Dollars and Sense

When it comes to money, girls see a future where they are financially independent and empowered. But, are girls ready to make their dreams a reality? According to a study conducted by the Girl Scout Research Institute, only 12 percent of girls feel "very confident" making financial decisions. The good news is that girls want financial literacy skills to help them achieve their dreams. Ninety percent of girls say that it is important for them to learn how to manage money, and nearly half of girls are interested in learning how to pay for their education.

This month, Financial Literacy Month, consider planning some activities to help your Girl Scout gain some confidence in the world of finances. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Learn about the differences between needs and wants.

There are things we need, and there are things we want. Both cost money! Engage girls in a discussion about making choices when it comes to spending money. This activity corresponds to the requirements to earn the Girl Scout Daisy Making Choices petal.

2. Be a philanthropist.

One way to teach girls about making the world a better place is to explore basic human needs and how to be a person who helps others. Help girls investigate how to help people who are hungry or homeless in their community. This activity corresponds to the requirements to earn the Girl Scout Brownie Philanthropist badge.

3. Explore the world of entrepreneurship.

Talk to girls about their passions and encourage them to explore what it would be like to run their very own business. Invite a local business owner to a troop meeting and encourage girls to ask questions about customer service, consumer research and business plans. This activity corresponds to the requirements to earn the Girl Scout Junior Business Owner badge.

4. Explore your dreams.

Have girls share their plans for the future- their dream jobs, dream homes and dream vacations. Girls can research their incomes and expenses to see if everything adds up while learning about the importance of budgeting. This activity corresponds to the requirements to earn the Girl Scout Cadette Financing My Dreams badge and the Girl Scout Senior Financing My Future badge.

5. Get the scoop on credit.

Nearly everyone will need to borrow money at some point, whether it's for education, a mortgage or even using a credit card. Help girls learn about how bank loans work, teach them the ins and outs of credit cards and explain credit scores. This activity corresponds to the requirements to earn the Girl Scout Ambassador Good Credit badge.

A Gift from Old Point National Bank

Thanks to a Girl Scout alumna, Sherrie Hastings, Girl Scouts of Colonial Coast received a gift from Old Point National Bank to support the Council’s efforts to provide financial literacy to girls. Hastings, who is also an Old Point stockholder, nominated GSCCC, an organization that has meant so much to her in her life, to receive a donation from Old Point at their Annual Stockholders' Meeting. In addition to being a Girl Scout leader, Sherrie was also a Girl Scout trainer who loved the outdoors and inspired others to travel in her footsteps as an environmentalist and outdoor enthusiast.

April Howard, assistant manager for the Hilltop Old Point branch,
GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller, Raven Henning, assistant manger for
the bank's Greenbrier brand

As financial literacy has becoming a growing concern in the country, Girl Scouts has connected with community partners, such as Old Point National Bank, to teach girls about saving, budgeting and planning for the future. The Girl Scout Research Institute found that while girls are optimistic about their financial futures, they lack the financial confidence and knowledge that they will need to one day achieve their dreams. In fact, 90 percent of girls say that it is important for them to learn how to manage money, but only 12 percent feel “very confident” making financial decisions.

To address this issue, Old Point National Bank has offered financial literacy workshops for Girl Scouts of all ages over the past two years at several of their branches. With the help of financial experts from Old Point, girls have been earning a variety of financial literacy badges, including the Money Matters badge and the Good Credit badge. Old Point plans to continue this successful effort as part of their community outreach.

To schedule a troop visit to a Old Point branch, or to invite a speaker to your next meeting, contact Raven Henning at 757-224-6001 or April Howard at 757-325-6122. Please allow at least one week notice.

Get more information about our community partners here.

Digital Enhancement to Girl Scout Cookie Program Makes National Debut

This Girl Scout Cookie season, hungry shoppers will be able to purchase cookies where they never could before—online. Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast announced today that for the first time in its history, girls from local troops will be able to sell Girl Scout Cookies to customers online through a brand new national platform—Digital Cookie. This groundbreaking platform will expand the iconic cookie program by adding a digital layer that broadens and strengthens the 5 Skills girls learn in the traditional cookie program— goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.

Digital Cookie follows Girl Scouts’ classic, hands-on approach to teaching girls new skills by introducing vital 21st century lessons about online marketing, application use and e-commerce to more than one million excited Girl Scouts. Through the platform, Girl Scouts will maintain their own protected, personalized websites to market their cookie business to local consumers, accept orders via credit card and activate cookie shipments directly to customers. From the website, customers can choose the cookie varieties they would like to purchase for themselves, and they can also select to purchase cookies for Gift of Caring, a program through which Girl Scouts donate cookies to members of the military. Customers will have to pay shipping and handling fees in addition to the cost of the cookies.

The platform places an emphasis on the safety of girls and customers alike and offers an online experience that allows girls to learn about digital money management using dashboards to track their sales and goals.

“Through Digital Cookie, we are bringing the Girl Scout Cookie Program fully into the 21st century,” Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast CEO Tracy Keller said. “Digital Cookie lets us continue our proud tradition of teaching today’s girls the skills of tomorrow, while remaining true to the core principles taught by our iconic cookie program.”

In today’s world, only 21 percent of chief information officers at Fortune 100 companies are women and even smaller numbers are CEOs of firms engaged in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. Digital Cookie tailors the traditional Girl Scout Cookie Program to fit the modern world, helping give more girls an important foundation in technology, as well as combining customer relationships, interpersonal skills and e-commerce training.

“Girl Scout Cookies have always been about so much more than a delicious treat—they’re about helping girls learn important business lessons,” Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Anna Mariz Chávez said. “This year, when you’re buying Thin Mints and Samoas online, you can feel good that you’re helping girls learn the 5 Skills the cookie program has always instilled in a 21st century way, turning today’s girls into tomorrow’s business and tech leaders.”

As with the traditional cookie program, the net revenue earned from the cookie sale will support local Girl Scouts in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Girls decide how to spend their troop cookie money and invest it back into their neighborhoods through community service projects and learning experiences.

Today’s launch of Digital Cookie represents an initial phase of a program that will progress over time. Future versions of Digital Cookie will create better user experiences for girls and customers alike and a more robust customer interface. Find more information here.

Girl Scouts in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina will begin taking orders for cookies on January 10, 2015. For more information about the local Girl Scout Cookie Program or joining Girl Scouts, visit www.gsccc.org.

Financial Fitness

Learning how to budget, finance expensive purchases and become financially independent can be a regular part of an adult’s life, and now, thanks to Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast and members of the Tidewater Chapter of the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, girls of all ages are learning skills they need to be financially independent and empowered as well. During a financial literacy workshop that took place on April 26, over 40 Girl Scouts spent part of the day participating activities to learn the skills they need to make sound financial decisions for their future.

Girl Scout Daisies proudly display the piggy banks they
received at Financial Fitness on April 26.

Workshop activities were designed based on age groups. While the youngest Girl Scouts, Girl Scout Daisies and Brownies, learned the difference between needs and wants and how to set goals to save for purchases, older girls learned about running a business, tracking their spending habits, exploring financial aid for their education and learning the ins and outs of credit cards.

Financial literacy has become a growing concern in the country, and the Girl Scout Research Institute has found that while girls are optimistic about their financial futures, they lack the financial confidence and knowledge that they will need one day to achieve their dreams. Girl Scouts is leading the way by giving girls the tools and resources they need to have a basic understanding of finances and set them on track for a financially successful life.

Girl Scout Daisy Hailey shows off the needs vs. wants poster that she created
at Financial Fitness while earning the Making Choices Daisy Petal.

In celebration of Financial Literacy Month, Girl Scouts of the USA and Girls’ Inc. recently hosted a Capitol Hill lunch briefing to raise awareness of after-school and community-based programs that help girls learn money management in real-world, practical settings. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee spoke at the event to remind the young women of the importance of being a well-informed consumer and citizen. During the briefing, the panel spoke about their organizations’ contribution to girls’ financial literacy. Erinn, a Gold Award recipient from Girl Scout Council of Nation’s Capital shared her project that helped teens with autism achieve financial skills, and Brigid Howe, staff from the council, talked about the financial fitness challenge that reached 25,000 girls last year in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Read more about the lunch briefing here.

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast has partnered with Old Point National Bank to offer free financial literacy workshops for Girl Scouts of all ages. Troops can visit a local Old Point branch, or request to have a special guest speaker from the bank come to their meetings. To schedule a program with Old Point, contact Raven Henning at 757-224-6001 or April Howard at 757-352-6122.