Volunteer Connections by Girl Scouts of Nassau County

5 Signs that Girl Scouts are at Girl Scout Camp! 1. Painted rocks welcoming Girl Scouts, old and new!   2. Wet towels from the beach hanging out to dry on the clothes line! 3. Chalk drawings of everything from flowers and boats to expressions of love for camp on the basketball courts! 4. Rocks strategically placed in the sand to spell out " CBB "! 5. Finally, the one that your can't see, but you will hear... the sounds of girls giggling and singing unit songs when you don't actually see anyone around!

Here is the scenario…You are working on your Girl Scout Gold Award. Council has assigned you a Gold Award Mentor, but at the same time, they are telling saying you need to find a project advisor. You are sitting there wondering to yourself, "what is the difference between the two?" Here is the difference between a Gold Award Project Advisor and A Gold Award Mentor: Project Advisor: You’ve figured out the issue you’re going to address with your project. Now it’s time to find an expert to help along the way and give you advice and suggestions. This is a person from your community who is knowledgeable in the topic area of your issue, so you can ask questions and brainstorm ideas together.   The only people that cannot be your Project Advisor are your GS Leaders or family members. Once you researched and found someone that you think can help you, reach out to them in an e-mail, a letter , or in person. Explain that you are earning the Highest Award in Girl Scouts- t...

Did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month? And July 20 th was National Ice Cream Day! In 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed that the third Sunday in July would be celebrated as National Ice Cream Day [1] . A non-traditional way for Girl Scouts to celebrate National Ice Cream Month is to get together with your Girl Scout Troop to make “Kick the Can” Ice Cream. After mixing the ingredients and “kicking the can”… yes, just like the game…the end result is delicious, soft-serve style ice cream which sure is a tasty treat. Here are the directions for “Kick the Can” Ice Cream, which we found in The Junior Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting and on GSUSA’s Recipe Section of their website.    “Kick the Can” Ice Cream Ingredients: 1 cup Milk (we used whole milk) 1 cup Heavy Cream ½ cup Sugar ½ tsp Vanilla Extract **the recipe in the Junior Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting calls for 1 egg, but we left that out Other Materials Needed: 1 small cle...

Helping Girls Express Feelings How many times have you asked girl in your Troop, “What would you like to do this year?” and they say “I don’t know”? Or you ask them “How are you feeling,” and you get the standard “I’m Fine”?   As a Girl Scout Troop Leader, these responses can be frustrating. You want your Girl Scouts to do activities that they will love and enjoy and you want them to let you know if they are excited or looking forward to an activity or if they disliked an activity all together. What are some ways to we can work towards getting more expressive answers?   Try working with your girls on finding their words…     In her interview “How to Increase Emotional Intelligence,” Rachel Simmons suggests that we teach girls an emotional vocabulary with words like “excited,” “frustrated,” “encouraged,” “concerned,” “disappointed,” “lonely,” etc.   Encourage girls to keep a diary, through writing or pictures, of their feelings each day.   He...

Summer Patch Programs Summer doesn’t have to mean the end of Girl Scouting. Now is the time to get the girls in your Troop together to do some of those activities that require a little more time and a lot warmer weather.   Kayaking, Troop Camping, Ice Cream Parties, Planting Trees and so much more… there are so many fun adventures and exciting memories to make. If you’re looking for someplace to start, try some of GSNC’s Summer Season Patch Programs . SUM-MORE Girl Scouting Patch Program In order to earn the SUM-MORE GIRL SCOUTING Patch, the Troop must complete the following requirements: (a) Participate in two summer activities…. It can be any summer inspired activity that your Troop wishes to do from a picnic to a hike or even a trip to the water park.   (b) Complete one service project… If you’re looking for some ideas, try a beach clean-up, planting a tree or collecting some school supplies for Astoria Bank’s Kids Tools for School Drive . (c) Start regu...

Happy Independence Day (or Happy 4 th of July)!     On July 4, 1776, the thirteen colonies declared their independence from Britain by adopting the Declaration of Independence. Today is a day to celebrate our history, our freedoms and democracy. We highly encourage you to add a reading of the Declaration to your holiday festivities! To celebrate Independence Day, bring your Girl Scout Troop together to learn a little about the history of and to honor America’s birthday. Fourth of July is often associated with BBQ’s making it a great day to work on some of those cooking badges.   Brownies can work on the Snacks badge by making snacks as the appetizers, while Juniors can work towards earning the Simple Meals badge and Cadettes can turn this Fourth of July BBQ into a tour of different dishes made in the USA since 1776 while earning their New Cuisines badge.

For me, one of the toughest parts of the Girl Scout Gold Award…second to coming up with a project idea…is sustainability. The word “sustainability” is something you often hear in connection to Girl Scout Take Action Projects. What exactly does this mean? In terms of a Girl Scout Take Action Project, SUSTAINABILITY means that the project MEETS THE NEEDS of the people and/or the environment NOW, while having a plan AND the potential to CONTINUE indefinitely IN THE FUTURE. Sustainability allows for a greater, longer impact on the community. There is a difference between a sustainable project and one that is community service. Collections, drives, donations, visitations (no matter how many times done) are a onetime fix and considered community service. Beautification and renovation projects without an educational component are considered community service. What adds sustainability to a project is addressing the root cause of an issue and making a plan that addresses...