Chalk it up to Girl Scouts Sidewalk Art Contest

Let your inner artist shine and help get the message out about Girl Scouts with the Chalk it up to Girl Scouts contest! 

Throughout June – the Great Outdoors Month – we’re asking Girl Scouts to get outside and use sidewalk chalk to create awesome art. To help spread the word that Girl Scouts is the best organization for girls, we want you to add our website and include "Be a Girl Scout" somewhere in your creation! 

What a fun way to lead more girls and volunteers to Girl Scouts! For a full list of contest entry guidelines, see below. The photo with the most likes and shares wins!

Contest Rules:

• Contest runs June 1 – June 30
• Photo must be posted to Facebook using the hashtag #chalkitup2girlscouts
• Art must include gsccc.org and "Be a Girl Scout"
• All girls in the photo must have a signed photo permission form (click here to download the form)
• Two winners will be announced July 3, 2018 on our Facebook page
• Eligibility: current registered member
• One entry per person
• Troop entries are encouraged; only one entry from each troop will be accepted
• Prizes:
• First place- $50 Walmart Gift Card
• Second place- 6ft Troop Banner

Check out the Outback!

It’s finally warm outside, which means it’s almost camp season!

As you are preparing for your outdoor adventures this summer, consider visiting the Outback at A Place for Girls in Chesapeake, Virginia.

The Outback, an 8.5-acre natural area behind A Place for Girls, is part of the South Chesapeake Loop of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail. Visitors may encounter birds ranging from nuthatches and warblers to stealthy great blue herons hunting in the shallows of Bell Mill Creek that runs through the property. In the summer, look for warblers, flycatchers and other woodland birds.

Boardwalks over the creek's brackish waters provide views of estuarine species such as killifish, fiddler and blue crabs. The elevated platform overlooking the creek is an excellent place to scan for large wading birds and provides eye-level views of the ospreys that nest nearby. The trail continues to meander past a canoe launch, picnic areas and a fitness trail.

Did you know the Outback is an official designated Lou Henry Hoover Memorial Sanctuary? It’s named after one of our country’s past first Ladies who was also a Girl Scout and outdoor enthusiast!

There are tons of patch activities girls and their families can do while visiting the outback. Walk nature trails, meander on the boardwalk to view birds and surrounding, climb the observation tower and more.

There are four picnic pavilions as well!

There’s also a Health and Fitness Trail patch you can earn while in the Outback! Challenge yourself on our fitness trail while enjoying the outdoors. You can find requirements for both patches on our website’s Patch Programs Page.

Be sure to check out our day camp options available for girls this summer at Camp Outback! Click here to register.

Hammock camping with Girl Scouts

If you’re wondering what it’s like to camp in a hammock, just ask one of the several girls who tried it last month at Newport News City Park Campground.

The trip, just one of several put on by The Wild Things, allowed most of the girls to go hammock camping for the first time. They also held a cook off that took the camp ranger by surprise!

Why hammock camping? Well, not only is it tons of fun, by hammocks take away a lot of the challenging parts of camp. You don’t take up a lot of space, affect the ground or need a large plot of land. Just pick a spot that has some trees, make sure you have sturdy straps to tie your hammock to the tree and you’re good to go!

“All I can say is try it,” Bonnie Taylor, creator of The Wild Things, expressed.

It was such as success that Bonnie received nothing but positive feedback. Many of the hammock campers said they would do it again on their backpacking adventure!

Try out camping in a hammock this summer at our Camp Darden location! They are nap-tested and girl-approved. Share your experience with us and you may be featured on this blog!

Strong Girls Visit EVMS

Girl Scouts learned first-hand what it takes to work in the medical field from professionals and got to apply their knowledge of STEM during some engaging activities on Saturday, May 5 at Eastern Virginia Medical School.

Teen Girl Scouts took part in small group simulations. Girls used computers to test their skills at virtual laparoscopy, a surgical procedure that requires both patience and a steady hand. They also got a hands-on tutorial on how to do an ultrasound and learn how to react in emergency situations.

Sasha Edwards, a senior simulation specialist at EVMS and former Girl Scout, taught the girls CPR techniques and how to respond in emergency situations.

“Saturday was amazing! I love seeing the girls engaged and working together on CPR mock code,” Sasha explained. “We didn’t have this kind of technology when I was a Girl Scout back in the early-mid-eighties.”

As Girl Scouts, girls are exposed to activities in the STEM field which allows them to see that they too can have a future in that career field. According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, 77% of girls say that because of Girl Scouts, they are considering a career in technology. Girls in STEM are interested in many careers, chiefly among them being careers in the medical/health care field.

Girls attribute their increased interest in STEM activities, classes, and careers to the STEM programs they engage in through Girl Scouts, and say that these programs have made more of an impact than other programs in which they have been involved.

“The STEM field is evolving, but is still very male dominated (only about 29% of women are involved in the science and engineering workforce). Exposing young women to careers in the STEM fields hopefully gets them more interested, and will allow them to think outside the box of traditional women’s careers,” Sasha said.

Emilee Bohle and Ashleigh Mann, Girl Scout Cadettes, both agreed that their time at EVMS on Saturday made them want to learn more about careers in the medical field. The girls were intrigued by the resources available to them at EVMS.

Younger Girl Scouts were also able to learn about health and wellness with special events catered to them throughout the morning and early afternoon. The girls participated in stations facilitated by Love Ur Healthy.

The girls worked on their Strong Girls Patch while completing a relay obstacle, playing fitness Tic Tac Toe and learning more about healthy snacks, drinks and activities.

Thank you to EVMS, Love Ur Healthy and the instructors who volunteered their time to teach Girl Scouts more about STEM on Saturday.