Silver Award Spotlight: Chemo Kits

Girl Scout Cadettes Lily and Amelie took initiative to help out in a really meaningful way by creating "Chemo Kits" for children in the hospital who are undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Chemotherapy is often painful or uncomfortable, and children go through it all the time. These Girl Scouts decided to help make their experience a little more comfortable and show their support in a way they knew how.

In order to start working on the Chemo Care Kits, Lily and Amelie researched prices on many items and created a budget. Once they knew what they wanted to include, and how they could do it, they reached out to Love Your Melon, a non-profit whose mission is solely to accommodate those with cancer, mainly those undergoing Chemo. They happily sent over beanies to include in each kit. The girls constructed two kits per category. These are the categories they worked within and what they included for each kit:

 

all received: Love Your Melon beanie, port pillow

in addition,

girls and boys aged 1-4: teddy bear, baby blanket, baby book, cozy socks

girls and boys aged 5-10: coloring book & crayons, cozy socks, lemon drops

boys aged 11+: water bottle, lemon drops, cozy socks, earbuds

girls aged 11+: Pura Vida bracelet, lemon drops, cozy socks, earbuds

 

Through this experience, they learned skills in budgeting, teamwork, leadership, careful sanitization (due to COVID and the kids being immunocompromised), and community networking. Because of these girls, these kids will have a much better experience during something that can be super scary. 

Thank you, Lily and Amelie!

Gold Award Spotlight: Writing Right

Advocating for those who need a voice and bringing awareness to things we all can do to help is part of the Girl Scout way. Girl Scout Ambassador Cassandra earned the Gold Award in her project, Writing Right by doing those two things! 

Cassandra worked with a licensed occupational therapist to write a children’s book, Writing Right, aimed to help students with dysgraphia, a learning disability that affects fine motor skills like writing, cope.

The main character of Cassandra’s book, Writing Right, is a third grader Noah, who has dysgraphia. Cassandra shares experiences of Noah as he goes through school and faces various challenges that other kids might not be aware of.

She hopes that her book will spread awareness of dysgraphia to readers by getting to know Noah as a person and a friend. Cassandra’s book was designed to help others, especially kids, understand more about this lesser-known disability and help those affected through resources at the end of the book.

Cassandra was able to donate 40 copies of her book to local schools and public libraries. In addition, Cassandra’s book was published and offered online at cost for a print version or free on Kindle.

Visit writingright.org for more information or to purchase or download a copy.

Silver Award Spotlight: A Study of Female Composers

 Are you a Girl Scout Junior who loves music? Maybe you are a Girl Scout Cadette thinking about earning the Girl Scout Silver Award who needs to see a project in action. No matter what your Girl Scout grade level or role in Girl Scouts, you'll love learning about one of our Girl Scout stars! 

Meet Girl Scout Cadette Elsa who is a musician who earned her Girl Scout Silver Award with a project titled, A Study of Female Composers. Hear from Elsa, listen to her music and be inspired! 

We've included a YouTube link for you to listen to Elsa's amazing talent as a performer, but before you do take time to read an interview done with Elsa to learn a bit more about this amazing Girl Scout. 

How long have you been a Girl Scout?

I have been a Girl Scout for 9 years!

 

What inspired you to dedicate your project to female composers?

I knew I wanted to create a project that I was passionate about. I have played the violin for almost eleven years, and I’ve always loved music. I’ve always noticed a lack of music written by female composers, and I knew this project would give me the opportunity to share fascinating pieces that most people haven’t heard of with many different people.

How did you have to adapt in creating and presenting your project due to current circumstances caused pandemic restrictions?

The presentation of this project was originally going to be presented in late March at the Chrysler Museum. Unfortunately, everything shut down the week before my performance.  Once we knew the shutdowns were going to last for a long time, I decided to record my pieces instead of doing a live performance. I actually recorded with my accompanist in person, which is  why I have a mask on in all of my piece recordings.  

What are you looking forward to this Girl Scout year?

I’m looking forward to completing a Girl Scout Journey, and starting to work on my Gold Award Project!

How have you enjoyed being a Media Girl with Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast and how do you get ready to perform as a Media Girl and a musician for on-camera time?

Being a Media Girl with the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast has been a wonderful experience. I’ve had the opportunity to talk on local news and radio and it’s definitely helped me a lot with my public speaking abilities. Performing has always been one of my favorite things to do, and preparation for different kinds of performances will vary. I make sure before I do music performances that I’m comfortable with the pieces that I’m playing, and make sure to have plenty of practice time every day before the performance. If I’m self taping my performance, I’ll check and make sure that I’m in the frame of the camera, and I’ll generally play each piece once without recording so that I feel comfortable.

Link to view Elsa's performance  https://bit.ly/3b8DTSj

A Guide to Girl Scout Birthday Fundraisers

We thank all our members and friends who have taken the step to create a fundraiser for GSCCC on Facebook! We appreciate your support and gifts/ When your birthday rolls around, consider a Birthday Fundraiser to support GSCCC. You'll be making a difference in the lives of so many girls who need to be celebrated and recognized as leaders! 

This simple tool that Facebook has given us is one of those ways, so we wanted to share a few easy steps to creating your Facebook fundraiser. 

SIX EASY STEPS:

1) Go to your Facebook account (or create one)

2) Go to your 'home' page, and look on the left side column. You should see the 'fundraiser' option under "Create" at the bottom. Click on "fundraiser" and Facebook will walk you through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Pick your charity 

4) Set your fundraising goal and time-frame. We've seen many successful fundraisers at $200 or even $500 or more! Set something that you feel good about and see where it goes! You can always raise the amount if you particularly like to challenge your friends.

5) Invite people on your friends' list and engage with them! This is key.  Invite, invite, invite!  Share often on your timeline: remember that not everyone will see something when you post just once. While some people may be hesitant to invite people on their friends list, remember you're giving them an opportunity to participate in something large and global.  No problem if they are unable or unwilling to participate at this time - you've at least extended an invitation.  

6) Thank people as they donate and watch numbers go up!  Seriously, these people are donating  to GSCCC because of YOU - because they love you, they appreciate you, they think you're the bee's knees (and we do, too!)

And then, have fun!! 

Silver Award Spotlight: Building Blocks

Girl Scout Cadette Mackenzie earned her Silver Award by creating necessary tools for an equestrian center.

 North West River Park is known for camping, fishing, horseback riding, and more. However, they were in need of a mounting block for riders. Mounting blocks are steps that aid in mounting (getting on) a horse, and riders aren’t expected to bring their own.

 Mackenzie, with her amazing construction skills, took on their request for one. However, she surprised them with two! She delivered one in the trailer parking lot, for those who want to mount right away, and one at the riding ring, for those who like to lead their horses or need to remount.

 North West River Park loves their new mounting blocks, and it’s all thanks to Mackenzie! She went above and beyond with her talents and generosity. She definitely earned her Silver Award!

 Through this experience, Mackenzie learned skills in construction and power tool safety to help out a local park and community.

 Great job, Mackenzie!

Written by GSCCC intern Lakelyn Woodcook

Camp Apasus and Norfolk Sertoma Club- Over 60 Years of Partnership

For so many Girl Scouts, young and old, Camp Apasus holds a special place in their hearts. Memories of troop camping, day camp and outdoor training, are memories that some of us share. 

The camp has a long history. During World War II, Camp Apasus - the day camp program, was moved from City Park to property owned by the City of Norfolk on Mason’s Creek, known as Pilgrim’s Rest. During the 1940s, girls got to camp by catching the bus and taking it to the stop right before Mason’s Creek, where they were greeted by a camp counselor and a traffic officer to assist in crossing the street. 

In 1949, the camping guide required list to bring to camp consisted of: a cup, bandana, comb, clean handkerchief, and a knife. Girls also had to bring a nosebag lunch on days that they did not cook-out. The camping guide said that an ideal nosebag lunch would contain sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, and cookies. 

 It was around that time when the Norfolk Sertoma Club became involved as a supporter of the camp. Thanks to the Norfolk Sertoma Club, the camp has had years of support! Several camp buildings were built, including the Sertoma Lodge that offers indoor program accommodations. The Club has also provided camp with canoes, an archery range along with gear, a pool, fencing and other camp. Best of all, they have given GSCCC funds to extend the camp experience to girls who might not otherwise have the opportunity to go to camp. 

Each year, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast holds a camp luncheon to say thank you to this amazing community partner, the Sertoma Luncheon. This year, due to circumstances, the outdoor luncheon at camp was cancelled. Instead, GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller was invited to present at a Club breakfast - so our tradition continues!  

 

Tracy was able to share information about  programs held at Camp Apasus during this membership year and our hopes for the future. We know that girls still love to explore the outdoors  and study nature, swim, make nature crafts, participate in canoeing and archery and more - just as they did eighty years ago!  

Building Legacies, One Brick at a Time

On July 23 at A Place For Girls, many were honored with a permanent memorial that will pave the way for many more generations.

The Honor Brick Ceremony has occurred annually since 2016 and has always commemorated those involved in the Girl Scout Community in a permanent and prominent way. Not only does this campaign honor outstanding members of the Girl Scout community, but it is also a way to raise money for the Council in order to fund more opportunities for the Girls. Once the bricks are purchased, they are personalized and laid around the flagpole in the trefoil platform at the council’s headquarters. This year, the ceremony was a little different. Everyone in attendance was required to wear a mask and encouraged to social distance from those not in their families. There were fewer attendees than in previous years due to the current events and effects of COVID-19. Despite this, however, some outstanding stories were presented.

        Francis Carr with former Troop 435 members      Francis Carr with her husband Bill                                                                     

Having begun her story in Girl Scouts as a leader when her daughter joined, Frances Carr’s nostalgia led her to commemorate Troop 435 and all their adventures with a memorial brick. This brick is also meant to honor those in Frances’s troop who earned the Gold Award in 1979, the Golden Circle (pilot program) at that time, which is the highest award for a Girl Scout. She decided to make these memories permanent in this way since “Girl Scouting was a large part of [their] lives.”                                                                                                                       

                                    Bonnie Rose with mother (left) and daughter Becca (right)                                                                                                     

Also among the honorees this year, was Bonnie Rose. She started Troop 229 eleven years ago, watching her troop grow from first graders to now graduating seniors. Bonnie was happy to lead these girls in her footsteps, especially Becca, a member of the troop and daughter of Bonnie, who is a fifth-generation Girl Scout. Becca and her troopmates want to memorialize Bonnie’s contributions to the community in a “big and permanent” way.

Tracy Keller, CEO at GSCCC

John Morgan, former Property Director at GSCCC   
      

John Morgan was also honored by the Girl Scout Council of the Colonial Coast. John was the Property Director at GSCCC until his retirement last month. Since he helped start the Honor Brick tradition, as well as install staple amenities, such as the swimming pools, the Council believes he deserves to be honored this way. “It’s nice to be remembered that way at the Girl Scouts,” John Morgan.

“He was a part of this idea to help tell girls’ stories, so it felt like a perfect fit,” Tracy Keller.

Those interested in supporting GSCCC or honoring a legacy by purchasing a Brick of Honor may contact philanthropy@gsccc.org for more information.

Post written by Lakelyn Woodcook (GSCCC intern)