Volunteer Connections by Girl Scouts of Nassau County

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. W...

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...

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 a...

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 activ...

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!

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 ...

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.