NO iD

Three years ago, Rebekah Gray was out enjoying an evening of live music, one of her favorite ways to wind down after another week as a middle school teacher. At the concert, she met Jay Terry, who a fellow audience member. Soon after they started talking, their shared love of music was realized. The two decided that with her talented singing voice and his writing skills and musical talent, they could start their own band. Soon after, NO iD was born. Today, Gray and Terry have added three more members, and they have become well-loved across Hampton Roads for their cover renditions of popular R&B, pop, classic rock and soul tunes.

NO iD

Earlier this year, Gray was approached by Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast about performing at Samoa Soiree, their adult-only tasting event where top chefs use Girl Scout Cookies to make desserts and savory dishes. Gray was excited to sign NO iD on to perform this year, as she has her own special connections to Girl Scouts.

While growing up in Virginia Beach, Gray joined the Girl Scouts when she was in elementary school. She has fond memories of going on camping trips with her troop. Girl Scouts gave her the opportunity to take part in some of her first unique outdoor experiences—cooking over a campfire and exploring nature with hikes through the woods. Now, Gray’s five-year-old daughter, Genesis, is a Girl Scout Daisy, and Gray is getting to take part in some of her favorite Girl Scout experiences again with her daughter.

“I am really looking forward to Samoa Soiree,” Gray said. “I am excited to be involved in Girl Scouts again with my daughter, and it’s exciting to be involved on another level as the entertainment at Samoa Soiree.”

Gray is also looking forward to being able to introduce her fellow band members to Girl Scouts and how the organization benefits girls. As with their other performances, at Samoa Soiree, NO iD will take old school R&B and add a modern pop and soulful twist to the sound. They enjoy making music that makes people feel good.

Samoa Soiree will take place on Saturday, March 25 at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in Norfolk. Everyone is invited to taste Girl Scout Cookies like never before at this adult-only event. The evening will include great food and drinks, along with live music and silent auction – and all for a great cause. Tickets are $60 each until March 1 and then increase to $75 each. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.gsccc.org.

Meet TNT, a Harlem Globetrotter

Harlem Globetrotter TNT Lister is a go-getter who leads the way for women in sports. When she joined the Globetrotters in 2011, she was the first woman to be on the team since 1993. In the past six years, her success has paved the way for other women to join the team as well.

One of TNT’s favorite parts about being a Harlem Globetrotters is the opportunity to meet her fans, especially through the ABCs of Bullying Prevention program that she helps to facilitate before games. It was through this program that she began to meet hundreds of Girl Scouts. Although she was not a Girl Scout as a child, she joined the organization in 2013 after being so impressed with all of the Girl Scouts she was meeting.

“I joined Girl Scouts because I wanted to become more familiar with the organization so that I could better relate with all of the Girl Scouts I was meeting,” TNT said.

TNT knows how important it is for children to be involved in extracurricular activities to learn important life skills they may not have the chance to practice in the classroom. When she was growing up, she volunteered at the local Boys and Girls Club to host arts and crafts activities for kids—one of her first leadership opportunities. She admires Girl Scouts for being able to teach girls important life lessons in a safe, all-girl environment where they feel comfortable taking risks and trying new things.

When she meets Girl Scouts, TNT openly talks about the challenges that she faces as a female member of the Harlem Globetrotters because she wants to be a role model for girls who are interested in any career in a male-dominated field.

“There’s extra pressure on me to prove that I’m good enough to be on the team,” TNT said. “But I look at it as a positive pressure. It gives me the opportunity to show girls that they can do anything.”

When girls ask TNT for advice about how to overcome a gender barrier, she reminds them to not count themselves out too early. She knows firsthand that the thought of conquering something big can seem overwhelming, but she tells girls to believe in themselves and to not give up on their dreams.

TNT and her fellow Harlem Globetrotter team members will be playing in Norfolk on March 26 at 4 p.m. at the Ted Constant Center. Girl Scouts of all ages are invited to enjoy the game and take part in the pregame bullying prevention workshop. Purchase tickets online using promo code ABC. For groups of 10 or more, call Todd McKeating at 757-683-7087.

Troop 292 Hosts Journey Jam

Genesis, Mary and Peighton, Girl Scout Ambassadors from Troop 292 in Virginia Beach, hosted a workshop last month for nearly 100 Girl Scout Juniors to earn the Get Moving Journey, which takes girls on an adventure to become leaders to energize, investigate and innovate.

The members of Troop 292 kicked off the morning with a discussion about what energy is and what fuels the world. The Girl Scout Juniors learned about what changes they can make in their lives to be more energy efficient. They then made energy-related crafts, completed an energy crossword puzzle and enjoyed an energizing snack.

A favorite activity of the day was making wind-powered cars out of cardboard tubes and recycled paper and cardboard. The girls attached sails to their cars and used their own wind energy—breath— to race their cars and check the energy efficiency of their car design.

Before the end of the workshop, Girl Scouts took a pledge to cut back on their use of electricity, minimize the amount of trash they throw away and speak about issues that affect the environment so that they can inspire others to make a difference. Each girl who attended the workshop received a Get Moving Journey patch.

For Genesis, Mary and Peighton, who are high school seniors, the Get Moving Journey workshop was a fundraising activity. They will be putting the proceeds towards a troop trip to take this summer before they head off to college.

Gold Award Spotlight: Revitalization of Outdoor Classroom at Yorktown Elementary School

Christiane, a Chesapeake Girl Scout, has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

For her project, Christiane revitalized the outdoor classroom at Yorktown Elementary School, which had been vandalized and was in a state of disrepair. Yorktown Elementary is a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Magnet School, and Christiane wanted to renew and update the space so that students can continue to have hands-on experiences in the outdoors.

Christiane built four eight-foot benches and designed and built two work tables with fun facts about nature. She also rebuilt and planted a new flowerbed. In addition to her work in the outdoor classroom, Christiane created dry erase teaching aids about the life cycles of butterflies and frogs that teachers can share and reuse among their students.

Christiane chose to complete this project to earn her Gold Award because women are underrepresented in STEM careers, and she wanted to help create a space for young girls to engage in STEM learning activities.

“The most successful part of my project was the fact that children at Yorktown Elementary School can now spend more time outside learning about nature and the environment,” Christiane said. “I enjoyed working with others and accomplishing a task that was for the greater good of the community.”

Christiane also worked to inform members of the community about her project and the importance of STEM learning opportunities for young students. She made a presentation at the Yorktown Elementary School Back to School Night and made video that she placed online to reach a wider audience.

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

Young Adult Soiree

With a makeshift pantry stocked with everything from Thin Mints to shrimp, a group of 30 Girl Scouts took part in a culinary challenge on February 25, where they were charged with cooking up an appetizer using a Girl Scout Cookie as a key ingredient. The event, named Young Adult Soiree, put a youth-twist on Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast’s upcoming Samoa Soiree, an adult-only event with the same concept—chefs use Girl Scout Cookies to create desserts and appetizers.

Working in groups of five, the Girl Scouts spent just a few minutes planning among themselves before firing up their stoves and getting to work on their dishes. Many of the groups picked their Girl Scout Cookie variety first and developed a recipe around the flavors in the cookie.

Among the finished meals was a lemon beef pasta, cooked up with ramen noodles and Savannah Smiles, the lemon-flavored Girl Scout Cookie. Another group ground up Trefoils, a shortbread cookie, and used them to bread chicken, which they paired lemon shrimp, green beans and potatoes.

After plating their appetizers, the girls changed from their cooking clothes and aprons into formal wear and gathered for a soiree, where they had the opportunity to taste the finished pieces from each of the groups. The girls enjoyed hearing about each other’s recipes and tasting the creative dishes.

The Young Adult Soiree was led by Chef Dedra Blount of Now You’re Cooking Culinary Studio at A Place for Girls, the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast regional program center and headquarters in Chesapeake. Chef Blount competed in last year’s Samoa Soiree and took home the award for Best Savory for her Thai chicken salad made with the Do-si-dos Girl Scout Cookie. Chef Blount was excited to give girls the chance to get creative in the kitchen and take part in their version of Samoa Soiree.

“I was really impressed with what the girls came up with for their recipes,” Chef Blount said. “A few girls mentioned that they had never cooked without a recipe before, so this was a new experience that pushed them to think outside the box.”

Samoa Soiree will take place on Saturday, March 25 at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in Norfolk. Everyone is invited to taste Girl Scout Cookies like never before at this adult-only event. The evening will include great food and drinks, along with live music and silent auction – and all for a great cause. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.gsccc.org.

Gold Award Spotlight: Striped Bass Sustainability

Caneel, a Virginia Beach Girl Scout, has earned the Gold Award, the highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

When Caneel learned that the striped bass population in the Chesapeake Bay has been decreasing since 2003, she decided to help protect this species of fish for her Gold Award project. She started by learning more about the issue from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local fisherman. She then took action to help find solutions, educate the public about why it is important to save the striped bass and gather support from the community to help bring back the striped bass population.

Caneel made a flier about the issue of the decreasing striped bass population and distributed it to members of the community, restaurants, tackle shops and marinas. In order to reach broader audience, she made a Facebook page and website about the issue. She placed an ad in the newspaper to raise awareness and promote her website. Caneel also met with a team from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife National Conservation Training Center to share her flier with people who come from all over the country for training and designed a bumper sticker that she handed out to community members.

“I have always loved fishing and life on the Chesapeake Bay,” Caneel said. “Because of that, I was involved in the fishing community and saw firsthand that the striped bass population has declined. I realized that not only does this iconic fish play an important part in the ecosystem, it also helps brings a lot of tourist dollars to our economy. But, most people don’t know what’s happening. I decided that I could help by sharing information and raising awareness.”

Caneel also developed a workshop for children that she shared with second and third graders to encourage them to get involved in saving the striped bass by helping to clean the bay.

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

Meet Caitlyn: Cookie Entrepreneur Officer

This year, Caitlyn's initial cookie
order was 960 boxes!

Williamsburg resident Caitlyn Rogerson is just 15 years old, but that does not stop this go-getter from successfully running her own business. For the past few years, Caitlyn has been the top Girl Scout Cookie seller in Williamsburg, a position she has earned as a result of her goal-oriented mentality, innovative ideas and a lot of hard work. Last year, she sold 1,084 boxes of the sweet treats, and she hopes to sell more than 1,000 boxes again this year. She’s excited about being able to sell cookies during the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts selling cookies and giving customers a chance to taste the new anniversary cookie—the Girl Scout S’mores cookie.

As each cookie season passes, Caitlyn learns from her business experiences to improve her selling strategies. Over the years, she has learned how important it is to reach customers first. She never wants to hear from people that they have already ordered their cookies for the year. Caitlyn also likes to remind customers that Girl Scout Cookies last for months in the freezer.

“There’s nothing like a cool Thin Mint in the middle of July,” Caitlyn said.

For Caitlyn and her fellow members of Troop 1377, selling cookies is so important because it is how the girls fund their community service projects and activities for the year. Using last year’s earnings, the girls improved the outdoor courtyard for the residents at Envoy Assisted Living Facility. Caitlyn’s part of the project included building a raised garden bed and outdoor garden boxes so that residents at Envoy could enjoy an outdoor space. Thanks to her hard work, the residents were able to harvest a crop of fruits and vegetables over the summer. For her work with this project, Caitlyn earned the Girl Scout Silver Award, which is the second highest honor and achievement a girl can earn in Girl Scouting.

Troop 1377 is also sure to send a taste of home to military troops overseas through the cookie program. Each year, they sell extra boxes of cookies to donate to the troops.

“There are active military parents in our troop, and we fly cookies directly to them abroad to enjoy and share,” Caitlyn said.

Caitlyn’s drive to help others expands beyond her role as a Girl Scout. She and her mother have taken shifts to ring bells for the Salvation Army at Christmastime since Caitlyn was four years old. When she was in fifth grade, Caitlyn took the lead and started organizing her classmates to take shifts ringing the bell as well.

“For four years, I have been able to schedule classmates to cover eight shifts over two days with two students per shift,” Caitlyn said. “This year I had to fill a Christmas Eve shift. It was tough, but I was able to find volunteers.”

This winter, in addition to taking cookie orders all over Williamsburg, Caitlyn and her troop members will soon be meeting to decide how to spend their cookie earnings this year. The girls will work together to budget their projected funds and choose how they can make the biggest impact in the Williamsburg community. Powered by the Girl Scout Cookie Program, Troop 1377 is making the world a better place.

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 Scout Cookie booths will run through March 26. Customers can find a booth near them by entering their zip code into the Cookie Finder at www.girlscoutcookies.org.