National Girl Scout Recruitment Week

As part of National Girl Scout Recruitment Week, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast will be hosting a series of literacy awareness events on Sunday, October 6. The events, Girls Who Read Lead, will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. and offer hands-on activities and information booths, as well as introduce girls to special speakers. Current members of Girl Scouts who wear their uniform or Girl Scout T-shirt and bring a friend to register to be a member will receive a free gift!

WAVY-TV Anchor Cheryl Tan will be present at the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library location in Virginia Beach. Other guests include: American Girl book author Sharon Cindrich, The Virginian-Pilot reporter Kathy Adams, blogger and author Maggie Ruch, Spectrum Puppets and Theatrix Productions Children’s Theater. Two Virginia Beach Girl Scouts will also speak - Erin Winebrenner will share her literacy-related Girl Scout Gold Award project that benefited the Samaritan House, and Julia Inglesby will share her experience as one of eight girls from across the country that represented Girl Scouts at the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education.

These events are an opportunity for girls and their families to learn about Girl Scouting and register to become a member of the premiere organization for girls, as well as learn the importance of reading, writing and communicating. Research shows that girls with enriched literacy skills attain higher levels of education, are more apt to achieve higher-paying jobs, and are more likely to hold leadership positions in their communities.

National Girl Scout Recruitment Week is being launched with the help of First Lady Michelle Obama, our Honorary National President who is also an advocate for literacy. The First Lady has taped a video highlighting the importance of volunteering for Girl Scouts. We ask that you help us get the word out about Girl Scouting by sharing this video!

You can read more about the national campaign to recruit new members on the Washington Post website here. The nationally syndicated television show The Daily Buzz has done a segment with a volunteer and two Girl Scouts that is airing across the country. You can view the segment online.

Visit Girls Who Read Lead event page for details. Thank you WAVY-TV 10, FOX43 and TidewaterParent.com for sponsoring Girls Who Read Lead!

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast Hold Gold Award Alliance Event

Women who earned the top award in Girl Scouting, now called the Girl Scout Gold Award, gathered at Natural Elements Day Spa and Salon in Chesapeake on September 20 for a networking event. The Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast held the event to locally launch the Gold Award Alliance which is a national Girl Scout alumnae effort. Natural Elements, co-owned by Girl Scout alumnae Suzanne Garcia and Audrey Brown, offered guests a variety of free services during the event that included manicures, hair consultations and facials. 

Girl Scout alumnae guests also shared stories about their experiences in Girl Scouting - their projects they completed to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, or one of its predecessors, including First Class and Curved Bar. Girl Scout alumnae and Gold Award recipients Leslie Clements and Jennifer Merritt, who were in the same troop for many years, had fun reconnecting at the event. Clements now teaches English courses at Virginia Wesleyan College and Tidewater Community College and says her Gold Award project was a natural beginning for what she does now as a teacher.

Both Clements and Merritt agree that earning the Girl Scout Gold Award helped to give them confidence and set them up to be successful beyond high school.

“It gave me the opportunity to do something independently,” Merritt said. “The leadership skills I gained while learning how to work on a project on my own have come in handy in my professional life.”

The Gold Award Alliance was formed as an opportunity for women who earned the highest award in Girl Scouting to reconnect with one another, as well as to mentor girls who are currently working on earning the Girl Scout Gold Award and to help increase recognition of the Gold Award and Girl Scouting in the community. Those interested in joining the alliance can email alumni@gsccc.org.

Today, less than 6 percent of eligible Girl Scouts nationwide earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, which makes these women part of an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.

I Have a Dream - 50th Anniversary of March on Washington

An article about Girl Scouts was published in TIME magazine’s special edition about the March on Washington. The story, sponsored by AT&T and Geico, charts the Movement's long and proud legacy of diversity and inclusion and notes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement that Girl Scouts was a “force for desegregation.”
TIME also hosted a roundtable discussion in Washington, D.C., that included Anna Maria Chávez, Chief Executive Officer of GSUSA, Lydia Soto-Harmon, Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, and a number of others.

In addition, Anna has written a column for the Huffington Post, which also focuses on Girl Scouting and our commitment to diversity. “We have come a long way since Dr. King's dream inspired our nation to root out racism a half a century ago,” Anna writes. “Now, as then, we still have a lot of work to do for that dream to become a reality—but we are making progress.

To honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and our Girl Scout commitment to diversity, consider introducing girls to the GSCCC I Have a Dream council badge.

Beazley Foundation Awards Grant to Girl Scouts of Colonial Coast

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast has been approved to receive a $10,000 grant from the Beazley Foundation to serve at least 50 girls who live in at-risk areas in Portsmouth. The girls will participate in financial literacy, healthy living, and environmental activities. There will also be opportunities for teen girls to participate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) projects, as well as career exploration activities. Additionally, the girls served through this grant will participate in the new Girl Scouts of the USA bullying prevention series, BFF: Be a Friend First, which teaches girls how to build social and emotional skills, the importance of respecting others and ways to make healthy and responsible decisions. 

“Helping girls living in at-risk areas today may prevent poverty and illiteracy in their future,"Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast CEO Tracy Keller said. “If we don’t invest in preventative programs, such as the high-quality ones offered by Girl Scouts, we run the risk of our young people engaging in high-risk behaviors that have economic and social implications.”

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience will have a lasting impact on the girls who participate. The Girl Scout Research Institute has found that women who were Girl Scouts display a more positive sense of self, are more engaged in community service, are more civically engaged and attain higher levels of education than women who were never Girl Scouts.

The girls served through this grant will receive handbook resources,Girl Scout uniforms, and will be able to attend summer camp sessions where they will continue to build leadership skills and learn how to work as part of a team.

Support through grants, such as the one presented by the Beazley Foundation, allows Girl Scouts to further their mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.

Legislative Relief for Girl Scouts' Pension Program

Charitable Pension Flexibility Act

Representatives Susan Brooks (R-IN) and Ron Kind (D-WI) introduced a bipartisan bill on May 23 that enables Girl Scouts and similar charities with affiliates, such as universities and non-profit hospitals, to opt-in early starting next year to the pension funding rules that cover corporate plans - the Charitable Pension Flexibility Act (H.R. 2134).

The bill would smooth pension expenses at more consistent levels, so there is not a spike in paying much higher amounts projected for the next three years. Key to this legislation's success is strong, bipartisan support.

Consider taking action and urge your U.S. Representative to support the Charitable Pension Flexibility Act. Take Action!

Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma Tornado Relief Fund

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast joins the nation in offering our thoughts and prayers to those who have been affected by the tornado that devastated the Oklahoma City area on Monday, May 20.

We have learned that Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma Council appreciates all of the good wishes being sent to them by fellow Girl Scouts, but they are unable to handle all of the calls and emails at this time. Instead, they ask that you check their website or Facebook and Twitter feeds for the latest information.

The council cannot accommodate material donations but asks that those interested in donating do so through the Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma Tornado Relief Fund. You can also text the word GIRLS to 20222 to make a $10 donation.

Another way to show your support is to send messages or art in the shape of the Girl Scout trefoil.

Send your trefoil artwork to:
Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma
Mary Nichols' Family Leadership Center
6100 N. Robinson Ave.
Oklahoma City, Okla. 73118

Helping Girls Gain Financial Literacy

On Saturday, April 27, Girl Scouts of all ages attended workshops geared at financial literacy at A Place for Girls, the headquarters and program center for the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast. The workshops were part of an event, Financial Fitness, organized by the Tidewater Chapter of the Virginia Society of CPA's.

Members of the Chapter, many former Girl Scouts, led age-appropriate workshops that helped girls meet requirements for Girl Scout awards, such as the Money Manager badge. Girl Scout Daisies learned about coins and paper money; Girl Scout Brownies were introduced to philanthropy and took part in a community service project; Girl Scout Juniors had lessons on maintaining a budget; Girl Scout Seniors compared costs and conducted simple consumer research projects, and Girl Scout Ambassadors found out what it would take to live on their own.

From the youngest Girl Scouts in kindergarten learning how to save money to the Girl Scouts in high school learning to be smart consumers, girls were encouraged to think about their futures and to be prepared. Events such as Financial Fitness are only part of what Girl Scouts is doing to place attention on financial literacy.

The Girl Scout Research Institute recently published a study called Having It All: Girls and Financial Literacy. In this study, they found that girls are optimistic about their future lives but admit to lacking the financial confidence and knowledge they will need to achieve their dreams. They also found that many girls are open to learning about financial literacy and are interested in participating in activities that teach them how to set financial goals and how to manage money.

As financial literacy becomes a growing concern in the country, Girl Scouts are working to lead the way to give girls the tools to become financially independent and empowered. Opportunities such as Financial Fitness: The Sequel allow girls to gain financial confidence, learn how to have open conversations with their parents about money matters and be on track for a financially successful and independent life.