Cookie Troop 100

Celebrate 100 years of Girl Scouts selling cookies by joining Girl Scouts of the USA’s Cookie Troop 100! One troop from every council will win $100, and when you enter, you unlock the opportunity to order a limited edition patch—with free shipping! Plus, one lucky Girl Scout troop will win $3,000! Just set a troop cookie goal, earn a Cookie Business badge, ask 100 new customers to buy cookies and Bling Your Booth! Winning troops will be randomly selected—no voting necessary.

Need some inspiration for designing your stand-out booth? Check out the creativity from some of our local Girl Scouts last year:

Be bright. Troop 1102 from Newport News used bold colors to make their booth pop.

Get creative. Troop 52 from Moyock made a rainbow of cookies for their St. Patrick's Day booth.

Choose a theme. Troop 66 from Chesapeake went with a cookies and milk theme,
complete with cow costumes under their sashes.

Show off your goal. Troop 815 from Edenton made sure all of their customers knew why they were selling cookies.

There are so many possibilities when it comes to blinging your booth!

To take part in the Cookie Troop 100 contest, adults 18 or over can submit a troop’s entry here. One entry per troop. Deadline to submit an entry is April 30. Find the official contest rules here.

Girl Scout Week 2017

During Girl Scout Week, Girl Scouts of all ages celebrate in many ways in their communities and at their places of worship. Here are just a few suggestions to get your birthday party thinking started!

Throw a Birthday Party
。Create a themed birthday party with your troop or group and invite friends! Introduce them to the fun of Girl Scouts. This is a perfect time to hold a rededication ceremony.

Girl Scout Sunday or Sabbath
。Take part in a religious service. Download a special Girl Scout Week bulletin insert or cover for the service.
。Say or sing a Girl Scout grace at a meal.

Girl Scout Week
。Wear your Girl Scout uniform.
。Learn what WAGGGS stands for.
。Read or re-read the Juliette Gordon Low story.
。Take part in a Girl Scout flag ceremony.
。Do a community service project.
。Learn about Girl Scout history.
。Make a friendship bracelet for a Girl Scout friend.

Top 5 Reasons to Come to Girl Fest 2017

1. It’s a day of fun for the whole family. Moms, dads, siblings, friends— everyone is invited to Girl Fest! You don’t have to be a Girl Scout to take part in all the fun.

2. Explore the world of aviation. Launch into an adventure in science and history while discovering that the sky is the limit for girls with wings! Spend the day touring the museum’s aircraft collection and learning about the prominent role innovative and risk-taking women have played in the history of aviation.

3. Dive deeper into the world of STEM. In addition to learning about aerospace, nearly 20 community partners will have booths at Girl Fest to share STEM activities and resources for girls and their families. Mad Science, Nauticus and Society of Women Engineers will be there… just to name a few.

4. We’ve announced a special guest! SaraBeth, a singer and songwriter from Nashville, will be flying in for a special performance at Girl Fest! She’ll be performing her hit tune, “Girl Scout Cookie Monster,” along with some of her other songs. She’ll also hold a meet-and-greet and sign autographs for girls.

5. We’re giving back. During Girl Fest, the USO will come to accept a donation of nearly 18,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies that they’ll give to members of the military as a token of gratitude for their service.

Girl Fest 2017 will take place on Saturday, April 29 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach. Tickets are $17 each. Registration closes April 15. Register Girl Scout members here. Register non-Girl Scouts here. Bring a bag lunch. Event will take place rain or shine. Girl Fest is sponsored by PRA Group, WAVY-TV 10 and Eagle 97.3.

Gold Award Spotlight: No Ifs, Ands or Buts: Commitment to Serving God

Jonée, a Portsmouth Girl Scout, has earned the Gold Award, which is the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. 

For her project, Jonée created an educational tool that churches could use to spread the message of God. She wrote a Bible study curriculum that she shared with several local churches and oversaw the implementation of her curriculum during a week of Vacation Bible School at the Birthing Place Worship Center in Portsmouth. The curriculum that she wrote is a five-lesson program centered on the Parable of Sower, and each lesson has a PowerPoint, activities and presenter notes for the teacher.

"The Vacation Bible School was a success," Jonée said. "It was well-received, and both the students and the teachers learned from it."

In order to reach an even wider audience, Jonée met with leaders at three other churches to share her curriculum. She also placed her curriculum online so that it can be shared with anyone who wants to implement the lessons she created.

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 Jonée to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor. 

Chesapeake Girl Scout Earns Silver Award

Annalee, a Chesapeake Girl Scout, has earned the Girl Scout Silver Award, the second highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. For her project, Annalee focused on collecting donations of pajamas and flip-flops for Union Mission Ministries, an organization that serves homeless men, women and children in the community.

To collect donations, Annalee set up boxes at A Place for Girls, the regional Girl Scout program center, and the YMCA. She also distributed handouts with bags for donations to 50 neighbors and went back through her neighborhood to collect items. She shared her project in her church bulletin, in a letter to families at her school and through a presentation at a Girl Scout leaders meeting. To try to collect even more donations, Annalee wrote letters to 14 clothing companies asking for donations, and, with the help of a fellow troop member, she tie-dyed and sold T-shirts to her troop members and used the profits to purchase pajamas. As a result of her hard work, she was able to donate 226 pairs of pajamas, 120 pairs of flip-flops and other gently used clothing to Union Mission Ministries.

In addition to her pajama and flip-flop collection drive, Annalee made sure to raise awareness in her community about Union Mission Ministries and the people they serve. She inspired her Girl Scout troop to collect nearly 100 hats and scarves for Union Mission Ministries and donate bus tickets and Girl Scout Cookies to the organization. Also inspired by Annalee, a family friend purchased and donated 30 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies and her sister made Thanksgiving cookies for Union Mission Ministries. Through her project, Annalee motivated others to make a difference and do their part to help those who are homeless.

The Girl Scout Silver Award is the top award that middle school age Girl Scouts can earn. To earn the award, girls have to identify a need in the community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work.

Girl Scout Troop 329 Tastes New Girl Scout S'mores Cookie with Special Guest

Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout! This motto rings especially true for Veronica Thomas, who has been a member of the organization for more the 50 years. Earlier this month, she visited Girl Scout Troop 329 from Chesapeake during their regular meeting to share her Girl Scout story and take part in a special tasting event—trying the new Girl Scout S’mores cookie.

Speaking in a room of Girl Scouts from kindergarteners to middle school-age girls, Thomas wanted to impress upon them how being a Girl Scout opens doors for girls—and women—of all ages. As a young girl, she did some of the same activities girls are doing today, including attending camp and earning badges. Later in life, as an adult in the 1980s, she had the chance to lead a trip to Girl Scout National Center West in Wyoming. Always eager to make a difference for Girl Scouts, she has also served as a board member for Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, represented the Council at five national conventions and has shared her love and knowledge with hundreds of fellow Girl Scouts over the years as a volunteer trainer.

The members of Girl Scout Troop 329 enjoyed hearing Thomas’s stories and thinking about plans for their own Girl Scout futures. After the chance to chat with Thomas and ask her questions, the girls opened a box of special treats to share with her—the new Girl Scout S’mores cookie. It was also the first chance that the troop members had to try the new tasty treat that they are selling this year as part of the Girl Scout Cookie Program.

Everyone gave the new cookie two thumbs up.

“The love for Girl Scout Cookies will never change,” Thomas said.

Kayleigh, a fifth-grader in the troop, said that the S’mores cookie is her new favorite Girl Scout Cookie, knocking Samoas down to number two on her list. Inaya, a Girl Scout Daisy, enjoyed the cookie so much that she can’t wait to share it with her customers at cookie booths this year.

Girl Scout Cookies will be on sale in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina through March 26. To find cookie booths near you, visit www.girlscoutcookies.org.

All About Bees

For nearly 100 Girl Scouts, Saturday morning was all about bees as they took part in a workshop to learn about the important role bees play as pollinators in the ecosystem. The event was hosted by Carrie “Honeybee” Brown, who in addition for her background in beekeeping, also works as a retention advisor at Norfolk State University. Brown led the workshop with help from 40 students from Norfolk State University.

Dressed in all black, wearing bee wings on her back and a headband with antennae, Brown kicked off the morning by talking to the girls about her experiences as a beekeeper. Girls then jumped into action and made their own beehives using PVC pipes and cardboard. They also made wildflower seed balls to plant at home and garden markers to keep track of where they planted the flowers for bees. Adding to the fun, girls had the chance to their own headbands with antennae to match Brown’s bee-themed outfit.

As part of the morning’s agenda, Brown spent time talking to the girls about how bees are responsible for pollinating healthy foods and discussed the different roles bees play in the production of honey. Girls listened intently to Brown speak about bees and were especially interested in hearing about hierarchy in beehives and the role that the queen bee plays. To show as examples of beekeeping tools, Brown brought along her beekeepers hat, beehive smoker and examples of beehives that she shared with the girls. She also talked about ways that girls can support local beekeepers and spoke about the importance of the diversity of flowers that bees need to survive.

In today’s world, where women hold only approximately 25 percent of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers, Girl Scouts is committed to providing experiences for girls to explore and discover in a wide variety of STEM fields. Through partnerships, including the one with Brown, Girl Scouts is able to create opportunities for girls to be engaged in fun and unique STEM-learning experiences.

Brown previously hosted the Spartan Beekeepers Club at Norfolk State University, which made the college the first HBCU to have a rooftop apiary, or bee farm. It was also the first of its kind in the City of Norfolk. This spring, she will be introducing a beehive at A Place for Girls, the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast regional program center and headquarters in Chesapeake.