a Girl Scout in 2000 when she and other local girls recognized a growing need among their community’s low-income population. More than ten years later, local Girl Scouts, families and community volunteers still gather at the Hillsboro Senior Center to provide Washington County residents with a hot breakfast, clothing and food boxes. Last year, the event served 400-500 people.

This year, the breakfast will be a one-day event held on December 25. A hot breakfast is served Christmas morning from 7:00 a.m.- 10:00 a.m. at the Hillsboro Senior Center. Toys and food boxes will be distributed during that time; availability is first come, first served. The Senior Center is located at 750 SE 8th, Hillsboro (in Shute Park behind the old library).

To volunteer for the event or for more information, visit www.Christmas-breakfast.org or call
Bernice at (503) 977-6851.

Talking to Girls About Violence

Our hearts go out to all involved in the Clackamas Town Center shooting that took place just outside of Portland, Oregon yesterday, December 11. As you and your family process this event, we encourage you to review the “Talking to Children about Violence” resource from the National Association of School Psychologists. This resource has helpful tips for talking to children of all ages about high profile acts of violence. 

http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/talkingviolence.pdf

Dalles Girl Scouts win First Place in Starlight Parade

Thanks to Judy Richardson for this blog post!

I am so proud of our girls - they built this float from a flatbed. The theme for the Starlight Parade in The Dalles was "A Storybook Christmas" - the girls chose the theme, "The Story of 100 Years of Girl Scouting" They were all in their jammies, gathered around a real fireplace with our troop leader, Sommer Lucas, reading to them. They won first place in the parade!

New Bathroom at Seaside: Final construction stages!

A special thank you to Rex Buchanan for providing the photos for this blog post!

The hard work continues at the property at Seaside! Director of Properties, Rex Buchanan, and company worked to finish the walls and floors on Day 3.

On Day 4, they re-installed the appliances and put in the new ADA-accessible shower.

 

On the final day of construction, they added finishing touches - including a curtain for the window.

How Girl Scouts in Oregon and Southwest Washington can help councils affected by Hurricane Sandy

GSUSA has temporarily changed fundraising restrictions in order to allow councils to raise money for Girl Scouting recovery efforts for Hurricane Sandy. Thanks to Sarah Miller, our Director of Communications, for this messaging, and thanks to GSUSA for the press roundup!

To ensure that councils affected by Hurricane Sandy are getting the support they need, GSUSA has temporarily lifted fundraising restrictions to enable girls to raise money for Girl Scouting recovery efforts. At this time, GSUSA is not allowing fundraising for other organizations.

As with all activities in Girl Scouting, the decision to contribute should be girl-led. Contributions may be directed to a specific council or councils through their online giving sites. To give, go to donate.girlscouts.org/hurricanerecovery where you will find links to online giving sites for all eight affected councils, as well as the giving form for the Hurricane Sandy Recovery Fund – a fund set up by GSUSA to help address the needs of councils affected by the storm.

We ask that you please refrain from calling or contacting the councils directly. Although material donations and troop offers of assistance are appreciated, the councils are not currently in a position to process and organize them.

Encouragement from Girl Scout sisters worldwide has been appreciated by all affected. Girl Scouting will continue to thrive thanks to the dedication of volunteers, staff and girls. For updates on how you can further assist recovery efforts, visit blog.girlscouts.org. Additional guidance from GSOSW on how recovery efforts can integrate with the Girl Scout Cookie Program will be available soon at www.girlscoutsosw.org.

Thanks to Girl Scouts of the USA, we have a large roundup of stories of the heroic efforts of Girl Scouts working to help those affected by the storm. 

The New York Times reports that New Yorkers who found each other through Facebook and Twitter, churches and community groups, City Hall, and local elected officials, tried in ways small and large to ease the devastation left by the hurricane. Girl Scouts in Brooklyn hosted a bake sale to benefit a local shelter. The New York Daily News was also on-hand for the bake sale, which was held by the Girl Scouts of Greater New York and students from PS 10.

Also in New York, the Sayville Bayport-Patch reports that a Girl Scout adult volunteer and a local business owner joined efforts to open an emergency center in Sayville where residents needing food, clothing, and living necessities can get supplies and assistance. ABC 13 reports that in Monroe County, NY, Girl Scout Brownie Troop 149 of Fairport and Perinton packed a van with boxes full of donations.

“It really hit home that kids didn't have Halloween,” said adult volunteer Kelly Steamer. “They didn't go trick or treating, so a lot of the girls donated extra Halloween candy out of their own buckets to send to kids down state.”

According to New Jersey's NBC 40, Girl Scouts was among many organizations contributing clothes, canned goods, and baby items to relief efforts by going door to door.

In Connecticut, the Ridgefield Daily Voice reports that Girl Scout Troop 50675 and Boy Scout Troops 116 and 76 helped out in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy by handing out ready-to-eat meals and water to those in need.

In Massachusetts, the Milford Patch reports that Girl Scouts of Historic Hopedale are collecting boxed donations for the victims of Hurricane Sandy in New York. 

New Hampshire's Union Leader and the Merrimack Patch report that the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains are among local nonprofit organizations spearheading a nationwide humanitarian effort to collect as many hygiene kits as possible to help victims of Hurricane Sandy.

The Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas Blog has a fantastic run-down of ways individuals can help aid in the relief efforts following Hurricane Sandy.

 

2012 ICAN Conference has record attendance

Thanks to Jinny Haines, our volunteer in charge of ICAN, for writing this post about her very successful adult training weekend!

ICAN Conference 2012 checked all the boxes for success: 74 leaders came to learn new skills, remember Girl Scout traditions and network with each other.

ICAN offered 24 workshops, covering everything from beginning backpacking to lashing to conflict resolution.  The big favorite is always the Crafts workshop, and this year the leaders were excited about the Girl-Led Ceremonies workshop.

 

Our Saturday night campfire was full of laughter, songs and games. Our emcee, “Miss Canada,” hosted team competitions that included the sleeping bag roll and the cotton ball carry. The winning team took home the fabulous trophy, “The TP Cup.”

Leaders who attended gave strong positive feedback:

“Loved it wish it was twice a year.”

“Very rich place to connect with others – very empowering, motivating and making me feel successful.”

“This was my first I CAN.  It was awesome and I look forward to coming back.”

And best of all, “I learned new things that I can take back to my girls, made new friendships and shared Girl Scout values.”

Did you miss out on ICAN? Fear not! There will be another ICAN next fall. Watch for information starting in Spring 2013 - and if you sign up early, there's a discount! 

Major improvements going on at Camp Cleawox and the Seaside property!

While it's not camping season, Director of Properties Rex Buchanan and company are working on some big changes to Seaside and Camp Cleawox to make them better for Girl Scout use! Thanks to Rex and the property team for these photos and updates: From Rex: Ware in the midst of a full bathroom remodel at Seaside. Our old bathroom did not have a shower (or ADA compliant doors, sink, or toilet) thus users were forced to go across the street to the Parks and Recreation building to shower during overnight visits.  Our new bathroom with be larger, and have a fully ADA compliant shower, sink, and toilet. Here are some pictures from the demo and initial framing!

After the bathroom demo at Seaside

More from the bathroom demo at Seaside

Old bathroom at Seaside

ADA accessible shower going in at Seaside

Beginning of Adirondack improvements

At Camp Cleawox we are updating all of the Adirondack units and cabins. We are more proactively preventing bats form entering our structures. We are enclosing the open side of all of our Adirondack units with a half wall and cedar shake to match the existing exterior. The upper half of this wall will be screened to retain the open feel of these units. Each Adirondack unit will also have dual exterior grade screen doors for access. The cabins are getting screening at the existing open windows and screen doors where available.

Changes to Adirondacks