Town Hall Meetings

GSCCC has been hosting a series of town hall meetings throughout the Council. The meetings are an opportunity for volunteers to come together to share ideas and give input into where the Council can make improvements to become even better! At each meeting, GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller has shared information that she received from a recent Girl Scout CEO meeting that she attended, including details about activities and partnerships in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

Monica and Deanna write down ideas to share with GSCCC
during a recent town hall meeting.

During the meeting on April 28 in Norfolk, Deanna Blackshire and Monica Corprew from Troop 115 brought their creative thinking caps! We loved all of the ideas, especially the one about spotlighting Gold Award recipients who have gone off and done great things. Reconnecting with these gems is on our radar!

Tonight is the last town hall meeting this spring. It will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Chesapeake. Get all the details about the meeting here.

Fun, Sun and Wind

Over 100 Girl Scouts took to the beach for a day of science learning on April 25 during a special STEM (science, technology, engineer and math) event for Girl Scouts at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head. The event was an a fun and educational experience for girls to learn more about marine life, ecosystems and energy.

Girl Scout Cadette Emma fishes off of Jennette's Pier

During the day, girls explored the biodiversity of the intertidal zone and learned about the animals that call the shores and waters of the Outer Banks home. They went on a beach scavenger hunt to look for shells, skate egg cases and other signs of the unique ecosystem at the beach. Girl Scouts also learned the basic skills necessary to catch a fish from the pier, including casting, reeling and proper catch and release techniques.

Kristen Brown, curator of education at Jeanette’s Pier, led a workshop for Girl Scouts to learn about harnessing wind energy by making their own wind turbines. Girls worked in groups to design blades for the turbine and tested how much energy they could harness in a wind tunnel set up in the classroom on the pier. During the workshop, Brown also taught the girls about the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy, the importance of clean wind and alternative energy.

Girl Scout Cadettes Jada and Kaelyn work on building a wind
turbine in the classroom at Jennette's Pier.

“So many jobs are based on technology and science today, and girls need to see that they are an important part of our future workforce,” Brown said. “Girls are just as good at building things as boys, and they need to be exposed to engineering tasks from a young age if we want them to take an interest in it.”

In today’s world, women hold only about 25 percent of careers in STEM. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, 82 percent of girls see themselves as smart enough to have a career in STEM, but only 13 percent say it’s their first choice. Girl Scouts is working with community partners, such as Jennette’s Pier, to give girls access to fun and informal ways to explore in the STEM fields.

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast is committed to giving all girls the opportunity to participate in STEM experiences. This summer, girls can attend various STEM-themed Girl Scout camps. Also, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, in partnership with Norfolk State University, will host Science Alive, a day of hands-on STEM learning, in September. Girl Scout camps and events are open to all girls, whether or not they are currently registered members of Girl Scouts. For more information, visit www.gsccc.org.

GSCCC Recognized with Head Over Heels Award

On Saturday, April 25, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast was recognized at the 2nd annual Victorious Women's Prayer Breakfast, which took place at the Chesapeake Conference Center. Girl Scouts, along with five other women’s organizations, were recognized with a 2015 Head Over Heels Award for the organization’s dedication to improving the lives of women and their families. Award winners were also presented with a letter of congratulations from Senator Mark Warner.

At the breakfast, Girl Scouts had the opportunity to meet the keynote speaker, Patricia Southall Smith, former Miss Virginia USA, wife of former NFL Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, owner of Pat Smith Enterprises and president of Pat and Emmitt Smith Charities. The girls also had the opportunity to meet Representative Bobby Scott and other special guests who attended the breakfast in support of women and organizations in Hampton Roads that are devoted to women and their families balancing careers, family and community service.

Victorious Women’s Ministry is a subsidiary of FavorNation Church, which was founded by Pastor Adrian Woodard to 2014. The organization was launched as a community empowerment ministry that serves, enlightens and inspired the community.

Gold Award Spotlight: A Few Good Bats

Girl Scout Ambassador Sabryna from Virginia Beach  has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting.

Sabryna has always been fascinated by bats and enjoys watching them fly at night. She also understands the benefits of having bats around the help control the mosquito population. For her project, Sabryna focused on educating people about the benefits of bats and building bat boxes to place around Hampton Roads to encourage growth of the local bat population. She visited numerous Girl Scout and Boy Scout troop meetings, where she shared facts about bats, led activities to reinforce the information she taught and helped scouts built bat boxes. She also hosted a workshop at Northwest River State Park, where she eventually hung 11 bat boxes, and she placed additional bat boxes at Norfolk Botanical Garden and Pipsico Scout Reservation, as well as her own backyard.

“Bats are fascinating creatures,” Sabryna said. “I chose this project to share my interest in bats with others and explain the positive impact bats have on our environment.”

Sabryna also created a brochure about bats and displayed her project at community events to further educate the public about the benefits of bats.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in the 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 Sabryna to an elite group of females across the country with the honor.

Virginia Beach Girl Scouts Earn Silver Award

Virginia Beach Girl Scouts Kearny and Alex have earned the Girl Scout Silver Award, the second highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. For their project, Kearny and Alex focused on remembering, honoring and saluting the Girl Scouts of World War II.

Kearny and Alex began their project by researching the contributions of Girl Scouts to the war effort. They learned that during World War II, Girl Scouts worked hard during a difficult time to promote patriotism and provide a variety of services, including selling war bonds, hosting scrap metal drives and cultivating Victory Gardens to contribute to the public supply of food. After learning about all of these efforts, Kearny and Alex created a plaque for Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast that will serve as a permanent memorial to the girls who gave so much during the war.

Kearny and Alex also set out to educate the public about the contributions of Girl Scouts to World War II. They purchased vintage uniforms and attended reenactments, including the Warbirds Over the Beach Airshow, where they invited people to sign a thank you card, and explained the vintage uniforms, books and war-era Girl Scout awards they had on display. Additionally, the girls put up a display about their project in the display case at A Place for Girls, the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast regional program center and headquarters.

Alex and Kearny at the Warbirds Over the Beach Airshow

Xerxes Nabong is Man Enough to Be a Girl Scout

When it comes to finding great local businesses and the next popular event in Hampton Roads, many locals turn to Yelp—an online community that connects people to the latest and greatest in their area. The driving force behind Yelp in Hampton Roads is Xerxes Nabong, who loves trying new restaurants, finding local gems, and has now declared that he’s man enough to be a Girl Scout. He has joined the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast’s campaign designed to attract a whole new group of supporters to the organization—men. It’s an opportunity for more men to see themselves as part of the Girl Scout movement and discover how they can be a positive influence in a girl’s life.

Part of Xerxes's job as the Yelp Hampton Roads Community Manager is to connect the Yelp community with great local businesses and organizations. Two years ago, Xerxes learned about Samoa Soiree, the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast signature event where top chefs create unique desserts and appetizers using Girl Scout Cookies as key ingredients. He called Girl Scouts to find out how Yelp could get involved and has been working with Girl Scouts to make this annual event a success ever since.

“The Samoa Soiree was so well-received within the Yelp community that it made sense that we continue what we started,” Xerxes said. “Now I’m looking to take my involvement with Girl Scouts to a different level.”

Xerxes's own first scouting memory dates back to elementary school. He remembers an evening at his school where representatives from Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts came to sign up new members. Xerxes says that he begged his parents to sign him up for Boy Scouts—his classmates were already involved and proudly wore their uniforms to school and chattered about their scouting activities. For some reason, Xerxes didn’t get to join, but all these years later now that he has connected with Girl Scouts, he has taken another look at the Boy Scout and Girl Scout Laws and sees just how relevant and significant they are.

“The Girl Scout Law specifically talks about being honest, courageous, strong and responsible for what you say and do,” Xerxes said. “It’s how I try to live. I look at this Man Enough campaign as a way to get in with what I wanted to do over 20 years ago, but in a fun and unique way now.”

Xerxes is excited to be a part of the positive impact that Girl Scouts makes on the lives of girls. He says that everyone needs some sort of mentorship and guidance at some point in their life, and he personally wishes that he was able to build courage, confidence and character at a much younger age. Girl Scouts provides the safe and nurturing environment for girls to try new things and take risks, while building self-esteem and leadership skills along the way.

What will Nabong be doing next with Girl Scouts? He’s looking forward to creating an opportunity to use his schooling and professional background in business and marketing to help Girl Scouts hone their communication skills and build lifelong relationships through personal branding. He wants to be a part of building the next generation of leaders and help girls prepare to take advantage of personal and professional opportunities that arise.

He’ll also be at the upcoming Man Enough event—a cookie and beer pairing event on June 28 at Smartmouth Brewing Company in Norfolk. For more information about this event and joining the Man Enough to Be a Girl Scout campaign, visit www.gsccc.org.

Gold Award Spotlight: Run, Walk, Play

Girl Scout Ambassador Emily from Elizabeth City has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting. Emily has been a Girl Scout for 12 years and previously earned the Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards.

For her project, Emily addressed the need for an outdoor space for dogs at the SPCA of Northeastern North Carolina. She created five trails for staff and volunteers to use to exercise the dogs. Although the SPCA used to have trails, they were not properly maintained and were no longer functional. After creating the new trails, Emily arranged for local scouting troops to maintain them so they can be enjoyed for years to come.

“I chose this project because I care a lot about dogs,” Emily said. “At most shelters, dogs don’t have a place to be walked so they end up sitting in a cage all day. I wanted to make sure the dogs would have a place to exercise outside before being adopted.”

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 Emily to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

Moyock Girl Scout Donates Cookies to Sheriff’s Department

There’s a lot more to Girl Scout Cookies than what’s in the box. For years, Girl Scouts across the country have used Girl Scout Cookies to show their appreciation for men and women who serve the community. Following this tradition, on Monday, April 13, Girl Scout Junior Genesis from Moyock, paid a visit to Currituck County Sheriff Susan Johnson to donate cookies for the department to enjoy.

Girl Scout Junior Genesis with Currituck County
Sheriff Susan Johnson. Genesis made special
cookie box wraps to decorate the cookies before
donating them to the sheriff's office.

While at the sheriff’s office, Genesis had the opportunity to visit with Sheriff Johnson and share her experiences in Girl Scouts. Genesis sold over 100 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies this year and told Johnson about her plans for her cookie money—she wants to use it to go to Girl Scout camp this summer. Genesis has been a Girl Scout for four years and enjoys getting to make a difference in her community through Girl Scouts.

Sheriff Johnson plans to share the cookies with members of the sheriff’s department, as well as give some of the sweet treats to residents at a nearby assisted living facility.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the world’s largest girl-led business and the nation’s leading financial literacy and entrepreneurial program for girls. Through the program, girls learn skills that will last them a lifetime, such as goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.

Scott Taylor is Man Enough to be a Girl Scout

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast has recently launched a campaign to attract a whole new group of supporters to the organization—men! The campaign, Man Enough to Be a Girl Scout, is focused on engaging more men to see themselves as part of the Girl Scout movement and discover how they can make a positive impact on girls.

One of the first men to step up and proudly say that he’s man enough to be a Girl Scout is Scott Taylor, owner of Taylor Construction, and a member of the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast board of directors. As a board member, Scott helps set the direction for how Girl Scouts in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina will offer opportunities to give girls the skills and confidence they need to have a successful future.

Since joining the board in 2013, Scott has dedicated countless hours and shared his expertise to improve Girl Scout properties. Last year, when the Girl Scouts were in need of a new boathouse at one of their largest properties, Camp Skimino, they turned to Scott for advice and to build the new structure. Scott is currently working on another project at Camp Skimino to help waterproof the block foundations of several buildings around camp to prevent further deterioration and moisture damage. Girl Scout camps, including Skimino, are used year round by hundreds of girls, and Scott’s contributions are vital to maintaining the properties so that girls can continue to explore and discover in the outdoors.

With two years of Girl Scouting experience now, Scott has learned that there’s a lot more to the organization than camping and cookies. “Girl Scouts is doing important work building future leaders,” Scott said. “The world is a better place with women in leadership roles giving input and making decisions. Girl Scouts is key to preparing girls to step into those leadership positions.”

In his profession, Scott regularly sees how women are underrepresented not only in leadership positions and entrepreneurship, but throughout entire workforce areas as a whole. While women represent nearly half of the country’s labor force, a report released last year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that only 8.9 percent of people working in construction are women. Women are also left behind when it comes to entrepreneurship— women-owned businesses make up just 28.7 percent of businesses across the nation.

It’s statistics like these that reinforce Scott’s commitment and dedication to Girl Scouts. He continuously gives his support, expertise, and skills to help Girl Scouts build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.

Scott Taylor is man enough to be a Girl Scout—are you?

For more information about joining the Man Enough to Be a Girl Scout campaign, visit www.gsccc.org. Your $75 Man Enough membership will include your 2015 Girl Scout membership, a T-shirt and admission to a Girl Scout Cookie and beer pairing event that will be held on Sunday, June 28 at Smartmouth Brewing Company in Norfolk.

Norfolk Girl Scouts Donate Cookies to Fire Department

For years, Girl Scouts across the country have used Girl Scout Cookies to show their appreciation for men and women who serve the community. All winter long, members of Girl Scout Troop 5034 worked diligently to ask their cookie customers to purchase extra cookies for the Girl Scouts to donate to their hometown heroes—members of the Norfolk fire and rescue department. On Saturday, April 11, members of the troop visited Norfolk Fire Station 14, where they hosted a cookies and milk reception for the first responders there, presented them with a thank you card to show their appreciation for the work they do in the community and donated the cookies they had collected.

Haley, Alexis, Rhilee, Rhianna and Mackenzie from Girl Scout Troop 5034 at Norfolk Fire Station 14

This community service project was inspired by Girl Scout Junior Mackenzie, a member of Troop 5034 who wanted to find a way to recognize citizens that perform an important service in the community. Mackenzie lead her troop in the decision to recognize the fire and rescue workers in Norfolk, and all of the girls worked together to collect cookie donations.

“Mackenzie made the observation that there are numerous people in the community that serve others with little or no recognition or thanks,” Girl Scout Troop 5034 Leader Rita Estrada said. “The girls chose to donate to Fire Station 14 because it is located in our community and one of the largest Norfolk fire stations with more emergency response vehicles, equipment and personnel.”

This community service project is part of the process for the members of the troop to earn the Girl Scout Bronze Award, which is the third highest award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting, and the highest award earned by Girl Scouts in elementary school.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the world’s largest girl-led business and the nation’s leading financial literacy and entrepreneurial program for girls. Through the program, girls learn skills that will last them a lifetime, such as goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.

Girl Scouts Recognized with Volunteer Achievement Awards

This year, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast is proud to have Girl Scouts selected by a panel of community judges to receive achievement awards from VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads. The recipients are Girl Scout Ambassador Lauren from Newport News and four members of Troop 629 from Chesapeake- Talia, Nicole, Darielle and Alyssa.

Lauren was nominated the project she did to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, which aimed to reverse the small percentage of minorities and females participating in the fields of aviation and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Read more about her project here. Lauren has also led two other large-scale community service projects. Lauren helped to organize a tutoring program to help local youth pass their standardized tests and she also lead a food drive at her school that resulted in significant food and monetary donations for local food pantries. These two community service projects were funded in part by two separate grants from Disney that Lauren applied for.

The members of Girl Scout Troop 629 were nominated for their Girl Scout Silver Award project. To earn the Silver Award, Talia, Nicole, Darielle and Alyssa taught local citizens about the history of Chesapeake in coordination with the 50th anniversary of the city. Read more about their project here. In addition to this work, the girls in Troop 629 have spent time at Dominion Village Assisted Living Facility in Chesapeake, where they read to the residents, lead games, conduct musical performances and more. The troop also participates in the annual food drive at Deep Creek United Methodist Church and the annual GSCCC Helping Hands Food Drive.

The Hampton Roads VOLUNTEER Achievement Awards, which are conducted annually, recognize the region's most outstanding volunteers based on their length of service, initiative and impact on the community. Lauren, Talia, Nicole, Darielle and Alyssa are being recognized alongside men, women and other youth who have inspiring stories that encourage others to serve.

All of this year's Hampton Roads VOLUNTEER Achievement Award will be honored during a ceremony on Wednesday, April 15 at the Founders Inn and Spa in Virginia Beach. Tickets for this dinner and awards ceremony are $50 each and can be purchased online here.

Gold Award Spotlight: Sit, Rest and Clean Up

Girl Scout Ambassador Jessica from Elizabeth City has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. Jessica has been a Girl Scout for 12 years and has previously earned the Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards.

For her project, Jessica built six benches and installed them along the trails at the SPCA of Northeastern North Carolina. She also built several animal waste trash bag holders that she placed along the trails to make sure the trails are a waste-free environment for dogs and humans to enjoy.

Jessica chose this project because she wanted to create a comfortable and clean environment where dogs and their potential owners could meet. Her project also made the outdoor space at the SPCA a more pleasant environment for SPCA staff members and volunteers to walk dogs.

"My dogs came from shelters, and I think all shelter animals need homes,” Jessica said. My project gives the dogs at the SPCA a chance to get outside to meet people.”

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 Jessica to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

Top 10 Ways to Thank a Girl Scout Volunteer

Our Girl Scout volunteers are amazing, and we can’t wait to thank them for their commitment during National Volunteer Appreciation Week (April 12-18), followed by Girl Scout Leader Day (April 22)! Here are some great ideas to show your thanks to a Girl Scout volunteer:

1. Personalize this shareable card from Girl Scouts of the USA. Email it or print it out and share it with a Girl Scout volunteer.
2. Check out our Pinterest board. There are tons of fun and inexpensive gift ideas for showing your appreciation.
3. Give them some awesome Girl Scout gifts from the GSCCC shops. We have jewelry, apparel, pins and so much more!
4. Create signs that say “Thank you, Girl Scout Leaders!” and post them in your community. Be sure to get permission before posting!
5. Host an appreciation dinner for the leaders in your troop. Each girl can bring a different dish to share and swap recipes.
6. Put together a scrapbook of troop memories from the year and present it to your troop leader.
7. Shout it out! Girls 13 and up can show volunteers some extra appreciation during National Volunteer Appreciation Week by thanking them on Facebook or Twitter. Don’t forget to include #NVW15!
8. Have your troop create a giant thank you card that everyone can sign.
9. Make a financial contribution to Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast in the volunteer’s honor.
10. Give your Girl Scout leader a bouquet of Daisies in honor of our founder, Juliette Gordon Low, who was called “Daisy” by family and friends.

Two GSCCC Girl Scouts Receive President’s Volunteer Service Award

Girl Scout Senior Katherine from Chesapeake and Girl Scout Ambassador Lauren from Newport News have been honored for their exemplary volunteer service with a President’s Volunteer Service Award.

The award, which recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country, was granted by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program on behalf of President Barack Obama.

Katherine with GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller

Katherine completed a project to address literacy among children. Katherine installed a lending library at the Boys and Girls Club of South Hampton Roads. She refurbished and built two bookcases, added four bean bag chairs to the reading area and collected over 600 books to donate to this lending library, as well as to Chesapeake Kids. She also painted a reading-themed mural to remind kids that reading can take them anywhere. Once her project was complete, Katherine created fliers to get the word out about how the lending library works and hosted a grand opening event where she read to children, helped them make bookmarks and gave each child in attendance a new book to each to take home. For this project, Katherine earned the Girl Scout Silver Award, the second highest honor and award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

Katherine has also been on three mission trips to West Virginia to repair homes and build walkways, participates in Relay for Life, has volunteered at summer camp and bible school and has participated in numerous other community service projects, including food drives and trash pickups.

Lauren with Dr. Ashby Kilgore, superintendent
of Newport News Public Schools

Lauren created opportunities for local youth to gain knowledge in the fields of aviation, aerospace and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) by hosting workshops in the community to teach youth about fundamentals of flight, the importance of STEM as a whole and about resources they can use to pursue interests in STEM. Lauren led activities that allowed children to build airplane models, see things fly and learn about aviation history. For this community service project, Lauren earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting.

Lauren has also led two other large-scale community service projects. She helped to organize a tutoring program to local youth pass their standardized tests. She helped plan Saturday tutoring sessions that were held at Denbigh High School, as well as get teachers involved in helping to tutor and provide snacks for the children who attended. For another community service project, Lauren helped organize a food drive at her school and helped to raise over $200 for local food pantries. These projects were funded in part by two separate grants from Disney that Lauren applied for.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), recognizes middle level and high school students across America for outstanding volunteer service.

Man Enough to Be a Girl Scout

List three adjectives describing Girl Scouts. Try contemporary, career-oriented and empowered. Girl Scouts offers leadership experiences that impact girls’ lives. Problem – the sugar and spice image of the organization that includes the stereotype of a suburban mother leading a troop is still what most people think of when they think of a Girl Scout volunteer. Girl Scouts want to change that and get the message out that anyone over 18 who accepts the Girl Scout Promise and Law can be a volunteer. And that includes men! 

A new campaign, Man Enough to Be a Girl Scout, is designed to attract a whole new breed of leaders for the organization. The hope is that not only men will see themselves as possibly being part of the organization, but singles, professionals, retired corporate executives, the elderly and college students, will become interested.

Now it's your chance to be Man Enough to Be a Girl Scout!

Your $75 annual membership fee includes:

• 2015 membership into the Girl Scout organization
• Man Enough T-shirt
• Admission to a Girl Scout cookie & beer pairing event on Sunday, June 28 with two beverage tickets, hosted by Smartmouth Brewery (event for adult Girl Scout supporters, age 21+)
• Best of all, you'll be supporting programs that create girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.

Studies show that if we want girls to view themselves as strong, self-reliant and resilient, it is essential that the men in her life – fathers, brothers and other caring adults who help mentor her – show her that they view her in this way. We need women and men volunteers to be part of Girl Scouts and to help girls build leadership skills.

Whether it’s a dad taking his daughter to work with him or teaching her to cut the grass, or a volunteer who is helping girls learn the skills to whitewater raft or climb a high-ropes course, men can play an important part in the lives of girls and help them believe in themselves as leaders.

Man Enough to Be a Girl Scout is sponsored by WTKR, VEER Magazine, Geese Logistics and Yelp.

Gold Award Spotlight: Hands on Faith

Girl Scout Ambassador Christina from Virginia Beach has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting. Christina has been a Girl Scout for 13 years and has also earned the Girl Scout Bronze and Silver Awards.

For her project, Christina hand painted a tree of life mural in three classrooms at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Norfolk. She chose this project in order to make the classrooms more inviting by adding some color to the white walls. The tree of life, which is a significant biblical motif, will also serve as a visual aid to enhance the learning experiences of children at the church.

Christina also hopes that her project will inspire others to make a difference in the church.

“My church community is important to me,” Christina said. “I wanted to do something to give back to them.”

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 Christina to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

Food Drive Ideas

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast host the Helping Hands Food Drive has a month long community service project in April, time when local food banks have the biggest need. Check out these ideas to make your food drive fun and successful:

1. Place a food collection box at your school, place of worship, recreation center or a local business. Remember to ask permission first!
2. Hold a traditional neighborhood food drive. Create fliers and distribute them to homes where you will go back to collect food the following week. Be sure to include the date and time you’ll be returning!
3. Make posters about the food drive and post them in public locations. Include a list of items most needed by food banks and locations where donations can be dropped off.
4. Hold a can building contest. Judges can award prizes to groups with the most creative construction and most cans. Be sure to be safe!
5. Use door hangers to alert neighbors that you’re collecting food donations. We have a template for you to use here.
6. Assign each girl in your troop a color of box or can. The girl with the most cans and boxes wins a prize!
7. Pick a theme! Focus on collecting a certain type or group of food—breakfast foods, jars of peanut butter, healthy snack foods, etc.
8. Plan a special event and "charge" a food donation for admission.
9. Have a themed potluck dinner. Have everyone bring the recipe to share and a bag of the nonperishable food ingredients in their dish.
10. Make thank you cards to give to people who donate food to your collection drive. We have a template to help you get started here.

Girl Scouts can also earn the Helping Hands Food Drive patch. Get more information here.