Girl Scouts Bridges Fun and Learning for Homeschooled Girls in Grades K-12

There are countless ways girls can take part in Girl Scouts, even if not through the traditional troop experience. Depending on their free time, schedule, and interests, girls K-12 can join a troop or register individually as Juliettes and take on adventures that complement their needs. For many homeschool families, participating in Girl Scouts is a way to make meaningful connections in the community while taking advantage of the flexibility and excitement of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, no matter a girls’ schedule. The Girl Scout Leadership Experience focuses on four key areas: Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), Outdoors, Life Skills, Entrepreneurship, and builds girl-led programming around those elements.

For Southern Van Auken, Girl Scouts has been a gateway for her two homeschooled daughters’ to get involved in their community and she has seen their confidence bloom along the way. Girl Scout Junior Julianne and Girl Scout Brownie Hannah have been civically involved and serve their community regularly. 

The girls recently attended a Virginia Beach City Council meeting to accept a proclamation on behalf of Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast (GSCCC). The girls met with Virginia Beach Mayor Robert Dyer and shared their experiences and the mission of Girl Scouting. GSCCC and Delegate Marcia Price recently led efforts to pass a resolution designating March 6-12, 2022 and every March 6-12 henceforth, to be recognized in Virginia as Girl Scout Week. This resolution comes just in time for Girl Scout’s 110th birthday on March 12, 2022.

Southern, Hannah and Julianne at a March 2022 Virginia Beach City Council meeting alongside VB Mayor Dyer and GSCCC CEO Tracy Keller

Along with their civic engagement, Julianne and Hannah regularly take part in opportunities to serve their community.

Their mother said, “Our most meaningful service project is making lunches each month for the homeless and delivering them to People In Need Ministry (PiN) in Virginia Beach. The girls' most important insight has come from interacting with the men and women there and realizing that we wouldn't guess most of them were homeless if we saw them outside of PiN.”

She continued, “On a very local level, they started the Kindness Club in 2020 to deliver uplifting notes to our neighbors. Most recently, the girls enjoyed making Valentines for everyone on our street. It has been a wonderful morale-booster throughout the pandemic. They have also volunteered to pack meals for Beach Bags and Judeo-Christian Outreach Center and fill Christmas shoeboxes for Samaritan's Purse.”

Girl Scout’s SOL aligned programming has given Southern a way to complement the girls’ curriculum with exciting badges and pins that correspond with their academics.

She said, “We began incorporating Girl Scout badges into our homeschool on a weekly basis this fall, starting with the Cookie Entrepreneur Family pin. It has been a huge success. The girls feel like they're getting a fun break from the routine, while I know they're learning everything from financial literacy to social studies to Girl Scout values. There are badges to fit any homeschool curriculum or unit study. Within each badge, there are options to match any child's interests and individual learning style.”

The girls work together to earn most badges, and often involve family and neighbors in the process. 

“I've seen my children's confidence and communication skills increase as they talked with women in our faith community to earn the My Promise, My Faith pin. The Philanthropist badge was perfectly aligned with our community service projects. And Julianne earned her Brownie Wings by helping Hannah earn her Girl Scout Way badge.”

She continued, “The best part for me, as a homeschool mom, is that the badges are fun, organized activities that require little or no preparation. Badges are open-and-go, they are self-paced, they can be completed together or individually, and they are full of choices. The only hard part is deciding which badge to earn first!”

 

For families interested in learning more about Girl Scouts or the programs offered, visit Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast at gsccc.org.

Girl Scout Week Proclaimed in Virginia and Across Hampton Roads

As we celebrate 110 years of Girl Scouting, we want to pay homage to the strong roots in civic engagement our Mission was founded on. The Girl Scout Promise asks that, on our honor, we will serve our country and help people at all times. By earning Civics badges offered by Girl Scouts, girls in grades K-12 gain an in-depth understanding of how local, state, and federal government works, equipping them to be voters, activists, and even political leaders. 

Over the last week, GSCCC has had the opportunity to showcase our young citizens through visits to city council meetings across Hampton Roads. Girl Scouts from Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach participated and had the opportunity to have a first-hand look at the moving parts of a city council meeting. During each session, girls were able to take part in receiving Girl Scout Week proclamations from individual city councils.

Girl Scout Week is celebrated across the country each March in commemoration of the founding of Girl Scouts on March 12, 1912, by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Ga. In March 2022, with the support of Delegate Marcia Price, GSCCC spearheaded efforts to pass a state resolution declaring March 6-12 Girl Scout Week across Virginia. See the full resolution here on our Girl Scout Week page. 

During the visits to the mayors’ offices, the Girl Scouts shared several leadership experiences they have had in Girl Scouting with council members and had opportunities to talk about their achievements in the program.

“I am so impressed with the opportunities for leadership that Girl Scouts offers girls,” Mayor Tuck of Hampton said, addressing the Girl Scouts in attendance at the March 9 Hampton City Council meeting. “Supporting our future leaders is a responsibility we all have in the community.”

Since the founding of Girl Scouts 110 years ago, Girl Scouts of the USA has become part of a worldwide family of 10 million girls and adults in 146 countries.

Girl Scouts change the world through civic engagement and it is never too early to let your voice be heard. To learn more about civics badges offered by Girl Scouts visit our site here.

Portsmouth Girl Scouts

Virginia Beach Girl Scouts

Chesapeake Girl Scouts

Hampton Girl Scouts

Newport News Girl Scouts

Bronze Award Spotlight: “Recycle Your PLASTIC Before You TRASH It!”

Girl Scout Junior Bella recently earned her Bronze Award by completing a service project she titled, “Recycle Your PLASTIC Before You TRASH It!”

Bella worked with the Peninsula SPCA in Newport News, VA to determine an area that needed improvement at their facility. Staff at the facility had adding another seating area to their visitor section on their wish list so families would have a place to sit and visit with animals that were available for adoption. Bella gathered information from Trex’s Recyling Challenge and set a goal to collect 500 pounds of plastic in order to earn a recycled bench for free from the company. She set up several collection points in the local community and advertised her project to friends, family, and neighbors. 

Bella said, “I worked to educate people on single use plastic and showed them how they could recycle it to create something better.”

She did weekly pickups of the plastic, weighed each bag and kept a log of pounds with the help of her mother, Amber. She reported this information to Swee Hart, humane education manager/volunteer coordinator for the Peninsula SPCA. After 3 months, the Girl Scout had collected well over 500 pounds of plastic and they submitted this information to Trex. 

Once the bench had been shipped to the SPCA, Bella volunteered at the facility and was able to help construct the bench in the visitor area. Bella also reported that several of the collection locations still recycle plastic and turned their efforts into a local group that is saving plastic to get benches for public parks in Poquoson.

Girl Scout Legislative Day 2022

Girl Scouts have a legacy of changing the world for the better and on Monday, February 21, over 20 Girl Scouts from GSCCC – girls, volunteers and staff – traveled to the Virginia State Capitol Building in Richmond, VA for the Council’s annual Legislative Day event.

The delegation from GSCCC shared information about the Girl Scout Leadership Experience to delegates and senators, along with spotlighting some of our amazing girl award stories. They were sure to thank Delegate Marcia Price for introducing a resolution to recognize Girl Scout Week in the Commonwealth as well, a resolution which will designate the week of March 12 in 2022, and in each succeeding year, as Girl Scout Week in Virginia! Girl Scout Week occurs every year, March 6 through 12, and is a seven day celebration starting with Girl Scout Sunday and ending with Girl Scout Sabbath on a Saturday, and it always includes Girl Scouts’ birthday, March 12. This resolution is introduced just in time for Girl Scouts’ 110th birthday, coming up on March 12, 2022!

Virginia Senator Bill DeSteph supported Girl Scout day by hosting an Open House for legislators where they were able to learn about issues outlined on the Girl Scout State Policy Agenda and grab a cookie sample to take with them. In addition to hosing Open House, Delegate DeSteph purchased 100 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, inspired by the girls’ ambition!

Sen. DeSteph and Girl Scout Ambassador Morgan Lynch

 

Jasmine Bassette, Del. Price, Lauren Simms, Tracy Keller

Girl Scouts meet and greet with Pages

Following the Open House, the Girl Scouts were able to see the House and Senate in session as gallery guests and be introduced.

Afterwards, the group participated in a lunch program, hosted by GSCCC Board Member Amanda Howie who is the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys (VACA) Administrator. The girls had the opportunity to meet with Commonwealth Attorneys from several areas within the state, and a lobbyist, Bonnie Atwood, to learn about their roles in government.

 

Bonnie Attwood, Colette McEachin, Tracy Keller

Girl Scouts take action through civic engagement and make a difference We believe every girl has a voice and every girl’s voice is important. By meeting with public officials and community leaders to educate them about important issues, Girl Scouts are becoming involved citizens. Girl Scouts use their determination to lead every day in the fight for a clean environment, racial and gender equality, safety issues, local concerns, and so much more. With our Democracy badges, Girl Scouts from Daisies to Ambassadors will be prepared to lead positive change in their school, town, state, and country! GSCCC offers civics badges for all ages. Families and caregivers are encouraged to visit gsccc.org for more information.

Volunteer Spotlight: Jennifer Byrd

For many girls, becoming a Girl Scout is a family tradition. Jennifer Byrd from Ahoskie, North Carolina,  is a lifetime Girl Scout, spent twelve years as a girl in the program and has 24 years of experience as an adult member. She is eager to keep her family's tradition alive and to follow in her mother’s, Kay Byrd, footsteps. Like Kay, she wants to ensure her daughter receives the Girl Scout experience and enjoy years of sharing Girl Scouting with her. As a girl, Jennifer and her nine sister Girl Scouts from Troop 702 earned their Girl Scout Gold Awards. Jennifer is now a leader for Brownie Troop 2702 and loves spending time in the troop with her daughter – just like she did with her mom.

“Camp Darden was always a favorite when I was a girl and continues to be now,” she said. “Through the years my troop (Troop 702) went on many adventures and formed lasting friendship bonds that we still have today. We went on trips to Bahamas, Washington DC where we toured the White House, New York and Universal Studios, just to name a few. I look forward to taking similar adventures with Troop 2702 in the future! We are also looking forward to doing community service, something we feel is important, especially since we live in a small town and are very connected.” 

Girl Scout Brownie Troop 2702 from Ahoskie

Jennifer says it has been challenging to give her troop the same Girl Scout experience she had as a girl. “My co leader, Ashley Jenkins, and I worked together when the pandemic started to adapt the program to the situation. We created badge bags with activities that were packed individually to allow us to work with the girls virtually.  We porch delivered these bags to each girl. They had all of the materials to use as we talked about it over our Zoom meetings. Now we are blessed with a meeting space that we are able to spread out and meet safely together and we’re taking trips to camp and events such as Girl Fest to keep it exciting!”

GSCCC Community Troops; St. Helena Elementary

Third grade girls at St. Helena Elementary in Norfolk, VA are benefitting from a partnership with Girl Scouts of Colonial Coast (GSCCC) and our Community Troop program. Rochelle McMorris, a Norfolk Public Schools (K-4) math specialist, and GSCCC's Community Troop Manager Tameika Hopkins, are helping girls who may not have easy access to Girl Scouts otherwise, have opportunities to grow within the Girl Scout Leadership Experience through the Community Troop Program. Community Troops are led by trained Girl Scout staff members, called community troop specialists, who guide girls through activities in various schools, churches and community centers, as well as virtually.  

Girls take part in engaging, challenging, and fun activities like earning badges, traveling, selling cookies, exploring science, getting outdoors, and doing community service projects - all part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. They also participate in activities that interest them while building skills along the way. Community Troop Manager Tameika Hopkins, said, "St. Helena Elementary requested art-based badges for their students. They recently earned their Jeweler badge with plans to earn their Painting badge."

We believe that all girls deserve the opportunity to develop into tomorrow’s leaders, and when girls participate in Girl Scouts, they benefit in five important ways:  

• They develop a strong sense of self
• They display positive values
• They seek challenges and learn from setbacks
• They form and maintain healthy relationships
• They learn to identify and solve problems in their community

The Community Troop Program serves girls in grades K-12. Approximately 2,000 girls participate annually and all girls in the program come from communities within our Council! Learn more about our Community Troops here- https://bit.ly/3scbcwN

2022 She Believes She Can So She Does Scholarship

In addition to badges and awards earned through Girl Scouts, girls are often eligible for college scholarships due to their accomplishments in the Girl Scout program. The She Believes She Can So She Does scholarship was created for Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast to provide support to girls pursuing higher education opportunities including vocational training and undergraduate education and is open to Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors in Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast. This essay based $500 scholarship helps provide more opportunities for girls looking to further their skills and education all while fueling the leadership and workforce pipeline.

Last year’s scholarship awardee was Gold Award Girl Scout Jada Johnson. Jada’s 2021 Gold Award project, “Food is Medicine,” was sustained well beyond the project’s completion and to this day Jada advocates for healthy eating by sharing recipes and her cookbook, “ Food is Medicine: Nutritious and Delicious Recipes from My Home Shared with You.”

See a recent update about Jada and how she is continuing to support the community in healthy living from 13News Now here- https://bit.ly/3u06Xa2

Applications are being accepted through April 29, 2022. Selection Committee will review all complete applications and will notify all applicants of their status by the end of May. Apply for the scholarship here.

    

The selected scholarship recipient will then be invited and encouraged to attend the Higher Awards celebration when the scholarship will be announced publicly.

Interested in helping fund the She Believes She Can So She Does scholarship this year and beyond? Please make a gift today!