Volunteer Connections by Girl Scouts of Nassau County

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the foremost entrepreneurial and financial literacy training program in the world. Through Cookies girls can learn and earn; they build skills and they learn how to pay the bills.  Through hands on experience earning money, they begin to learn how money works in the real world.  Girls use basic math skills and they learn to set goals, develop a plan and reap the rewards of their hard work …   The Girl Scout Cookie Program offers girls some very pragmatic skills in Money Management.   Once girls get to work taking Cookie orders, they use their skills in math to add up the amounts that each customer will need to pay.  Troop Leaders and parents can help girls practice this. When girls deliver the Cookies to their customers they will also need to know how to make change. For some girls, the Cookie program may be their first experience in handling money. Troop Leaders and parents once again have the opportunity to support the girls as they practice this sk

Girl Scouts of Nassau County set a new record for the tallest free-standing tower made entirely of Girl Scout Cookies ... Six feet, 1/8 of an inch, completed about 11:20 p.m. on Saturday, January 9, 2010. A good time was had by all! And as much fun as it is to break new records, the real advantages of the project were the teamwork, patience and perseverance that the girls displayed ... Over 100 girls participated in planning the design and implementation of the project and then came out to work in shifts.   They learned how mathematic principles can be applied to problem solving and they had the opportunity to work up-close and personal with Rebecca Goldberg, a professional engineer, who shared her love of her profession with all of them. More than a few of those girls have already expressed their interest in learning and exploring more avenues related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).     Rebecca and Anita Konfederak of Merritt Engineering with Girl Scouts Rebecca

Once girls decide which project to pursue, they have to set a budget.  A budget is a way to determine how much something costs, and write it down. The younger the girls, the more they will need adults to help at this point. Older girls planning a trip can do much research on their own. They can look online or call a travel agent. They can go to the grocery store and price the cost of food. If they agree on a service project, they will need to figure out the steps, determine what supplies are needed, if advertising will be used or if it will be necessary to travel from one place to another.  Here, there may be lots of steps, and more opportunities for decision making along the way.     Once the budget is set, the girls can then determine how many boxes of Cookies they will need to sell in order to reach their budget and achieve their goal.     Girls will want to share with the parents the goal that the Troop has set, as well as the funds that will be needed to reach the goal.     The g

Sometimes when setting goals for the year, Troops will not be in agreement. Then girls need to decide how they will make a decision.   Girls can put all the ‘doable’ ideas forward and take a vote. This democratic process gives everyone an equal voice.  Before voting, girls might be given the opportunity to say why they do or do not like one idea vs. another. The group may have to keep narrowing down the list of ideas until there are only two left, and then the vote of the majority – half plus 1 – will be the idea selected. In this scenario there can be a sense of winners and losers and everyone has to agree to support the final outcome.   Another way to make a decision when there is not agreement is to work toward a consensus. This way is sometimes harder, but for some groups it works best.  This method involves more talking and sharing. It is a form of compromise. Everybody agrees at the beginning to take an idea off the table even if only one person feels that she cannot support that

When Girl Scout Troops begin to set their goals for the Troop year, they usually sit in a circle, on the floor, around a table or spread around a room.  The first step is to share ideas, and this is often done in a process called “brainstorming.”  Girls can make a list of things they want to do together. And, the sky is the limit. (Girls can speak out, write down their ideas, or do both  -- Eventually someone needs to start writing the ideas on a big list!) Everyone should practice the Girl Scout Promise and Law while they are brainstorming by being respectful and kind and a sister to everyone in the group!   What kind of ideas could you hear? Someone might want to learn how to do a special craft (knitting, painting, ceramics?). Someone might suggest the group work towards going on a camping trip. Girls can look in Possibilities for all kinds of Girl Scout activities.   Girls might want to work toward going to see a play or attend a concert.  Some Troops begin planning big TRIPS a c