Girls Asked to Vote on Outdoor Badges

Four Girl Scout outdoor badges will be added to the Girl Scout program line up in fall 2015- one at Brownie, Junior, Cadette and Senior levels.

Girl Scouts of the USA will use a "Girls' Choice" process to choose the badges, which includes polling Girl Scouts to let the girls takes the lead on deciding which new badges will be created.

There will be two rounds of polling. First, girls will vote on which content area they're interested in within the Outdoor category, for example, Outdoor Recreation or Outdoor Survival. Once a majority vote indicates a content area, girls will vote on the actual badge topic, such as Hiking or Camping, based on their grade level in the coming year.

Here is the timeline:

October 31- November 30: Girls will vote on the content area they are interested in within the outdoor category.

December 1- December 31: Girls will vote on the actual badge topic.

March 12, 2015: The four Outdoor badges will be announced and content and product development will begin.

Girls can cast their vote here: http://bit.ly/1sS9nBA

New Girl Scout Poll Affirms Girls' Interest in Public Service, Illustrates Immense Barriers

Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) today released findings from a new ”pulse poll” showing that while the majority of today’s teen and tween girls are interested in politics (67 percent), and most are engaged in political, civic or leadership activities (93 percent), only a minority (37 percent) are interested in pursuing a career in politics. The pulse poll was conducted in September by the Girl Scout Research Institute with a national sample of more than 1,000 girls in the U.S. between the ages of 11 and 17, with demographics matched to the U.S. Census distribution of girls in this age range.

Girl Scouts with Hampton Mayor George Wallace to receive a
Girl Scout Week Proclamation in March 2014.

The discrepancy between girls’ desire to engage in the political world and their actual involvement in it is troubling. While, according to the poll, 78 percent of girls want to make a difference in the world and 76 percent want to help people, 92 percent of those girls believe there are other ways than politics to make a difference in the world—and 61 percent would rather be a movie star than president of the United States.

Interestingly, the fact that girls by and large don’t want to enter politics does not point to a lack of faith in their own abilities. Eighty-four percent of girls say “I am smart enough to have a career in politics.” What they are calling for is more support and encouragement from society, the media and adults, to pursue a career in politics. Sixty-five percent of girls feel more mentoring from current politicians and positive stories in the press would encourage them to pursue political careers.

"This new research shows real promise when it comes to girls’ political aspirations—but we need to give girls more support and opportunities to experience and get excited about politics,” says Senior Researcher Kamla Modi, Ph.D., of the Girl Scout Research Institute.

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, which serves girls in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, is committed to offering girls opportunities to learn about government and be engaged in advocacy work. Last month, a group of seven Girl Scouts from Hampton Roads met with Senator Tim Kaine to inform him about Girl Scout initiatives in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and share the ways STEM opportunities through Girl Scouts have impacted their career aspirations.

Girl Scouts and GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller with Senator Tim Kaine in September 2014.

Read the full results of the pulse poll here.

Gold Award Spotlight: Alone Without a Home

Hampton Girl Scout Charlotte has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting. Charlotte also earned the Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards, represented Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast as a National Delegate and served as a member of the board of directors.

For her project, Charlotte worked with Commonwealth Catholic Charities to help refugees who recently moved to the Peninsula to acclimate to the area. Charlotte helped to provide clean, furnished apartments for three families and supplied food and personal care items for each of the families. She also created translation cards that she attached to furnishings and household items to help families learn English. Finally, she created a welcome manual for each family that included English phrases and information about local schools, resources and community services.

“I chose this project because my church sponsored a refugee family a few years ago, and I was amazed at their resiliency with the support of the church,” Charlotte said. “I wanted to also help refugee families as they transition to life on the Peninsula.”

Charlotte also made a presentation at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Hampton, where she shared information about the circumstances that lead to a person becoming a refugee, the process that refugees go through to move to the United States and what people can do to help. The Commonwealth Catholic Charities will continue to use Charlotte’s welcome manual to help refugees acclimate to their new community in Virginia.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in their community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than 6 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Charlotte to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

Girl Scouts Learn from Local Sheros

Sheros—or female heroes— aren't just characters in movies and books, and 150 Girl Scouts had the opportunity to meet local sheros during a special event about emergency operations and medicine event held earlier in October at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. During the day, girls from grades K-12 had the chance to learn about healthy living and well-being as they stepped into the roles of nurses, first responders and other professionals. This helped the girls to discover how their shero powers can make the world a better place.

Girl Scout Junior Dominique with
Norfolk Firefighter Tina Jones

The event began with a session led by Norfolk Firefighter Tina Jones who talked to the girls about the importance of staying calm during an emergency and what it’s like to be a firefighter. She also shared that she enjoys her job because she gets to help people every day.

“Firefighters are here to help,” Jones said. “In fact, a lot of what we do as firefighters goes along with the Girl Scout Promise and Law—we do our best to make a difference.”

Girls then attended workshops where they made first aid kits and tried on turnout gear with Chief Battalion Amy Valdez and Kathleen Pearson from the Virginia Beach Fire Department and learned about preparing for an emergency by decorating pillowcases that they could quickly fill with important items in case they ever need to leave their house in a rush due to an emergency. The girls also learned about organ donation from Cindy Harris, who lost her son Paul in 2006 following a car accident. She shared her story and talked about why she volunteers with LifeNet today to help families facing the decision about donating the organs of their loved ones. During the afternoon, girls heard from nurses and learned about pediatrics.

Virginia Beach Firefighter Kathleen Pearson and Girl Scout Ambassador Megan

Girl Scouts is committed to giving girls opportunities to explore careers and discover that they can be anything they want to be. By introducing girls to women in a variety of careers, girls can picture themselves in a similar role and are motivated to follow their dreams. Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast will be offering an opportunity for girls to learn about careers in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields on December 6 at Think Like a Scientist!, which will take place at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News.

View more photos from the day here.

Gold Award Spotlight: Disability Awareness

Girl Scout Ambassador Lauren from Smithfield has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting. For her project, Lauren addressed the issue of bullying, especially in settings where students with special needs are bullied in school.

Lauren began her project by researching a variety of disabilities, including autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness and dyslexia. She then created a binder for each of these topics that she filled with child-friendly explanations of each disability, pictures of children with the disability and a video about how to recognize different disabilities. The binders also included activities designed to help children to better understand challenges that some of their peers face, including sign language and braille activities.

When her binders were complete, Lauren presented her project to an administrator at Driver Elementary School in Suffolk, where it will be used as a resource for students and teachers to better understand students with special needs and gain insight into the learning and social challenges that they face. Lauren hopes that this education will help to decrease, and eventually end, bullying.

“I chose to do this project because of the bullying and discrimination that I experienced in elementary school,” Lauren said. “I wanted to help other students and hopefully prevent them from experiencing the same pain.”

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in their community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than 6 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Lauren to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

Meet Famous Formers Honoree Regina Mobley

So far, we've introduced you to two of the six women being honored by Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast as Girl Scout Famous Formers this year. GSCCC will be celebrating these honorees at a luncheon on October 30 in Norfolk. Now, we would like to introduce another honoree, WVEC Anchor and Reporter Regina Mobley.

Mobley, who was born and raised in Norfolk, joined a Girl Scout troop that met at a church in her neighborhood when she was in elementary school. She has fond memories of camping in her troop leader’s backyard and proudly wearing her Girl Scout uniform as she marched in community parades.

One of the most impactful experiences that Mobley had as a Girl Scout was the opportunity to take part in an outdoor event for troops around Norfolk at Camp Apasus, a Girl Scout property on Masons Creek that Girl Scouts continue to use today. Most of Mobley’s childhood was spent at activities in her neighborhood—at church, at school and with family. Mobley recalls that her experience at Camp Apasus was one of her first experiences interacting being in a mixed environment with both black and white people.

“Before we went to camp, we wondered if we would be accepted by the white girls there,” Mobley said. “It ended up being a really positive experience and helped prepare me for what desegregation would mean in my community.”

When she was 17 years old, Mobley became fascinated by the production of World News Tonight and set a goal to become a news anchor. After graduating from Granby High School and then Norfolk State University, she worked at local radio stations before achieving her dream and becoming a news reporter at WTKR. Looking back, Mobley says that the most significant assignment in her career was interviewing President Barack Obama in March 2011 about the No Child Left Behind Act. She was the first local news reporter to interview President Obama while he was in office.

Earlier this year, Mobley was inducted into the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame, which recognizes communication professionals with exceptional careers in journalism, public relations, advertising and other media fields. Over the years, Mobley has continued to exemplify the values of Girl Scouting, both in her career and in volunteer roles, as a friendly, helpful, responsible role model in the community.

Mobley says that being a Girl Scout gave her a sense of belonging and a taste of accomplishment at a young age. She recognizes how impactful it was for her to be part of a positive and supportive organization when she was a young girl.

In addition to Mobley, five other local Girl Scout alumnae will be honored as Girl Scout Famous Formers this year: Dr. Wanda Barnard-Bailey, deputy city manager for City of Chesapeake; Dr. Lucy Gibney, founder and chairman of Lucy’s, an allergy-friendly food manufacturing company; Susan Mayo, president of Susan T. Mayo Consulting; Janis King Robinson, vice president of operations for Sentara Albemarle Medical Center; and Jeanne Zeidler, president and chief executive officer of the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation.

This year’s Girl Scout Famous Formers Luncheon will be held on Thursday, October 30 at 11:30 a.m. at the Norfolk Yacht Club. Tickets for the luncheon are $40 each and can be purchased online or by calling 757-548-9438.

Gold Award Spotlight: Flute Therapy

Chesapeake Girl Scout Natazzja has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting. For her project, Natazzja organized a music program to unite youth and people who reside in local nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Natazzja, who plays the flute, recruited fellow members of the band at Indian River High School to plan and carry out 17 musical performances at six nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Chesapeake, Elizabeth City and Norfolk. During the performances, Natazzja and fellow musicians played a variety of music, including patriotic and spiritual songs.

“Through Girl Scouts, I have been visiting nursing homes since I was in first grade, but not all youth have been in nursing homes or around the elderly on a regular basis,” Natazzja said. “My project has helped to connect youth and the elderly.”

Natazzja also created a manual with instructions about how to plan and carry out her music programs so that students from the band, orchestra and chorus at Indian River High School can continue to host musical performances at local nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Her manual includes contact information for the facilities where she performed, tips for rehearsing for a performance and information about selecting songs to perform.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in their community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than 6 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Natazzja to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

Meet Blair, Girl Scout Leadership Institute Delegate

This year, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast is sending ten girls to attend the Girl Scout Leadership Institute (GSLI) that is taking place in conjunction with Girl Scout National Convention from October 16 to 19 in Salt Lake City. GSLI takes place every three years and provides girls ages 14 and up with leadership skill-building activities that are tied to the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. This year's theme is Discover, Connect, Take Action: Girls Change the World.

One of the girls who will be representing Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast at GSLI is Blair, a Girl Scout Ambassador from Chesapeake. Now a senior at Western Branch High School, Blair joined Girl Scouts when she was in kindergarten and has been a Girl Scout even since. Blair had the opportunity to attend a GSCCC trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2011, where she and 34 other local Girl Scouts took a skyline gondola ride, visited a jade factory, toured the Sydney harbor, met kangaroos and koala bears and so much more.

Blair is currently working on earning the Girl Scout Gold Award. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family. She is very excited that she has the chance to represent Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast at GSLI this year.

Get more updates from GSCCC at National Convention by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Sisterhood on the Fort—Social Enjoyment and Civic Engagement

On Saturday, October 4, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast and the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe National Monument held an opening reception for a new exhibit, Sisterhood on the Fort, about the history of Girl Scouting on Fort Monroe. This exhibit, which will be on display through April 2015, represents the first time that the Casemate Museum has partnered with a community organization to create a historical display.

GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller, Girl Scout Cadette Sianna,
Casemate Museum Director Robin Edward Reed, Nicole Stuart
and Chris Stuart, owners of Top Guard Security

During the reception, Girl Scout Cadette Sianna helped with the ribbon cutting to officially open the exhibit, along with Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast CEO Tracy Keller and Chris and Nicole Stuart of Top Guard Security, the sponsors for the exhibit and reception. Girl Scout alumnae and friends from the community had the opportunity to view the exhibit and share memories from their own experiences in Girl Scouts. 

“I really enjoyed my time in Girl Scouts,” Eola Dance, chief of visitor services and resource management at Fort Monroe National Monument. said. “I think it really played a part in my interest in history, nature and service organizations and helped me get to where I am today.”

Eola Dance, right, and her mother Elvena Lewis

The exhibit explores the formation of Girl Scouts on the military installation in 1926, 14 years after the organization was founded in Savannah, Ga. Through photographs, letters and stories, as well as vintage uniforms and handbooks, the exhibit examines the development of the Girl Scout Movement in the unique setting of Fort Monroe, a place that many military families have called home over the years.

The display also includes accounts of the Girl Scout experience on Fort Monroe during World War II, as well as the troop activities and community service projects in the decades that followed. As girls moved on and off of Fort Monroe with their families, Girl Scouts offered a familiar activity that allowed girls to make new friends and be involved in their community.

Items from the collections of both Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast and the Casemate Museum are featured in the exhibit.

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast has also recently partnered with Fort Monroe National Monument to create a Junior Ranger patch for girls to earn while visiting the site. More information about Girl Scouts can be found here.

Admission is free for self-guided tours of the Casemate Museum, which includes the Girl Scout exhibit. The Casemate Museum is open Tuesday- Sunday 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information about museum hours and location, call 757-788-3391.

Meet Famous Formers Honoree Jeanne Zeidler

Earlier this month, we introduced you to Dr. Wanda Barnard-Bailey, who is one of the six women we are honoring at this year's Girl Scout Famous Formers Luncheon. Now, we would like to introduce another honoree, Jeanne Zeidler, president and chief executive officer of the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation. The Girl Scout Famous Formers Luncheon is an annual event hosted by Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast to honor local women who continue to exemplify the values of Girl Scouting through their leadership roles in the community.

Jeanne Zeidler

For Zeidler, joining Girl Scouts was a family affair. When she joined the organization as an elementary school student while growing up in Milwaukee, her older sisters were already Girl Scouts and her mother was the leader of her Girl Scout troop. Zeidler has fond memories of her Girl Scout years, from cooking over a fire while camping with her troop to earning badges for her sash, including sewing, childcare and swimming.

“Girl Scouts taught me about the power of working together as part of a team,” Zeidler said. “I was also really influenced by interacting with strong and dynamic leaders, who were both my peers and the adult volunteers in my troop.”

Another thing that Zeidler learned from Girl Scouts is about the importance of serving others in the community. This is a lesson that Zeidler has carried with her throughout her professional life. For 20 years, Zeidler served as the director of the Hampton University Museum, where she helped to develop the collection and move the museum into its current location in the Huntington Building, which allowed the collection to be open for public viewing. Later, during her time at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Zeidler helped open Kimball Theatre, which has since become a center of community activities in Williamsburg. In her current role at the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation, she oversees grants that are made to improve the health of people living in Williamsburg and the surrounding counties.

In addition to making a difference through her careers, Zeidler has also made a positive impact on the community through public service. She was the mayor of Williamsburg for 14 years and was the first woman in the history of the city to hold this position. Prior to this role, she served on both the school board and city council in Williamsburg. Over the years, Zeidler regularly spoke with Girl Scout groups visiting the municipal building to learn more about local government.

“It’s so important for girls to be involved in an organization like Girl Scouts because it teaches girls to be self-confident and gives them the chance to learn about interacting with others,” Zeidler said. “It also gives girls insight into how they can be helpful and make a difference in their community, as well as gives them their own little community to be a part of and gain support from.”

In addition to Zeidler, five other local Girl Scout alumnae will be honored as Girl Scout Famous Formers this year: Wanda Barnard Bailey, deputy city manager for City of Chesapeake; Dr. Lucy Gibney, founder and chairman of Lucy’s, an allergy-friendly food manufacturing company; Susan Mayo, president of Susan T. Mayo Consulting; Regina Mobley, news anchor for WVEC-TV 13; and Janis King Robinson, vice president of operations for Sentara Albemarle Medical Center.

This year’s Girl Scout Famous Formers Luncheon will be held on Thursday, October 30 at 11:30 a.m. at the Norfolk Yacht Club. Tickets for the luncheon are $40 each and can be purchased online or by calling 757-548-9438.

Gold Award Spotlight: Learning Garden

Girl Scout Ambassador Isabel from Chesapeake  has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting. For her project, Isabel created a hands-on science learning environment for students at B.M. Williams Primary School by building a learning garden in the courtyard at the school. Her learning garden ties into the Virginia Standards of Learning for students in kindergarten through second grade to make real life observations of the life cycle of planting, maintaining and harvesting fruits, vegetables and flowering plants.

Isabel started the learning garden by building raised garden beds that she filled with organic weed killer and top soil. Students then helped Isabel plant lettuce, tomato, radish, spinach, strawberry, herb and flower seeds, and she placed signs in the garden for the children to be able to keep track the plants. She also placed a compost bin and rain barrel in the garden for children to learn about recycling water and food scraps.

“I chose this project because I wanted children to look forward to coming to school and enjoying their environment,” Isabel said. “I also wanted to create an opportunity for them to learn about good nutrition and healthy eating.”

Isabel also built a learning cart that carries microscopes, magnifying glasses, seed samples and gardening books and activities that teachers can use in their classrooms to supplement the information children learn in the garden. Isabel put together a care manual so that teachers and students will be able to continue to maintain the garden.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in their community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than 6 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Isabel to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

Add a Friend, Add some Fun!

At Girl Scouts, girls are always counting down to the next adventure they'll go on together. Maybe it's artistic, maybe it's an experiment. Maybe it's getting outside or helping the community. With us, you'll make a bunch of new friends and have a ton of new experiences that show you how exciting the world is, and how awesome you are, over and over again. We think that every girl should have a chance to experience Girl Scouting. You can help make that happen!

This year's Add-a-Member campaign is here! Between now and December 15, 2014, every Girl Scout who invites a new girl to join Girl Scouts is eligible to receive the “Discover the Universe” patch. The new Girl Scout will also receive the patch. Add three or more girls to the troop and all the girls in the troop (including the new girls) will receive the “Discover the Universe” patch. 

Once the friend registers to be a Girl Scout, the troop leader submits this form to their service unit registration coordinator, who will forward it to GSCCC, and we'll take care of the rest!

Thinking of a friend who may like to learn more about Girl Scouts? We've created this invitation for you to print, fill out and share with a friend!

How to Run a Successful Fall Products Business

When it comes to the Girl Scout Fall Product Program, Girl Scout Ambassador Isabella from Virginia Beach knows how to be successful. While the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast Fall Product Program began just a few weekends ago, Isabella has already earned over $80 for her troop. One of the secrets to her success? She encourages her customers to think ahead about what treats and gifts they may need for the upcoming holiday season and helps them find just what they need through GSCCC’s fall products offering.

Isabella with Board Chair
Melissa Burroughs at 2014
Annual Council Meeting.

Another reason that she’s so successful is because of her multi-faceted business plan. She sells nuts, candies and magazines by going door-to-door to friends in her neighborhood and also uses the online portal for fall products to send emails to friends and family. She sees the benefits to both of these sales tactics.

“Going door-to-door is great because I can talk to customers and help them figure out what they will like best, while online sales makes it really easy to show everyone what’s available this year,” Isabella said.

For Isabella and the rest of the members of Troop 509, the Girl Scout Fall Product Program is important because it helps them fund community service projects that they participate in before their proceeds from the cookie program are available. In fact, a majority of their proceeds from fall products goes directly to community service projects, and they reserve just a small portion for other activities.

From a young age, Isabella
has been involved in community
service through Girl Scouts.

“My troop helps at a winter homeless shelter run through my church,” Isabella said. “It’s a weekly event, and we make dinner, as well as a lunch for people to take with them for the next day.”

Girl Scout Troop 509 also helps prepare and serve food at the Union Mission and making stockings for a Salvation Army holiday project.

At Girl Scouts, we know that when given the opportunity, girls change the world. Through the Girl Scout Fall Product Program, Girl Scout Troop 509 is just one group of girls who are making the world a better place. To learn more about the fall product program and how to get involved here.

Meet Gretchen, Girl Scout Leadership Institute Delegate

Later this month, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast will be sending a group of 10 local Girl Scouts to attend the Girl Scout Leadership Institute during Girl Scout Convention in Salt Lake City. The Girl Scout Leadership Institute is a triennial conference that provides girls ages 14 and up with three days of leadership skill-building activities that are tied to the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. This year, the Girl Scout Leadership Institute will focus on big issues that girls across the country and around the world are passionate about.

The theme this year is Discover, Connect, Take Action: Girls Change the World. While participating in the Girl Scout Leadership Institute, girls will choose an issue and design a project to enable them to go out and make a difference in the community. Girls will focus on the issues of teen violence, healthy relationships, basic needs (such as hunger, poverty, homelessness and natural disaster relief), inclusion and diversity, self-image, education and the status of women. After attending the Girl Scout Leadership Institute, each girl will create an action plan to return to her community and make a difference.

One of the 10 girls who will be representing GSCCC in Salt Lake City is Gretchen, a Girl Scout Senior from Chesapeake. Gretchen is a member of Girl Scout Troop 976 and has been a Girl Scout for 10 years. She has earned both the Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards, and is looking ahead to earning the Gold Award as well. Gretchen, who is in a Navy family, moved five times before the age of nine and has always appreciated having Girl Scouts as a constant in her life.

Stayed tuned to the GSCCC blog and social media to meet other delegates and read updates from Girl Scout Convention, starting October 16.

Gold Award Spotlight: PROJECT anti-Bully

Chesapeake Girl Scout Donna-Lee has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting. For her project, Donna-Lee focused on raising awareness about the issue of bullying in her community. She started by surveying her peers and adults in the community to find out what they know about bullying and if they have experienced bullying. She then researched anti-bullying strategies and behaviors of bullies, victims and bystanders. With this information, Donna-Lee organized an anti-bullying workshop at Church of St. Therese, where she worked with 45 students and adults to teach them how to stand up to bullies, to speak out about incidents of bullying and to make a difference in the lives of others.

During the workshop, students created comic strips portraying bullying incidents, talked about friendships, contributed to a video journal about the effects of bullying and more. Donna-Lee also shared with the students a list of resources where they could find more information about the topic.

“Each day, 160,000 students across the country stay home from school because of bullying,” Donna-Lee said. “I wanted to do this project in order to encourage my peers to be a part of changing the world and creating a safer world for everyone.”

Donna-Lee also created a website, where she placed her workshop presentation for others to use, and distributed CDs with her project to local churches and schools.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in their community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than 6 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Donna-Lee to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

Chesapeake Girl Scouts Learn Emergency Preparedness

A group of Girl Scout Brownies are now some of Chesapeake’s youngest residents prepared to deal with natural disasters and emergencies. In September, Girl Scout Troop 37 welcomed a representative from the American Red Cross for the Pillowcase Project, a preparedness education program funded by the Walt Disney Company. The girls learned about creating a fire escape plan for their home, how to prepare for a hurricane, what they can do to cope during emergency situations and more. The girls also received booklets with information, as well as fillable emergency contact cards to have as a resource.

Girl Scout Troop 37

Through the Pillowcase Project, each girl was given a pillowcase that lists all of the important things girls could fill it with, including a flashlight, water and batteries, in the event of an evacuation due to a natural disaster. As the girls learned about important things to take along during an evacuation, they also had the chance to decorate and personalize their pillowcases.

Girl Scout Troop 37 is also in the process of earning the First Aid badge. During their meeting on September 30, the girls learned about what constitutes an emergency, when to call 911 and what to do if they are in an emergency situation through a variety of games and activities. The girls also each put together a first aid kit and learned about the function of each item in the first aid kit.

The Pillowcase Project was an opportunity for Troop 37 to live the Girl Scout motto, “Be prepared.” For over 100 years, Girl Scouts have been learning how to help out wherever they are needed, even during an emergency.

Read more about the American Red Cross Pillowcase Project here.

Meet Famous Former Honoree Dr. Wanda Barnard-Bailey

On Thursday, October 30, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast will be honoring local Girl Scout alumna Dr. Wanda Barnard-Bailey, deputy city manager for City of Chesapeake, at the Girl Scout Famous Formers Luncheon. This event is held annually to honor local women who continue to exemplify the values of Girl Scouting through their leadership roles in the community.

Dr. Wanda Barnard-Bailey

Dr. Bailey, who began her career as a social worker, is now responsible for Chesapeake’s, human services department, parks and recreation department, public library services and customer contact center. In this role, she oversees approximately 25 percent of the budget and employees in the City. Her leadership abilities have allowed her to make great changes in Chesapeake to ensure effective community outreach, enhance the quality of life for citizens and connect the City to local organizations in order to better serve members of the community. Looking back, Dr. Bailey links her experiences in Girl Scouts with the ambitions that she has today to make the world a better place.

As a Girl Scout while growing up in Moyock, Dr. Bailey had her first experiences serving the community. She remembers visiting elderly members of her church to help them with yard work or cleaning around the house. Dr. Bailey also fondly recalls outdoor adventures with her Girl Scout troop, including a hiking trip that ended at a pond where the she got to go fishing.

For Dr. Bailey, the biggest impact that Girl Scouts had on her life was the influence of the volunteer who led her troop, Ms. Lucy Walston. Dr. Bailey recalls that her leader was a vibrant and energetic woman who cared for each Girl Scout in her troop. Looking back, she sees how Ms. Walston, who did not even have a daughter, selflessly gave her time to make a difference in the lives of girls and helped give girls the skills and confidence they needed to become leaders.

“She emulated every line of the Girl Scout Law and taught us to be good citizens by setting a good example for us,” Dr. Bailey said.

Since her time as a member of Girl Scouts, Dr. Bailey has continued to be involved in the organization by supporting her niece’s Girl Scout troop with special projects and supporting them each year during the Girl Scout Cookie Program. Dr. Bailey also helped Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast through their strategic planning process.

In addition to Dr. Bailey, five other local Girl Scout alumnae will be honored as Girl Scout Famous Formers this year: Dr. Lucy Gibney, founder and chairman of Lucy’s, an allergy-friendly food manufacturing company; Susan Mayo, president of Susan T. Mayo Consulting; Regina Mobley, news anchor for WVEC-TV 13; Janis King Robinson, vice president of operations for Sentara Albemarle Medical Center; and Jeanne Zeidler, president and chief executive officer of the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation.

This year’s Girl Scout Famous Formers Luncheon will be held on Thursday, October 30 at 11:30 a.m. at the Norfolk Yacht Club. Tickets for the luncheon are $40 each and can be purchased online or by calling 757-548-9438.

Gold Award Spotlight: Improving the Environment One Tree at a Time

Girl Scout Savannah from Virginia Beach recently earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting. For her project, Savannah worked to replace trees that had been lost during storms and due to disease over the years at Pipsico Scout Reservation in Spring Grove, Va. Savannah’s brother attends the camp, and when she visited, she noticed that the loss of trees was causing erosion and that campers had less shade. With the help of a team of volunteers that she organized, Savannah planted 300 trees, including redbuds, northern red oaks and Virginia pines, throughout the camp.

Savannah and Jenny Sommerfeld, camp ranger
at Pipsico Scout Reservation

Savannah purchased the trees from the Virginia Department of Forestry with money she raised from holding yard sales and from other donations. She worked closely with the camp ranger, Jenny Sommerfeld, and the camp director, Evan Sommerfeld, to select the types of trees she would plant, choose the best time to plant the trees and develop a plan for choosing placement, planting and fertilizing each tree. After all of the trees were planted, she marked each one with a ribbon for visibility.

“I chose this project because I love being outdoors,” Savannah said. “Planting trees was a fun experience and as they trees grow they will provide habitats for animals and shade for campers.”

Since planting the trees, both Savannah and Jenny check on them on a regular basis to make sure they are thriving. Savannah also created a book about the Hornaday Awards, which are recognitions that Boy Scouts can earn for significant contributions to conservation.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in their community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than 6 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Savannah to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

Let's Read, Let's Move!

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast welcomed new Girl Scouts to the organization during Let’s Read, Let’s Move, a family fun event held on September 28 at the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library in Virginia Beach. Girls and their families were invited to learn more about Girl Scouts, as well as participate in activities to teach girls about healthy living and the fun of reading.

Newly-registered Girl Scout Daisy Mia
with WAVY-TV Anchor Lex Gray

During the afternoon, girls had the opportunity to meet WAVY-TV Anchor Lex Gray, who read The Adventures of Rowena and Carrot Jam The Rabbit to girls and gave them copies of the book. They also made crafts, including friendship bracelets and bookmarks, and made their own spinner wheels with activities for staying active. The Virginia Beach Reading Council attended and allowed children to choose a book to take with them to help build their home library.

Studies show that addressing both the needs of mind and body are part of the healthy development of children. Academic success is more likely to happen when a child maintains good health through exercise and diet, along with adding reading as a routine activity. Girl Scouts is committed to providing fun, dynamic and interactive experience for girls to attain practical life skills related to healthy living, reading, writing and communicating through national proficiency badges and resources.

View more photos from the day here.