Gold Award Spotlight: Lucy's Big Idea

Olivia, a Girl Scout from Suffolk, has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

For her project, Olivia wrote and illustrated a children’s book, Lucy’s Big Idea. The book follows a little girl named Lucy who pursues a friendship with a girl who is hearing impaired. The book teaches children about friendship and kindness, as well as the importance of not being quick to judge others.

“I have been drawing all of my life, and I knew that I wanted to use my talent for my Gold Award project,” Olivia said. “Someone in my church is hearing impaired, and I wanted my project to speak on that subject and lead into the broader topics of kindness and acceptance.”

Olivia hosted story times at libraries in Suffolk, where she read her story to children, taught them basic signs from American Sign Language and led them in a coloring activity on bookmarks she designed featuring characters from her book. In addition, Olivia created a lesson plan to go along with her book that she shared with homeschool educators in her community, and she donated her book to two library systems.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in the community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than six percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Olivia to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

G.I.R.L. 2017 Planning Team

G.I.R.L. 2017, the Girl Scouts of the USA National Convention, is coming soon! This event will draw more than 10,000 of the brightest, toughest and most capable girls and women in the world for an event that only comes once every three years. G.I.R.L. 2017, scheduled for October 6 to 8 in Columbus, Ohio, will offer one-of-a-kind fun, inspiring speakers and enlightening educational opportunities.

The G-Team meets with GSUSA CEO Sylvia Acevedo

Of course, it takes a team to plan such an exciting event. And Cree, a Girl Scout from Suffolk, was chosen to join a small group of girls from across the country to be a part of the girl planning team, or the G-Team, as they call themselves.

“G-Team has been very fast-paced for the last couple of months,” Cree said. “Now that all of the speakers are in place, it’s time to put the finishing touches on special events and girl spaces. We’re also testing the app.”

Recently, Cree traveled to New York to meet with her fellow G-Team members. They spent time at both the Girl Scouts of the USA national office in New York City and the Edith Macy Conference Center, a Girl Scout center located 45 minutes outside of Manhattan. For Cree, a highlight of the experience was meeting Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA.

Cree and members of the G-Team do some sightseeing while
in New York City for a meeting.

Cree, who has been a Girl Scout for eight years, has been a part of the G-Team for more than a year. She is eager to see all of her hard work pay off at G.I.R.L. 2017, now less than one month away.

“Something I am really looking forward to is Girls Got Talent,” Cree said. “It’s where Girl Scouts from across the country submit videos that we get to choose to be presented during a talent showcase at the convention.”

There is still time to register to attend THE event of the year. Tons of epic experiences are planned, including getting an introduction to scuba diving in a 25,000-gallon tank, riding in a mobile space simulator from Space Camp, creating your own comic book with a professional at your side and building and programming your own robot! G.I.R.L. 2017 is for every go-getter, innovator, risk-taker and leader who wants to stand up, take charge and change the world!

Meet Kristen: Cookie Entrepreneur Officer

Kristen with GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller

It’s a big year for Kristen, a Suffolk Girl Scout. She’s a high school senior busy with classes, college applications and scholarship forms. She also holds an afterschool job and is an active member of her church. And now, she’s gearing up for her annual business venture—Girl Scout Cookie season. She’s excited about being able to sell cookies during the 100^th anniversary of Girl Scouts selling cookies and giving customers a chance to taste the new anniversary cookie—the Girl Scout S’mores cookie.

For the last five years, Kristen has been the top Girl Scout Cookie seller in Suffolk. Last year, she sold 1,304 boxes of the sweet treats. This year, her last year as a Girl Scout, she has set her sights high and set a goal to sell 3,000 boxes of cookies.

“I am planning to go to more cookie booths than ever before this year,” Kristen said.

She also plans sell cookies the traditional way, going door-to-door with cookies in tow in mid-February when cookie delivery begins. And, as a goal-oriented businesswoman, she is going to try a new sales tactic this year—Digital Cookie. This online platform will allow her to set up her own online cookie store, and she can email friends and family members who can then order cookies from her online. There’s even an option for them to have the cookies shipped directly from the bakery to their homes.

Kristen, who has been a Girl Scout for 12 years, is a member of Troop 649. And, thanks to their successes during cookie season, the troop is able to use their earnings to give back to the community. Last year, they purchased schools supplies for an elementary school in Suffolk, purchased food to help feed more than 150 families through East End Baptist Church and bought Christmas presents for six girls from the Angel Tree at the church. The troop also donated Girl Scout Cookies to the food pantry at the church. Powered by the Girl Scout Cookie Program, Troop 649 is working to make their corner of the world a better place.

“As a graduation requirement, I have to complete 50 hours of community service,” Kristen said. “Through Girl Scouts and my church, I was able to complete my hours my freshman year of high school. Community service has become a big part of my life, and I will continue to give back to others when I start college in the fall.”

For Kristen, making a positive impact on others is just one of the many life lessons she will take away from her time as a Girl Scout. Through Girl Scouts, she has learned to me a risk-taker, a leader, an innovator, and, thanks to the cookie program, a businesswoman.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the nation’s leaning financial literacy and entrepreneurial program for girls. Girl Scout Cookies not only help girls earn money for fun, educational activities and community projects, but also play a huge role in teaching girls how to be go-getters, innovators, risk-takers and leaders as they learn essential life and business skills.

Girl Scouts in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina are currently taking orders for cookies. Cookies will arrive to the region on February 18, and cookie booth sales will begin the following day. For more information, visit www.gsccc.org. 

Suffolk Girl Scouts Earn Silver Award

Cree Diggs-Brown and Allison Maurice, members of Girl Scout Troop 4312 from Suffolk, have earned the Silver Award, the second highest honor and achievement earned by Girl Scouts. For their project, the girls focused on helping the Girl Scout Movement by hosting activity tables at the Suffolk Parks and Recreation TGIF Summer Concert Series to help recruit new Girl Scout members.

For each concert, the girls set up tables with crafts and activities for girls, as well as information about the Girl Scout program for their parents. The girls were eager to share their own Girl Scout experiences with Suffolk families and encourage them to join the organization.

“We chose this project because we wanted to invite more girls to be Girl Scouts so that they can have some of the same amazing opportunities that we have had as Girl Scouts,” Allison said.

The girls also put together a book about their project so that fellow Girl Scouts can carry out similar events in the future.

“I hope that more girls join Girl Scouts because of our project,” Cree said. “And, once they join, I hope that they will benefit from the many opportunities and experiences that Girl Scouts has to offer.”

The Silver Award is the highest award that middle school-age Girl Scouts can earn.

Girl Scouts Improve Suffolk Softball Field

Five members of Suffolk Girl Scout Troop 5292, Emily, Mia, Katherine, Michelle and Kylee, have earned the Girl Scout Bronze Award, the third highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. For their project, the girls focused on improving the Bennett’s Creek Little League fields in Driver.

Two members of the troop played softball at the Bennett’s Creek fields, but noticed that their team did not have a specific place to store batting helmets. The team would rest the helmets on the shelf above the bench where they sat, but the helmets were hard for some team members to reach and on occasion, the helmets would fall on to the girls. The two Girl Scouts on the team shared the issue with their fellow troop members, and the girls sprang into action.

With the help of the girls’ softball coach, Dan Eckstrom, the girls designed, built and painted a wooden cubby to hold helmets and bats. To get started on the project, the girls visited a local hardware store and learned about lumber and paint to determine what supplies they would need. With help from parents in the Girl Scout troop, the girls measured and cut the wood they had picked out and built the cubby. They then painted it and delivered it to the field, where it can be used by any team to safely and conveniently store helmets and bats during games and practices.

Suffolk Girl Scout Selected to Join Girl Scout National Convention Planning Team

Every three years, Girl Scouts from across the country convene for National Convention. It’s a four-day experience where the national board is elected, governance decisions are made, female leaders deliver empowering keynote speeches and Girl Scouts get to meet new friends and swap program ideas. Preparations are already underway for the next Girl Scout National Convention, scheduled to take place in Columbus, Ohio in 2017. And, for the first time ever, Girl Scouts of the USA has put together a movement-wide team of girls to help plan the big event. Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast is proud to announce that Suffolk resident Cree has been selected to participate on this 21-member team of Girl Scouts from 17 different Girl Scout councils in the country.

Cree and GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller

Cree, who has been a Girl Scout for seven years, is an active member of her troop and learned about applying for the Convention planning team from her troop leader, Dina Crewe. As a member of the planning team, Cree will take part in virtual monthly meetings and three face-to-face meetings, including one in Columbus this July. Next summer, the team will be meeting at the Girl Scout central office in New York City, and their third meeting will be at the convention.

“Now, we are primarily working on the Hall of Experiences, which is where we’ll have interactive activities and vendors, as well as programs and evening events,” Cree said. “We are also helping to approve other aspects, such as the design of the logo for Convention.”

For Cree, being a Girl Scout is an important part of her life. She attributes Girl Scouts to helping her build self-confidence, make great friends and provide her with opportunities to make a difference in her community. In the past year alone, Cree has accomplished many things as a Girl Scout. She earned the Girl Scout Silver Award, which is the second highest award a girl can earn in Girl Scouts. She has also participated in numerous community service projects, including a pajama collection, multiple food drives and laying wreaths on veterans’ graves before the holidays. As a member of Troop 4312, Cree has had time for fun activities as well, including a trip to Roanoke Island Festival Park in the Outer Banks, a tour of the USS Eisenhower, a dolphin watching excursion, a night at Harbor Park for Tides baseball and a technology workshop at the Apple Store. Cree is looking forward to sharing all of her Girl Scout experiences with her fellow planning team members to make the 2017 Girl Scout National Convention the best one yet.

“I am most excited about the actual National Convention, where I can see the work and time we put into planning come to fruition,” Cree said.

Girl Scouts will convene in Columbus, Ohio in October 2017 for their 54th National Council Session and Convention. For more information about taking part in unique experiences in Girl Scouts, visit www.gsccc.org.

2015 Wreath Laying Ceremony

On Saturday, December 12, thousands of people gathered at the Albert G. Horton, Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk to lay evergreen wreaths at each gravestone. This year, more than 400 Girl Scouts were among the volunteers who helped lay more than 7,000 wreaths. The event, which the Horton Wreath Society has been organizing since 2006, is an opportunity for everyone to reflect on the sacrifices made by military personnel and their families, pay respect to veterans and educate future generations about those who sacrificed to protect their freedoms.

On Saturday, following the ceremonial placement of the first row of wreaths and the opportunity for family members to place wreaths on the graves of their loved ones, Girl Scouts took one wreath at a time, visited a grave, offered their respect and placed a wreath against the headstone. Girl Scouts and their leaders took the time to read the headstones, learn about the deceased’s service to the country and understand the meaning of the ranks and symbols on the headstone.

Once all the wreaths were placed, a formal closing ceremony with taps and bagpipes took place at the back of the cemetery.

The week prior to the ceremony in Suffolk, 100 Girl Scouts attended an educational event hosted by the Horton Wreath Society to learn about the history of the cemetery, how to lay the wreaths and why it is important to honor veterans. Girl Scouts also baked cookies that were handed out to volunteers during the ceremony on December 12.

For more information about serving the community as a member of Girl Scouts, visit www.gsccc.org.

Suffolk Girl Scouts Learn their Way around the Kitchen

This summer, 15 Suffolk Girl Scouts had the opportunity to learn their way around the kitchen thanks to a grant from the Suffolk Foundation. The girls gathered for four weekly meetings with experts from Young Chefs Academy to develop their cooking skills, test some recipes in the kitchen and learn about healthy living.

During the series, girls made a wide variety of dishes, including bean burgers, carrot and sweet potato fries, chicken soup and quesadillas with fresh salsa. In addition to honing their cooking skills, the girls also learned about kitchen safety, menu planning, dining etiquette and table setting.

On the final evening of the series, girls put all of their new skills to the test to prepare an Italian feast. They made tomato sauce from scratch, kneaded dough to make focaccia bread and made their own spinach noodles. The girls enjoyed the process of running their dough through the pasta machine to create thin noodles. They also put together a strawberry, basil and balsamic salad to complement the meal. After the tables were set and the food was plated, girls had the opportunity to enjoy the mea they had prepared.

“Many of the recipes have incorporated vegetables in fun and unique ways,” Girl Scout volunteer Dina Crewe said. “That’s great because we have a couple of picky eaters in the group, but they have sampled everything they’ve made and liked most of it.”

Through the series, the staff from Young Chefs Academy taught girls that cooking is a lifelong skill that can be infused with creativity and fun. Although the girls had recipes to follow, they also had the chance to be creative and make their own culinary discoveries. The girls also learned about how meal planning can lead to healthier food choices, talked about keeping their body fueled with good nutrition and looked at how their diet affects their energy levels.

Girl Scouts recognizes that healthy lifestyles are part of the foundation that girls need to become strong leaders. From the youngest Girl Scout Daisies who may learn to create healthy snacks to the oldest Girl Scout Ambassadors who are empowered to advocate for healthier food choices at their schools, Girl Scouts of all ages are engaged in activities to help them attain practical life skills related to healthy living.

Girl Scout Sunday in Suffolk

Each year, Girl Scouts across the country celebrate Girl Scout Sunday as an opportunity for girls to be recognized as Girl Scouts in their place of worship. On Sunday, February 8, members of Girl Scout Troop 5357 took part in a similar recognition during Scouting Ministries Sunday at Main Street United Methodist Church in Suffolk. For the special day Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts worked together to integrate the youth into the service.

Girl Scout Troop 5357

The service began with a processional of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, who then led the congregation in the Pledge of Allegiance. Each scout group also recited their respective promises. During the service, Girl Scout Senior Paris read the day’s scripture and Girl Scout Junior Claire read the prayer of dedication. The youngest scouts worked together to perform choreography during a song written for the centennial celebration of Main Street United Methodist Church, Joy! Girl Scout Brownies Kate and Claire served as ushers for the offering.

Girl Scout Cadette Maggie

During the service, Pastor Myrtle Hatcher invited all Girl Scout and Boy Scout volunteers to kneel at the altar and then led a prayer in their honor as the scouts came forward and placed a hand on the shoulders of their adult mentors. Pastor Hatcher also talked about the rich history of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts at Main Street United Methodist Church and the benefits of these leadership organizations for boys and girls.

Prior to the service, both Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts shared the history of their organizations with the congregation through the display of archive materials, including old handbooks, uniforms and patches.

If you're planning an upcoming Girl Scout Sunday or Girl Scout Sabbath event, you can find bulletin covers or inserts for this special occasion here.

Girl Scouts Honor Veterans at Wreath Laying Ceremony

Girl Scout Junior Abigail from Troop 4313 in Suffolk

On Saturday, December 13, over 250 Girl Scouts from across the region honored veterans by helping to place over 6,000 live, green wreaths on graves at Albert G. Horton, Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk. This year marks the 10th anniversary of The Horton Wreath Society honoring veterans with a wreath laying ceremony.

Girl Scouts first observed active duty members of the military place wreaths on the first row of headstones in the cemetery to see the proper way to honor the veterans while placing wreaths. Girl Scouts then joined over 3,000 people from the community in line to collect wreaths and place them on graves. Before placing the wreath, girls took the time to read the headstone, learn about the deceased’s service to the country and understand the meaning of ranks and symbols on the headstone.

Following the placement of the wreaths, Girl Scouts attended a formal ceremony at the cemetery with taps and bagpipes.

The Horton Wreath Society hosts this event annually to remember the sacrifices, respect veterans and educate future generations those who have served the country.

Girl Scout Troop 357 from Suffolk

Girl Scouts Visit Center for Innovation for Orion Launch

On Thursday, December 4, a group of Girl Scouts from Suffolk were invited to the Lockheed Martin Center for Innovation to watch a broadcast of the Orion launch and learn about the world of aerospace engineering. Although the launch ended up being delayed until the following day, the girls enjoyed learning about the Orion flight test being a big step in sending humans farther into space.

At the Center for Innovation, the Girl Scouts were guests of the National Institute of Science, thanks to Becky Jaramillo, a Girl Scout alumna and a key educator with NIS. In her current role, Jaramillo has developed STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum, including award-winning video segments for NASA, and given her time to help Girl Scouts deepen their understanding of STEM subjects. While visiting the Center for Innovation, Jaramillo talked to the girls about aerospace technology and led them in a variety of fun and engaging science experiments.

Girl Scouts at the Lockheed Martin Center for Innovation with NIS Educator Becky Jaramillo

“This was an amazing opportunity,” Cheryl Watters, the leader of Girl Scout Troop 5450 that attended the event, said. “I was so impressed with the high school students who won the design challenge from the Governor’s School. I know the girls in my troop were in awe of their accomplishment. Being among the engineers and all the professionals from the National Institute of Science and Lockheed made me feel like I was at Mission Control! The visit to the Center for Innovation extraordinary and so were the opportunities the girls had while there. Both of my daughters who are in Girl Scouts have been at other STEM events, most recently the Girl Scout event hosted by the Society of Women Engineers at ODU. My youngest daughter is now determined to become an engineer. This special opportunity just made her more determined to reach her dream. ”

Women role models, such as Jaramillo, and community partners, such as the Center for Innovation, make it possible for girls to explore their interests in STEM and see that girls can do anything they put their minds to. In today’s world, where women hold only about 25 percent of the STEM careers, Girl Scouts is committed to giving girls opportunities to interact with women in STEM so that they can picture themselves in similar careers in the future. Inspiring success in girls and encouraging them to aim for excellence is a key component of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, which helps each girl develop her full potential and become a competent, resourceful woman.

Suffolk Girl Scouts Earn Bronze Award for Literacy Project

Suffolk Girl Scouts Madison, Jessica, Amber, Sarah, Layne and Caroline from Troop 5563 recently earned the Girl Scout Bronze Award, the third highest award in Girl Scouting, and the top award Girl Scouts in grades 4 and 5 can earn. Through their project, the members of Troop 5563 sought to promote literacy among children in their community.

The girls were inspired to do their project while planning their World Thinking Day event, which is an annual event celebrated by Girl Scouts to recognize their sister Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in other countries around the world. The theme for World Thinking Day this year centered on the idea that education opens doors for children. With this in mind, the girls decided to make a difference in education through literacy.

The members of Troop 5563 hosted book drives at several schools, businesses and churches in Suffolk, through which they collected over 200 books. One of the organizations that they supported through their book drive was the West End Baptist Church Book Buddies program, which is an afterschool tutoring program for children who struggle with reading. The girls were invited to a tutoring session to see how students were learning and how their book donation would make a positive impact on the program.

The girls had also collected adult reading level books that they decided to donate to the USO of Hampton Roads to give to soldiers. The troop members were already familiar with the mission of the USO after donating Girl Scout Cookies to the organization earlier in the year, and they were eager to show support for the military again.

The girls hope that their donations make a difference in the lives of the children in the Book Buddies program and make someone’s day a little better through their donation to the USO. Through this project, the troop has learned about teamwork, commitments and appreciating what they have.

Sarah, Jessica, Layne and Caroline from Troop 5563.
Not pictured: Madison and Amber