Volunteer Connections by Girl Scouts of Nassau County

Grab your favorite cold weather beverage (mine is hot chocolate), a blanket, and anything to help you get extra cozy to listen to our December podcast episode! Join us for the last episode in 2022, “Winter Activities.” You’ll learn about badges, patches, and SWAPS to offer your troop, so you have plenty to discuss and they have options to decide how they want their Girl Scout experience to be this season! Pro Tip: Keep your meetings fun in the winter by offering something extra special that your troop would only do during the cold months. Have them come dressed for a slumber party in their favorite winter PJ’s or have a dance party. Put it to a vote! The December episode airs on Thursday, December 29 at 9:00 AM, and consecutively on the last Thursday of every month. However, you can listen on demand! That means you can tune in anytime, anywhere that works for you. Be sure to follow the podcast and turn on notifications, so you’ll know when new episodes are released.  You can ...

One of the most inspiring parts of volunteering with Girl Scouts is getting to witness girls discover their strengths through engaging in activities in STEM, financial literacy, the outdoors, art, and more. When it does come time to introduce new topics to Girl Scouts, many leaders feel intimidated because they do not have experience in these fields. Volunteers don’t need to be an expert or a scientist to bring these activities to their troops! There are a variety of ways for Girl Scout volunteers to build their confidence and positively impact their Girl Scouts through new experiences. Find an expert – volunteers can use their network of peers to identify someone who is a professional or has knowledge of the badge or activity the troop is working on. Let that individual take the lead! Participate in the activity alongside the girls to join in on the fun and learn something new. Prepare – review the materials needed to earn a badge or complete an activity. Make any modificati...

Don’t Leave Home Without Them! To save time and extra trips to the bank make sure you have done the following BEFORE opening your account: Choose a Bank – (consult your Association Service Team for bank suggestions) Decide who will be on the account - Required is a minimum of 2 signatures –one of the Troop Leaders and the other a member of the Association Service Team (Treasurer or CAV). Request a letter from Council on Council letterhead: Once you have the names of the signers, the bank you wish to open the account in, and your Troop number, go to our website’s Forms/Documents Library and click on Bank Account Request Web Form . Or, contact your volunteerism or membership staff person to assist you. Once you receive the letter (which also indicates the Council’s ID number) you can go to the bank and get signature cards for your new account. IMPORTANT: Remember to indicate that all bank statements be mailed to the Leader’s address - not the Council’s address....

Girl Scouts encourage girls to take on new roles, make choices, set goals and make decisions. We do that by giving every girl opportunities to make decisions in the group, to make choices as an individual and to explore various roles in the Troop. Daisies and Brownies may need more assistance than girls who are in middle school and high school.   But even the youngest of girls can make choices between two or three options that you offer.   We can help girls expand their leadership skills by focusing on GOAL SETTING and teaching them various ways to make DECISIONS. Here are some examples of roles for girls at each level… Daisies can help hand out supplies or help with clean-up Brownies can lead the Girl Scout Promise or the walk around the block Juniors can work on writing out the caper chart or send out the emails for Troop meetings Cadettes can lead a Journey activity Seniors and Ambassadors can lead a meeting with an elected official in pursuit of a Take Act...

Remember those days when your mother would tell you that “please” and “thank you” were the magic words. Well that still holds true today, especially when asking for help from girls or parents or thanking girls or parents for their time and effort. It is important to always be gracious and generous. When there are parents that are not able to share or be as supportive as other parents, be as gracious as you are to the parents who go the extra miles. Be patient and non-judgmental. (You really don't know everything that they may have on their plates at work and at home.) Be kind. And, be extra sensitive to treat every child as kindly as you treat the others. A simple “thank you” for a smaller task completed will make someone feel needed and appreciated and may compel them to go a step further the next time. Special thanks to Joyce Wagner, Girl Scouts of Nassau County's Chief Mission Delivery Officer, for her input on this edition.