Silver Award Spotlight: Build A Bridge

Girl Scout Cadette Gabrielle earned her Silver Award by doing a special project for a local troop. 

As we know, bridging is a beloved Girl Scout tradition that honors girls' achievements throughout the year and celebrates their "crossing the bridge" to the next Girl Scout level involving a special ceremony for the whole troop to enjoy.

Gabrielle wanted to do a project that would help make many girl’s bridging even more special by constructing the bridge needed for a local troop to use for its ceremonies going forward. 

Gabrielle contacted friends, family, local hardware stores, and a shadow box business to ask for donations of the supplies needed to construct the bridge for the troop to use to advance to the next level of Girl Scouts.

In addition to gaining new fellowship in the community, Gabrielle was able to learn more about construction, measurements, and safely handling power tools to accomplish a goal.

Way to go, Gabrielle!

A Few Words from Our Media Girls

While this may not have been a typical summer, Girl Scouts in our Council have remained busy and active during this time! From working on highest awards projects to spending more time outdoors we have heard a lot of great stories. 

We asked our Media Girls, a special group of GSCCC Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors who assist our MarComm department with projects, to share ways they are having fun and keeping up the Girl Scout spirit!

We got some awesome responses and they were able to put together a very special collage to share with all.

Hear from some of our Media Girls-

“I have recently been doing a lot of virtual classes for some of my Girl Scout badges and patches. I have also been working on my Girl Scout Silver Award project. I’m sewing pillowcases for the CHKD hospital, and I’m making encouraging notes to go with them. I’m hoping to drop off the notes and pillowcases in August!” -Girl Scout Senior Emily

“I am staying engaged by participating in school activities such as the Student Council Association. I am also staying physically active by attending private tumble lessons and helping out around the house more. Lastly, I'm becoming more knowledgeable about social inequalities to prepare to make a difference.” -Girl Scout Senior Noelle 

“I have been spending a lot of my time outdoors these past few weeks. I’m trying to keep busy by riding my bike, watching the baby geese and their families, helping to keep my neighborhood clean by picking up trash, and playing lots of basketball with my dad!”

 -Girl Scout Cadette Lillie 

“During my time at home, I have been spending as much time as possible outside staying active and riding my bike. I have begun working on my Girl Scout Silver Award and hope to have that done by the end of summer. I am also working on multiple badges to keep me busy. As the summer moves on my family plans to take some time to help me earn a few Explore patches around Virginia.” -Girl Scout Cadette Mackenna

“I have stayed engaged during Covid craziness by participating in community service; leading my fellow Baylake Pines Junior Civic Committee members to clean the bay at our beach entrance, and organizing a fun Easter parade with the Easter Bunny to spread cheer! My Girl Scout Troop 13 made 175 “Jars of Love” for local emergency room nurses filled with inspirational messages and candy. In addition, I completed a class to earn my boater’s license, and I got my learner’s permit! I’m also participating in meetings as a GSCCC national delegate.” -Girl Scout Senior Morgan

 

A special thanks to the Media Girls for putting together this fun project and we cannot wait to resume in-person activities when it is safe to do so!

 

Visit gsccc.org for more ways to get involved.

Gold Award Spotlight: Outdoor Amphitheatre for Van Wyck Library

Girl Scout Ambassador Katherine earned her Gold Award, by planning and fulfilling the construction of an outdoor amphitheater area at the Van Wyck Norfolk Library!

Katherine created a plan, gathered materials needed, and recruited a team of volunteers to help her build the wooden stage and benches comprising the amphitheater.

Katherine felt that the space was previously underutilized and she had a vision to recreate the area to allow the community more room for education and creative expression.

“Implementing the amphitheater opens the community to new opportunities for self expression and it gives this particular branch a new resource that can be used to provide inspiration and education,” Katherine said.

Katherine’s project will be maintained by the Van Wyck Library and will be used for future programming and events.

Silver Award Spotlight: Little Lending Library

Girl Scout Cadette Kathryn earned her Silver Award by designing and building a Little Lending Library for the students at Rena B. Wright Primary School.  

She designed a really cool two story library that can hold up to 75 books.  Kathryn's dad helped her shop for all the supplies she would need and taught Kathryn safe use of the power tools she would need for her project. 

After building the Little Library, she painted it using the school’s colors- blue and white.  Family and friends were happy to donate gently used children's books and Kathryn collected enough for several months of stock.

Once the library was complete and posted in the ground she made a special presentation to the faculty and staff of Rena B. Wright about the benefits of reading to small children and the process for designing, building and painting the library.  

The Little Lending Library has been well used.  Even since schools have been closed due to Covid-19, Kathryn has continued to restock books each week. 

“I am happy that the books are being used and I have restocked the books several times. I am very proud of my Little Lending Library and I know it will be used for years to come!”

Peace Through Service Poster Contest

Announcing the 2020- 2021 Peace through Service Poster Contest by Lions Club International.

Lions International Peace Poster Contest is an international contest for children, ages 11- 13, to creatively express what peace means to them. The 2020-2021 contest theme is "Peace Through Service." This theme will allow girls to express their unique images of peace with others through their artwork, so that we may have a greater international understanding and tolerance. Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast is proud to partner with the local Lions Club to host this contest for Girl Scouts.

We can't wait to see what local Girl Scouts dream up!

More info:

-Artwork must be no smaller than 13 inches x 20 inches (33 centimetres by 50 centimetres) and no larger than 20 inches x 24 inches (50 centimetres by 60 centimetres). 

-Please do not mat or frame the artwork

Please email Marcomm@gsccc.org to make arrangements for poster delivery at A Place for Girls, 912 Cedar Road Chesapeake, Va 23322 by Thursday September 10, 2020.

Here's some inspiration for you and you can check out other winners from last year here.

2019-2020 Grand Prize Winner Zhou Zhang of China- Shaanxi Datand Lions Club:

Bronze Award Spotlight: Donations to the Pantry

Taking action to spread some joy is what Girl Scout Alexis did to earn her Girl Scout Bronze Award. She collected pantry donations from her community for a local church pantry. She brought resources in her community together for a good cause by creating handmade posters and a special video for friends and family to spread the word.

“At a few of our troop meetings, I asked my troop to help and we made flyers that could be placed in neighborhoods, asking for nonperishable food donations.” Alexis said. “I also asked my troop to help by giving donations of non-perishable food donations.” 

In total she, with the help of friends, were able to collect 136 non-perishable food items that were delivered to St. Pius X Church Food Pantry in Norfolk.

Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast (GSCCC) recognizes the need for food donations at this time and invites GSCCC Girl Scouts and friends to make a difference for families in need by getting involved in the July 30th food drive to support the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank.  You may drop off any nonperishable food items at 2401 Aluminum Ave, Hampton. This will be a "drive by" donation effort and there are no tours of the Foodbank. Find details and register for this community service here.

Alum Spotlight: Entrepreneur Extraordinaire Christine Earl

This Girl Scout alum says she got her go-getter spirit for business from Girl Scouts. Years of earning badges, working as a team player in a troop, and selling hundreds of boxes of Girl Scout Cookies has its advantages when it comes to preparing one for the business world.

"I started in Girl Scouts as a Daisy in Knoxville, Tennessee, and stayed all through my high school years," Christine said. "My mom was my troop leader and my best friend's mom was the co-leader. I made so many friends in Girl Scouts! I recently married and most of the girls from Troop 353, now women, attended. It was so much fun to have a reunion like that as part of my special day."

Christine Earl at her wedding with sister Girl Scouts

Christine says with pride that she's kept those friendships over the years, even after high school and graduating from the University of Alabama. They were even with her when she started her professional career in the world of banking, giving her words of support to help her build confidence. And they were there when she needed a nudge to move her forward as the co-founder of VicTreeFi, a business that offers online and mobile-friendly courses for students of all ages.

"I got the idea to start the business after learning just how widespread financial illiteracy was and the need for programs to supplement what students receive in school," she said. " I talked with friends, many who I've kept from my Girl Scout years, and decided to take the leap to start a business to meet a need. While our focus has been helping high school and college students, we added Girl Scout courses because of my experience in Girl Scouting. I always loved earning badges and our troop appreciated badge helpers. Today's financial literacy badges are definitely relevant to not only Girl Scouts but also troop leaders and parents as well."

According to the National Endowment on Financial Education, most consumers can’t answer even the most basic questions about credit and debt or saving and investing. There is a real need to start education early, long before kids enter high school. Studies show that children make their first assisted purchases at age 3 (choosing the cereal box in grocery stores is the most common initial purchase) and allowances — that provide opportunities for discretionary spending — often start at age 6. Nearly nine in 10 parents of 4- to 8-year-old children feel it is extremely important that their kids grow up with good financial habits.

To the rescue, VicTreeFi, a parent-helper that offers a variety of courses aimed at helping today's kids navigate through dollars and cents. As a member in Girl Scouts, girls can earn financial literacy badges that include Buying Power, Financing My Future, Good Credit, and On My Own. The courses are given through video and written presentations and are created to help students/girls master Department of Education financial literacy standards. And starting this October, VicTreeFi will add two new courses each month that will help meet additional badge requirements.

"We've had a great experience working with several Girl Scout councils and are really happy to add Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast to our partner list," Christine said. " We started with creating and offering courses for older girls and have added ones for younger Girl Scouts this Summer, such as courses for the Money Manager and Talk It Up badges. It has been a challenge to adjust the courses for lower reading levels and to add animation, but we've accomplished it and are happy with the results. Councils and parents have been giving us some good feedback and the courses are reasonably priced for families."

Want to learn more? Visit www.gsccc.org and find the Financial Literacy sessions listed on our Events page. You can also email customercare@gsccc.org.

A video from Christine Earl: