Help her Lead the Change...Cookie Program Dates

  

2014-15 COOKIE SALE DATES

February 1 Cookie Sale Program Starts- Go Day!
February 13 Booth Sales begin
February 27- March 1 National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend
March 15 Cookie Sale Program Ends
           

Troops with average per girl sale of 175+ packages will receive the LEAD THE CHANGE custom hoodie for each girl.

See Cookie Rewards for details

Girls are encouraged to take their personal booth sale on the road with Walkabouts now that cookies are here!  

• Decorate a wagon and take your booth on a "walkabout"
• Park your car in a high traffic spot and set up a cookie mobile!
• Safety First!  See cookie Sale Safety Activity Checkpoints

For additional Booth Sales strategies and to download helpful printables go to:www.abcsmartcookies.com/boost-cookie-sales-on-the-spot

Bling Bling Your Booth Flyer

Your troop has a chance to win $500!

How can girls enter the contest? To participate, entrants must:

• Creatively decorate their Girl Scout Cookie booth.· 
• Take a photo of their troop in action at their booth.  
• Upload the photo to the GSUSA Facebook page.(www.facebook.com/GirlScoutCookieProgram)· 
• Write their troop number, the name of their local council, and their cookie goal on the online entry form.
• Promote their entry and ask friends and family to vote!  Note: Entrants and Facebook community members may vote on their favorite submission once per hour. Please refer to the Challenge Guidelines for additional details on "How to Enter."

Don't forget to also share/send your picture, video or story to us at the council media@girlscoutsccc.org. We would love to include in council publications.

Resources for more information:

• GSCCC Cookie Sale page
• ABC Cookies
• ABC COCO Command
• Bling your Booth & One More Cookie Promotions 
• Pinterest: Bling your Booth

Are you holding on to Cookie Credits - use them now.

ATTENTION Girls and Troop Leaders - 2014 Cookie Credit Cards Expire March 31, 2015

Cookie Credits can be used to purchase items in the council shops, council programs, Service Unit events, and Troop field trips or events. You may also use cookie credits for a camp in another Girl Scout Council.

Consider using cookie credits for Kaleidoscope, Brownilympics, Camp Artemis, or your favorite summer day camp, but you need to register before March 31, in order to use Cookie Credits.

For more information on Cookie Credits, go to Cookie Credits  

Questions?  Contact Kim KMcCalister@girlscoutsccc.org

2014 Cookie Credits Expiration Date 3/31/15. No exceptions!  

Don't wait, use your Cookie Credits today!

DISCOVER, CONNECT, AND TAKE ACTION - PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Bookmark the GSCCC calendar to stay up-to-date on new and exciting program opportunities! Check out events happening this month:

• Program Aide Specialization,Song & Dance: Salinas, February 14
• Harlem Globe Trotters: Staples Center, February 15
• Girl Scout Night with Santa Cruz Warriors: Santa Cruz, February 27
• Design Your World: Cal Poly SLO, February 28

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHTS

NEW! It's Your World, Digital Arts Badge Series. B/J/C. Los Angeles We are happy to be working with the staff at the Microsoft Superstore at the Westfield Mall in Topanga to deliver this exciting Badge Series this winter. GSCCC Programs is actively seeking partners at the various colleges and universities to host the Badge Series councilwide. Questions or comments? Contactprograms@girlscoutsccc.org

• Cadette - Digital Movie Maker, February 21
• Junior - Digital Photographer, March 7
• Brownie - Computer Expert, March 21

SAVE THE DATE!

•  53^rd Annual Show of the Ventura Gem and Mineral Society: D/B/J/C Ventura Fairgrounds, March 7- 8 . Explore educational displays of colorful rocks, minerals, and fossils from private collections throughout Southern California at this great self-guided event. Register through the GSCCC website event portal  to secure your event patch and activity sheet to make your gem adventure a fun learning experience.

• Explore the Sand and Sea with Camp SEA Lab staff. Girls will discover the sands of the central coast, investigate marine debris,study sand crabs and explore tide pools. Great for girls working on theIt's Your Planet-Love It! Journey.
• Fun of the Find: Geocaching J/C/S/A Carmel Valley, March 14.  Join fellow Girl Scouts in a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using hand-held GPS units. Girls will feel the thrill of the hunt as they uncover caches. Girls will participate in the launching of a "Travel Bug." Great for girls working on their Geocacher badge.

• Legacy Naturalist Badge Workshop, B/J/C, Santa Barbara Natural History Museum, April 12.  We need three older girls or Adult Volunteers to help at this event. Please contact: programs@girlscoutscc.org

• NEW! It's Your Story, Animals Badge Series, Santa Barbara ZooD/BJ/C/S, May 16. GSCCC is expanding the Zoo Program this year to offer the entire ANIMALS BADGE SERIES!  Zoo staff educators will host workshops to complete the badges from Brownies to Seniors. Overnight or Twilight, don't miss out on this great new program opportunity!

• Brownilympics 2015.  Simi Valley Event, April 11 and Conejo Event, May 16.  More information to follow on this premier GSCCC volunteer-led event.  Adult and older girl volunteers are always appreciated. Please contact conejobrownilympics@yahoo.com.

Register via the GSCCC Events Calendar.  Questions? Contact programs@girlscoutsccc.org

Council Offices will be closed Monday February 16.

The Council offices will be closed Monday, February 16, in observance of President's Day.  

If you have a Girl Scout emergency, you can contact GSCCC Answering Service: 800-340-7179.

VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION

Do not forget to submit a nomination for inspiring Volunteers in your area.

It's that time of year to think about all the amazing things our volunteer friends and colleagues in Girl Scouts do every day to make the world a better place. Review the Adult Awards Guide for all the information. Applications for National Awards (Volunteer of Excellence, Appreciation Pin, Honor Pin, and Thanks Badge) are due to council no later than February 20, 2015. Questions? Contact volunteer@girlscoutsccc.org

KALEIDOSCOPE 2015: MAY 1-3

THIS EVENT ALWAYS SELLS OUT. Register your Junior, Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador Troops NOW!

Don't miss an incredible outdoor experience and opportunity to get together with 2,000 Girl Scouts.  Troops test their outdoor skills and make memories that will last a lifetime. Kaleidoscope will be held May 1-3, 2015.  Registration for K2015 opened January 6, 2015 via the GSCCC Events Calendar

The Kaleidoscope 2015 Handbook is now available for download atwww.girlscoutsccc.org/kaleidoscope

Interested in holding a SU Kaleidoscope skills training event to get your girls ready? Contact Merci Rowe - Volunteer Liaison for Kaleidoscope 2015 Skills Challenges and Prep: tecuyatrails@aol.com. 

Additional program questions regarding K2015 Contact:programs@girlscoutsccc.org and type K2015 in the subject line.

Girl Scouts Recognized By Fast Company As One Of The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies

Girl Scouts of the USA received honors from Fast Company in its annual ranking of the world's 50 Most Innovative Companies issue. Earning recognition as one of the World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Not-For-Profit, the publication called out GSUSA for "showing girls technology is about more than texting" by creating Digital Cookie, a fun and educational digital sales program "run entirely by girls."

This recognition arrives on the heels of the successful Digital Cookie launch, which included a notable, first-time presence at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show in January. The groundbreaking new addition to the Girl Scout Cookie Program introduces girls to vital 21st-century lessons about online marketing, app usage, and ecommerce, while creating a fun, safe, and interactive space for girls to sell cookies. Digital Cookie marks the first national digital platform in the history of the iconic cookie program.

Watch Ana Maria Chavez' Video

In addition to Digital Cookie, GSUSA has been focused on other ways of using technology as a tool for creating a truly contemporary Girl Scout experience for both girls and the adults and volunteers who serve them. Late last year, GSUSA announced ongoing major investments in new techniques to recruit and train adult volunteers and provide more opportunities for girls to join in the face of a net decline in membership over the 2014 Fiscal Year. For the past three years, Girls Scouts has been focused on technology as a central mission of the organization, recently implementing a Customer Engagement Initiative to transform how to use technology to communicate with girls, adults, and councils, and to more effectively deliver the Girl Scout experience.

Read More in GSUSA Blog

GIRL SCOUT DAYS - Special Days in Girl Scouting!

Make your plans to participate.

Thinking Day, February 22:  On World Thinking Day, girls participate in activities and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in other countries. The World Thinking Day award is an official award that may be worn on the front of the Girl Scout sash or vest. The theme for World Thinking Day 2015 is girls worldwide say "we can create peace through partnerships."  Click here for more information on World Thinking Day

• Girl Scout Birthday, March 12. Commemorates the day in 1912 when Juliette Gordon Low officially registered the organization's first 18 girl members in Savannah, Georgia.
• Girl Scout Week is celebrated each March, starting with Girl Scout Sunday and ending with Girl Scout Sabbath on a Saturday, and it always includes the Girl Scout Birthday, March 12.
• Girl Scout Sunday and Girl Scout Sabbath gives girls an opportunity to attend their place of worship and be recognized as a Girl Scout. If a place of worship is the group sponsor, girls may perform a service, such as greeting, ushering, or conducting a flag ceremony. These days can also be a time when girls explore other faiths.
• As part of World Thinking Day 2015, USA Girl Scouts Overseas in Paris is reintroducing their Paris Peace Patch in response to the recent tragic events that have taken place in Paris. The patch program encourages girls to resolve conflict, reach out to others in peace and friendship, dedicate themselves to Acts of Kindness, understand our differences to avoid misunderstandings and rejoice in our likenesses. Girl Scouts at all grade levels can earn the patch. Visit the Paris Peace patch for full details, download the instruction forms; order the patch via patches@girlscoutsinparis.com

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience

See all the great opportunities and events happening for girls in the council below, and view this wonderful discussion regarding the GSLE, CEO Gina Jaeger taped with OUR VENTURA just in time for the GREATEST COOKIE SALE ever!

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience