Gold Award Spotlight: Spanish on the Go

Girl Scout Ambassador Virginia from Chesapeake, has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

In August 2014, Virginia traveled to Nicaragua on a mission trip. While there, she noticed the communication difficulties between the American volunteers and the Nicaraguans. She took note of the specific situations where language difference created barriers, as well as what sorts of information people were trying to communicate. For her Gold Award project, Virginia created translation and communication tools that were used on her next mission trip to Nicaragua in August 2015.

Prior to leaving for Nicaragua, Virginia gave her fellow volunteers laminated study guides with translations for conversation starters, greetings and work-site specific words. She also created laminated signs and translation booklets for volunteers to carry with them throughout the trip. Once she arrived in Nicaragua, she provided the same translation booklets to the Spanish-speakers.

“The most successful aspect of my project was seeing the volunteers and Nicaraguans working together and using the booklets I provided to engage with one another,” Virginia said. “I had anticipated the usefulness of the translation booklets for the American volunteers and was deeply moved to see the enthusiasm of the Nicaraguan workers while learning English.”

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

Gold Award Spotlight: Lights, Camera, SPCA!

Girl Scout Ambassador Hanna from Virginia Beach has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. 

As a junior volunteer at the Virginia Beach SPCA, Hanna recognized that inconsistent training methods were resulting in animal cages not being cleaned properly and staff having to take time away from their job roles to retrain volunteers. For her project, Hanna created a set of six instructional videos to train the SPCA’s junior volunteers. The videos included demonstrations of how to clean animal cages and insight from current volunteers about why they love volunteering with the SPCA. Her videos are now used during new volunteer orientation and are available on the SPCA’s website for volunteers to watch at any time.

As an SPCA volunteer, Hanna also noticed that oftentimes dogs are left sitting in their cages for most of the day waiting for food or playtime. In order to address this concern, she created toys using PVC pipes and tennis balls that SPCA staff and volunteers can fill with food to give the dogs an interactive and time consuming way to eat.

“I chose this project because of my love for animals and my interest in becoming a veterinarian,” Hanna said. “I hoped my videos would enable volunteers to gain the necessary information to get their jobs done correctly, and I hoped to provide the dogs at the shelter with entertainment and enjoyment during their time there.”

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

Chesapeake Girl Scout Earns Silver Award

Krystina with Kristin Osborne, president
of Virginia Food Allergy Advocates

Making a difference and getting her voice heard has always been important to Krystina, a Girl Scout Cadette from Chesapeake. When her little brother was diagnosed with food allergies, she felt it was her duty as his older sister to do the best she could to be an advocate for children with food allergies and educate the public on food bullying, which is a growing problem in schools across the country. In fact, according to Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), approximately one third of children with food allergies report that they have been bullied in school specifically because of their allergies.

Krystina decided to take action and develop her Girl Scout Silver Award project, the second highest award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting, around food allergies. Krystina went to great lengths to educate people on food allergies and food bullying by creating a website, starting a petition to get people to recognize food bullying as an issue and creating a picture campaign to stop food bullying and share information on food allergies.

Through her project, Krystina said she learned a lot about herself and developed important leadership skills.

“I learned that no matter how little I may look, I have the ability to stand tall and make sure my words get out and make a big difference in the world I live in,” Krystina said. “I set out to do my Silver Award project but in the end it became so much more and become a part of who I am.”

For Halloween, Krystina hosted a food allergy-friendly trick or treating experience for local children with and without food allergies. Close to 60 children attended and learned about how children with food allergies cope each and every day. Krystina also set up an informational booth at the FARE Walk for Food Allergies in Virginia Beach.

The Silver Award requires girls to identify an issue in the community and carry out a Take Action Project to address the matter through leadership work.

Society of Women Engineers Day 2015

Nearly 60 fourth and fifth grade Girl Scouts spent Saturday, November 21 exploring the world of engineering during an annual workshop hosted by the Hampton Roads Section of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). Locally, SWE has worked with Girl Scouts for more than 25 years to give girls the opportunity to learn new skills, develop self-confidence and explore their STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) interests in a supportive environment.

At the workshop, girls were guided by women engineers, as well as engineering students from Old Dominion University and Hampton University, through a series of engineering challenges to help develop their problem solving and critical thinking skills. Girls programmed LEGO Mindstorm robots to follow specific paths and built their own water filtration systems after learning about water runoff. They also took part in a construction challenge to build a tower using spaghetti noodles and a marshmallow, and they learned about electrical circuits by connecting a row of lights to a battery to make them illuminate.

In addition to giving girls the chance to learn and discover in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, SWE Day is an opportunity for girls to interact with women engineers. Today, only one-fifth of American scientists and engineers are women, and Girl Scouts are working to fill the gap by giving girls access to strong female role models in the STEM fields who will inspire girls to envision themselves in similar careers.

“Sometimes, girls don’t realize that they have the opportunity to be a scientist or an engineer,” Jean Mann, a SWE member and lifetime member of Girl Scouts, said. “Until you show them that they can do it and introduce them to women in the STEM fields, they might not know that it’s possible.”

The next STEM event for girls, STEMagination Expo, will take place on Sunday, January 24 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at A Place for Girls, the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast regional program center, in Chesapeake. This event is open to all girls, whether or not they are currently registered members of Girl Scouts. Find more information and register at www.gsccc.org.

The Amazing Cookie Kick Off 2015

On Saturday night, the Children’s Museum of Virginia was abuzz with nearly 1,000 Girl Scouts and their family members who gathered to kick off the upcoming Girl Scout Cookie Program, which officially starts January 9. The evening was filled with fun activities for girls to learn everything they need to become a CEO—cookie entrepreneur officer.

Cookie Captains

The activities for the evening were led by a team of Cookie Captains, older Girl Scouts who volunteered to share their cookie-selling insights with younger girls. They helped girls set cookie sales goals and make posters to remind them of their goals throughout cookie season. The Cookie Captains also helped girls brush up on their money management skills, as they practiced making change in the TowneBank exhibit at the museum. Other activity stations included practicing their door-to-door cookie pitch, making cookie-themed crafts, taste testing cookies and a dance party.

Thanks to TowneBank for their support of
GSCCC's cookie program!

The cookie kick off provided an opportunity for girls to earn the Girl Scout Cookie Activity Pin, which helps to ensure that girls learn and practice goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. These are five key skills that girls gain through participation in the Girl Scout Cookie Program, which is the nation’s largest girl-led business and the leading financial literacy program for girls.

This event was sponsored by TowneBank.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina starts on January 9, 2016, when girls will begin taking cookie orders. Cookie booth sales begin February 21, 2016. For more information about the local Girl Scout Cookie Program, visit www.gsccc.org.

View more photos from the event here.

Gold Award Spotlight: Kids Are Sweet Enough Without Sugar

Virginia Beach Girl Scout Baillie has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

For her project, Baillie wrote a cookbook for children with diabetes. The book contains healthy recipes for a variety of meals, as well as interactive pages for children to take notes about their recipes and keep track of what they have cooked and tasted.

“I chose this project because I loved to cook as a child and my favorite book was a cookbook for kids,” Baillie said. “My dad has diabetes and after doing research and finding no books that teach kids with diabetes how to cook for themselves, I knew I had to do something.”

After writing her cookbook, Baillie made presentations to share it with community groups and donated the book to local schools, community centers, food banks and hospitals. She also created informational pamphlets about juvenile diabetes that she left at these locations with her book. She then placed her cookbook online so it is available for anyone to download for free.

Baillie used her Gold Award project as a way to address the issue of lack of education about healthy eating for youth. She wrote and sent letters to her local representatives asking them to consider tax breaks for restaurants that offer a healthy and diabetic-friendly options on their kids menu. She also shared her project with the Virginia Beach Restaurant Association to encourage members to include healthier options on their menus.

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

Girl Scouts STEAM Ahead

Robots, hovercrafts and underwater vehicles were all part of the fun during Girls STEAM Ahead, an event hosted by Nauticus on November 14 for Girl Scouts to explore and discover in the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) fields. Throughout the evening, girls took part in a variety of hands-on activities that allowed them to develop their critical thinking skills, expand their curiosity and improve their confidence in a fun and informal environment.

A favorite activity during the evening was a team challenge, during which girls constructed remotely operated vehicles as part of an underwater robotics workshop. The girls used PVC pipes, fans and zip ties to construct their vehicles, and they put them to the test in a large water tank. Other activities included: riding a hovercraft powered by a leaf blower, participating in an erosion simulation, upcycling plastic bags into a kite, visiting the horseshoe crab touch tank, making paper and exploring how light rays travel through the zones of the ocean. Girls also had the chance to operate robots.

In addition to activities led by Nauticus, community groups, including Paradise Creek Nature Park, Granby High School Girls in Engineering, Norfolk Technical Center, NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services and Norfolk Botanical Garden offered activities for girls during the event.

The next science-themed event hosted by Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast will be STEMagination Expo on January 24 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at A Place for Girls in Chesapeake. All girls are invited to attend, and there will be an additional $15 fee for girls who are not currently registered Girl Scouts. Find more information and register here.

View more photos from the event here.

Girl Scouts Learn to Be a Friend First with Kappa Delta Sorority

Eighty-five percent of the time, when a girl is bullied, no one intervenes. This can lead to feelings of depression and anxiety, health complaints and decreased academic achievement for the girls who are facing aggressive behaviors from others. In an effort to teach girls about standing up for themselves and for others, the Kappa Delta Sorority at Old Dominion University welcomed Girl Scouts on campus on Sunday, November 15 for a special workshop—BFF (Be a Friend First)— to teach girls about becoming peacemakers in their schools and communities.

Kappa Delta member Ariel Quant and Girl Scout Junior Veronyca

The workshop, which was attended by nearly 70 Girl Scout Brownies and Juniors, was designed to help girls build the valuable skills they need to develop healthy relationships and prevent bullying behavior. With guidance from the members of Kappa Delta, girls participated in activities to build teamwork, talked about the qualities of a good friend and discussed how to deal with peer pressure. They also made peacemaker kits, which are boxes that they decorated to hold mementos from the day to remind them of their experience.

Kappa Delta member Brittany Reigelsperger and
Girl Scout Junior Marcelina

Brittany Reigelsperger, a sophomore at ODU, took the lead to help organize the day for Girl Scouts. Reigelsperger was a Girl Scout while growing up in Alexandria and understands the important role that Girl Scouts plays in building confident leaders for the future.

“What we do to make a positive difference as Kappa Deltas aligns closely with the values that girls gain from being a Girl Scout,” Reigelsperger said. “It’s important that we take the time to help instill confidence and a high sense of self-esteem in young girls.”

Nationally, the Kappa Delta Sorority has been working with Girl Scouts since 1998. Through this ever-growing partnership, Kappa Delta members offer numerous opportunities for Girl Scouts to participate in workshops and activities focused on building girls of courage, confidence and character. The partnership also gives Girl Scouts the chance to visit college campuses and talk to students about their experiences in higher education.

For more information about Girl Scouts, visit www.gsccc.org.

Gold Award Spotlight: 5k for a Paws

Girl Scout Ambassador Madison from Virginia Beach has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. 

Madison’s project focused on raising awareness about getting help for veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), specifically when it comes to providing service animals for these veterans. Currently, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs does not financially assist veterans to get service dogs, so for her project, Madison worked with Paws and Stripes, a nonprofit organization that rescues dogs from shelters and trains them to be service animals to offer emotional support for veterans.

Madison, with the help of volunteers from her fellow members of the cross country team at Princess Anne High School, hosted a 5k and 1 mile run/walk event to raise money to purchase supplies for Paws and Stripes. At the event, she had educational booths and displays in order to inform people about TBI and PTSD. Madison’s cross country team has taken on the responsibility to continue to host this event to support Paws and Stripes in the future.

“Few people know the truly devastating effects of PTSD and TBI and how service dogs can help,” Madison said. “Many members of my family are veterans, and I also love dogs. I like how Paws and Stripes is an organization that helps both of these groups, so I wanted to help them.”

As part of her project, Madison also created an online petition to urge the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to cover the cost of service dogs for veterans with PTSD and TBI. Through the petition, Madison’s goal was to unite people from across the country to bring awareness to the issue and bring change to the government to get help for veterans who need it.

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

2016 Girl Scout Cookie Program

For 10 years, the price of Girl Scout Cookies in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina has remained at $3.50 per box, despite increases in the cost of cookies from our baker (13 percent increase since 2006). For the 2016 cookie program, cookies in our Council area will be $4 per box.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the nation's leading financial literacy and entrepreneurial program for girls. Through participation in the cookie program, girls learn goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics—aspects essential to leadership, to success and life.

There are 112 councils nationwide and each determines the price of Girl Scout Cookies.

Find more information here.

Virginia Beach Girl Scout Earns Silver Award

Virginia Beach Girl Scout Kayla has earned the Girl Scout Silver Award, the second highest honor and award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

Ever since Kayla first heard about the Union Mission, an organization that provides food, shelter and care for those in need, she felt that it would be a great organization to help for her Silver Award project. Kayla collected items, including toiletries, clothing and toys, from her friends, family and members of her community to donate to the Union Mission. 

Kayla also used her creativity and talent to make scarves and hats to give to the Union Mission. She even inspired some fellow Girl Scouts to knit items to donate as well. 

“My project impacted my leadership skills by expanding my planning skills, organizational skills and time management,” Kayla said.

The Silver Award requires girls to identify an issue in the community and carry out a Take Action Project to address the matter through leadership work.

Gold Award Spotlight: There Is Only One You

Virginia Beach Girl Scout Hannah has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

For her project, Hannah focused on helping youth identify the effects of positive and negative self-esteem and build their own self-confidence by hosting workshops for teens at Oak Grove United Methodist Church in Chesapeake. Hannah worked with a school guidance counselor to develop activities, which included games and exercises that helped teens identify and celebrate unique characteristics, find common ground with others and find the courage to follow their dreams. Hannah made “toolboxes” for each participant that outlined the topics in the workshop that teens could keep to use as a reference as they face a variety of situations.

“I chose this project because I struggled with self-esteem issues during my high school years, and I wanted to create an event that would help those around me who are struggling as well,” Hannah said.

Hannah posted all of the activities and resources from her workshops on a website that she created so that people from around the world and use them to promote self-esteem in their own schools, churches and community groups. She also arranged for the youth group at Oak Grove United Methodist Church to continue to host the workshop.

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

Invite a Friend!

Think about your favorite memory as a Girl Scout volunteer. Maybe it was when a girl in your troop overcame her fear of heights and conquered the high ropes course. Maybe it was the proud moment you saw your troop bringing smiles to the faces of others through community service. Or, maybe, it was when you took a step back and realized that without you, those moments might have never happened.

Now is your chance to invite a friend to have memorable moments in Girl Scouts too!

During the month of November, current volunteers who invite a friend who starts a new Girl Scout Daisy, Brownie or Junior troop will get $50 to spend in the official Girl Scout online store. And, the new troop leader will get a free Volunteer Resource Pack to help get them started.

Once your friend joins Girl Scouts as a troop leader, completes the volunteer application and starts a new Daisy, Brownie or Junior troop, visit girlscouts.org/inviteafriend to claim your prize.

As a Girl Scout volunteer, you introduce girls to fun and new experiences that show them they’re capable of more than they ever imagined. You’re a cheerleader, a guide and a mentor who helps girls develop skills and confidence that will last long after the meeting is over. Girls need more heroes like you—fun, courageous and always there—to help them shine like never before. Invite a friend to be a Girl Scout volunteer because two heroes are better than one!

Leadership in Action

Anne, a Virginia Beach Girl Scout,  has been a Girl Scout for 11 years and is currently a Girl Scout Ambassador in Troop 558. Among Anne's leadership awards are the Girl Scout Bronze Award, Silver Award and Senior Leadership Torch. She has also earned every Catholic Girl Scout Religious Recognition to date for her age level.

Anne was one of 10 girls in this Council chosen to attend the Girl Scout Leadership Institute at last year's National Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. Upon returning home, Anne carried out a Take Action project in her community on the dangers of teen drug and alcohol abuse.

Anne has attended Girl Scout Advocacy Days in Richmond, and her passion for advocacy continues on in her Gold Award Project. She is currently garnering support for the passage of H.R.2858, The Humane Cosmetics Act (HCA), a bill co- sponsored by Virginia's own 8th District Representative Donald Beyer.

You can see Anne's leadership in action this Saturday at her Gold Award project booth at the Ultimate Show for Women at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Anne is going to talk about her leadership experiences, including attending two Girl Scout Leadership Institutes, her trip to Girl Scout World Center Pax Lodge in London and her current Gold Award Project, "Ending Animal Testing: One Paw at a Time," which seeks to stop the use of cosmetic animal testing by encouraging cruelty-free cosmetic use and the passage of the HCA.

Windsor Girl Scouts Earn Silver Award for Mural Project

By Courtney Herrick, GSCCC communications intern

Girl Scout Cadettes Claire, Katie, Kerri Elizabeth and Madison of Girl Scout Troop 1105 in Isle of Wight County have earned their Girl Scout Silver Award, the second highest achievement in Girl Scouting.

Girl Scout Troop 1105 and volunteers working on
the mural.

For many years, the town of Windsor had been trying to find a way to distinguish itself from the other small towns on U.S. Route 460 between Suffolk and Petersburg. For their project, Girl Scout Troop 1105 collaborated with local artist, Sam Welty, to create eye-popping murals on the side of a building across from the town hall. Welty has murals all over the country, and agreed to help the girls complete this project as a volunteer.

With the help of Welty’s sketches, the girls painted a total of six murals that depicted important buildings in their town, including the town’s first church, Windsor’s fire department, which is now Town Hall and the town’s first car dealership. The murals were painted to entice people to visit their town, bring in potential customers for local businesses and enhance the town’s overall beauty.

A view of the murals before completion

The girls gained a lot of support from their community as they worked hard to complete the murals. Prepping the wall proved to be no easy task. The wall had to be power washed and primed before sketching and painting could begin. Though completing the project took some hard work and elbow grease, the girls accomplished what seemed, at first, like an impossible project. Local businesses and people in the community pitched in to help the girls by donating time, paint, art supplies and even meals to the girls.

The troop members were recognized at the Windsor Town Council meeting in September. Sam Welty, and by extension, Girl Scout Troop 1105, were also nominated to receive an award from the Cultural Alliance of Greater Hampton Roads.

Gold Award Spotlight: Bookshelves and Books

Norfolk Girl Scout Coriana has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

For her project, Coriana built and stocked a library at the REACH (Reading Enriches All Children) office to aid in the distribution of books to homeless and at-risk youth. She began her project by hosting book drives in her community, including at her school and church. Once she collected the books, she created a digital catalog to keep track of the books in the library. She then built and painted three bookshelves that she installed at REACH to hold the new books. Coriana also decorated bags for children to use to check out the books.

“I love to read and wanted to inspire others to read as well,” Coriana said. “Through my project, I hoped to raise awareness about how many children are deprived of reading because they do not have access to books.”

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