2012 Year in Review

2012 was a happening year for the Girl Scouts of Nassau County and the Girl Scouts of the USA!  There were so many fun things ... and there were challenges.

GSNC's Troop 2012

One of the most heralded days of the year was March 12th, when we celebrated our 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting in the USA. In honor of the 100 years, Girl Scouts of Nassau County started the day pre-dawn so that we could hold a Sunrise Ceremony.  We continued the day with an Open House, welcoming all Girl Scouts and their families to the opening of a Time Capsule from the 85th Anniversary!  It was exciting to turn 100!  There were so many exhilarating ways to celebrate throughout the 100th year ... Girl Scouts of Nassau County the turned the Nassau County Dome Lighting Green, started Troop Nassau Violets,  welcomed a few baby girls who were born on March 12th into Troop 2012, and dedicated the Juliette Gordon Low Park.  Girl Scouts from Nassau County also participated in larger events around the country like Rock the Mall in Washington, DC; the Camporee in Savannah, Georgia; the B.I.G. Event at Liberty Park in New Jersey; Rock the Falls in Niagara Falls, NY; and the Girls World Forum in Chicago, Illinois. 

Operation Cookie

We sold lots of Girl Scout Cookies in 2012! With a focus on the 5 Skills that the girls learn as part of the Girl Scout Cookie Program, with help from our friends at DHL Global, GSNC sent over 50,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies to our military personnel around the world as part of Operation Cookie  -- the DHL send-off day was lots of fun!  

Gold Award Ceremony

Spring saw our girls running towards and conquering the many challenges we gave them. At the Girls Go the Distance Walkathon and Activity Fair at Old Bethpage Village Restoration, Girl Scouts of all ages and their families walked a little over 2 miles even with the wet weather.  At the City Scrambler, girls raced their way through parts of New York City on the hunt for clues to lead them to their next destination.  The Lego Chicks went to a national invitational tournament as the result of winning the Regional’s in FIRST Lego League. In June, 121 Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts earned their Girl Scout Gold Award in Nassau County, while hundreds of other girls achieved the Girl Scout Bronze Award and Girl Scout Silver Award. 

Camp Blue Bay

The summer season brought on the tie-dying, fishing, gardening, sailing and the ropes course, with hundreds of girls taking advantage of our summer programming.  Girls who participated in the GSNC Summer Fun Day Camp at Wantagh Park had the opportunity to spend their day doing fun activities with their friends, while still having the comfort of sleeping in their own homes. Campers who attended GSNC’s Camp Blue Bay Sleepaway Camp were able to sleep under the stars and in tents with a variety of camp program choices.

Just as school was back underway, we started our fall registration process and worked with our volunteers to make the Back to Troop Season a success. 

New Girl Scout Cookie Box

In early October, the new Girl Scout Cookie Boxes were unveiled and almost every variety of Girl Scout Cookies has Girl Scouts from Nassau County as the faces and activities seen on the new cookie boxes!  The first upgrade to the Girl Scout Cookie Boxes in over 15 years, the new boxes tell the real story of the Girl Scout Cookies and how supporting the Girl Scout Cookie Program supports skill building for the girls and action in the community.

Sisters Helping Sisters During Sandy

Towards the end of October, Superstorm Sandy forced Girl Scouts of Nassau County to postpone the 100th Anniversary Gala (this means we get to keep celebrating the 100th Anniversary… at least until our re-scheduled date on March 14). The Gala was the least of our concerns! Some of our girls and their families suffered property damage --some even lost their homes -- and almost everyone in the area went without power many days.  But almost as soon as the rain stopped, on the very first day, Girl Scouts reached out to one another to see how they could help. We were truly Sisters Helping Sisters, helping with community relief efforts and creating a GSNC Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund and GSNC Trefoil Relief Cards. Meanwhile, Girl Scouts from across the country wanted to help us, and began to make donations ... Operation Be a Sister, in Indiana, jumped in to provide uniform components and badges, while others sent care packages and Christmas gifts ... As devastating as the damage was from the storm, the outpouring from Girl Scouts and others all around the USA and the world have helped to restore our faith in one another. 

2013… Here come the Girl Scouts!

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