Girl Scouts of Nassau County

Happy New Year … 2012 is the Year of the Girl!

2012-01-05T14:33:00.002-05:00

Here at Girl Scouts of Nassau County we are ready to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting. We got a great start in September with the planting of 100 Trees for 100 Years, and in October with our Birthday Bash on the Bay Kickoff at Sagamore Hill. And, at the January
Tournament of Roses Parade there was a whole float devoted to the Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary! But, there is still so much more to come as we focus in on the official anniversary date on March 12th, and as activities roll-out throughout this entire year.

At the end of January Girl Scouts of the USA will do a full launch of the Year of the Girl with more details on how you, your family and your community can expand your connections with Girl Scouting.

On March 12th we will join our sisters across the country in sunrise re-dedication services where we will commit ourselves again to the Girl Scout Promise and Law … Look for information on events in your community and at the Council level.

Next summer GSNC girls will have the opportunity to join Girl Scouts in New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and Savannah Georgia for even more fun and parties. New Jersey will host a party on Liberty Island that will include a concert! June 12th takes us to the National Mall in Washington D.C. for “Rock the Mall,” a successor sing-out to similar events held there to commemorate the 85th, 90th and 95th Anniversaries. And at the end of June, girls will have an opportunity to attend the first national ‘camporee” in over 25 years, to be held in Savannah, GA on the grounds of Fort Stewart Army base. It will be hard to decide which events to attend since they all sound like so much fun!

Get ready for 2012…It is going to be a GREAT 100th Anniversary Year! What does your Troop have planned?

"Promises, Promises … " By Guest Blogger, James Langan

2011-11-18T16:58:00.000-05:00

Promises kept are a reputation earned. So are promises broken. To have a good reputation is to be trusted; to have a bad one is not to be. But what is a promise, anyway? And what is it not?

A promise is a serious commitment to oneself or to others to do something. And since what we do (and don’t do!) defines who and what we are – to ourselves and to others – what we see in the mirror is nothing more than the sum of our promises kept and promises broken. Thus a promise is a commitment not only to do, but to be something.

When a Girl Scouts says: “On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law,” she is saying: “I choose to be a patriotic and altruistic American. I choose to be kind and just, honorable and equitable, empathetic and compassionate, brave and strong, respectful and responsible.” With these words, she affirms her commitment to her own personal growth and to her goal of making the world a better place. What more could we ask from our girls who will someday rise to become tomorrow’s leaders? And what better way to create a better world than to nurture courage, confidence, and character in each and every one of our precious sisters and daughters?

The Girl Scout Promise and the Law are not for the faint of heart: They are heartfelt expressions of what the Girl Scouting has stood for– for 100 years. Being a Girl Scout means aspiring to live by these values very day – values that help young girls blossom into women of honesty, integrity, and substance. Today’s Girl Scouts become tomorrow’s leaders, making a positive and meaningful contribution to their communities. With your help, we will continue making the world a better place, one girl at a time. This is a promise the Girl Scouts has made for 100 years and will continue to make for the next 100 years.

Mags&Munchies! By Guest Blogger Fran McAllister

2011-10-10T13:03:00.000-04:00

Fran McAllister, Team Manager Program Promotion

It’s hard to believe that fall is here already. If you’re like me, a busy working mom, you’re already thinking of your holiday shopping. To make my life easier, every year I take advantage of the Girl Scout Mags&Munchies product sales. I purchase magazines, nuts and candies for my family, friends, hair stylist, children’s teachers, and our bus driver. Not only are they great gifts, but they’re reasonably priced. I can give something to everyone without breaking the bank.

My family looks forward to receiving all of their favorites and with 15 different products to choose from, there’s something for everyone. This year they even have a gluten-free product, Blueberry Pomegranate nut crunch.

I always give the teachers a tin, but this year there is an old fashioned schoolhouse tin with delicious chocolate covered pretzels that is perfect for a teacher and our bus driver too.

I have a neighbor who was a Girl Scout and I know that she’s going to love the 100th Anniversary Girl Scout suitcase tin. It celebrates Girl Scouting from 1912 to the present. Plus, inside is yummy toffee popcorn with cashews and cranberries.

As a matter of fact, I always buy a few extra tins just in case someone drops by unexpectedly with a gift or I need something to bring with me to a party. I’ve even used it as a grab bag gift for my kids.

I also like giving magazine subscriptions as gifts. It encourages my children to read and it’s a gift that they receive all throughout the year. There are over 600 different types of magazines, so it’s easy to find something for everyone. My niece just had a baby, so I’ll send her Parenting, and this year there’s a special deal and for just a few dollars more she’ll also get Woman’s Day.

The best part is, not only do Mags&Munchies items make great gifts for the holiday season, but, they supporting my daughter’s Troop and our Council plus I save time and money that is truly a win-win for me!

I also like to spread some goodwill by contributing to Operation Stop Hunger. For every $5 donation, the Girl Scouts will send a can of nuts or candy to Island Harvest. And this year I can give a $5 donation to Project Thank You to purchase a magazine voucher that goes toward sending a free subscription to the Disabled American Veterans.

I’m already putting together my order since the sale ends on November 1st.
If you’re interested in ordering products or want more information about the Mags& Munchies Program, please contact Sonia Oxford at Girl Scouts of Nassau County at oxfords@gsnc.org.

Keys to Leadership By Guest Blogger Eliza Zipper

2011-10-03T12:34:00.001-04:00

Eliza Zipper, Advocacy and Critical Issues Coordinator

Girl Scouts of Nassau County is committed to building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. Our “Keys to Leadership”: Discover, Connect, Take Action, encourage girls to learn about important issues and raise awareness about them.

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience finds its foundation in a series of Leadership Journeys, that focus on 15 outcome measures; 5 of which are designed to help girls identify community needs, promote cooperation and team-building, as well as educate and inspire others to act. Girls who participate in our Journey program develop the tools and tactics to make meaningful and sustainable change in their communities.

The skills the girls develop in our Journey program prepare them for Girl Scout’s highest award, the Gold Award. Girls spend up to 80 hours on their project researching, developing and implementing a plan of action, and inspiring others to take action. Recent Gold Award projects have raised awareness about many important social issues including, environmental conservation, bullying, anti-Semitism, as well as safe sex and domestic violence. Gold Award recipients learn to identify their passion and to create positive change by pursuing this passion.

Girls in our Pathway programs also develop strong advocacy and leadership skills. The Icebreakers, one of our FIRST Lego League (FLL) Robotic Teams, demonstrated this skill when they discovered a hazardous traffic pattern in their community. They researched ways to improve the pattern, came up with a recommendation to resolve the safety issues, and refused to stop until the situation was fixed. They took their plan to the State Capitol in Albany and won support from state legislators. Through programs like our FLL Teams, girls gain the confidence to stand up for what they believe in.

Girl Scouts of Nassau County continues to provide increasing advocacy opportunities for girls. In our new program, Girl Speak, girls in grades 6-12 will discuss important issues that impact themselves and their peers as well as develop a plan of action to educate younger girls, parents, educators, and community members about these issues. Through our new collaboration with the Regina Residence, we will help pregnant teens and teen mothers living at the residence learn how to identify issues that impact their lives, speak up for their needs, and take action against these issues in their community. In both of these new programs, girls will build their confidence and develop a better sense of self and their communities by advocating for the needs of themselves and others.

Girl Scouts of Nassau County helps girls develop the tools and tactics with which to become their own advocates. Through innovative programs, such as our Journeys, Gold Awards, and community outreach initiatives, girls engage in advocacy experiences that help them gain a better sense of themselves and the needs of their communities.

For more information about Girl Scouting or the programs mentioned contact Eliza Zipper, Advocacy and Critical Issues Coordinator at 516 741-2550 ext 254 or email mail her at zippere@gsnc.org.

Creating a Positive and Healthy Environment for Girls on Long Island

2011-08-25T17:26:00.000-04:00

I can't believe back-to-school season is upon us already.

For many of our Girl Scouts going back to school means plenty of great opportunities for girls, including new friends, new knowledge and new experiences. However, it also means encountering both old and new stressors.

We at the Girl Scouts of Nassau County are dedicated to educating girls and adults about some of these issues, including bullying, healthy relationships, body image and conflict resolution. We hope that through this education, we can help put an end to harmful behaviors and create a positive and healthy environment for girls on Long Island. Here are a few tips we thought it was important to share.

If your child has trouble managing her time:

Work with your child to create a daily schedule. Make a time table with each hour and activity of the day. Be sure to devote at least eight hours to sleep!

Ask your child about the activities that are most important to her. Make sure to devote time to those activities and be prepared to cut down on some of the less important activities.

Children (and adults) need unscheduled time to relax, be with friends, read and explore their creativity. They also need time each day where they are not “plugged-in” to the electronic world.

To protect your child’s digital safety:

Keep all computers in open areas in your home. Hook laptops up to land connections. Collect all cell phones when it is time to go to bed so children’s sleep is not disturbed by text messages, Internet, etc.

Talk with your children about being a digitally responsible citizen. They can find ways around all of the controls you set up, like creating multiple Facebook accounts or blocking your account so you can’t see what they post about themselves. Talk with them about your rules and why you set them up so they understand the repercussions of their actions.

If a child is a victim of bullying:

Listen to her. Let her tell you the full story before you react.

Discuss ways to resolve the situation with her. Create a plan you both can support.

Do not hesitate to seek help from school officials. All children are entitled to be in a safe school environment.

If a child is a bully:

Ask her to recount the situation in her own words. Let her tell you the story before you react.

Find out why she bullied and how it made her feel. Explore other ways to address these feelings with her.

To help girls develop a positive body image:

Examine your own body image and how it might influence girls; the way that you speak about your own body and how you perceive others to look will greatly influence your children.

Lead a healthy lifestyle with girls, modeling good eating and physical activity.

Take action! Urge your representatives and senators to support The Healthy Media for Youth Act at www.girlscouts4girls.org/girlscouts/home/.

If you're interested in learning more about the above, please contact Eliza Zipper, advocacy and critical issues coordinator for the Girl Scouts of Nassau County at zippere@gsnc.org or 516.741.2550 x254. She will be happy to speak with you. And, please do enjoy the rest of your summer!

***
This article originally appeared in the Garden City Patch.

Celebrating Girl Scouting in Nassau County!

2011-07-08T12:58:00.002-04:00

To learn more about this year's Gold Award recipients, click here!

A few additional photos!

Bridging Ceremony - Tea Party!

Tea Time

119 Gold Award Recipients!

A Dash of Culture with the Girl Scouts of Nassau County by Guest Blogger James Langan

2011-05-17T17:41:00.001-04:00

Guest blogger James Langan is not a fan of television, movies or much of popular music, but he does love the Girl Scouts! – He reminds us here of the need for parents to be ever-vigilant when they allow mass media into their homes and before the eyes and ears of their children. We encourage you to find ways to bring more “kulcha” to our girls …What has your troop done with the arts lately? – peace, dc

Mass culture can be somewhat disconcerting: A flood of images and noises gushes forth from wide-screen TVs, drowning all in its path. Sarcasm and presumptuousness permeate the “dialogue” blurted out by one-dimensional characters smirking and sneering and conning and cheating and posing and threatening to get what they want. And only when they are not punching and kicking and gouging and blowing things up.

A lot of movies – apparently devoted to redefining “box office gross” – offer nothing better; and most video games propose far worse, encouraging children of all ages to gleefully embark on a digital odyssey of unbridled mayhem. In any case, messages extolling the products of mass culture and advocating their immediate acquisition abounds – while opportunities for higher cultural expression remain elusive.

Yet these opportunities do exist. They do and Girl Scouts of Nassau County is such a place. With our Chorus and Theatri-Gals theatre troupe, girls not only learn to appreciate culture, they also create it for the community. And in so doing, they not only elevate themselves culturally, but also their friends and neighbors in Nassau County and beyond, making the world a better place.

Our Chorus includes 50 Girl Scouts, between the ages of eight and 17, singing all over Nassau County and the metropolitan area. Their songs range from the patriotic and American standards to the classical; they also sing for the holidays and Girl Scout events. For the past 23 years, our Chorus has added spice to the lives of thousands of Nassau County residents – rescuing them from their daily routines and making them smile with a just a dash of culture.

Theatri-Gals, made up of Juniors and Cadettes, has created and presented two one-act plays exploring themes of bullying, friendship and acceptance of others. Improvisation, character study and development, and story formation and development all come into play – to give girls self-confidence and problem-solving and critical thinking skills, making new friends along the way. With Theatri-Gals, the Girls Scouts of Nassau County really has its act together

Both our Chorus and the Theatri-Gals programs offer girls a fresh opportunity for authentic cultural expression and a respite from the mindless gruel dished out by pop culture. All girls deserve the chance to enrich and elevate themselves culturally, and the Girl Scouts of Nassau County is forging ahead to make sure they get it. So that we may continue bringing cultural awareness to our girls, we ask that you do what you can to support our efforts. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to turn off the TV and read a good book.

GSNC and DHL send Cookies to US Troops Overseas - Video Blog

2011-04-28T14:27:00.000-04:00

For the past six years, we have been showing our appreciation and gratitude to the men and women who serve in the United States Armed Forces by sending them a “taste of home” in the form of donated Girl Scout Cookies®. On April 19, 2011, I had the pleasure of hosting this year’s send-off event. Together with our partners at DHL Express we shipped 45,000 boxes of cookies to our brave warriors. Here are a few highlights from the event. I hope you enjoy watching this video.

Embracing Social Media By Guest Blogger, Luci Duckson-Bramble

2011-04-04T17:06:00.000-04:00

Communicating today is very different than what I experienced through the years. As long as I can remember personal contact was the cornerstone of my connecting to others. I love phone calling, letter writing and face to face conversations. My son calls me the “Queen of Chit Chat,” he knows how much I love to connect with people through conversation. As I reflect on my career, personal contact has been fundamental. I’ve always worked directly with people - from my early days at Allstate Insurance Company to my many years in social services.

I was very comfortable with my style of "reaching out and touching." Then, in 2003 I came to Girl Scouts of Nassau County and technology was much further ahead than where I had been. Emails here were the primary way of communicating. I was in shock, I was used to walking from building to building (there were five on our campus) to talk to my colleagues or using the phone. While we had computers, they were mainly for data collection and reports. It took about six months, but I got used to emails as the primary mode of communication both internally and externally. Yet, in my soul it didn’t feel right. Something seemed to be missing. I went with the flow because everyone everywhere was using emails.

Then in 2007 I had my first foray into social media. My son, who was then 12 years old was using this thing called ”AIM.” He and all of his friends were on it. My response was to ignore what he was doing, because I just didn’t “get it.” Then I started hearing about My Space. A colleague suggested that I get with the program, because this was the way it was going to be with youth, and as a mother I had the responsibility to keep up with what was happening with them. When Facebook hit I really wanted to bury my head. I watched my son, his friends and other young relatives embrace social media with an intensity that I hadn’t witnessed with anything else. Every young person I knew was quick to get a Facebook page. I thought they were crazy; I didn’t want all my information out there. When it was suggested that Girl Scout staff create individual Facebook pages, I resisted for a long time and finally caved in to the pressure. In time I started to using Facebook and was surprised at how many baby boomers were on it. I even reconnected with my college roommate!

I still wasn’t convinced that Facebook was the best means of reaching the general public and didn’t think it would help us here at Girl Scouts to reach girls and families and in a big way. All that changed a month ago. As I sat watching '60 Minutes' I was blown away by the story of the Egyptian government’s collapse that started with a posting on Facebook. I thought if Facebook could bring down a government that had been in place for 30 years, Girl Scouts could definitely use it reach and engage girls. There hasn’t been a day in the past few weeks that I haven’t witnessed the power of social media. While many struggle with using it, the world around us is changing because of social media. I can’t imagine the advances that will take place in the next 12 months, but I know it’s a tool that can help us help girls change Nassau County.

Building Robots (and Confidence, too!) by Guest Blogger James Langan with Patty Donohue-Brown

2011-03-30T18:02:00.001-04:00

The proliferation of technology in the last several decades has left in its wake a plethora of gadgets – some useful, some not – and has induced among the citizenry some curious habits that would have left previous generations scratching their heads. More than a few of us have purchased cell phones and faithfully lug them along in our travels so that we might “stay connected,” but then turn them off so we don’t drown in a deluge of unwanted calls. Others may claim cell phones are only for emergencies; but if true, we should also be carrying around defibrillators, fire extinguishers, Tibetan-English phrase books, and C-Rations. After all, you never know.

But technology is not just for yakking and hacking. In fact, the Girl Scouts of Nassau County’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs use technology as one of its chief means to build girls of courage, confidence, and character. Our FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Robotics Program, for example, allows teams of Girl Scouts from grades four through eight to work with LEGO-based robots, develop and present research projects, and compete in FLL Tournaments. One FLL team, Merrick Masters, created an adaptive tennis racket for tennis players with a weak grip and received a grant to continue its development.

Our FIRST TECH Challenge (FTC) program, which is for high school students, allows girls working in teams to design, build, and program highly sophisticated robots and compete in FTC Tournaments. Both the FLL and the FTC programs challenge girls in real-world science and technology – allowing them to develop strategies for building robots based on sound engineering principles. The FTC team, ICEBREAKERS, built a robot designed to successfully get over hurdles in a daunting obstacle course.

At both FLL and FTC Tournaments, girls receive awards for competition, community outreach, robotic design, and other fun stuff. The Girl Scouts of Nassau County now has five FLL teams and one FTC team— and each of these teams has won awards this season. Not wanting to rest on its laurels, the ICEBREAKERS will be competing at the FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP in St. Louis, Missouri in April!

Awards are nice, but our Robotics program also provides other, more subtle benefits: Besides helping to cast aside damaging stereotypes about girls’ ability in science and math, it also breeds confidence and awakens girls to their true potential – allowing them to develop valuable life skills and discover exciting new career opportunities.

In a local restaurant, a group of girls once explained to a waiter, who had asked about their Lego team T- shirts, that they had just come from a LEGO robotics tournament. He was really impressed and said, “Wow, you all must be very smart.” The girls beamed. Maybe nobody had ever told them that before; and maybe, after that simple act of validation, they could see themselves in a new light for the first time.

Insight about one’s potential being key to its realization, the waiter’s gift was priceless. And the beauty of our Robotics program is that it can provide that same insight to all girls – regardless of their economic background or current academic standing – so that they can truly make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others. And it’s fun too!

And the winning proposition is…

2011-03-08T16:09:00.000-05:00

In the fall of 2010 Girl Scouts of Nassau County began our Strategic Learning process to guide us in setting our priorities and direction for Girl Scouting in Nassau County for the next few years. The Strategic Learning process was developed by Professor Willie Pietersen at Columbia University and has been adopted and adapted by Girl Scouts of the USA for all Girl Scout Councils across the country. Board Vice President Diane White lead a Strategic Learning Task Group of 32 people that included Board Members, other Girl Scout volunteers, community leaders who were less familiar with Girl Scouting and staff. Lori DiMaggio, GSNC’s Executive Coordinator, served as the project manager.

The Task Group was broken into five separate teams that examined the needs of Girl Scouts’ CUSTOMERS [ the girls], our STAKEHOLDERS [parents, volunteers, community organizations, etc.], our COMPETITORS, SECTOR TRENDS [what is happening in not-for-profit organizations, philanthropy, business, technology and the lives of girls and families that will impact how we operate Girl Scouts] and OUR OWN REALITIES/THE BRUTAL TRUTHS [those factors specific to GSNC --numbers, dollars, demographics, assets].

Each team was given the task of answering specific questions, but teams had latitude in how they divided the work, whether they met face to face or electronically, and how they went about gathering their info. (Our volunteers and families should remember receiving surveys back towards the end of January!)

On the weekend of February 12-13 the five teams all convened in person to report their findings. As each team reported, I could see heads around the room nodding in agreement, whispering to their neighbors and making notes, but by lunchtime it was obvious that certain themes were emerging. Families wanting more activities together, volunteers wanting more support, girls wanting to have fun and be part of an organization that is cool and relevant, mixed perceptions of what Girl Scouting really is from all of our stakeholders, the need to better use technology to keep up with girls and the world.

As I said, this is a Strategic Learning process and while I honestly do have great respect for process of all kinds, I do understand how and why process does work (hooray for grad school and the school of life). My family, colleagues and friends know that am not very patient with most processes, I like to get the facts, cut to the chase and make a decision. If the decision doesn’t work, then try again. Pietersen’s Strategic Learning model really is a bit like that, we’ve done the first phase, we will move to the next steps, and all along the way we will monitor, adjust and realign … But for two days in February … and for a number of weeks leading up to then, I had to trust the process and I am so glad that I did!

After much work, our Strategic Learning Task Group identified that in order to continue to be a high functioning Girl Scout Council (we have some great numbers when we measure ourselves against other Girl Scout Councils and other not-for-profit and youth serving agencies) we will need to shift our edge a bit to maintain our COMPETITIVE FOCUS. There are many things we already do that make us a great choice for girls, families and the community that go into our WINNING PROPOSITION, and we were able to hone in on our KEY PRIORITIES.

And the Strategic Learning Process – trust the process – continued to work just the way that Pietersen predicts. Because of course all of this hard work had to be approved by the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Board of Directors and thanks to the thorough work done by the Strategic Learning Task Group, the preparation Lori did to bring it all together, and the enthusiastic presentation by Diane White, on February 16 the Board of Directors approved the Strategic Learning Task Group’s recommendations BY ACCLAMATION!!

Competitive Focus =
Girls 4th thru 8th grades, county-wide

Winning Proposition =
Girl Scouts of Nassau County turns today’s girls into tomorrow’s leaders …
and it’s FUN, too!

Key Priorities
(non-hierarchical)
Volunteer Development
Pathway Development
Communication
Perception
Technology

My next edition will tell you more about the priorities and what our next steps will be in the Strategic Learning Process. In the meantime, I’m going to try to remember to trust the process.

The Girl Scout Alternative - By Guest Blogger, James Langan

2011-02-14T13:33:00.005-05:00

Parents once did actually raise their children mostly by themselves, acting as role-models – and playing the roles of coach, counselor, and protector. Of course, friends, school, and celebrities have always influenced the forging of values and identity within the child; but usually took a back seat to the examples set in the home, which remained the magnetic North on the life-compass children rely on to find their way to adulthood. For a long time, this was the dominant paradigm that served to form a society that at the very least struggled to be fair and just. Though imperfect and boiling over with exceptions to the rule, a lot of good did come from it. Today, however, the formation of a child’s values and identity is also influenced by a myriad of forces that may not always have the child’s best interest at heart.

On the way to the bank, marketers figured out that a lot of money could be made by hijacking the value and identity formation process of the child and supplanting it with a process that would transform the child into a maniacal buying-obsessed, thing-craving beast. This has succeeded. Riding the wave of the technological revolution, manufacturers have seized the media to bombard the defenseless mind of the child with literally millions of messages that self-worth and social acceptance – the keys to healthy development – can be purchased like nails and screws in a hardware store. As a result, the edifice upon which the child’s identity and values rest often consists of designer clothes, cell phones, cars, and other thingy things that tend to possess the child more than she possesses them. How sad!

This obsession with buying and having often steals center stage in a child’s development, leaving little time and energy for character development. This is especially true for young girls, who are also bombarded with messages about beauty and body image. For them, attaining the fiercely marketed “ideals” of both becomes only path to happiness and social acceptance. How convenient for cosmetic, clothes, and jewelry manufacturers that these “ideals” are unattainable for most girls, leaving them nevertheless in a desperate struggle to attain them anyway while spending billions of dollars each year in the attempt. The market-contaminated values infecting the girl often leaves her miserable, and not much imagination is needed to figure out what effect this has on her real social development, school performance, and sense of self-worth. Having to grow up in such a predatory environment exacts a heavy price on both the girl and society.

But parents do have a choice: They can sit passively by while real-time electronic images of strangers – be they on television or the Internet – actively interfere with the formation of their daughters’ identity and values, or they can take counter-measures to prevent the hijacking of their daughters’ identity and value formation by offering their daughters an alternative that would empower them and give them a means to defend themselves against the onslaught.

For their daughters, the Girls Scouts of Nassau County offers one such alternative. While Girl Scouting is not divorced from the trappings of the commercial world or the Internet, its values based programming offers far less expense to the family, while promoting leadership, healthy living, and making sound business choices. Girls build friendships based on common values and shared activities that include service and action. And when Girl Scouts do make that occasional trip by the television or go to the mall, they are better equipped to ask questions as to why they may need or want the shiny objects dangled before them.

How the 5 Skills of the Girl Scout Cookie Program Shape a Girl’s Future

2011-01-24T17:24:00.001-05:00

When a Girl Scout has learned the five skills (goal setting, decision making, money management, dealing with people, business ethics) of the Girl Scout Cookie Program she’ll be ready for success!

Think about it. These skills will help a girl through her academic career and are also skills that employers seek –whether it’s a bank, a high tech company, a hospital, a publishing house, a car dealership, an accounting firm or even the local pet store. Every teacher and every employer wants:

Someone who sets goals and meets deadlines. Blowing a deadline can jeopardize a grade and it can mean blowing a deal.

Someone who works well with others. As a boss, I know that I don’t want to deal with strife and complaining amongst my team!

Someone who understands about money. There is a real difference between earning your way and getting an “allowance.” People who understand the relationship between earning and buying make better decisions with their own money. And, they learn how money affects the global marketplace.

Someone who understands customers. It doesn’t matter whether the “customers” are fellow students, hospital patients, TV viewers, a retail store or other companies. Every business has to know its customers and what they want. And in school, students need to know what their teachers expect and how things work in their school.

Someone who can influence others. This doesn’t just mean selling a product. Teachers and employers want people who can sell ideas, pitch projects and make deals.

Someone who is honest, trustworthy and reliable. This kind of goes without saying, or it should!

These are the skills that the Girl Scouts of Nassau County learn as they participate in the Girl Scout Cookie Program. And every year a girl is in Scouting, she has the opportunity to build on these skills. So, when you buy a box of our Girl Scout cookies, you are really helping a girl build these skills and learn from her selling experience.

This article originally appeared in the Garden City Patch.

Safety First!

2011-01-18T12:44:00.000-05:00

As we begin the 2011 Girl Scout Cookie Program ®, we are asking for community support … After the goals are set and the plans are made, it is time to get to work, have some fun and get those Cookie orders!

Girls should show that they are Girl Scouts – Uniforms are always nice, but sometimes when you are all bundled up in a coat, who can tell? Girls can carry a sign, or show their order forms! And, it is always good to have a Girl Scout buddy along! Whether you are canvassing the neighborhood or at a booth sale, or even visiting your parent’s workplace, it’s more fun with a friend!

Of course, girls need an adult partner – The involvement of the adult is dependent on the age of the girl. Girl Scout Daisies, Brownies and Juniors should always have an adult on hand when they are taking orders, selling directly or delivering Cookies. Older girls should have an adult nearby.

Plan ahead – Make sure you have a plan to safeguard money, and to keep up with order cards! Do not keep large amounts of cash. Give proceeds to a supervising adult so that it can be safely deposited in the bank.

Use common sense – Girls should never enter anyone’s home or vehicle, unless the person is well known to them and their parents go too! Girls should not go into any area that seems unsafe. If they are going door to door, only do so in the daytime. Be careful when crossing streets and when loading and unloading cars.

Protect privacy – The girl’s privacy and that of the customer. Girls should not give their private information to people they do not know. Girls should use a group contact number that will be intercepted by an adult.

Be wise on the web – Girls should take the Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge before going online and should follow the guidelines related to online marketing. Parents can support girls by using the Cookie Club for online order taking, although that system does not currently allow money collection. Older girls can work together and with their parents to promote their Cookie orders through social media sites.

By keeping these safety tips in mind, girls are sure to have a successful and fun Cookie selling experience!

2011 Cookie Program!

2010-12-13T15:52:00.002-05:00

While much of the world is in holiday mode for Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and the New Year, Girl Scouts of Nassau County is getting ready to kick-off the 2011 Girl Scout Cookie Program as soon as we return from our end-of-the-year break.

While some folks are tracking Santa and his progress in Toyland, the elves that we care most about are those at Little Brownie Bakers (corporate cousins of the other baker elves who live in a Hollow Tree). Our elves are busy baking Thin Mints, Samoas, Trefoils, Do-si-dos, Tagalongs and Lemon Chalet Cremes …  Across the country and here in our community people look forward to the Girl Scout Cookie Program. The cookies are delicious, and seeing the girls out in the community helps to remind the public of our outstanding organization.

This year, order taking will begin the first week in January, and Girl Scout Cookies® will be available through booths sales until mid April. Cookie rallies will be held at Roosevelt Field on Saturday, Jan. 8, at Green Acres Mall on Saturday, January 15 and at Broadway Mall on Saturday, Jan. 22.  As good as the cookies are, the Girl Scout Cookie Program is about so much more than the actual cookies. The Cookies are just one of many tools and activities that make the Girl Scout Leadership Experience one of the most valuable resources available to girls … The Girl Scout Cookie Program affords girls the opportunity to learn and earn.

As the largest and best financial and entrepreneurial program for girls in the country, the Girl Scout Cookie Program focuses on Five Skills that girls can take and build on throughout their lives... Goal Setting, Decision Making, Money Management, People Skills and Business Enthics.   All Girl Scout programs are designed to meet the age-appropriate developmental skills of girls and safety is always a priority. Girl Scout Daisies (kindergarten and first grade) begin with more support from parents. Online order-taking allows elementary girls to expand their sales to family and friends.

By the time a girl is in middle school and high school she can take opportunities to market her own Girl Scout Cookie Program through social media and by making presentations to businesses. The bigger the goals, the more creative, focused and time girls will need to reach their customers.  

Goal Setting: Everyone needs a goal, and a plan to reach the goal. Goals without a plan are just wishes! Learning to set goals through the Girl Scout Cookie Program carry over to daily life, and goal setting allows girls to dream big and achieve! Girl Scouts may want to take a trip, engage in a special activity or set aside funds to support a project in their community – or elsewhere – that will make the world a better place.  

Decision Making: Every aspect of life is impacted by the decisions that we make …In the Girl Scout Cookie Program girls can decide as a group on the activities and community projects that they wish to support. Girl Scouts learn how to make decisions based on the shared values of the Girl Scout Promise and Law, and they learn tactics for making decisions that weigh the pros and cons, and allow each girl to have a voice.  

Money Management: Girls reinforce basic arithmetic skills and make change. More importantly, they learn the value of money as it applies to reaching a goal. They learn the relationship between how much things cost and the work involved to earn the money to pay for things, activities and projects. Too many children today have a significant disconnect in their lives between earning money and buying things, and the Girl Scout Cookie Program provides real experience in earning, saving and spending.

  People Skills: Through the Girl Scout Cookie Program girls interact with one another through the Goal Setting and Decision Making processes. They interact with customers and learn how to describe the product and answer the customers' questions. They learn to make a presentation, and explain how buying a box of Cookies supports their Girl Scout Troop to meet their goals. Girls also learn to offer the customer the opportunity to help others by supporting our military personnel through Operation Cookie.  

Business Ethics: Because a Girl Scout is honest and responsible at all stages of the Cookie Program, she puts her values into action. People see a Girl Scout as trustworthy, and, in turn, she lives up that expectation.  

And Long after a Girl Scout has completed the Girl Scout Cookie Program, she will have learned the importance of earning money to support herself and to reach her goals. She will bring the values of honesty and responsibility to her own career. She will have the skills to manage a business, persuade an investor to back her, and to run a household. She will be able to influence others in her work and in the community. She will know how to use her talents and her resources to make the world a better place – today and for the rest of her life!  

For more information on the Girl Scout Cookie Program, please visit our website at www.gsnc.org . You may also contact me at Girl Scouts of Nassau County, 516-741-2550, ext. 200 or email ceravolo@gsnc. Starting in February our website will be able to direct you to the Cookie Booths nearest to you!
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Previously published on the Garden City Patch.

Girl Scouting Today

2010-12-10T12:38:00.002-05:00

Girl scouting has never been more needed than today. Research shows that girls who maintain self-confidence, who have strong values and who have other girls and adults to whom they can turn to for advice and comfort are more likely to succeed in school and in life.    

Girls today often live under pressure. Their parents and schools expect high performance – in academics, on the playing fields and in extracurricular activities. Friends want them to conform. The media lures girls with images of beauty that are unreal and unobtainable, and bombards them with music, fast food, stories and constant electronic connections that give them so many confusing messages on how to look, behave and be their best selves. In other words, girls today are under a lot of pressure.    

This pressure and stress can directly affect a girl's physical, social and emotional health. Some girls eat too much, or too little. Others engage in behaviors that range from unproductive to unwise, to situations that put their own safety and the well-being of the community at risk. Sill others miss school because they are intimidated by bullies costing all of us - lost aid to schools, higher costs for parents and lost productivity in the workplace. The current obesity epidemic affects the entire community with higher costs for health care. Eating disorders, depression, substance abuse and gangs impact our communities with costs for remediation and law enforcement. 

But there is hope. Girl Scouts of Nassau County is addressing these issues and more, every day. We work with girls at the Troop level and individually to find a safe space where they can discover more about themselves and the world around them, connect with other people and ideas, and where they can take action to make the world a better place.   

What kind of values do you want for your daughter? Values that go hand in hand with programs that will you teach your child to care for others and the earth. That will help her build real skills for earning her way in the world. That will help her make friends and bring caring adults into her life. A place where she is safe and unjudged. A place where she can have FUN! That's what we offer here at the Girl Scouts of Nassau County.    

For more information, speak to a Girl Scout leader at your child's school or call the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Service Center at 516-741-2550 to register your child today!
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Previously published on the Garden City Patch.

Giving Thanks

2010-11-16T10:57:00.004-05:00

I still keep Sarah Van Breathnach’s book Simple Abundance beside my bed. It’s a wonderful reminder and tool for counting my many blessings. There is something meaningful and real when we take time to write down things in our lives that matter, and it is a practice that I highly recommend. November seems to be a time when we all try to focus on being thankful. The Thanksgiving holiday helps us to remember how much we have, and invites us to give back to those who are in need. The Girl Scout Promise teaches us to serve God and country and help people at all times.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the whole year. I like that it brings together family and friends, with no need to buy presents. I can go to worship if I chose, but no strict requirement. I fly my flag, but don’t need to make a patriotic speech. There are lots of foods that I like. And I get to do two of my favorite things – set the big table and put out the holiday towels!

In my own life there are so many blessings that I sometimes feel a little overwhelmed with good fortune, and I know other people who feel this way as well. I certainly have my share of whiney days where I know I need to do better, but if I was a worrier, and thankfully I am not, I would be waiting for some other shoe to drop. I am blessed with people who love me. My family is healthy. This year everyone has a job, and I continue to have the best job in the world. My brother, a Colonel in the U.S. Army, is deployed to the Middle East, but seems to be in a safe spot for the time being. This past year I have had wonderful travel adventures. My dogs make me laugh, and the cat makes my husband happy. I have lots of stuff, and plenty to read. I discovered the fun of a DVR machine. Bama has won more than they have lost. The onslaught of political commercials is behind us for awhile.

The Girl Scouts of Nassau County have much for which to give thanks! Although we weathered a bad storm at Camp Blue Bay last summer, there were no injuries and property damages were minimal. The trees will grow back. This year our Council won awards (again) for being one of the best places to work in the whole Country (NonProfit TimesTop Fifty). So far, we have been able to continue services to our girls and maintain employment despite the recession. Our girls learned how to grow vegetables and herbs this summer on the Farm at Oyster Bay. They cleaned up beaches, collected and packed food for the hungry, and sold 55,000 boxes of Cookies to be sent to our soldiers. 67 Girls earned the Girl Scout Gold Award. We are continuing to give girls and adults the tools, tactics and language that they need to tackle the Critical Issues in their lives. And every day, somewhere in our Council, girls are having fun, learning, earning and making the world a better place through Girl Scouts!

Tell us how you and/or your Girl Scouts are giving thanks this year!

GAYteway Behaviors Normalize Bullying by Guest Blogger, Carole Aksak

2010-11-05T10:09:00.006-04:00

“That is SO GAY.”

“That outfit is SO GAY.”

“YOU are SO GAY.”

These are the jeers of the schoolyard hurled between kids too young to know or understand what it is to be gay. They are the insults flung out there, to their peers, to each other. It starts early. It starts young. And even if you don’t know what it means, you know it is meant to hurt. So at very young ages kids are picking up those verbal arrows and tucking them neatly away in their arsenal for use upon others, when needed.

If you are the adult hearing those words, what are you doing or saying? Are you choosing to ignore the insults? In your mind, is this just another case of kids being kids? Or, do you stand there and meekly say to the perpetrator “Stop that. That’s not nice.”

Well, what’s not nice? Is it the verbal attack or being gay?

In view of the recent suicides of male teens, identified or perceived as gay, across our country over the past few weeks, adults are not doing enough to address the playground taunts of boys and girls. Name calling against any group, whispers, rumors and innuendos are all gateway behaviors that can lead to other kinds of bullying. It changes the culture of an environment, which should be safe and nurturing for our sons and daughters. When left unchecked, unaddressed, or ignored we begin to normalize bullying making it “not such a big deal” anymore.

When girls and boys, children or teens, begin to take their own lives because of the taunts of their peers, whether the name-calling is based upon facts or perceptions, it concerns me. To be authentic in your own skin is a right we are each entitled to. When any group is targeted, it impacts me. I am not safe. This is a human issue, not a gay issue. This is bullying, not kids being kids. Girl Scouts of Nassau County is on the forefront to address of these issues.

As adults, we have a responsibility to each other to address gateway behaviors before they begin to escalate to acts of violence—violence against each other or the violence suffered by our own hands just for being whomever we are. Bullying starts young, it starts early, and it starts with gateway behaviors. It’s the adult’s obligation to address it. Always, always, always respond when you hear or see bullying happening.

Girl Scouts is committed to creating a safe and nurturing environment, period. Our Promise and our Law provides us with a code of honor. We will be a sister to every Girl Scout. We will show respect for ourselves and others. And we will do that through our words and actions. Everyday. Everywhere. All the time.

Wishing the Boy Scouts a Happy 100th Anniversary

2010-10-25T17:40:00.009-04:00

The Boy Scouts of America are celebrating their 100th Anniversary this year and the Girl Scouts of Nassau County and I wish them well!

This coming weekend the Theodore Roosevelt Council – our Boy Scout neighbors here in Nassau County, NY – will be having a big Centennial Jamboree at Eisenhower Park. I’ve been hearing about this for months from Scout Executive Dave Richardson, as well as from GSNC Staffers Alice and Lorraine, who also volunteer for BSA with their sons. It sounds like such a huge undertaking – boys in tents, activities, food, fires, entertainment! Dave has invited me to be a VIP guest on Saturday, and I can’t wait to see it all in action -- We wish them all the best and hope that they have fair weather and no surprises!

Last weekend Boy Scouts of Suffolk County celebrated at Camp Hero in Montauk where they passed their 100th Anniversary Lantern to the girls in Anne Gherardi’s Troop from the Bay Association of GSNC. We were delighted that Troop 208 was part of this meaningful celebration. Ellen Bohan Gherardi, a long-time Girl Scout who grew up in Nassau County, helped to lead the event in Suffolk. It is wonderful that she included our girls on this special occasion – For the Bohans and the Gherardis, Scouting is a family affair in so many ways!

Both Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting in this country grew from the work of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in the United Kingdom. Juliette Low, Founder of Girl Scouting in the United States, was impressed by the youth development work of Lord Baden-Powell and his sister Lady Baden-Powell and began the Girl Scouts in Savannah in 1912. The rest is our history -- and our future. While we share many traditions with Boy Scouts, the two organizations remain totally separate incorporated entities, each with our own missions, policies and governance. And of course, Girl Scouts is focused only girls, kindergarten through 12th grade, whereas Boy Scouts does allow girls in some programs at the high school level.

Girl Scout Promise
On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

The Girl Scout Law
I will do my best to be
honest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do.
and to
respect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.

Boy Scout Oath
On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my Country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

Boy Scout Law
A Scout Is...
TRUSTWORTHY
A Scout tells the truth. He keeps his promises. Honesty is part of his code of conduct. People can depend on him.
LOYAL
A Scout is true to his family, Scout leaders, friends, school, and nation.
HELPFUL
A Scout is concerned about other people. He does things willingly for others without pay or reward.
FRIENDLY
A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He seeks to understand others. He respects those with ideas and customs other than his own.
COURTEOUS
A Scout is polite to everyone regardless of age or position. He knows good manners make it easier for people to get along together.
KIND
A Scout understands there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated. He does not hurt or kill harmless things without reason.
OBEDIENT
A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobey them.
CHEERFUL
A Scout looks for the bright side of things. He cheerfully does tasks that come his way. He tries to make others happy.
THRIFTY
A Scout works to pay his way and to help others. He saves for unforeseen needs. He protects and conserves natural resources. He carefully uses time and property.
BRAVE
A Scout can face danger even if he is afraid. He has the courage to stand for what he thinks is right even if others laugh at or threaten him.
CLEAN
A Scout keeps his body and mind fit and clean. He goes around with those who believe in living by these same ideals. He helps keep his home and community clean.
REVERENT
A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others.

Girl Scouts of the USA and our own Girl Scouts of Nassau County are already at work on our 100th Anniversary in 2012 . It’s looking to be a very big deal, with events starting in March 2011 and going through until March 2013 . We have already begun meeting with our sisters in Suffolk County to plan something BIG for Downstate NY Girl Scouts! We are in the early stages of planning, and if you have a great idea to share, please let me know!

In the meantime, don’t forget to send your recipes for 100th Anniversary Girl Scout Cookbook

Mags&Munchies - Operation: Stop Hunger on Long Island

2010-10-15T16:04:00.002-04:00

We wanted to share this video from MyLITV.com/FiOS1 with you about Mags&Munchies - Operation: Stop Hunger on Long Island. Enjoy!

For 69 days...Chilean Miners Demonstrate Real Courage, Confidence and Character by Guest Blogger, James Langan

2010-10-13T11:15:00.004-04:00

2100 feet below the Earth's surface, 33 trapped miners wait in darkness to be plucked from what might have been their grave. Surviving for 17 days on rations meant for two, 32 Chileans and a Bolivian refused to surrender to the death that gleefully awaited them – each ingesting only a spoon-full of tuna fish and a little milk every 48 hours so that all would have an equal chance to live. With resolve and dignity, they said “no” to a fate that had never before taken “no” for an answer. And so they live, still. With no cause for hope, they kept hoping – and made sure the rescue party found them. With no reason to believe they would emerge alive from the rocky jaws of the mountain that had engulfed them, they kept believing – and politely asked for toothbrushes instead of last rites. How absurd of them! Yet, right before our eyes, the absurd becomes sacred; ordinary miners, nobility.

  In a world poisoned by pettiness, vanity, and mindless consumerism, where image trumps reputation, and the hypnotized multitudes fall victim to the tyranny of status and profit, 33 shirtless men entombed in a dank Chilean copper mine show the rest of us how to live. Instinctively, each man understood the intrinsic value of his fellows; and all worked in concert to accomplish what no man could have accomplished alone. And thus did the miners mutually re-enforce their collective will to survive so that survival itself became possible. By daring to break down the forbidding walls of their own angst and doubt, they found the strength do what had to be done to see their loved ones again. These men are true heroes and role models for every Girl Scout.  

Imagine what could be if the whole world did that! And if the bottomless well of pettiness then ran dry and the stink of vanity went away. Indeed, what would happen if we all awoke and suddenly grasped the true nature of our human potential? And if we all stopped being so tiny-minded and instead embraced the humanity and courage of the Chilean miners and made them our own? Would we then be able to say “no” to another fate that has never taken “no” for an answer? And yet another? Could we then, in turn, be rescued from the dungeon of egoism into which our media-dictated priorities have surreptitiously cast us? Could it be that by their example the trapped miners are unwittingly rescuing us? If so, will we find the wisdom to allow ourselves to be rescued?   

And what of other examples of raw, unpretentious courage? About nine years ago, masses of New York's bravest selflessly cast themselves into the breach to rescue whom they could from a 110 story inferno in lower Manhattan. Hundreds never returned. In 2009 a US Airways pilot, scorning the taunts of destiny, brought an Airbus whose heart had stopped beating in flight to a safe landing on the Hudson river. All aboard survived. Rare as precious gems, a lone man or woman – or a group of individuals –inevitably comes along when we least expect it to remind us of the nobility of which we are all capable and what it truly means to be.  

The trapped miners, the New York City firemen, and the US Airways pilot, simply went to work to feed their families. Meeting basic needs and responsibilities and honoring an unspoken commitment to their fellow human beings is what motivated them. Deep underground, 32 Chileans and a Bolivian were literally “mining their own business” when the Earth swallowed them whole. Undaunted, they humbly declined fate's best offer and chose to live instead. Like the intrepid firemen and the steely-nerved pilot, they chose to answer only to their better selves. In response to these stunning examples of courage, confidence and character – three words that the Girl Scouts of Nassau County live by - we can only say: “Thank you, thank you very much.”

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James Langan is an Information Technology Administrator at Girl Scouts of Nassau County. In addition, he also works with his Girl Scout colleagues to support language translation.

James has followed the Council’s work on Critical Issues and is passionate about spreading awareness on the various issues facing children today. We look forward to hearing from him on other topics again soon.

Just so you know...by Guest Blogger, Carole Aksak

2010-10-12T18:12:00.003-04:00

Just like the color of your skin, the color of your eyes, how tall you are or how short you are, your weight is…On the hoof; everyone sees it. And when everyone sees it, everyone can make a comment. And when you start to comment on a particular group and what they look like, you start to point fingers, create an opportunity for ridicule, and make a particular group a target. That makes me, uncomfortable. Targeting fat kids, is not that different than proclaiming that every willowy, lithe, middle school girl, is secretly sticking her finger down her throat or subsisting on a few lettuce leaves and steamed broccoli.

Every child has a right to good health; physical, mental and emotional. We should be raising awareness on childhood “health promotion” and how we can each be part of it. The Girl Scout Research Institute has produced two studies, Weighing In: Helping Girls be Healthy Today, Healthy Tomorrow (2004) and The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living (2006.) The studies were a precursor to Beauty Redefined: Girls and Body Image Survey (2010), a nationwide survey which included more than 1,000 girls ages 13 to 17 (all are available for download at www.girlscouts.org.) These three publications give us a glimpse into the physical, mental and emotional health of kids. The adult view comes from the obesity epidemic and the desire to address it. Beauty Redefined offers the perspective of the girl and how she struggles to be “just right” among her peer group, focusing less on good physical health and more on fitting in. It tells us what “healthy living” means to girls.

Obesity is a serious issue affecting children and adults. So are the foods which are highly refined, low in nutrients and energy dense, and then highly marketed to kids. Super-sized portions, screen-time instead of outdoor play time, food price and availability, food insecurity are the real issues we need to address, and they affect every child, fat or skinny. Let’s teach all kids that when it comes to their bodies…Respect it, Honor It, Fuel It.

Please contact Carole Aksak at 516.741.2550 ext. 254.

Pay It Forward - The Power of a Mentor

2010-10-08T09:32:00.002-04:00

It’s been years since I had heard so many lilting “Yes, Ma’m’s” as last month when I attended the orientation session for the University of Alabama School of Commerce and Business Administration’s Women’s Initiative Program. I’m delighted to be a mentor in this program and I’ve already met dozens of interesting and accomplished professional women who are sharing their time with students. I’m looking forward to learning from the other mentors and the students. Some of the mentors were more seasoned, like me, others seemed to be in the mid-points of their careers, and several were young women who have benefited from the Women’s Initiative Program as mentees in recent years and are ready and able to pay it forward. (Think how our Girl Scouts value getting to work with college girls and those who are just starting their careers.)

The young women in the program are all either Juniors or Seniors in B-School, with varying majors and concentrations - accounting, finance, marketing, etc. Through the Women's Initiative they receive extra opportunities to learn about the world of work that are not covered in the classroom. Some of the info is basic -- resumes, interview skills, what to wear and some of it will be more intrinsic - office politics, weighing career options, field trips, getting to see how a corporation or even a single office really runs. The students can ask questions in a safe environment and build their knowledge base beyond the textbook. Most importantly, the experience should give these young women an extra networking edge when they venture into the job market, and networking is priceless! Each girl is paired with an individual mentor, plus they garner the extra advantage of being able to connect to dozens of the other mentors and other grads who have been through the program. (Sounds a little like having that Girl Scout Gold Award open doors for our girls.)

My mentee's name is Bethany and she's a senior from Atlanta. Bethany is interested in learning more about the not-for-profit sector of the business world. She’s done volunteer work and understands that there has to be a strong business infrastructure to support the good works that get done for the clients. I hope that I can give her practical advice. I want to learn from her about the issues that are near and dear to her and I also want to hear how she and her peers envision using social media in their work lives.

When I graduated from college in the 1970s, I don’t think I’d ever heard the word network with the exception of a TV station or an electrical grid! I moved to a town where I knew no one and just took the luck of the draw with civil service tests, cover letters and my resume. In my first job as a Planner for the State of Alabama’s Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, I was blessed to have a boss who saw my potential and taught me so much about the workplace. He was a mentor and a mensch. I learned so much from him and we still stay in touch with one another.

I’ll keep you posted on my work with the Women’s Initiative over the next year. I’d love to hear from others who have served in formal and informal mentor/mentee relationships. What have you learned from one another?

Mags&Munchies Raffle Giveaway via Facebook!

2010-10-06T14:40:00.004-04:00

A Mags&Munchies Prize Goodie Bag is yours to win!

Starting Monday, 10/11 for three weeks (end date of 10/29) the Girl Scouts of Nassau County will be raffling off a weekly Mags&Munchies Prize Goodie Bag filled with Gummi Berries, Three Pack (honey roasted cashews, spicy peanuts and wasabi almonds), Snack Depot Tin (chocolate covered pretzels), Girl Scout Lantern Tin (Mint Meltaways) and White Chocolate Covered Pretzel Balls. It’s easy to enter, here’s how!

Tag* the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Facebook page within your Facebook status and mention the Mags&Munchies Program.
The more times you update your Facebook status tagging the Girl Scouts of Nassau County and talking about the Mags&Munchies Program, the more times you will be entered into the raffle to win the prize!
Status updates will be tallied starting each Monday at 12 noon through that week’s consecutive Friday at 12 noon.
A random winner will be picked each Friday at 1pm and announced via the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Facebook Page.

We hope you’ll participate and good luck!

* To tag the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Facebook page in your status, simply type in the “@” symbol and begin typing the words, Girl Scouts of Nassau County. A drop down menu will appear and the Girl Scouts of Nassau County name will show. Click on the name and then continue to write the rest of your status. The Girl Scouts of Nassau County tag will appear blue in color. You must "like" the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Page to be able to tag us.

Have you had “the talk” with your child, yet? by Guest Blogger, Carole Aksak

2010-09-30T18:03:00.004-04:00

Hopefully by now you've had the talk. Not once, but as an on-going discussion with constant reinforcement. I am writing, of course, about your child’s responsibility to do the right thing.

The airwaves, the cyberworld and the print media are rife with information about sexting and texting, cyberbullying, social bullying and just plain overall meanness. There is a lot of angst out there about just who’s responsibility it is to make sure your child does not suffer at the hands of a bully - overtly, covertly, anonymously or in plain view. Parents expect the schools to address it; schools say it all starts at home. Our policy makers have jumped into the fray and are desperately trying to legislate behaviors, responsibility and culpability. The bottom line is:

We all have a responsibility to fully understand what bullying is; where and when it happens. We need to look at the way we each think about bullying and understand what action, re-action, or inaction does within a bullying situation. Because…

Our own understanding and feelings about bullying is imprinted onto our children. If we never learned to recognize and react in an appropriate manner, we can’t expect our children to react to conflict or bullying in a different way than we do. And, this I know…

All parents want their children to grow up to be leaders, not bullies.

All parents want their children to be compassionate, caring and kind; to be confident and strong, rising up against the physical, social and emotional denigration of someone weaker than they. So I ask you once again…

Have you had “the talk” with your child, yet?

For more information about healthy relationships or to bring a speaker to your parent group, please contact Carole Aksak at 516.741.2550 ext. 254.

100 Years of Girl Scouting Cookbook!

2010-09-28T15:56:00.005-04:00

In 2012, we will celebrate 100 Years of Girl Scouting. As we look ahead to the next 100 years of scouting we can’t help but look back and remember the journey we have taken to reach this milestone and celebrate the women that helped start this amazing adventure called Girl Scouts. Plans are underway to make this the biggest celebration that Girl Scouts has ever seen. To start the celebration, Girl Scouts of Nassau County is compiling a 100th Anniversary Cookbook which will be sold beginning at GirlFest 2011. We need your help to make this project a success!

In our effort to make a difference and share our vision of a healthy attitude towards food, as part of our Healthy Living initiative, we are gathering healthy recipes from our membership. What is a healthy recipe? To me it means no additives and preservatives, no ingredients that aren’t natural. Good old fashioned whole food! Flour, sugar and salt are all natural ingredients…so I challenge you all to send us YOUR healthy recipes.

If you’re not a cook then perhaps you have an idea for a title for the cookbook or a memory or quote we could use. Check out our website and click on the 100th Anniversary link on the home page. Fill out the submission form to send your recipe(s), suggestions, quotes or pictures. Happy Healthy Cookin’!

Bullying: It's not just someone else's problem by Guest Blogger James Langan

2010-09-08T09:56:00.007-04:00

Bullying is not just someone else’s problem; it affects all of us. Every child has a right to an education, and bullying denies that right. A child constantly subjected to fear, threats, humiliation, and physical abuse is in no condition to learn. The school thus becomes, in the bullied child’s mind, a prison; and the child’s psychological state is reduced to that of a terrorized captive – whose main goal is not learning, but rather escaping from the incessant torture committed at the bus stop, in the playground, on the Internet, in the cafeteria, and even in the classroom. Emotional and physical survival become the only priorities, and all else gets cast to the wayside. In extreme cases, suicide becomes a distinct possibility. Of course, the bullied child understands none of this – anxiety not being particularly conducive to reflection.

The experience of being bullied is both immediate and concrete. In any case, prolonged exposure to bullying can cause life-long scars and the permanent destruction of the child’s true potential. An uneducated child will eventually become a burden to us all, in one way or another.

But bullying also spawns other victims: Unrepentant bullies who are not put in check before it’s too late become deprived of the possibility of understanding, appreciating, and respecting the rights and the dignity of others. This puts them on a collision course with a lifetime of pain and suffering when inevitably thrust into the world of adult relationships – be they within the context of a marriage, the law, a job, or common social situations. In addition, the bully’s moral development will be delayed if nothing is done since bullying others is clearly a symptom of the inability to distinguish between right and wrong and that it is simply wrong to harm others. Bullies must be made to understand that by humiliating others they actually are demeaning themselves much more so than they could ever imagine. Each and every child has the right to strive for his or her maximum level of development in all domains; and we, as adults, are responsible to make sure that that happens. That is the main point of all that we do.

Finger-pointing will not solve the problem: Parents blame the schools, and schools blame the parents, and the suffering continues unabated. Only when both sides mutually agree to a cease-fire and begin to work together in good faith will the end of bullying be in sight. Politicians pontificate, and lawmakers legislate, and all manner of measures are proposed to leave the impression that the situation is under control and that the guilty will be punished. It is indeed a lovely show that accomplishes nothing. So something else is needed: An ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure, respecting the dignity of others needs to be part of the curriculum in the education of every child at the earliest– in the home and at school. This will take some effort, but is far preferable to condemning bullies and the bullied alike to a lifetime of pain and lost opportunities, never knowing what could have been.

None of us want our children to be bullied or to be bullies; instead, we want our children to be kind, compassionate human beings with the education and moral development needed to build a better tomorrow. So talk to your children, their teachers, the school administrators, and even to other parents. This is not about “Us versus Them.” But rather, about working together as members of a community with the common goal of putting an end to the destruction of our children’s lives. And to ensure that they prosper and receive every chance to fulfill their true human potential, as is their right.

James Langan is an Information Technology Administrator at Girl Scouts of Nassau County. In addition, he also works with his Girl Scout colleagues to support language translation.

James has followed the Council’s work on Critical Issues and is passionate about spreading awareness on the various issues facing children today. We look forward to hearing from him on other topics again soon.

Valley Stream Girl Scout Troop 2053 Gives Back by Guest Blogger Kristen Wraith

2010-08-30T09:24:00.008-04:00

What happens when you give a group of Girl Scouts and their friends with little or no experience, tools, and tell them to help build a house for a week? You get a 60' x 5’ sidewalk trench, a full room of sheet rock and hundreds of square feet of newly hung siding. Well, at least that is what happened when Valley Stream Girl Scout Troop 2053, led by Lorraine Pergola and JoAnn Scala, spent the week working for Habitat for Humanity in Salem, New Jersey.

After years together as a troop, the girls decided that they wanted to do something meaningful before they went their separate ways and with everyone entering either college or senior year of high school, this would be the last chance to do something together as a group. They decided that with the money they had raised from years of cookie sales that they wanted to do something that would introduce them to a new experience while helping those in need at the same time. Habitat for Humanity was the obvious choice as it offered a great life experience as well as important lessons in home improvement, and gave the girls the opportunity to see their work materialize in the form of a house for a single mother of two young children.

As Jaclyn Stamile, a Senior at South High School, put it, "even though many of us were beginners in the construction business, seeing part of a home completed for another person is fascinating".

The group of fifteen, consisting of both girls and boys along with their adult chaperones, applied for the project through Habitat for Humanity's Collegiate Challenge. The Collegiate Challenge is a week-long program specifically for those sixteen years of age and older with the goals of skill building, eliminating poverty and getting the volunteers connected to the surrounding area. With many locations around the country available, the group decided on New Jersey because of the opportunity to help people close to home and to avoid the burden of the extended travel as would have been necessary for many of other locations.

Once settled in the church which they would call home for the week, the group traveled to the work site and divided into three crews based on skill and interest. Those comfortable with heights tackled the scaffolding, those willing to do some heavy lifting took on the sidewalk and the remaining volunteers moved indoors to work on measuring and hanging sheet rock.

After lessons from the site managers, they got to work, facing both the hot July temperatures and summer thunderstorms during their week. Yet, everyone quickly began to master their own part of the job and the tasks that were at first daunting, became routine.

"Working as a team for Habitat for Humanity didn't feel like work at all," said Will Hunter, a Senior at North High School. " To be involved in the process of giving someone a home was extremely rewarding."

Even as skills developed, physical and mental limitations were challenged throughout the week . As the days went on, the scaffold grew from two stories to three and the ladders had to go up to match. As work on the sidewalk progressed, roots and old concrete slabs needed to be broken apart and pulled up when least expected, but everyone managed to work together to get around every obstacle that they were faced with.

"In the beginning, I was nervous working on the lower levels of the scaffolding," said Kristen Wraith, a freshman at Harvard University. "But by the end of the week we were 25 feet up and I was fine. It just took a little getting used to. I did it because I enjoyed seeing the before and after of what we had done."

One volunteer, Travis Lopez, a freshman at Rochester Institute of Technology, had worked for Habitat once before and jumped at the opportunity to do so again. He acknowledged how a group can grow to cooperate and build together when working for a common cause. "Even if you have never met the people you are sharing the experience with, after a day of work you develop a friendship and a special bond."

This was the case for all of the Valley Streamers, who quickly adjusted to working with the professionals on site. They learned to take criticism and more than once, had to redo some of their work. Still, there were no hard feelings because by the end of the week, they had picked up on the technical terms of the job, were able to raise and lower scaffolds, side a house, finish a roof, level a sidewalk channel, measure and cut sheet rock, and use all of the tools necessary to get their jobs done, all in the hot, summer sun.

Yet, everyone kept in mind the reason that they were working in the first place, an idea that was reinforced when Ciara and her daughter, the future homeowners, showed up on the site to thank the volunteers for their work.

"As teenagers we can not easily donate money out of our pockets, however we can donate our time and will power," Hunter said of lending a hand. "I am thoroughly grateful to have been a part of that experience and would strongly consider helping out again. When Ciara came to the site, it put a name and face to the work, and seeing how fascinated her daughter was with all that was being done was an added incentive to keep going."

This feeling was mutual for all involved. The best possible encouragement for these teens, according to Christine Schaefer, a freshman at St. Josephs NY, was working from the heart to give others a home. After seeing the family that will be getting the house, the group said that they felt more of a connection to what they were doing.

The joy of helping others was what helped the teens power through the week without a hitch. This joy was best summed up by Travis Lopez, who commented, "By working with Habitat for Humanity, I was able to play a small role in the massive change of the homeowner's life. By changing the life of another, you change a bit yourself, which to me is the true reward".

Girls Scouting has never been more needed than today

2010-08-20T13:04:00.003-04:00

Being a girl has been a different row to hoe for females across the years, and across cultures and continents. In many ways today girls in twenty-first century USA have reached parity with males and even moved ahead in a few areas. But the pressure to succeed, to meet the expectations set for girls by their parents, their schools, their peers and the relentless onslaught of the media to look and act and consume in certain proscribed ways has never been as rough for girls as it is today.

When girls lack confidence and courage they are more at risk for their physical, social and emotional health. The obesity crisis rises up against the pandering of the media for girls to grow up too quickly, to buy things that they do not need, to conform to images of beauty that may be totally unreal and unattainable. When girls do not feel confident and safe, they are more likely to miss school, and engage in behaviors that put themselves and their communities at risk.

Girl Scouts are addressing these issues and more, every day. We work with girls at the Troop level and individually to find a safe space where they can discover more about themselves and the world around them, connect with other people and ideas, and where they can take action to make the world a better place. Cookies, crafts and camping are all terrific ways for girls to build skills, appreciate the environment and learn to make their own way, but those activities are just a small part of the programming and values that Girl Scouts provide. Robots, science, music, travel, adventure, problem solving and tackling community problems such as land use and hunger are all in the Girl Scout’s Journey.

And Girl Scouts are taking action -- locally and across the country. Girl Scouts of Nassau County’s Critical Issues initiative has been working on the problem of relational aggression, social bullying and cyber-bullying for the past five years. This year, with the help of the New York State Girl Scout Legislative Network, the NYS Dignity for All Students Act was passed in Albany. US Representative Carolyn McCarthy is working on the issue of bullying and a Suffolk Girl Scout recently testified before Congress on how Girl Scouting had helped her to address bullying in her life. We are supporting HR 4925, the Healthy Media Images for Youth Act , so that girls see true and reasonable portrayals of healthy people in the ads that come at them each day.

Research shows that girls who maintain self-confidence, who have strong values and who have other girls and adults to whom they can turn for advice and comfort are more likely to succeed in school and in life. Girls Scouting has never been more needed than today …

Girl Scout Teamwork is Stronger than a Storm!

2010-08-16T10:11:00.013-04:00

It was a dark and stormy night on Wednesday evening, July 21, the last night of Camp Blue Bay’s Session #2. An alleged water spout traveled through Gardiners Bay on the East End of Long Island, wrecking havoc on the Springs section of East Hampton, and hitting our property. Rains poured and winds blew. Trees fell over. When the storm passed after less than a half hour, the Camp was dark. Very dark.

First, as the storm began, our staff acted quickly to move all the girls inside the Activity Building for their safety. All of the girls and staff remained safe throughout the night. The storm took out power and phone service. A few staff were able to use their cell phones, but then the power outage rendered the cell phone towers out of service. The Counselors kept the girls singing for hours and hours, until they fell asleep on the floor. Some girls were a little shaken, but everyone of them was safe and well, and they have the stories to tell for many years to come!

Once we learned of the problem here in Nassau County, we posted word on our webpage and Facebook page that all the girls were safe, but with no electricity, we would not be able to send girls out for Session #3 the next morning. Until the sun came up, we would not know how bad the damage was, and with no electricity we could not run our water system. We knew that at a minimum we would need to delay camp by one day, and possibly more.

The next morning our Camp Staff jumped into action. Camp Director Catherine Mottola and our Rangers assessed the damage, while the counselors worked quickly to get all the girls ready to return home. The buses could not get in until the town roads were cleared. While most girls were expected by their parents that day, girls scheduled for multiple sessions also had to come home. Office staff back in Garden City got to work calling all the parents for the session that was being completed, and the one scheduled to go out that morning. It was hard to deliver news that was so disappointing since some girls wait all year to go to Camp Blue Bay!

By Thursday afternoon, we recognized that we would not be able to open Camp Blue Bay for Session #3. More calls were made to families, more postings to the internet to keep everyone informed. By 7:00 p.m. more than 100 families had received the news. We promised to work to try and reopen for Session #4 on July 29.

The next step was to get to work on repairs; so much to be done and only one week. The tasks were monumental and everyone at Blue Bay had an assignment. First was to clean up the debris and personal belongings that had been strewn throughout the camp by the storm. Simultaneously, they had to identify and prioritize the most hazardous sections of the Camp. Call the tree surgeons. Work with LIPA to determine when the electricity would be restored and once the power was restored, bringing the wells back up and running was a big job.

There were dozens and dozens of trees down. A few were on wires and structures, so they were the first that had to go. Then the ones that were in danger of falling on paths where girls needed to be. Catherine and her team identified the trees. The professionals got them down on the ground – many required the use of cherry pickers. Our Ranger staff then sawed the fallen trees into to moveable pieces, and our Counselors moved brush into piles and stacked wood. It was amazing organization and teamwork. And they did much of this work in 90+ degree heat and high humidity.

This was certainly not the job our Counselors had signed on to do, but they did it willingly and with great, good humor. Because of the leadership of Laura Bissett-Carr, Manager of Program and Outdoor Services, who spent that weekend with her husband working on the ground at Camp, the dedication and focus of Catherine in mobilizing her team, the sheer hard work of Rangers Jon Paul and Jim, and a great crew of professional tree surgeons, Camp Blue was able to reopen for Session #4.

I was on the bus with those campers who arrived on July 29 to the Camp, and I don’t know who was happier, the girls or the Counselors that were awaiting them!. The improvements to what I witnessed between the Friday after the storm to July 29 were staggering. The Camp was not perfect, but it was safe and ready to go. And for that we can thank God, for leading our girls through the storm safely, and for providing the leadership of Laura and Catherine and the hard work and determination of all who worked through the heat to get Camp Blue Bay ready again for the GIRLS!

There is still work to be done and we will continue to work to restore the Camp throughout the fall and into next Spring. Some areas will be noticeably different with the trees cleared away, but it is the way of the forest to restore itself in its time. Meanwhile, we are so happy to be open for business for the GIRLS who make Camp Blue Bay a place of learning, leadership and laughter.

Guess who is up to their elbows in dirt? Girl Scouts, that’s who! -By Guest Blogger, Patte Conway

2010-07-20T12:36:00.009-04:00

About 105 Daisy to Senior Girl Scouts are volunteering their time throughout the summer and into the fall at The Farm in Oyster Bay. They are helping plant seeds and plants, weed, stake up tomatoes, harvest the produce, and anything else that needs to be done! They are learning what it takes to maintain a tremendous Community Organic Garden! In the Girl Scout tradition, we will be donating our bounty to those in need, tasting some new veggies, and feeding the local rabbits.

On May 15, 2010 we had “Dig It Day”, our kick off event, where the girls & leaders got a tour, heard what was expected, and planted some perennials, potatoes, and bush beans. As one parent said, “Where else but Girl Scouts can a girl get this experience?” After a morning spent in the garden, everyone enjoyed the beautiful day with a picnic lunch.

Since then Troops have been tending to the garden on their designated weeks at The Farm. Under the direction of 5th generation caretaker, Amanda Roberts, everyone is learning about what it takes to grow vegetables at this wonderful garden site. Amanda even taught the girls about a Native American method of planting called The Three Sisters.

Besides gardening, we are giving our girls and leaders a place to relax. I have heard more than one person say they feel like they are in another world! A world where the hubbub of everyday life seems to disappear the moment they enter the garden.

GSNC is planning an old fashion picnic to reward all who tend the garden, on Monday July 26, 2010. We are also ending the growing season with a Harvest Day, where the Troops will help clean up the garden and enjoy some food prepared from their own hard work. What better way to see how our food goes from seed to table!

The Passing of Debbie Capps

2010-07-09T14:42:00.004-04:00

This has been a difficult week at Girl Scouts of Nassau County. When we came to work on Tuesday after the holiday weekend we were dumbfounded to hear that our colleague and friend Debbie Capps had passed away. Debbie was 51 years young.

Debbie had worked since 1999 in GSNC’s Information Technology Department, when we were still in our technology infancy. Debbie was a whiz with computers and quickly became a jack of all trades. In her early days here she maintained our website, worked on hardware when needed, and made sure that all staff knew how to use the software on our desks.

Over the years she was promoted to Data Base Administrator; working with E-Council, she made sure that all of our data was managed safely and securely and that we could get the reports we needed. When our Fall Products and Cookie Programs went to online ordering it was Debbie who led the way. She generously re-arranged her work hours, had her phone calls forwarded to her home, and during the Product Program seasons she made herself available to our volunteers after dinner and into the wee hours to make sure that they got the answers they needed to support the Product Programs -- and most importantly to support the girls.

Debbie always saw the big picture – she realized that technology was a tool to help all of us in our work to build girls of courage, confidence and character. Debbie always went out of her way to make the world a better place. Taking calls late at night. Volunteering at girl events. Serving on staff teams.

Debbie was one of those ideal employees … impeccable performance reviews, always commended for going the extra mile. She was not part of one group or another, she was a friend to all, loved and respected by each of our staff team and by hundreds of volunteers.

Debbie led a full and happy life aside from work. When I came to GSNC in 2000 she was a newly-wed, having married her husband Tom a few months before. She was a devoted mother to her two grown daughters, a great daughter, sister and friend. She was artistic, loved crafts, funny and always up for a challenge. Her daughter described her as the best Girl Scout Leader ever. Perhaps she was such a great staffer because she had been such a great Leader and it added to her understanding of our work.

I’ve been blessed with a long and strong career, filled with interesting people who are devoted to the work that they do. I’ve only had a few staff people who have passed away when I was in previous jobs, and they were all much older and known to be in failing health. I know that we marked their passing with sadness and regret as well.

Debbie – Deborah Ann – Capps will be so missed because she was so loved. My condolences and prayers go out to her husband Tom, her daughters Stephanie and Melissa, her many family and friends, and to her coworkers here at GSNC. There is such a hole in our hearts and in our office.

P.S. The above photo of Debbie was taken at May’s “Cultural Festival Cruise,” a girl program where Debbie gave of her time and expertise.

Summertime for Girl Scouts! By Guest Blogger, Pat Paluszek

2010-06-17T10:02:00.004-04:00

Summertime, summertime...finally, we’ve reached the point in the year where we can kick back and relax. Think summer breezes at the shore, gardens blooming, and the coolness of a shaded trail. As life slows down, for the rest of us, the Girl Scouts of Nassau County are busy with summertime activities! We hope you’ll join us for some summertime fun...

Girl Scout Daisies can make sun prints and use magnifying glasses to investigate nature at our Lazy Daisy Days of Summer program in late July. Bats are back in our area, you can see them in the evening as they snatch mosquitoes from the air. At Tackapausha Preserve, Brownies will earn Go Batty! and hear why these creatures are so important to our environment. Juniors will earn Your Outdoor Surroundings when they visit with us at Sagamore Hill following in the environmental footsteps of our 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt. Seniors and Ambassadors can participate in our Fire Island Adventure as you canoe with us off the shores of the Watch Hill Salt Marshes while earning Paddle, Pole and Roll. You’ll see nature at its best in this environment.

If you need a break from the sun, Juniors and Cadettes can hear tips about skin care from specialists at Clinique. Or Juniors can also get prepared to babysit while earning Caring for Children. In early July, Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors can come to What’s Your Tolerance Level? to build effective tools to challenge bullying and prejudice in your schools and communities.

In August, Brownies can build and fly kites and Juniors can use their creativity exploring art in nature in beautiful garden settings. Summertime and baseball go hand in hand and all Girl Scouts and their families can come to cheer for the Long Island Ducks at Citibank Park.

It’s not too late to come to camp. Join us at either of our day camps in Cantiague or Wantagh or at sleepaway camp at Blue Bay. You’ll experience the great outdoors and traditional activities tied to theme weeks.

Please check the Girl Scouts of Nassau County website under Program Spotlight or Register for Program for registration information. If you need more information about programs, email Pat Paluszek at paluszekp@gsnc.org . We hope we’ll see you this summer at one of these programs!

Bronze, Silver and Gold! By Guest Blogger, Donna Rivera-Downey

2010-06-07T15:44:00.006-04:00

It's Award Season in Girl Scouts...Patches and pins are being awarded and the metallic theme of Bronze, Silver and Gold abounds. Each community has their own way of celebrating the girls' accomplishments. Some have them walk across wooden bridges; others have tea parties or large community gatherings. Some invite politicians and others invite only family members. Each celebration is special and will be remembered by the girls. One special ceremony for our girls is the Gold Award and Eagle Scout recognition ceremony by the County Executive.

This annual event is a way for County Executive Edward Mangano to recognize these Scouts for earning the highest recognition in their Scouting organization. He also is recognizing the value of their service to Nassau County. Yesterday, Mr. Mangano took time out of his busy schedule to greet these young men and women; he commemorated their accomplishment with an official citation and picture. This is the part the parents love! 210 boys earned their Eagle Scout rank while 66 girls earned their Gold Award this year. Why is there such a difference in the numbers? Maybe the answer lies in the way our award is earned.

At this year's ceremony, the Boy Scout speaker, James Fisher commented about the amount of work it takes to earn the Gold Award. He was astonished by the fact that our girls have to do work on their project alone, put in so many hours, usually tackle issues that impact a broader base of the community, and the effect of their project must be sustainable. These feature alone can make the attempt overwhelming, but those girls who earn their Gold Award are truly unique and should be praised.

Briana Lestage, a Gold Award recipient was our Girl Scout speaker. She spoke of her project which addressed the issue of Childhood Obesity. Briana focused on the values she has learned in Girl Scouting. She describes herself as a woman of integrity and it is obvious that she has incorporated the Girl Scout Promise and Law into how she lives her life. Briana and her sister Gold Award recipients have made a difference with their Gold Award projects and will continue to make a difference as they grow and mature as young women of distinction.
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Donna Rivera-Downey is the Director, Marketing for Girl Scouts of Nassau County. She became a professional Girl Scout in 2001 after 22 years in retail banking. A life-long Girl Scout who volunteered her time as a Girl Scout Leader for her daughter. Donna is active in the Hicksville-Jericho Rotary and serve as a trustee on the board of the Hicksville Public Library and Public Relation Professional of Long Island.

Last Call - Operation Cookie

2010-06-02T13:57:00.002-04:00

There's still time to donate to Operation Cookie. Send a case or box of Cookies to our military troops overseas and remind them that we're thinking of them. To provide a taste of home simply visit www.gsnc.org and look for the Operation Cookie logo! In the meantime, here are a few videos we recently took regarding Operation Cookie!

First Advocacy "Call to Conversation": GSNC Talks with girls about today's critical issues

2010-05-18T12:02:00.013-04:00

Girl Scouts of Nassau County had our first Advocacy “Call to Conversation” on May 12th! About 25 girls and parents put themselves on the frontline to help our Council move our Advocacy Agenda forward. It was an enlightening evening as we listened to the girls and heard the concerns of
parents.

Girl Scouts of the USA, our national organization, selected GSNC to be an Advocacy Champion Council last year. We are one of about 16 Councils across the country who are part of the 2009 wave of Councils working to give our girls a voice to speak out on issues of importance to them and to empower our girls to be ready to take action on these issues with elected officials and others who can help make changes.

When girls and their parents entered the room there were pictures, newspapers and magazines all around the room highlighting the critical issues facing girls today. Issues like bullying and cyberbullying, some cases that have resulted in suicide. Ads with provocative and very thin girls selling jeans, or something else? Stories about teen pregnancy. Images, images, images, and words and stories. The first order of business was find out the girls’ first reactions to these stories and pictures. We had each of the girls write what they thought on sticky notes to get the conversation started.

We then reviewed the three GSUSA Advocacy Priorities, Relational Aggression (which includes bullying and cyberbullying), Media Images and Disordered Eating. We asked the girls if they had other issues that they wanted to include as their most pressing issues. They girls agreed with the priorities set by GSUSA.

The girls present were most concerned with bullying -- in all forms – and with media images. With that two groups were formed and the parents were sent to another room to discuss their concerns on these issues. An adult facilitated the girl groups for about 20 minutes and then they were left to talk among themselves, while one of the girls served as scribe for each group.

We gathered lots of feedback on the issues that do matter to girls. We heard some heartfelt stories of how social bullying can tear a girl apart and affect all aspects of a girl’s life, including her willingness and ability to perform her best in school and relate to her peers and family. It’s one thing to read these stories in the newspaper, and another to speak with someone who has first-hand knowledge.* And everyone is confronted by media images that are unrealistic, but still leave their mark on girl’s self-esteem …

This was a start. We are just beginning. We’ll be meeting again on June 14th to continue the Conversation and begin to craft our Call to Action. We hope that you will join us. Visit our website for more information, or contact Carole Aksak, 5516-741-2550, ext. 254, askakc@gsnc.org

*Note: In the meantime, we offered girls, and their families, access to GSNC resources to assist them in meeting their most pressing challenges.

Friends: Old and New

2010-05-03T10:25:00.004-04:00

“Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold …” is a recurring theme in Girl Scout land, and a pretty good motto for any of us who don’t want to go it alone in the world. In March and April we have been out and about keeping the Girl Scouts name in front, and having a great time connecting with some terrific people. Some are proven friends and supporters of the Girl Scout family, and others are great new people that I am anxious to get to know better, for work and for play!

So, Hear! Hear! To making and keeping our friends …

Over the past few weeks Girl Scouts has re-connected with all our Congressional Representatives that are part of Nassau County – Gary Ackerman, Steve Irael, Peter King, and Carolyn McCarthy! We thank each of them and their staff for making time for us.

To Town of Oyster Bay Councilman Anthony Macagnone, and Council Woman Rebecca Alesia – Both of these hardworking elected officials got right to business helping the Girl Scouts make connections, through a grass planting on the beach in Oyster Bay, as part of their Women of Distinction event where our own Council Historian, Carol Gorst, was recognized. Mr. Macagnone came out to support our Walkathon and moving forward we hope to do a Town Meeting in Oyster Bay on the problems of social bullying and cyber-bullying!

We also met with elected Nassau County Legislators David Denenberg, Judy Jacobs, Rose Walker and Diane Yaturo. They continue to support our Girl Scout events and want to be more involved in our work on the critical issues facing girls.

GSNC will be presenting Constance Fratianni Wysota with the 2010 Juliette Low Award of Distinction. Connie is a terrific Girl Scout Leader, mom and supporter of the Girl Scout movement. We’ve known one another for years through Girl Scouts, but it is going to be so much FUN to work together on our Annual Luncheon … She just might just be our new BFF!

Girl Scout volunteer Natalie Borneo invited me to be a guest of her and her company, Marsh USA, at the annual Dress for Success gala in Manhattan! Wow! There were over 1,000 people there and they raised over a million dollars, but the best part for me was sharing the evening with Natalie and new friends … women I hope to get to know better. It was like a girls night out, and for a very good cause!

I’ve also been back to Chicago this month to see my good friend Jeanne and Steve, where I reconnected with their three daughters and got to meet their two new granddaughters. It doesn’t get much better than that!

And the GSNC Girls Go the Distance Walkathon brought over 700 people – Girl Scouts, their families, plus many new friends – to our website to register and show their support for our Healthy Living Programs. The Walkathon Committee was lead by our friends and Board Members, Allison Kasson and Melissa Connolly, who told their friends, and then Bonnie Porzio and Domenique Moran agreed to lead the Walkathon Corporate Committee, and they told their friends … and with the Committees alone we had over 50 Girl Scout friends, old and new! We can’t wait to see how many friends we can find for this event next year.

For May and June, Diane McFarlane, our President and Chief Volunteer Officer, has scheduled time to meet informally with each of our candidates for the Board of Directors and Council Nominating Committee. And we will be seeing so many of our Girl Scout family at the Annual Meeting on May 24, and at literally a dozen or more Association and Community events!

We hope that you will tell all of your friends about the fun you have with your other friends and see all the connections that you can make.

People Skills and Business Ethics

2010-04-07T14:42:00.003-04:00

There is just about a month to go on the Girl Scout Cookie Program here at the Girl Scouts of Nassau County. Initial orders are in and delivered, but girls can still build their Troop treasuries and meet their goals by taking additional orders and participating in Booth Sales. And, we do hope that girls are focused on meeting the goals that they set, implementing the decisions that they made and are seeing their money-management skills put to work.

There are two other areas that are important to the Girl Scout Cookie Program: “People Skills” and “Business Ethics.” Let’s look at how these come into play…

People skills are needed when we reach out to develop customers. Everyone can be a potential customer, but in order to turn an individual from a potential to a paying customer a girl needs to make a connection. Maybe she did that using the Cookie Club and sent out an initial email. Perhaps she called friends and family on the telephone to ask them to support her and her Troop. She might have taken her order card door-to-door, or to her school. She may have even asked for her parents’ help in taking orders at their workplace. Or maybe she was part of a Booth Sale. All of these efforts to connect require “people skills.” Looking people in the eye, using polite language, and making an “ask.” A girl needs to be able to use a few words to ask for the customer’s purchase, and then be able to explain why Girl Scout Cookies® can help the Girl Scout and her Troop to meet their goals.

Once the girl is ready to make the “ask,” she almost always has the opportunity to connect with her customer. She might make a sign to send with an order form to her mom’s office, stating her Troop goals! Or do an extra follow-up email to see if the customer wants extra Cookies. People will tell her which is their favorite Cookie. Or how much fun they had when they were Girl Scouts. Or they might say that they are on a diet and don’t want any Cookies. Any chance to connect is an opportunity to make a sale. Don’t want to eat the Cookies yourself? How about sending them to the military through Operation Cookie?

And after the sale is made – in person, by email or telephone, or through the workplace – it is SO IMPORTANT TO SAY THANK YOU. Whenever possible thank you should be offered twice – in person, and then a follow-up note, email or even a phone call to close family and friends. Older girls can further improve their people skills by making presentations to groups of business and community people to ask for their support of the Cookie Program.

And as for Business Ethics… Well, the Girl Scouts are way ahead of this game. We have the Girl Scout Promise and Law. We know how to use those tenets to guide our decisions and to use them to do good, be fair, be honest and make the world a better place. We strive to treat our customers with courtesy and honesty. If something goes wrong during the Cookie Program, our organization will help to make it right.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program does not just talk at girls, or have them learn from books or videos. Through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, our girls are learning by doing. And that is the best way to learn almost everything!

From One Troop to Another - Operation Cookie

2010-03-30T17:09:00.008-04:00

March 30th was a big WIN-WIN day for the Girl Scouts and our military personnel. For the fourth year, Girl Scouts of Nassau County is blessed to partner with DHL Express Global to send Girl Scout Cookies® -- “taste of home” -- to our military personnel serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and the military hospitals in Germany. This year, some of our Cookies will be going to wounded warriors at the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, DC.

So far this year, Girl Scouts have sold more than 45K boxes of Girl Scout Cookies® to be shared with our military personnel. It is a just a small way that we can give back to those who are making the sacrifice of service in the all-volunteer military of this era. Since the beginning of the Girl Scouts in 1912, we have pledged to serve God and our country, and to make the world a better place. During other wars Girl Scouts rolled bandages, collected scrap metal, planted Victory Gardens, sent cards and did whatever they could to support the soldiers and their families still at home.

None of this would be possible without our partnership with DHL Express Global. Since 2006, DHL has shipped over 100K boxes of Girl Scout Cookies® to the military. If Girl Scouts had to pay to ship even one box of Cookies to the military, we just couldn’t do it. As much as we might want to help, we have a fiduciary responsibility to spend our money on the Girl Scouts of Nassau County, not on shipping Cookies to foreign lands.

Because DHL Express Global is a company that gives and gives, we are able to support our military and our Girls. After paying the baker, every dollar spent on Operation Cookie stays right here with the Girls Scouts of Nassau County. The money goes into Troop treasuries, and it supports camping, program and training for adult volunteers. It also helps to pay for girls who need financial assistance.

Giving is part of DHL’s corporate culture, and we are so fortunate to be part of their giving family. They are supporting our military men and women who are in harm’s way, while they are giving right back to our community through Girl Scouts of Nassau County.

And today was quite a party. GSNC Board Member Cathy O’Reilly, part of the leadership team at DHL’s JFK operations, was here with her mom, brother and nieces. Steve Meadows, Director of DHL’s Gateway Operations, was here too, along with his wife and daughter and at least a dozen more crew from DHL. We welcomed Army Sergeant Mitchell and Army Second Lieutentant Kazmis, both who are currently on active duty and who have served multiple tours in the Middle East in recent years. Jim Adelis, President of Adelis International Security, a good friend of the military and of Girl Scouts, was here. He presented GSNC with a check for $1,500 for more Cookies to be sent to our soldiers, on behalf of his organization, American Citizens for Soldiers in Service. Jim was honored by Girl Scouts of Nassau County last year in recognition of his leadership in the Trees for Troops project that, in conjunction with DHL, sends live Christmas Trees, along with other seasonal cheer and Menorahs to our military personnel serving in war zones.

The Girl Scouts won today, and our soldiers will soon have a taste of home. I only wish that we didn’t need to send the Cookies to people who are doing such dangerous work, so far away. We all know that freedom is never free …

GSNC LEGO ROBOTICS ROCK!!! by Guest Blogger, Joyce Wagner

2010-03-18T17:56:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, February 28th five of our Girl Scouts of Nassau County First LEGO teams participated in the Long Island Regional FLL Tournament in Longwood NY – and they certainly did us proud!!!! It was a wonderful experience to see the teamwork they exhibited, the confidence – and competence – with which they dealt with glitches in their robots’ performances and the support they received from our adult volunteer coaches and mentors. The girls interacted with (and were evaluated by) judges in five different categories and still had tons of energy to enjoy dancing to the DJ that played throughout the day! They networked with other teams (41 teams competed), looked for ideas for next year, and reconnected with teams they met at previous tournaments. Check out the awards we received:

Robot Performance Award: the team whose robot achieves the highest score from a single round on the competition field.

Second Place went to Lego Chicks (Mary Madigan & Ed Sottile with girls from St. Ignatius in Hicksville)

Project: Research Quality, Innovative Solution and Creative Presentation: FLL presents the project awards to the teams whose quality research, innovative solutions and creative presentation best reflect an in-depth understanding of the various scientific disciplines and issues involved with the Challenge project. There is only one award given for each of the three categories.

Project: Research Quality went to The Ice Breakers (Steve & Diane Kitchener with girls from Merrick, Hardscrabble and Baldwin)
Project: Creative Presentation went to Catastrophic Moves (Eileen Marando & Constance Conroy with girls from Bellmore, Seaford/Wantagh and Farmingdale)

Gracious Professionalism: Gracious Professionalism is a way of doing things that encourages high quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. This team demonstrated that their members can learn and compete, but still treat one another with respect and kindness in the process. Only one award is given.

Gracious Professionalism Award went to The LEGO Starz (Jackie Covington, Denine Williams, Erick Williams with girls from Baldwin)

While the fifth Girl Scout team, LEGOTRONETTES (Michelle Iannuzzo, Paul Iannuzzo, Jim Colwell with girls from Hicksville meeting at Lee Avenue) that competed did not win one of the special awards, we are very proud of their performance as well. The team was in sixth place in the performance part of the tournament. They cheered on the other teams and, as one of our newer teams, learned a lot and will come back ready for action next year!

A sixth team, X Factor (Paula Davy and Judaea Yarde Lane with girls from Westbury), competed in the qualifier tournament earlier in the month, and we commend them for their teamwork and effort – and know they’ll come back next year with new ideas for improving their robot and presentations. And we are sure our four other teams, who didn’t feel quite ready to enter the tournaments this year, will be ready for action next year!

We are so very thankful for the enthusiasm of the girls, the volunteers who served as mentors and coaches for the teams and the support from our parents! Most of our coaches also lead ongoing Girl Scout Troops, or help with their daughter’s troop in another way, and have received support from many staff throughout their volunteer experience. So, a pat on the back for all who touch the lives of our girls, volunteers and parents!

To see more photos, be sure to visit our Flickr page! Click Here!

Trivia Contest 2010!

2010-02-09T17:16:00.002-05:00

The Great Girl Scout Trivia Contest is back and now’s your chance to play, have fun and possibly win! You may have noticed that over the past year our Council has warmly embraced social media and you’ve been able to better interact with us using this “new” technology.

The first Great Girl Scout Trivia Contest we held last year was such a success that we’ve decided to do it again! Each week for six weeks starting Monday, February 15th and ending the week of March 22nd, we will announce a trivia question via our Twitter and Facebook Fan Page sites. To play along simply answer the trivia question. If you answer correctly, you will be eligible to win a Girl Scout goodie bag which includes two boxes of our famous Girl Scout Cookies . Answers and winners will be announced on Friday at 12 noon of that week.

So stay tuned to our Twitter hashtag #GSNCTrivia and Facebook Fan Page for trivia question announcements every Monday at 12 noon for the next few weeks. We hope that you have fun!

Survey Shows Girls Have Mixed Emotions About the Fashion Industry

2010-02-04T12:02:00.006-05:00

Check out this blog entry by GSUSA. It's worth a read...

In late 2009, The Girl Scout Research Instituteconducted a study with research firm TRU on girls, body image, fashion and media.The survey unearthed several interesting findings on the conflicted relationship between girls and fashion, along with an in-depth look at how girls define ‘skinny’ and how they feel about the images portrayed to them. The nationwide survey finds that many girls consider the body image sold by the fashion industry unrealistic, creating an unattainable model of beauty. Nearly 90 percent of those surveyed say the fashion industry (89 percent) and/or the media (88 percent) place a lot of pressure on them to be thin. However, despite the criticism of this industry, 3 out of 4 girls say that fashion is “really important” to them, illustrating many girls to be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome in regards to the fashion industry.

So far the study has gained quite a bit of pick up on Good Day Fox 5, Huffington Post, Jezebel,Canada’s National Post, UPI, Business Week, Empowher, and Shoptwix - to name a few.

Be sure to read the press release, and stay tuned for updates on the progress of the survey - in and out of the media. Furthermore - what are your opinions on body image and the fashion industry? Please do share.

Girl Scout Cookie Skill - Money Management

2010-01-18T15:48:00.002-05:00

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 skill. And a calculator will be a welcome tool!

Beyond the basics of adding up the cost of the orders and making change, girls begin to develop insights into the bigger picture of how money works for them. When they have been involved in Goal Setting and Decision Making they learn how the money that they earn goes to pay for the things that they want to do. Making this connection between work and money is a key skill for girls – and for all of us as we go through life. Too many of us know people who have problems managing money as adults. And this recent economic downturn has demonstrated all too clearly that money management is a skill needed by individuals, businesses and even entire countries!

Here are some key questions that girls/parents/Troops should be asking and learning as they earn in the Girl Scout Cookie Program:

How much money does my Troop need to reach our goal?
How much of that goal can I help my Troop to earn?
If my Troop did not decide to forego the awards (in lieu of a higher rebate to the Troop), what are the awards that I want to set as my goal? How many boxes of Cookies will I need to sell to earn that award?
If I need to sell 100 boxes to reach my goal, how many people will I need to ask to support my Troop and me? -- If each customer buys 5 boxes, you will need to ask 20 people. But if each customer buys two boxes, you will need to ask 50 people.
What will I do when I reach my goal? Celebrate? Re-calculate and set a higher goal? Help my friends to reach their goals?

By answering these questions, your Girl Scout will be on her way to becoming a expert in Money Management. Wow! Who knew a Cookie could do so much!

Next time we will talk about how the Girl Scout Cookie Program helps girls develop their skills in dealing with people...

Six feet and 1/8 of an inch! A new world record!

2010-01-12T18:04:00.009-05:00

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 is one of the most patient and hardworking people with whom I have ever spent a day. She was there the ENTIRE day, from about 8:30 a.m. through close, and took only momentary breaks, working diligently with each team of girls as they rotated through the schedule. Her coaching, guidance and patience with the girls was immeasurable ... But what impressed me even more than her skill with the girls, was her ability to finesse all the "side-walk" superintendents who tried to tell her how to do the job ... Rebecca is tremendous role model for all of us!

Donald DeKinipp, Professional Land Surveyor

I also want to thank Merritt Engineering Consultants PC for being our event sponsor and to our numerous witnesses including Town of Oyster Bay Councilman, Anthony D. Macagnone, Nassau County Legislators Judi Jacobs, Rose Walker, Norma Gonsalves, Dave Denenberg, Well Jones, CEO, Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Dan Murray of KJOY’s promotions team and GSNC Board Members Ruth Bigman, Anthony Edelman, Diane McFarlane, Diane White and GSNC Volunteer Debra Leraci and our final witness Donald Dekenipp, PLS, our surveyor.

We’ll have pictures and video on the GSNC website soon, and there are already quite a few posted on the GSNC fan page on Facebook.

Budget Brilliantly

2010-01-12T11:41:00.003-05:00

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 girls might determine that each girl will be responsible for a minimum number of boxes – 100 boxes per girl. Or the girls could decide that each girl will set her goal to meet a proportion of the goal equal to each of the other girls in the Troop. Some girls have proven track records as “big sellers.” These girls may agree to strive to reach a greater share of the budget. Again, parental support is essential to reaching goals!

Troops also have the option of earning incentives based on the number of boxes of Cookies that are sold, or the Troop may decide to forego the prize incentives and take an extra rebate of $.05 per box. This requires a formal vote of all the girls in the Troop who plan to sell Cookies, with a 2/3 majority voting to take the extra money. Another way to make extra money is for girls to set a goal in Cookie Club of at least 100 boxes, and if the troop averages 100 boxes per girl, the troop will receive an extra $.02 per box.

For Troops that choose to take the prize incentives, individual girls may set their personal goals toward the various prize levels. These decisions should be worked on together with parents so that goals are reasonable and responsible. The back page of the GS Cookie® order form shows the prizes, patches and the number of corresponding boxes of Cookies®. Girls should share the information on the order card with their families.

And that’s the process, set goals, make decisions and plan a budget!

Decisions - Decisions - Decisions!

2010-01-06T16:27:00.003-05:00

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 idea. Then they have to go back and continue to talk and share until the group can agree upon one single idea or project that everyone can work toward. There can be times when an agreement cannot be made by consensus, and then a vote will become necessary. In Girl Scouting, voting is the process most often used to make decisions.

There are lots of steps in decision making with a group of people. Making decisions can provide challenges and real opportunities to girls – and adults – to grow and learn more about themselves and others. In fact, group decision making is even one of the skills that girls use as they improve their “people” skills.

The tactics used in making group decisions, can also be whittled down to use when making individual decisions. Sometimes you just make a decision in your head, other times you can make lists of great ideas, write down the “pros and cons” of each idea and proceed.

Girl Scouts are fortunate to have the Girl Scout Promise and Law to use in making decisions. It provides the standard by which we live our lives. And when we measure our decisions against those standards, it is easier to make decisions that will be good decisions, that add to our health and happiness and that will make the world a better place.

Next we’ll talk about how to form a budget after a decision has been made!

The Sky is the limit!

2010-01-04T17:19:00.002-05:00

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 couple of years in advance – (Did you know that Troops in Nassau have been to Europe, on Cruises, to the Girl Scout birthplace in Savannah and to Disney World?).
Troops can also explore ways to serve their community – through contributing to a worthy cause and by donating their time and efforts to make their world a better place.

Once everyone has had the opportunity to discuss what she would like to see the Troop do for the year, it is time to begin the process of narrowing down …

Some items on the list might be very easy to do or not cost much money. Leaders and girls can work together to figure out dollar costs, time and effort needed to reach various goals. Not necessarily setting a budget (yet!), but getting a “rough idea” of what will be involved with every great idea in terms of dollars, time and commitment. Any and all ideas can be great – even silly, outrageous, or expensive ideas can be great ideas -- but not every idea is doable for a Girl Scout Troop. I trust that girls and their Leaders will be able to figure out the “doable” ideas from the ones that just won’t work.

Sometimes an idea will easily rise to the top and all the girls will just agree that this is the project/service/trip they want to do. But sometimes there will not be agreement. Then girls need to decide how they will make a decision! (More to come in my next entry – stay tuned!).

Cookie Goals for Girls

2009-12-16T17:21:00.004-05:00

For this year’s upcoming Girl Scout Cookie Program® we are focusing on goal setting as a tool for each girl to learn valuable business skills that will help her as she moves forward in life, and that will aid each girl and her Troop to become more self-sufficient and able to do more things – with less money from parents. Things such as trips, activities, and projects that support community action and service.

This year, in addition to earning Cookie Credits, each girl and her family can chose to track funds toward her Girl Scout activities. – Parents, please speak to your Troop Leader for more info on this option.

So now the question is, what kind of goals are appropriate for a Girl Scout Troop, or for an individual girl? Here are some examples that girls in Nassau County and across the country have set for their goals in recent years…

Troops may want to work toward:

Travel – A special camping adventure, a visit to a dude ranch, a trip to the Girl Scout birthplace in Savannah, a visit to Disney World, or a tour to Europe
Activities – Seeing a play, going to a concert, visiting museums, going to the zoo, taking a class in jewelry making or judo or horseback riding – or choosing one of the dozens of activities published in Possibilities
Projects/Community Service/Take Action – Educating the community about an issue of importance to the girls, supporting other community agencies such as police and fire, taking on a project to help conserve natural resources or serving people in need, supporting an effort to impact girls or children in far-away places whose lives may be very different from girls in Nassau County.

Individual girls can set their sights toward earning “Cookie Credits” that can help their families to cover the costs for Girl Scout Camp, Troop activities, events sponsored by the Council or advertised in Possibilities, as well as be used to fund Girl Scouts of the USA Destinations.

Having a goal without a plan is just a wish. Once each Troop and each girl decides on the goal, they/she must decide the steps necessary to reach that goal. This year Girl Scouts is able to offer every girl and every Troop terrific tools for making their plans. Check out the Girl Scout Cookie Club for all the details on setting goals and making plans!! And Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors can become CEOs – Cookie Entrepreneur Officers. This site offers even more details on how to develop effective and workable plans.

Now that Girl Scouts can use the internet to help market their Girl Scout Cookie® campaign, girls have even more tools and resources at the ready! Girls can ask family and friends to support the Girl Scout Cookie Program in person, through an email using the safe resources of the Cookie Club website or by making a phone call to people that they know. Girls (accompanied by an adult) can also knock on doors and participate in Cookie Booth Sales.

So good luck to all the Girl Scouts of Nassau County as Cookie season approaches! 2010 is a great year for selling Cookies!

100 Box Challenge!

2009-12-11T16:53:00.002-05:00

In life and in business you need to have “some big hairy audacious goals...,” Jim Collins, in from Good to Great.

If you don’t have a goal, you don’t know where you are going and then the path you take will be incidental…

Goals are so important to all of us in life. Goals provide a measurement. Having goals allows us to experience success, to fail and be disappointed, to try again (and again) and to persevere. These are skills that will benefit a child throughout their school years, in their relationships with family and friends, in their career and throughout every aspect of their life. Without goals it will be hard for a child to know if he or she has succeeded or just coasted to the next stop in the road.

So, this year for my “big hairy audacious goal” (BHAG) I am challenging all of the Girl Scouts in Nassau County to raise the bar and meet the challenge to have a Council-wide average of selling 100 boxes per girl for this year’s Girl Scout Cookie Program. (The national average is 135 boxes per girl; in our Council, the average has been 64 boxes per girl for the past several years.) To work, Collins says that a BHAG has to be clear, compelling and one that people can understand right away -- it is galvanizing and creates team spirit…I hope my BHAG inspires our girls!

You may be asking, why is the national average so much higher than Nassau County? Well that’s because in other parts of the country parents have recognized that Girl Scouting is a great program value – in terms of what their daughters learn and achieve. And it is a financial value because girls and families can learn and earn, without taxing a family’s resources.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program helps to level the playing field and allows each girl to be part of the fun. Of course, other youth service programs have some scholarships available or funding for those kids most in need (as does GSNC), but in Girl Scouting, every girl and every family has the opportunity to learn and earn. Because the per capita income in Nassau County is among the nation’s highest, perhaps families here have not felt the need to be as involved in the Cookie Program and have been more willing or able to pay for trips and activities. However, with recent economic changes it is more important than ever that each girl and her family recognize the value of learn and earn.

So I urge every Girl Scout and her family in Nassau County to take the 100 Box Challenge!

And for those girls who have met or exceeded the 100 box goal in the past, we urge each of you to set your goals higher than before. Share with your sister Girl Scouts the techniques that you have used to be successful. And tell us your stories of how the money your Troop has earned has been used!

P.S. As a bonus for Troops – Troops that meet the 100 box average will earn an extra two-cents per box towards their goals!

Roll Tide!

2009-11-25T11:10:00.003-05:00

Fads come and go, life begins and ends, but the TIDE is forever...

Did you know that the Theodore Roosevelt Council of Boy Scouts of America, located right here in Nassau County, is under the leadership of David Richardson, a Bama alum? What does that have to do with the Girl Scouts of Nassau County? Well as you may or may not be aware, I am a Bama alum too! David’s wife Sharon and I even graduated the same year! What are the odds?

Okay - quick FYI...Bama is the affectionate name of the sports teams at the University of Alabama, where I earned my undergraduate degree. AKA the Crimson Tide, Tide, Roll Tide. Bama has had some very good football teams. And football is sort of like a religion in the south...and I'm nothing if not a good southern girl!

It’s hard be an Southeastern Conference (SEC) fan on Long Island. I mean I know that Hofstra has a football team, but my Bama is 11 and O - as in zero! They have beat 11 other teams over the past 12 weekends and had a bye weekend. Some of those other teams have been really, really good. Bama is ranked #2 nationally - in the Bowl Championship Series Poll, Associated Press and ESPN. (USA Today has them #3, go figure!)

I love college football, but know hardly a thing about the Pros. I started going to college football games when I was six years old with my Uncle Jake. He was my favorite, and I was his. I'd do anything to please him, including learn all the players names every year, and all the rules. Other kids might absorb a foreign language at a formative age. I soaked up football. Incomplete forward pass stops the clock. First and ten let's do it again. Special teams can make or break a season. I even know what offensive pass interference is, and what a safety is. And, I even know why the Crimson Tide's mascot is an elephant and that when Title IX was passed, giving women equal access to sports, it was Joe Namath who made the first big contribution to women's sports at The University. (Yes, there are several other universities within the borders of the State of Alabama, but whenever you use "the," there is only one...) And this year Tiffin, the kicker, became the school's all-time high scorer.

The thing is, in the rest of my life, I am a rather peaceful person. I have not had any significant proclivity to violence or even other contact sports. I would not have wanted my own son to play football because he could have gotten hurt. And boys do get hurt - every week. And we're finding out now that all that head knocking, even with the helmets, is probably not good for anybody. Pro-football players appear to have higher instances of early onset dementia and other related ailments. And yet, I can't curb my enthusiasm and anxiety for Bama. When you have won 11 games in a row and you are going up against your all-time rival, it can be very stressful.

While others are out scooping up the bargains after Thanksgiving, this Friday is the legendary Iron Bowl, Alabama vs. Auburn. (They still call it the Iron Bowl even though it hasn't been played in Birmingham for years.) When they pull this one off - the following week they go against #1 ranked Florida for the SEC Championship! All I have to left to say is Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and Roll Tide!

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers. ~José Narosky

2009-11-17T15:53:00.004-05:00

On Veterans’ Day I had the privilege of joining the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Chorus at the Veterans Hospital in Northport, NY. The girls performed in Building 52, the Community Services building, which is also a long-term care building for individuals needing skilled care. Many in the audience were World War II and Korean War vets. As always, the girls did a great job and received a positive response from the audience. Our Chorus closed their performance with “I’m proud to be an American.” Everyone there was proud to be with them …

As much as the girls gave yesterday, I think that they received even more. They had learned the “theme songs” for each of our military services – “Anchors Aweigh,” “When the Caissons Go Rolling Along,” as well as the songs for the Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Each of these songs were both history lessons and vocabulary exercise. Where are Montezuma and Tripoli? What is a ‘caisson?’ And who knew the Coast Guard had their own song. Just coming to understand what the words of these songs mean was enriching for the girls. And then seeing how much these patriotic numbers signify to our veterans, to the families of the vets and to those in the audience was another eye-opener. After the concert I overheard several parents of the girls encouraging the girls to speak with the veterans and to say “thank you.” There were some very sweet moments in that hall…

My father was a World War II veteran who fought in North Africa, on to Italy, had a heart attack and was sent back to the States to recuperate, and then shipped off to fight in the Philippines. His years of military service were part of his life story, and mine. He died of heart disease when I was six years-old. I have the flag that covered his casket and remember the twenty-one gun salute at his graveside.

In June of 2008 I traveled to Normandy, France. I first went to the International Peace Museum in Caen, and then on to Normandy to see Omaha Beach, site of the World War II D-Day invasion that is credited with turning that war to the Allies favor. I had heard so much about that battle and that war. I have a cousin who died in the invasion and I went to visit his grave in the American Cemetery. I learned that there is also a German Cemetery nearby. I was surprised and a bit disappointed in myself that I had not known that in advance. It set me to thinking about both the horrors and the fragilities of war. And all those thousands of boys and men, as well as a few women, had parents, sweethearts, families and communities waiting at home for them, as did the American GIs. One of the quotes that I saw go by on Veterans’ Day referred to the fact that we know more about making war than we do about making peace…

As Girl Scouts, we promise to honor God and Country. It is so important that we teach our girls about those who have gone before – who have served their country in war, many sacrificing their lives, each of them changed from their experience. We must honor the past, and continue to give our respect and support for those who are currently serving in the military. As Girl Scouts of Nassau County go boldly forward, building girls of courage, confidence and character, we recognize the value of a strong defense and military service. And we have the opportunity to study peace, to learn new strategies for building communities of unity, to exercise tolerance and to practice respect for diversity so that we can make the world a better place. And maybe one day we will “study war no more …” And on my next trip to Normandy I will be sure to visit all the cemeteries.

Golden Eaglet

2009-10-30T16:12:00.007-04:00

Jaclyn Libowitz, Delores Swirin, Josie Duckett-Boyd, Laurette Hinkson, Susan Brooks and me

I recently meet a group of eleven extraordinary women, all Girl Scouts and all members of the The Golden Eaglet Order of the Hendrik Hudson Region. These women all earned their Golden Eaglet (then Girl Scouts highest award) between 1919 and 1938. I had the privilege of attending a reception in their honor at GSUSA, one of these women; Dagmar Yabsley is a member of Girl Scouts of Nassau County.

My guest blogger today is Josie Duckett-Boyd, Manager, Individual Giving/Stewardship & Alumnae Relations for Girl Scouts of the USA who arranged the event. Here are her impressions of the day.

On October 22, eleven women, all in their late eighties and early nineties, from The Golden Eaglet Order of the Hendrik Hudson Region, were honored at a reception hosted by GSUSA. The Golden Eaglet Order of the Hendrik Hudson Region was formed so that its members could stay connected with Girl Scouting as well as with each other. While many of the members have passed on, those that remain continue to meet bi-annually since 1926.

There was a flurry of activity on the 11th floor of National Headquarters as excited staffers greeted and mingled with the honored guests and their families. All of the Golden Eaglets wore their Golden Eaglet pins and one svelte 89 year old wore her original uniform adorned with the 21 badges required to earn a Golden Eaglet award. (She made us all jealous!)

Muriel “Mickey” Smith, Kathleen Boettigheimer and Dagmar Yabsley visiting the National Preservation Center at GSUSA

Our founder, Juliette Gordon Low would be proud that her vision of building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place has truly been realized in the Golden Eaglets. While all are now retired, they served our communities as teachers, librarians, chemists, authors, secretaries. In addition, each Golden Eaglet has been passionately committed to the Movement for over 75 years - as volunteers with their councils as well as with the Olave Baden Powell Society. In addition to contributing their time and talents, they have also lent their support through their financial treasures.

Jaclyn Libowitz, GSUSA Chief of Staff provided a very warm welcome, followed by a rededication ceremony led by Susan Brooks, CEO, Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey and our very own, Donna Ceravolo, CEO, Girl Scouts of Nassau County, Inc. Later,Dolores Swirin, CEO, Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, Inc. provided remarks.

Special highlights of the afternoon included a heartfelt speech by Sarah Mackay, third generation Girl Scout whose “Golden Eaglet” grandmother also attended.

Dagmar Mackay and Sarah Mackay

Marion Schreter, President of The Golden Eaglet Order of the Hendrik Hudson Region, also spoke on behalf of The Golden Eaglets and delivered a humble thank you to the GSUSA staff who helped make this event happen.

All in all, it was a very special day highlighting the importance of Girl Scouts in the past century and beyond. It gave those who attended a deeper appreciation for the women who shoulders today’s Girl Scouts stand on. More importantly, it connected our past with our present as we head toward the future and particularly, our 100th anniversary.

Broadway Mall Helps More Than 1500 Girls Experience the Joys of GIRLFEST 2009

2009-10-23T15:34:00.003-04:00

What an event! This past month the Girl Scouts of Nassau County were very proud to present GIRLFEST 2009 - “It’s Your Planet – Love It!” More than 1500 girls ages 5 to 17 years old celebrated what being a girl and a Girl Scout was all about on Sunday, October 4th at the Broadway Mall in Hicksville, NY.

We feel that this year’s event was a resounding success and we could not be happier with the turnout. The fact that we were able to reach so many girls in Nassau County and help educate them on how to make a difference and give back to the community all while having a terrific time only makes it that much better.

GIRLFEST attendees had the chance to preview the Fall Products Program and participate in more than 70 tables full of fun and educational activities and workshops focused on healthy living, science and discovery. Girls also learned how to make various arts and crafts while listening to the famous singing voices of the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Chorus. This year’s GIRLFEST taught girls to be resourceful and sustainable and to treat our planet earth with the utmost respect. We were also able to kickoff the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Kids-4-Kids Food Collection at the event raising more than 696 pounds of food for Long Island’s hungry.

So to everyone that participated in GIRLFEST 2009 – thank you for joining us! We hope you had as much fun as we did and can’t wait to do it again next year!

P.S. We’d like to thank the Broadway Mall, specifically Trish Ketelsen, Marketing Director who helped make the event such a success.

GSNC finds a new way to SPOTLIGHT the Fall Products Program!

2009-10-08T12:21:00.003-04:00

At this time of year we look for new and exciting ways to encourage our members to participate in the Fall Product Program and gain the support of our community. This year we are trying a new method…video production.

Here is just one of our new videos.

If you enjoyed this video, visit our YouTube channel to see the rest.

You may be asking how I can support the Fall Products Program! Check with the Girl Scouts you know and visit our website to learn more about the Girl Scouts Fall Products Program.

Like our outstanding Girl Scout Cookie Program, this program offers Girl Scouts the opportunity to hone their skills in:

Goal Setting
Decision Making
Money Management
People Skills
Business Ethics

In addition to nuts and candy, our girls offer a wide selection of magazines to purchase or for subscription renewal. This year, the online magazine sale will enable girls to reach out directly to their email connections – friends and family, near and far. Ordering online is very easy, and 45% of the proceeds from your magazine subscriptions stay right here in Nassau County for the girls when you order from Girl Scouts. – You can also find great books and music too!

Don’t know a Girl Scout from whom to order your magazines? … You can follow this link and proceeds will be credited to all the Girls Scouts in our Council…

When my "twenty-something" daughters were elementary school age...by Guest Blogger, Carole Aksak

2009-10-02T12:01:00.005-04:00

I used to walk them to the bus stop every morning. On the first day of school I would take a picture of all the children standing there waiting for the bus to come. We always enjoyed comparing this year’s pictures with those from the years before. We could see how friendships may have shifted, how their sense of style was changing by the clothes they chose to wear, even how their interests were beginning to take shape by the musical instruments they toted along with them or by the sports equipment they carried. I’m sure the picture would look very different if I were snapping a picture of my daughters at the bus stop today. I would probably be snapping the pictures from my cell phone, downloading it to my computer, posting it on my Facebook page then sending it off in an email to my family and non-Facebook friends. And, I would probably get it all done before my daughters had even arrived at the front door of their school. Technology has changed everything, especially for our kids, not only in the way we communicate, but in the ways we work, play, and conduct our relationships.

One of the “jobs” of a child is to figure out exactly who she is and where she fits in the world. School is a wonderful place to do that. For a few hours a day, we separate from our parents and move into a world where we get to try things out for ourselves. Friendships help us to navigate the school day. Our friends provide us with clues to our identity. Our friends help us to feel connected, which is a universal need. Our earliest ancestors depended upon the group for their survival. Kids today are no different. They still need the security and protection of a group of friends to help them figure out who they are. What’s different today is the impact of technology on our kids and on their relationships.

Girls need our help to understand the intricacies of friendship, including what that means as a member of the “always on” generation. Parents need a better understanding of how they can help their child to have positive healthy relationships as their child grows. Girl Scouts of Nassau County is here to provide safety and guidance as girls navigate this “brave new world.”

For more information about healthy relationships or to bring a speaker to your parent group, please contact Carole Aksak at 516.741.2550 ext. 254.

The 2009 Juliette Low Award of Distinction Goes to Emily F. Franchina, Esq.

2009-09-24T11:37:00.003-04:00

At Girl Scouts of Nassau County’s Annual Luncheon we once again turn to an outstanding woman in our community and present her with the Juliette Low Award of Distinction. Over the past 22 years our honorees have embodied the best and brightest of the women in our community, women who excel in business, the professions, arts and volunteer service. Beyond individual accomplishments, which are legion, each of these women demonstrates her commitment to the life of the community through service and philanthropy.

This year Girl Scouts is proud to salute Emily F. Franchina, Esq. Emily is an attorney concentrating in Elder Law, Wills, Trusts, Estate Planning, Estate Administration, and adoption. She is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law.

Active in law and the community at large, Emily currently serves as President of the Nassau County Bar Association. Her dedication to the elderly, disabled, and their families is evidenced through her many committee affiliations. She is active in the Bar Association’s WE CARE Fund, which supports a Girl Scout troop in Hempstead. Her community activities include the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center, Mineola Garden City Rotary, Rotacare, the Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation, NY Bar Foundation and St. Johnland Nursing Home.

Emily has been a guest speaker on radio, she has lectured for the National Business Institute, has presented numerous lectures for various community groups, libraries, adult education programs, area universities, the Women’s Bar Association of New York, the New York State Bar Association and the Nassau Academy of Law. She authored columns dealing with estate and elder law issues, entitled Counselor’s Corner, published through the Nassau County Bar Association and has authored articles for the Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation.

Emily’s long list of achievements and affiliations certainly tell us that she is a devoted community servant. And, Emily is also fun, caring and inventive. Each time I am with Emily, her warmth and humor are foremost. She goes the extra mile for her community and her friends. She is an excellent role model for girls because she has chosen to put the words of the Girl Scout Promise and Law into action in her life.

I can’t wait until our Luncheon on October 27th at the Garden City Hotel …That is when the Girl Scout Community and so many of Emily’s friends and family will join me in the privilege of celebrating another great Girl Scout of Nassau County. Emily, we will all be cheering for you … THANK YOU for being a leader and problem solver in our community. You do us proud by accepting the Juliette Low Award of Distinction!

2008   Dr. Adrienne O’Brien-Salten
2007   Leslie Segrete
2006   Margaret Stacey
2005   Victoria Murphy
2004   Theresa Mall Mullarkey
2003   Myrka A. Gonzalez, Esq. EdD.
2002   Maureen Clancy
2001   Carol Silva
2000   Erica B. Garay, Esq.
1999   Dorothy Tripp
1998   Michelle E. DiBenedetto
1997   Esther Fortunoff
1996   Dr. Donna Lopiano
1995   Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy
1994   Karen Lutz
1993   Matilda Raffa Cuomo
1992   Susan Lucci
1991   Anne W. Ellis
1990   L. Eudora Pettigrew
1989   Jane S. Gitlin
1988   Melba Toliver
1987   Judith Davidson Moyers

GIRLFEST 2009!

2009-09-18T15:25:00.008-04:00

Congratulations to Robyn M. of Troop 3262 whose winning entry was chosen for this year’s GIRLFEST patch!

GIRLFEST is Sunday, October 4th! Thanks to the Broadway Mall in Hicksville, Girl Scouts of Nassau County will once again present GIRLFEST in its spacious corridors …GIRLFEST is an opportunity for girls and Girl Scouts of all ages to come together for FUN, friendship and to share program ideas and activities … Last year over 1000 girls came out for the fun! Many of our great vendors who promote their programs through our Possibilities publication will be giving demonstrations and providing more info on the opportunities available from their companies and organizations. This is a great chance for Troop Leaders and girls to get a better idea on the program activities available, which will help as the girls plan their year and set their goals.

There will be opportunities to learn more about the Girl Scout Journeys, about the Girl Scout special interest groups, such as the UMOJA Alliance, the Asian Task Force and the Hispanic Latino Task Force, as well as getting the latest information on other new programs. You can learn more about our Critical Issues work. – And see previews of our Fall Products Program.

The most exciting parts of GIRLFEST are the activities that are designed by and presented by the girls themselves. Various girls and their Troops will be demonstrating everything from our winning Lego Robotics teams, to arts and crafts activities, SWAPS and community service opportunities. (If you want to present an activity, HURRY!, we may be able to make room.) The Girl Scouts of Nassau County Chorus will perform. And there will be a contest to design this year’s Holiday Card for Girl Scouts of Nassau County.

I hope to see you on Sunday afternoon, October 4th … You can register in advance for $5, or $10 at the door … All girls, from kindergarten and up are welcome, regardless of whether they are registered Girl Scouts. There is no charge for adults. – And to continue the Girl Scout spirit of giving back, all guests are asked to be bring non-perishable food items (cans, boxed) that will be donated to Island Harvest.

Reasons why I love my job by Guest Blogger, Susan Caruso

2009-08-28T11:29:00.008-04:00

When Girl Scouts of Nassau County was named by AARP to be one of the 50 Best Places to Work in the United States,it merely confirmed what I’ve known for some time—that there is something very special about this place, and I count myself lucky to work here. But what is it that sets us apart from so many other (the 50 choices came from companies big and small, for-profit, and not-for-profit)?

Well, for one thing, there is an incredible team work ethic. [Note: I didn’t say ‘teamwork.’ There’s a difference.] It’s not just that people can play nice together when they work on a project. That’s a given. Staff here sees the entire corporate structure as a team, employees and volunteers alike.

But day to day, what is it like to work here? After all, no place is perfect, people get in a snit with one another sometimes, and there are other kinks too, but still . . .

First (and perhaps most important) is the balancing act where management achieves a sort of equilibrium between the

needs of the organization and the well-being of the employees. There is shared reward and sacrifice, and because of an “open book” management style, everyone feels an investment and engagement in our shared future.

There are also some concrete benefits and attributes, some large and some small, but all adding up to why I think we won that award (and others):

The Leadership Team comprises not just the directors, but representatives from each department and every level of the organization, creating rich participation and discussion that otherwise would not happen;

There is an Idea Group whose responsibility it is to generate a positive work environment. This has resulted in on-site car detailing; an annual barbecue; an international celebration of food at Thanksgiving time; a Welcome Wagon for new staff; on-site pick-up and delivery of dry cleaning; rainy day board games; baby picture contests; recipe sharing; book exchange, etc.

There is a commitment to wellness promotion for staff: Yoga is offered in ten week sessions; Weight Watchers at Work has been offered on site a number of times; there is a fitness incentive that rewards gym attendance; we have a Healthy Living initiative to coincide with our program focus for the girls this year—a nutritionist will offer advice and help once a week, and our Intranet now has a special section focusing on healthy living tips; free flu shots are offered when possible, and walking clubs are promoted.

GSNC staff serve as role models for community service- We have started a recycling program; staff is given a day off for certain volunteer commitments; we have annual food collection programs, clothing drives, and holiday collections for the needy; we promote ride-sharing and car-pooling.

Finally, we offer a match to 403(b) contributions, discounts on entertainment offerings, membership in two credit unions, group discounts for auto and homeowner insurance, “cafeteria” flexible spending accounts, lunchtime seminars, 10% family discount at assisted living facilities, very generous leave time (including sick leave to care for family members and emergency leave for bereavement), and free life insurance and long term disability.

If you’d like learn more about our formal and informal work policies, give me a call!

______________________________

Susan Caruso is Director of Human Resources at Girl Scouts of Nassau County. Under her leadership Girl Scouts of Nassau County has been named of One of Fifty Best Places to Work by AARP, as well as receiving the Alfred P. Sloane Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility and the Long Island Family Friendly Employer Award. She has previously taught health sciences as a high school teacher and college professor, and in 1981 co-founded a non-profit organization that was a resource clearinghouse and training center for professionals who worked with families (the Center for Family Resources). Susan can be reached at carusos@gsnc.org.

What I Did this Summer…

2009-08-24T13:59:00.005-04:00

How many back to school essays begin just this way…

The Girl Scouts of Nassau County stayed on the move… Summer Camp kept girls and their counselors active and involved. The new Low Ropes Course at Camp Blue Bay provided athletic challenges, but it is really all about teaching problem solving and teamwork. Recent upgrades to the Activity Building allowed girls to now be able to hear themselves think while they play. – Although June and July had lots of rain, our Day Campers at Cantiague and Wantagh Parks were able to spend most of their days in the park, with just a few calls to the “rainy day” location.  Each of our Day Camps benefit from the great swimming pools in their respective parks, and the Nassau County Parks Department staffers who extend themselves to the Girl Scouts …I salute our colleagues and our Camp Counselors for all they do to further the Girl Scout Mission, and I thank the parents who trust us with the care and guidance of their girls. GSNC also provided Girl Scout Summer Programs via Scoutreach, using Dove’s thoughtful and funUniquely Me curriculum. I had the pleasure of joining my sister staff members in Elmont where I worked with and learned from the inimitable Patricia Pacheco how to engage sixth, seventh and eighth graders on hot days, in rooms that were not air conditioned, and who just might have wished to be somewhere else … Patricia was always able to make a connection and get the girls involved.   She and fellow Scoutreachers, Herlinda Vierya and Ruby Gary helped each of us who spend most of our days in the office appreciate the joy of working directly with girls and gave us real insight into the work that do every week, year-round.

Back at the Service Center we have been getting ready for the 2009-2010 Girl Scout year … The second of our Journey series is ready launch, It’s Your Planet, Save It! Over 115 adults came to our Girl Scout Open House in August to find out more about Girl Scout programs for their daughters and as new or potential Girl Scout Leaders. We’re working hard on GirlFest, which will be held at the Broadway Mall on Sunday, October 4.  – There is the administrative work of registering girls and making sure our Leaders and Service Teams have the information and tools that they need. – Fall Products are ready and waiting!
Our Board of Directors celebrated summer with a big get together for Board Members, NomCom members and the other volunteers who serve on our Board Committees.  And our work on Critical Issues continues. Girl Scouts of the USA named our Council as an Advocacy Champion, and we are gearing up to expand our work on Relational Aggression to be more directed toward advocacy. We received a grant from the New York Jewish Women’s Foundation to extend our work in the Jewish community and we are about to kick-off our Healthy Living Initiative with a variety of ways that girls and their families can get moving, keep moving and eat healthy …

The one thing that I did not yet do this summer is have a vacation! I’m saving that for the end of September, but I’ll be back in time for GirlFest!… Did Girl Scouts make a difference for YOU this summer? Write and let us know what you did…

'Go for the Green' a Success! by Guest Blogger, Donna Rivera-Downey

2009-08-17T17:03:00.008-04:00

On Monday, August 10th, Girl Scouts of Nassau County held its 25th annual “Go for the Green” Golf Outing. It always amazes me what golfers will endure for their sport. In the 9 years that I have been supporting this event, weather has always been a factor. If it is not hot, in the high 90’s, there is a chance of rain or the humidity is oppressive. Not to mention the freak hail storm we had last year. Yesterday was no exception. Still the golfers come!

Golfers are an interesting breed of athletes. What is so amazing is the passion that they bring with them. The passion for the game of golf and for the cause they are supporting. When I think about our honoree, Jim Adelis of Adelis International Security who brought his own brand of passion to GSNC Operation Cookie and then to the golf outing by accepting the role of honoree, I am overwhelmed.He then reached out to his family, friends and colleagues to support the event and the work of GSNC. Anthony Martillotti and Stephen Grieco of Amerisc Corp, the co- chairs of the event also bring their passion to our event. They work so hard throughout the year to make the event a success. They rally their resources and bring their friends and colleagues to the event. They also showed by example how important the Girl Scout movement is to them by sponsoring a campership for girls, taking a sponsorship or reaching into their pockets to purchase additional raffle tickets. Not only that, they are already talking about how to make our event even better next year. They deserve a great big round of applause for all that they do.

I also think recognition is needed for each of the individual golfers who played with us.Some are invited as a guest of a corporate supporter while others come as individuals. All are generous, and recognize the work we do. Because of them 9 more girls will be able to go to camp next year. Because of them no girl will be turned away from Girl Scouting since the proceeds of this event offset our financial assistance program. They all deserve a great big THANK YOU!

______________________________

The More Things Change by Guest Blogger, Adina Genn

2009-07-31T10:22:00.003-04:00

Recently I received a mailing from a nearby friend about buying Girl Scout cookies, and I had to pause. No, not over the fact that soon I’d soon have some yummy Thin Mints to munch. Instead, I marveled over the realization that Girl Scouts of Nassau County is now in its 97th year. Nearly a century later – in a post-feminist world, no less – the Girl Scouts of Nassau County is still thriving.

Ninety-seven years is a long time. And in that stretch, women have accomplished a lot: Think women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem, the first female Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, designer Vera Wang, Olympic Gold Medal Skater Dorothy Hamill, each of them Girl Scouts alumnus. You get the picture. Women are world-class leaders in virtually every field imaginable, from government to business to sports and beyond.

These days, you don’t have to look far to find inspirational trailblazers. Many moms are busy juggling rewarding careers while also running their homes. The result? Girls catch a glimpse of their owns futures, ripe also boundless opportunities. Arguably, these possibilities were not so tangible nearly a century ago, when founder Juliet Gordon started the Girl Scouting tradition as a means to build girls of courage, confidence and character. And remember, Gordon was blazing trails at a time when women still didn’t have the right to vote in the United States!

This contrast in women’s impact in the world, 100 years ago versus today, lead me to wonder: With so many women role models to emulate, is there still the need for organizations outside the home to provide leadership development for girls?

Absolutely. Sure, we still have a long way to go, with equal pay and the need for parity in other areas both nationally and abroad, still unmet. But perhaps just as important, mothers today are time-crunched in ways not largely experienced before. After all, there are only so many hours in the day to prove our worth in the workforce while also raising children to grow up with the kind of values that ultimately will enable them to make a difference in the world.

For busy moms today, Girl Scouting is a gift. It offers leadership programs for troops, as well as for girls who on their own want to pick up new skills. There are fun outings to Citi Field and jewelry workshops where girls can design their very own creations. These are the very kinds of activities moms want their kids to experience, assuming these overcommitted parents possess the wherewithal and inclination to plan accordingly.

Many of the moms I know often wonder how they can be it all – breadwinner, chief entertainment officer, and teacher. Girl Scouts shares some of the responsibilities, with a community that seems to always be there for families, no matter what.

Women surely have come a long way in the last century. But the need for community never goes away. Funny, that with so much progress, some things never change.

______________________________

ADINA GENN is an award-winning journalist recognized with several press club awards for her news and feature work. She is the co-author of “Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s: The 7 Leadership Principles that Drive Break Out Success” “So, You Want to Franchise Your Business” and “The Everything Fundraising Book.” In April 2007, she was named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Journalist of the Year.

The Great Girl Scout Trivia Contest

2009-07-17T13:08:00.002-04:00

You may have noticed that we as a Council have warmly embraced a new way of communicating with our supporters, troop leaders, and Girl Scouts of Nassau County past and present. That’s right, we’ve jumped on board the social media bandwagon! Now, you can find us on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. You’ll see that we’ve tried to be more interactive on these sites and our website by adding video and audio podcasts. And, even more so, we’ve started this blog as yet another way to reach out to our community. As always, thank you for reading!

As a fun adventure, we thought it would be entertaining to put together what we have coined, “The Great Girl Scout Trivia Contest.” Each week for 6 weeks, we will announce a trivia question via our Twitter and Facebook Fan Page sites. To play along simply answer the trivia question. If you answer correctly, you will be eligible to win a Girl Scout goodie bag which includes two boxes of our famous Girl Scout Cookies . Answers and winners will be announced on Friday at 12 noon of that week.

So stay tuned to our Twitter and Facebook Fan Page for trivia question announcements every Monday at 12 noon for the next few weeks. We hope that you have fun and please help us spread the word – the more participants the better!

Summer Camp by Guest Blogger, Katie VandenHeuvel

2009-07-09T15:42:00.007-04:00

Every summer since I was 7 years old has always had one similarity. It isn’t barbequing on the fourth of July or going on vacations with my family, it was spending a few weeks at the Girl Scouts of Nassau County’s camp, Camp Blue Bay.

As I am now preparing for my fourth year on staff and my thirteenth summer spent at the camp I can’t believe some girls never get to experience the fun a sleep away camp provides. Memories of this camp are ones that I will always hold dear in my heart.

Camp Blue Bay and the activities that are done there are based on what Girl Scouts wants to build in girls; “Courage, Confidence and Character” and I know I have gained all three plus many other traits that have shaped me into the person I am today.

Knowing that last years staff consisted of fourteen women who started out as campers; shows how much of a family atmosphere the camp provides and the best part is; it’s not hard to feel at home there.

When girls arrive at the camp they immediately get to know one another playing games and settling into what will be their new home for a week or two. Within the first few hours campers get to spend time at our Trading Post and Bay for some swimming as well as, enjoy a delicious lunch and dinner where they’ll learn plenty of new songs.

But I think the best part of camp comes after dinner, each unit of girls has a campfire filled with learning new camp songs and of course s’mores! And as the fire burns and you can look around; it’s easy to tell the people who surround you are going to make sure you have the best time you can while you’re at camp.

With only a week to go before I start summer number thirteen, I remember little 7 year old me who ran off the bus when I got to camp and laugh because to this day I still have the same amount of excitement inside me. I am so excited to meet every new staff member, and see the faces of both new and returning campers for what is sure to be another amazing summer.

I’ll be sure to eat a s’more for those reading and hope that one day soon you’ll find yourself glancing at a camp brochure and smile and think maybe its time to let your daughter experience the glow of a campfire, and the memories she could make at camp.

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Katie VandenHeuvel is a long time Girl Scout in Nassau County.

Crossing the Bridge

2009-07-02T14:55:00.006-04:00

The past few weeks have been abuzz with Girl Scout awards events. In addition to our big Girls Scouts of Nassau County Gold Award Ceremony on June 14th where we honored 74 girls, we were part of County Executive Tom Suozzi’s salute to this year’s Girl Scout Gold Award and Boy Scout Eagle Scouts, and a similar event hosted by Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray.

These were all fun occasions that showcase the best and brightest of our girls. These events give girls the recognition that they know how to start a project and see it through to the end --- even if the “end” turns out to be different from how that project was first envisioned. The Girl ScoutGold Award recognizes intention, perseverance and success.

Equally as much fun as the big events, members of the Girl Scout Board and staff have also had a dozen or more invitations to be part of awards and bridging events in Associations and even for a few very polished Troops. Participating in these events gives us a chance to see our girls shine in very up-close, personal and girl-driven events. And we get to connect with parent and adult volunteers to thank them for their service.

The Girl Scout bridging ceremony is a rite of passage in Girl Scouts that signifies that girls are passing from one level of Girl Scouting to the next. I “saw” bridges that required the imagination of all in the room to picture, as well as elaborate wooden bridges that could be a tremendous addition to any garden path, decked with flowers and complete with shiny “water” running underneath. The ten Daisies at the Union Baptist Church flew up to Brownies and performed a skit depicting Oprah’s famous “Legends’ Luncheon;” the audience of 100 women got to hear from those who broke gender and color barriers like Cecily Tyson, Ruby Dee, and Dorothy Haight. The girls were decked out in their finest fair and guests were asked to wear dresses, hats and gloves to the afternoon tea that followed their ceremony. It was the perfect juxtaposition of traditional lady-like traditions, while instilling in these girls a sense of their heritage and the potential for their future.

For me, in all of these wonderful events, I was touched by the patriotism of the girls, the creativity and hard work that that went into the projects, and the dedication of the girls, their Leaders, their parents and the community that came out to support them. At the local events, local elected officials and leadership of civic organizations were much in evidence. Everyone wanted the opportunity to salute our girls for their achievements, to recognize them with engraved certificates and have their pictures taken with our girls.

I hope that next year we get even more invitations to celebrate our girls’ achievements and awards … and to see even more girls cross those bridges to the next Girl Scout level. No matter how old a girl (or adult) may be, there is power in the Girl Scout Promise and Law, ceremonies and rituals provide us benchmarks, there is always so much more to do when we cross that bridge…

Gold Awards by Guest Blogger, Donna Rivera-Downey

2009-06-19T11:50:00.008-04:00

Sunday, I attended the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Gold Award Ceremony. As the Director of Marketing, this event is full of anxiety for me. I worry that everything is going to go right. Are the Gold Award Recipients and their families going to think the day was special? Will all the media presentations run without a hitch? Will enough Chorus members show up so we can do the planned repertoire? These are just details.

This anxiety is always overshadowed by the other emotions I feel on this day. I am filled with pride for all the accomplishments of the girls we honor at this event. Yesterday it was 74 young women. I am filled with wonder at how many people they have helped through their projects. They are the cream of the crop in the Girl Scout world but they represent all the 22,000 girls in Nassau County on this day. I am curious about where these girls will be in five years. At the ceremony Danielle D’Ambrioso answered that question as the keynote speaker and a 2004 Gold Award Recipient. She is now an alumna of Babson College and has a career in Commercial Real Estate.

A tradition at our ceremony is to acknowledge past recipients in the audience, as I watched these women rise I thought “What are they doing now?” Some of them have keep in contact with us and so I know that Malorie Mendoza is attending SUNY Stony Brook as a pre-med student. Or Erin Stark is studying to be a massage therapist. Or Catherine Azzara, who is the director of our Chorus, is now a Speech Pathologist. But what about the other women who have earned this award, where are they now? What are they doing?

If you know a young woman who has earned her Gold Award in Nassau County, we want to hear from her. If you know a woman who has earned her First Class or Curved Bar we want to reconnect with her. If you know a woman who earned her Golden Eaglet we really want to get her Girl Scout story before it is lost forever. (The First Class, Curved Bar and Golden Eaglet were the highest award a Girl Scout could earn prior to the Gold Award.)

YOU can re-connect with Girl Scouts of Nassau County by visiting our website at http://www.gsnc.org/about/alumnae.asp and tell us your story.

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Discover, Connect and Take Action III

2009-06-15T15:13:00.013-04:00

Take Action is where the rubber meets the road. A goal without a plan is just an unfulfilled wish. As girls “Discover” and “Connect” they will see areas in our world that need their attention, problems that need to be solved and wrongs that need to be righted. If we only bring girls to awareness, then we have not done our job. Girls must be empowered to Take Action to make the world a better place.

Because all of the programs and activities in Girl Scouting are age-appropriate, the action steps are geared to a girl’s capacity. As an example, let’s take the issue of bullying – something that receives a lot of press these days, and is one of Girl Scouts of Nassau’s County’s priorities in our Critical Issues Initiative.

Action for a girl in kindergarten might be to recognize that someone is being bullied or picked-on, and then just going to an adult to get help. For girls in elementary school, action might include befriending someone who is the target of aggression or even speaking out. By middle-school and high school, girls have more skills and confidence, they will be better able to identify problems and speak up. Their actions could go even further and involve designing and delivering programs to other girls on bullying or working with the leadership of their schools to make sure that policies are in place and implemented to protect all students.

Another example of age-appropriate action might be around water conservation and pollution.

Younger girls can do something as simple as learning to turn off the water while they brush their teeth. Elementary girls can understand the importance of using refillable bottles for water. Older girls might work with their schools and neighborhoods to reduce the use and availability of disposable water bottles through regulations and enforcement. And others might look at the plight of those areas of the world that do not have adequate drinking water and work to bring water to the people there. A girl’s actions might be to raise money for equipment, or she might become an engineer and install the equipment and then teach the local people how to use it …

There is no end to the ways that all of us can and should Take Action. Through Girl Scouting girls develop fundamental values that help them to understand their place in the world and the importance of God, country, truth, justice, and responsibilty . Girls gain skills that enable them to analyze problems and devise solutions.

Discover, Connect and Take Action – These are qualities that will enrich a girl’s life, and an adult’s world too. Come join the fun of Girl Scouts … no matter your age!

Discover, Connect and Take Action II

2009-06-12T14:58:00.011-04:00

Connect - In Girl Scouting girls learn to connect with other girls, adults and even with ideas … Girls who are part of a Girl Scout Troop are often lucky enough to have a built-in set of friends, along with a caring group of adults to support them. These friendships can go with a girl throughout her life. -- I’m still friends with Sandy Chojnowski, who was in my Brownie Troop in 1958!
Girl Scouting also takes girls outside their comfortzone and helps them to connect with other girls, and with a wide range of people in their community and beyond. Camping and Girl Scout destinations! offer great opportunities for expanded connections within the Girl Scout family. Participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program® can connect girls with the public, and with the world of commerce and business.

Providing quality customer service is a prime connection that even a child will understand and value. Everyone appreciates being treated with a smile and a few kinds words during any business transaction, and Girl Scouts gives each girl the opportunity to experience that kind of successful connection.

Community service projects can give girls the opportunity to meet new people, explore careers, and connect with community leaders. This year our 74 girls who received the Girl Scout Gold Award made connections as varied as working directly with younger children, approaching their school administrators on a new recycling project and providing supplies for needy children in the rural south. They did intergenerational projects with their elders and they produced entertainment and athletic events that brought their communities together.

Through Girl Scouting I’ve had the privilege to connect with our elected officials and with Girl Scouts and Girl Scout Leaders from across our Council and around the world. While waiting for the evening show at Walt Disney World’s MGM Park, I met a Troop of girls and their Leaders from Kansas. In Honolulu I was wearing my Girl Scout hat while standing in line at a concession stand. A gentleman tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was part of Girl Scouts in Nassau County, New York. I said yes, and introduced myself. When he introduced himself, I recognized his name as a donor who had just given our Council $2000 to support our work in the Hispanic community – Small world!

In 2002 I hosted a group of Girl Guides from El Salvador, and I still hear from one of them regularly on Facebook. While traveling in London last year, it was easy to identify Girl Scouts and Girl Guides who were traveling in uniform and I got to feel that same sense of connection that I have here at home when I'm visiting an Association event, or encountering a Booth Sale at my local super market.

I’m looking forward to using this blog as another way to connect with my Girl Scout sisters … Next we’ll tackle the Girl Scout Key- Take Action.

Discover, Connect and Take Action!

2009-06-03T12:25:00.007-04:00

Discover, Connect and Take Action are the keys to the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Most people know about the fun things that Girl Scouts do, how they hang out with their friends and laugh a lot, how their Troops take on projects to help the community, how girls do crafty things and maybe go to camp. All of these activities are calculated to help girls build courage, confidence and character so that they can make the world a better place. So, how does this work together? …

All Girl Scout of Nassau County activities and programs use at least one of the three keys. Some activities incorporate two or even all three … Lots of top thinkers and practitioners in youth development have been part of designing the new Girl Scout Leadership experience, and while we have new books and materials, all of this builds on a strong foundation of Girl Scout programs and activities that have been around for almost a century! The following three blog entries will discuss each of these keys. Let’s first look at Discover!

Discover – Girl Scouting helps every girl to discover more about herself and the world around her. Crafts and community service projects produce a finished product at the end, but along the way a girl may have mastered a new skill, polished an existing talent, gathered information on how something works, and practiced self-control and perseverance.

My very first project as a Brownie was to make a “sit-upon” out of folded strips of newspaper. For many girls this may have been a continuation of craft skills learned at their mother’s knee. However, I come from a very un-crafty tribe. There were a few aunts that sewed, but, by and large, I was never encouraged to do anything that might involve making a mess, or using scissors. Imagine my seven year-old delight to come away with a finished usable product! For weeks I saved all the newspapers I could find and made these mats for everyone I knew … I discovered that I could create useful things! -- I took the sit-upon skill and figured out that it was the same principle involved in making potholders , with a little loom. And over my childhood I must have made hundreds of those. – And while arts and crafts does not play a major role in my world, I do still know that if I try a project, I’ll probably be able to do it!

Not every exploration finds gold or a “sit upon” at the end of the rainbow, so girls may also learn what they don’t know, they may have to start again, and they may discover things that they did not know about themselves. For a generation that is sometimes described as the “Blue Ribbon Generation,” learning that one can fail and still survive, that one can start over, that things don’t always work, and that hard work has special rewards are very valuable life lessons. Discovery is not just a highway, it is a whole map and some roads lead to adventure, some to success, some may go in circles and others maybe dead-ends.

I’ve learned so much about myself through Girl Scouting … -- I can’t wait to see what I will discover next about ME.!

Next up, we’ll tackle the Girl Scout key, Connect!

Meet the Chief Volunteer Officer!

2009-05-29T16:39:00.007-04:00

Over my career, I have worked alongside outstanding volunteers who make time in their lives, careers and families to take on the special leadership role of serving an organization as Chief Volunteer Officer. The volunteer leadership of any not-for-profit organization has to have a balance of chutzpah and humility, a willingness to put herself in a spokesperson role, to put in time behind the scenes doing the schmoozing and strategizing. She has to believe passionately in the work of the organization. Her reward is not dollars or glory, but the satisfaction of carrying on the legacy of the organization until it is time for the next person to step forward …

I am proud to introduce Diane McFarlane, Esq., Girl Scouts of Nassau County’s new President and Chief Volunteer Officer!

I have had the privilege of working with Diane for the past six years, first on the Council Nominating Committee, then as Member-at-Large of the Board of Directors and most recently as Executive Vice President of the Board. Diane served as Chair of the Nominating Committee for one year; she was an Alternate National Council Delegate to the Girl Scouts of the USA’s National Council Meeting in 2005.

Diane is Manager of Staffing and Professional Development at Goodwin Procter LLP’s Manhattan office. She is responsible for staffing all New York Business Law Department associates, as well as monitoring their workloads, professional development, performance evaluations and facilitating the provision of interim feedback. Prior to joining Goodwin Procter in 2005, Diane was a senior regional counsel at the New York City Department of Education, a Special Assistant Attorney General at the New York State Attorney General’s office. She also practiced as a litigation associate at Martin, Clearwater and Bell, LLP, and was an Assistant District Attorney for Kings County. Diane received her J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law and her B.S. from SUNY at Stony Brook.

Diane has a strong commitment to community service and is also serving this year as Vice President of the Nassau County Chapter of Links, Inc.

At her election, Diane said that she is honored, humbled and ready to serve as President and Chief Volunteer Officer. Her vision is clear and concise. Diane is committed to having Girl Scouts of Nassau County be the leaders and experts on girls and to continuing to be a high performance Girl Scout Council.

Girl Scout Camp!

2009-05-21T13:32:00.006-04:00

It’s almost time for camp … And from the ages of eight to twenty+, camp was the favorite part of my year. It was at sleep away camp that I could indulge in my active fantasy life. In my youngest years, at camp I was not the chunky, smart kid who was being raised by her aunt and uncle. At camp I was the smart, beautiful, athletic, artsy and somewhat wistful kid, and when her parents didn’t come on visiting day, it was easy to be busy in the craft shack, or otherwise occupied. Nobody asked.

As I got older, I made summer friends that lasted into college – Kathy Bray was even my roommate one year – and in adulthood. In high school I became a camp counselor, a job where they paid me to go swimming and ride horses! … And all the way through college, I went back as a volunteer counselor for two weeks at the end of each summer at the Sertoma Camp for Handicapped Kids, held at Camp Winnataska in Alabama.I was lucky.

The camps I went to did not charge a lot of money, and a couple of summers I even went to very fancy camps where my aunt worked as the dietician, and I got a much reduced fee. When money was tight, my other aunts and uncles helped a little with the fees, made sure I had the niftiest white shorts and shirt for Sundays, and sent me an extra dollar each week for the canteen. I was lucky!

Every girl does not have the opportunity to go to camp. There are the real benefits of discovering the outdoors, seeing nature up close --including human nature, learning new skills, and connecting with friends. Girls can take action and earn badges and develop interests that will last them way past August. This is true for sleep away camp and for day camp.

The Girl Scouts of Nassau County camps are more affordable than many. A week at Camp Blue Bay cost $525 and a week at Day Camp cost $300 … However, not every family can afford to send their daughter to camp for even one week. With unemployment at a record high on Long Island, we know that some families are having to take camp off the table as an option for their daughters. Our requests for Financial Assistance are more than ever, and we don’t want to turn any girl away.

Your gift of a Girl Scout Campership can make a difference in the life of a girl. You can give a girl the chance to spread her wings, her imagination and her brain. Some girls need a respite from the slings and arrows of their home life, like I did. Most just want a chance to take a break, disconnect a little from their electronics, and have fun in a place that is safe, nurturing and so different from life in the real world.

To learn more about Girl Scouts of Nassau County Camps go to http://www.gsnc.org/camp or call Laura Bissett- Carr at 516 741-2550 ext 233 who will tell you all about camp – and why camp can benefit every girl!To donate toward a campership for a deserving girl, please go to http://www.gsnc.org/support/support.asp and click on Campership in the right column. Checks can be mailed to Girl Scouts of Nassau County, 110 Ring Road West, Garden City, NY 11530 or speak to Joyce Wagner, ext. 225.

Volunteering is Priceless … And Measurable on a Resume

2009-05-13T14:23:00.007-04:00

Most of the time I am going to use this space to tell you about the amazing things that Girl Scouting offers girls, about the host of issues that girls face in today’s world, and about some of our Girl Scouts – girls and adults – who are already making the world a better place. Today I diverge a bit to remind people how valuable volunteering is to their communities, to their lives, and to their resumes. Girl Scouting only exists because of our dedicated volunteers. Without the folks who GIVE their time and talent, there would be no Girl Scouts. – If you already volunteer, I hope that you will use this as a reminder of how to tell your story by including your volunteer work as a valuable piece of your resume. If you are thinking of volunteering, consider the extra benefits…

Whenever I have the privilege to speak one-on-one to thank our volunteers, they ALWAYS tell me how much more they get back than they give. We know that is true in terms of personal satisfaction. VOLUNTEERING – for the Girls Scouts or any group with whom you share a passion and a mission – IS GOOD FOR YOU IN SO MANY WAYS!

Volunteering is a chance to give back and bring positive change to the world. It can also serve as the ultimate resume booster, demonstrating to potential employers that a job candidate is community-minded and in possession of a range of desirable skills. In fact, highlighting community service might just be the right ingredient that sets one candidate apart from the competition.

Research has shown that people who volunteer live longer and are healthier and happier; a boost to self-esteem and well-being for any job seeker! Those who volunteer help a worthy cause while honing their talents and expanding their network. These networking opportunities are direct and effective, more influential than the usual meet-and-greet events.

The volunteer position most lauded in our organization is that of Girl Scout Troop Leader. The women and men who make time in their lives to work directly with girls develop a host of skills that transfer into the work world. They organize and motivate. They teach and they listen. They are problem solvers and mediators. They manage administrative tasks, spearhead fundraising events, and identify community service needs. All of them work from their hearts.

Volunteering is a low-cost and low-risk way to explore new career avenues, expand an avocation or just try something new. It is also a way to take existing talents and use them in a new way. For someone who is considering becoming a teacher, being a Troop Leader might be a way to gauge her ease in communicating informally with children. An accountant might lend her insight to a finance committee. Someone who is an avid knitter might volunteer to teach others how to knit. Someone who loves the outdoors, but doesn’t have access to outdoor opportunities, might decide to volunteer at camp. Love to fix cars? Have an antique doll collection? Trained in first aid/CPR? Want to raise puppies? Everyone has assets that will transfer to a volunteer organization. Almost every volunteer organization has opportunities to use people with their current skill set, and ways for people to learn new things and apply themselves in new ways.

Once you’ve gained worthwhile experience in a volunteer setting, be sure to highlight it properly on your resume. For example, rather than just saying “Volunteer – Girl Scouts,” consider “Fundraising for Special Events – Girl Scouts.” That distinction can help you land an interview and result in a higher salary offer. – Need some ideas on how to spin your volunteer skills in a resume?… Send me a note and I’ll help!

What do you have to lose? Donate your time and talent to a worthy cause. You will quickly see that you have everything to gain in the process. And a little good Karma will go a long way!

Girl Scouts of Nassau County is jumping into the blogosphere, and I’ve got the first installment.

2009-05-06T13:10:00.000-04:00

I’m Donna Ceravolo, and I have the best job in the world as Executive Director/CEO of Girl Scouts of Nassau County. We have 22K girls and 7K adult volunteers here in our jurisdiction; one out of every five girls between the ages of 5 and 17 are Girl Scouts here. Nassau County is part of the suburbs of New York City; we are the first county to the east of the five Boroughs, in the middle of Long Island. Nassau County is a compact 287 square miles, with a population of 1,350,000. I have a great staff of about 60 people, but it is the 7,000 adult volunteers who make Girl Scouting possible here.

I’m always a Girl Scout, but I am also a wife, a mother (21 year-old son) and a good friend. Have a bulldog named Earl Warren, and a Laborado+Poodle named Yancy. My earliest career goal (at age 14) was to have a job where I got dressed-up and had someone else to clean my house, so by my count I’ve been pretty successful! I like to watch TV, read, travel, bake cakes...and there is the shoe thing.

I look forward to telling you more about the REAL Girl Scouts, and to exploring how Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. We’ll delve into some of the most critical issues facing girls today – including relational aggression , cyber-bullying, and body image. We’ll do Girl Scout Cookies® 101, and I’ll try to answer questions you might have about the world of Girl Scouts. From time to time we’ll have guest columnists, so let me know if you have stories to share. Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout!