Program Guide cover contest is now open!

Show what Girl Scout program means to you through art, and your creation could be the cover of the next Program Guide! GSOSW is now accepting entries to appear on the 2013 Spring/Summer Program Guide cover.

Accepted formats include photos, handmade creations or digitally-created artworks. The art must be created by a girl member of GSOSW. If the entry is a photo, it must be digital and high resolution (point-and-shoot camera files are usually large enough to use, but phone photos will not print properly and thus not be considered). 

The artwork must be in color and large-enough format to print well on an 8.5x11 inch sheet. Hand-drawn or digital entries should be about 8.5x11 inches. All photos featuring people must have proper permission for use (Girls and adults may already have given permission on their membership form. If not, they may also give permission using Form #002).

Please email a high-resolution file or scan of your entry to Rebekah Hubbard at rhubbard@girlscoutsosw.org or send via USPS to 9620 SW Barbur Blvd., Portland, OR, 97219. The deadline for entry is February 12. 

If you do not receive a response within 24 hours from Rebekah confirming receipt of your, your file may have been too big for the email system. If that is the case, please call Rebekah at 503-977-6860 to see if the artwork has come in or discuss an alternate way to send the art in.

GSOSW staff member Alanna Beckwith featued in NOVAA Member Spotlight!

Congratulations to GSOSW Volunteer Support Coordinator Alanna Beckwith, who was featured this week on the Northwest Oregon Volunteer Administrators Association's Member Spotlight!

She has some great things to say about Girl Scout volunteers in her Q&A:  "Girl Scout volunteers are some of the most dedicated volunteers I have ever met. They are the epitome of our mission 'building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.' As a side effect, we often build VOLUNTEERS of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place!"

Alanna says her biggest accomplishment as a volunteer administrator is "learning how to handle conflict in a professional, respectful way. When I first started at this job, over four years ago, I was intimidated by conflict. I didn’t know where to begin. I feel that I have overcome that initial fear and learned how to work through the conflict to help resolve it."

Read the full interview over at NOVAA's website. 

Don't forget to sign up for the world's biggest sleepover, also known as the GSOSW cookie rally!

It's almost here! The BIGGEST, MOST EXCITING cookie rally & sleepover you've ever seen!

Join us at Evergreen Aviation Museum, McMinnville, OR
Friday, January 11 OR Saturday, January 12
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (almost overnight)  $10
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 a.m. (overnight) $27
6:00 p.m. - 10:00 a.m. (overnight with optional water park admission) $27 + $18 water park*

*Water park option includes two hours of exclusive use of the water park, 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. before it opens to the public AND all day admission during the public swim time.
 The rally will include: fun activities, sample cookies, goodie bags with patches and water bottles, lot of prize drawings, 3-D cookie movie, sleeping in the museum under planes or spacecraft, "midnight" snack and continental breakfast.

Older girl troops who run a booth at the rally will get a special late-night movie and a 10% discount on admission. Those troops will have a briefing and run-through on January 5, 2013. Details will be sent separately. If you can't attend the briefing, contact Melissa at mstanley@girlscoutsosw.org.
 
Register online using Personify.

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.