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.

Powerful Celebration of G.I.R.L.

Here at Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, girls are being empowered to empower themselves, and encouraged to try new things, embrace failure as a learning opportunity, and take the lead in their communities.

We’re excited to announce a new brand platform that tells just how these girls are empowering themselves! The “I’m Prepared” PSA celebrates every girl’s inner G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™. Applauding girls who never give up, who try new things, and who make their ideas a reality, the PSA is a visual representation of how Girl Scouts prepares every G.I.R.L. to practice leadership like a Girl Scout––uniquely encouraging girls to cultivate grit, problem-solving, risk-taking, and leading with empathy. It is a call for girls to embrace their leadership potential and empower themselves through Girl Scouts and for consumers to invest in the future of girls for the betterment of our world.

Best of all, the PSA is set to Girl Scouts’ new powerful pop anthem, “Watch Me Shine,” co-written by songwriters Liz Rose and Emily Shackelton, and performed by Shackelton with Girl Scouts singing backup vocals. The song exemplifies how Girl Scouts empowers girls to find the strength and confidence they need to take the lead every day and to create impactful change in themselves and in their communities. Both songwriters, as Girl Scout alumnae, are go-getters and risk-takers themselves: Rose is a two-time Grammy Award winner who has collaborated with well-known female artists like Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, and Jewel; Shackelton’s songs have been featured on TV shows like American Idoland Nashville. “Watch Me Shine” will be available to stream or download on iTunes, Amazon Music and Google Play.

If you have a G.I.R.L. story to tell, we want to hear it! Email marcyg@gsccc.org.

GSCCC CEO Recognized for Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership

Congratulations to our very own leader Tracy Keller! She’s the CEO of Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast and the recipient of The Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Award. VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads selects an outstanding nonprofit chief executive to honor annually with this award.

Tracy was selected because of her demonstrated leadership with our board, staff and volunteers, as well as her proactive involvement as an advocate for girls and women in the community. She is committed to our Girl Scout mission and has undertaken a customer engagement initiative for our Council which will help improve the way we reach and serve girls and volunteers.

Her leadership abilities have been recognized many times in the past and have included being an honoree of the “Top 40 Leaders under 40” award” by Inside Business Magazine, the distinguished Alumni of the Decade Gold Award from Virginia Wesleyan College, and a Woman of Distinction by the YWCA of South Hampton Roads. She has also been presented the Thanks Badge I and the Thanks Badge II awards– highest adult awards in Girl Scouts.

Stepping up to leadership is something Tracy feels confident in doing. She has served as the president of the National Association of Girl Scout Executives (AGSES) and was inducted into the Association for Girl Scout Executive’s Hall of Fame. She has been active on many boards that have included the Women’s Division Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Chesapeake; the Great Bridge Rotary Club, and the City of Chesapeake’s Human Services Advisory Board. She currently serves on the Tidewater Community College Alumni Advisory Board and the United Way of South Hampton Roads Women’s Leadership Council.

Media Girls

Earlier this month, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast hosted the first meeting of the GSCCC Media Girls, a group for Girl Scout Juniors through Ambassadors to learn how to represent Girl Scouts in various media opportunities throughout the year. The workshop was led by Girl Scout volunteer Rio Ziegler, a social media account coordinator for a local digital marketing agency who shared her expertise in public relations, marketing, journalism and as a radio personality.

Rio with a group of GSCCC Media Girls

The workshop began with a handshake exercise for the girls to be able to step out of their comfort zones to meet new people and practice greeting people they have never met before. The girls then participated in mock interviews, where they practiced speaking about their personal experiences in Girl Scouts and why they enjoy being a Girl Scout. Rio and other volunteers created an on-camera experience for girls, which allowed the girls to practice answering questions and watch how they conduct themselves during an interview.

Rio then taught the girls about the dos and don’ts of social media. The girls talked about representing Girl Scouts both on and off camera and played a game to practice determining appropriate posts for social media. At the end of the workshop, Rio led the girls in fun vocal exercises, including tongue twisters, to show them ways to help calm their nerves before going on camera. The new Media Girls left the workshops with a better understanding of the world of media and a boost of confidence.

Media Girls is a group designed to train “spokes-girls” to represent Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast in a variety of media and visibility events throughout the year, including television and radio appearances, flag ceremonies and photo shoots.

Troop Capitol Hill

In March, Lily, a Girl Scout Cadette from Chesapeake, represented Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast as the only Girl Scout invited to speak at a national congressional briefing hosted by Girl Scouts of the USA Troop Capitol Hill in Washington DC. She spoke about her experience with the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast’s advocacy committee, which allows adult and teen members to speak up for policies that support the well-being of girls through addressing policy makers and fellow stakeholders. She also shared her experiences that were directly related to bullying and relational aggression in school, and how she has learned to navigate unhealthy social situations in a way that allows her to overcome the scenario and recognize the positive people in her life.

Sally Schaeffer, director of public policy with

Girl Scouts of the USA, Girl Scout Cadette Lily, and 

Dr. Kamla Modi with the Girl Scout Research Institute

Lily was joined at the briefing by Marcy Germanotta, communications director for Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast. Germanotta offered perspective on what Girl Scouts in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina does to address issues of physical and emotional health, education, leadership and other topics covered in The State of Girls: Unfinished Business, a study conducted by  the Girl Scout Research Institute. She discussed community partnerships that Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast has developed to engage girls in out-of-school activities, thereby giving girls the opportunity to avoid unhealthy and unproductive behaviors by providing a safe environment with peers they can relate to and role models they can look up to.

Read more about the experience on the Girl Scouts of the USA blog.

Ban Bossy

Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Anna Maria Chávez will be featured on the cover of Parade magazine this Sunday along with Facebook COO and Lean In author Sheryl Sandberg and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. These powerful women are looking to change the conversation about girls and leadership with a new campaign to Ban Bossy.

When it comes to girls' ambition, the pattern is clear: girls are discouraged from leading. When a little boy asserts himself, he's called a "leader," yet when a little girl does the same, she risks being called "bossy"- one of the many ways we inadvertently hold girls back. The Ban Bossy campaign is designed to drive national conversation about girls' leadership, as well as provide girls, troop leaders and parents with practical tips about how to encourage girls.

In fact, according to a study conducted by the Girl Scout Research Institute, while most youth (82 percent) agree that girls and boys are equally good at being leaders, 52 percent also agree that "girls have to work harder than boys in order to gain positions of leadership."

You can access a portion of the article that will appear in Parade here. The complete article will be available in print and online on Sunday, March 9.