GSCCC Blog: What's New - December GSCCC eBulletin

HAPPY HANUKKAH! MERRY CHRISTMAS! HAPPY KWANZAA! GOOD WINTER SOLSTICE!

However you celebrate the holidays, we wish you joy and happiness together with friends and family!

Council offices will be closed beginning Wednesday, December 24, at noon and reopening on Monday, January 4, 2016.

WELCOME TO NEW STAFF

Jody Skenderian, Chief Development Officer based in Ventura. Jody is responsible for fund development strategy, expansion of public support, stewardship of planned and major gifts, and grant administration with a team stretching from Ventura County to Santa Cruz County. Previously, Jody held the position of Director of Community Relations for University of Phoenix Southern California Campus where she lead strategy and implementation of alumni, community and faculty engagement while also directing local giving efforts. Read more here...

Kim Summers-Everett, Membership Manager in San Luis Obispo County. Kim brings lots of great experience in camp and volunteer program with Campfire and YWCA. She worked for Girl Scouts NorCal at their camp in the Santa Cruz mountains. She supervised both staff and volunteers to create programs and events for many years. Kim and her family recently moved to SLO from Oregon. Kim registered her daughter for a new Daisy troop at Girls Night Out. She has a very unique perspective on youth development and volunteer management, and has a love for Girl Scouts.

FAREWELL AND GODSPEED

Pat Soulliere-Ochylski left the council after 21 years of serving volunteers and girls in San Luis Obispo county. Thank you for your passion and dedication.

Jenn Kurtz left her position as Membership Manager based in Castroville after 5 years.

Jeanne Llewellyn left her position as Program/Volunteer Services Specialist based in Ventura.

NEW ATASCADERO OFFICE Open by appointment. (SLO office moved to this location.) 8405 Morro Road (Rt. 41) Atascadero, CA 93422

SAVE THE DATE - ANNUAL MEETING, Saturday, April 9, 2016, Ventura County location TBD. Theme: Celebrating 100 years of the Gold Award. If you earned, or know someone who earned the Gold Award, or its predecessors First Class, Curved Bar, or Golden Eaglet, please let us know. Contact: Sheila swalsh@girlscoutsccc.org

SUPPORT FOR USA GIRL SCOUTS OVERSEAS IN PARIS

USA Girl Scouts Overseas (USAGSO) brings Girl Scouting to American families in U.S. Department of Defense schools, and to girls enrolled in American and international schools in 97 countries worldwide. Paris, France, is a USAGSO location that serves nearly 400 girls in 33 troops in 21 schools. As you know, Paris sustained a series of terrorist attacks on November 13. Our Paris-based volunteers reported that all USAGSO members and their families are accounted for and safe. GSUSA CEO Anna Maria Chávez sent a letter to our overseas members on behalf of the Girl Scout Movement, expressing our collective condolences and support.

For your information and in case you would like to reach out, USAGSO Paris is posting updates and receiving words of support on its Facebook page. Also, in times like these, Girl Scouts often wonder how they can help. As a reminder, we have two resources that address this -"What a Girl Can Do When Disaster Strikes" for girls and "What Girl Scout Leadership Looks Like in Times of Disaster" for adults-both of which can be found on girlscouts.org.

PRUDENTIAL SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY AWARDS

Congratulations to GSCCC local honorees: Caitlyn Fastenau, Ventura; and Amina Ghorob, Westlake Village. Thank you for making a difference by volunteering in your communities, and best wishes as you move into state-level judging!

GETTING READY FOR COOKIES AND HONOR TROOP

December is full of activities and family, so make your life easier by checking-off your registration for the 2015-2016 Girl Scout year now. That way you'll be ready to go for cookie sales, and help your troop earn Honor Troop status all at the same time. Honor Troop Program PDF.

Questions? Contact Camille cjaque@girlscoutsccc.org

DISCOVER, CONNECT, TAKE ACTION...

UPCOMING PROGRAM EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

The following is just a partial listing of the many programs happening in December and coming months. Be sure to visit the GSCCC Events Calendar for more information, and to register!

Designs on Chocolate, December 5, Salinas

What's the Scoop...Girl Scouts Highest Awards Workshop, December 11, Orcutt

Digital Movie Maker, December 12, Capitola

Sub Sea Tour, December 12, Morro Bay

Native Garden Planning Workshop, December 12, Arnaz

Tidepool Trek, December 13, Carpinteria State Beach

Cookie U, January 9, variety of locations

Archery - Level 1, January 10, Arnaz

Cookie U, January 16, variety of locations

Dive DEEP at the Mariners Club meeting, February 9, Ojai

Dive DEEP at the Conejo Gem and Mineral Club meeting, February 11, Thousand Oaks

COOKIE U

Cookie U is coming to a location near you in January. Events are being held throughout the council on January 9 and 16. Please check the Events Calendar and sign up. Hurry! Registration closes December 16.

We are also seeking volunteers to help stage the Cookie U events. If you would like to volunteer, please email Melissa Baffa: mbaffa@girlscoutsccc.org

Questions? Contact: programs@girlscoutsccc.org

TRAVEL

Learn more here about exciting council travel and GSUSA destinations trips and deadlines. Plan now for summer, or for summer 2017!

KALEIDOSCOPE 2017

Kaleidoscope Committee Members Needed!

The Committee will meet once a month starting in January. Generally, meetings are held alternating in a northern/central area and then in a southern area. Needed: Parking Chair, Scheduler Chair, and Webmaster Chair. Other positions are also open.

Questions? Contact: Volunteer Co-Chairs: Marsha Hill, thehills@sbceo.org or Holly Nishida,gollyholly@aol.com. Thank you.

AREA TRAINING COORDINATOR (ATC) NEEDED IN

SANTA BARBARA, MONTEREY, SAN BENITO,

AND SANTA CRUZ COUNTIES

ATCs coordinate local GSCCC trainings. They understand the overall process of current council trainings, assist staff with keeping training kits current, assist with organizing area trainings, and speak at Service Unit Meetings.

Current ATCs are:

Ventura County: Debi Dyer. Training questions? Contact Debi: elfgsccc@gmail.com
SLO County: Cindy Barcelona. Training questions? Contact Cindy: biglittle@charter.net

Interested? Contact Sheila at swalsh@girlscoutsccc.org. An ATC is a current GSUSA member, has completed a Volunteer Application and background check, Learning Facilitator training, and at least one other current GSCCC training.

ADULT TRAINING

Did you know that GSCCC offers a variety of training opportunities throughout the year? A sample of programs coming up in December and future months include:

First Aid & CPR, December 6, Conejo Valley
First Aid & CPR, January 23, Camp Arnaz
Learning Facilitator Training, March 5, Castroville
Learning Facilitator Training, March 19, San Luis Obispo

2015 FALL PRODUCT SALE

After giving thanks with our families, we want to give thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers and parents who supported girls in reaching their goals through the Fall Product Campaign. We are still crunching the numbers, but it's shaped out to be one of our best starts to the Girl Scout Year. We can't wait to see or hear about how troops will use their proceeds to FUNd their Girl Scout journey.

Thanks to the 480 troops and over 2,750 girls who participated, we will also be sending 2,750 Care2Share items to the military and veterans.

Please Remember:

Parents/Troop Leaders MUST make Rewards choices in M2 by December 7.
Final ACH Withdrawal from Troop accounts will be on December 7.

COOKIE SALE PROGRAM 2016 starts January 23, but our staff and volunteers are already working hard to get ready! GSCCC is joining the rest of California and increasing cookie package prices to $5. Read CEO letter here...

Hopefully, you had a chance to join our Intro to Cookies 2016 webinar on November 18. If you missed it, here are links to view the recording and the presentation slides.

PDF: http://1drv.ms/1QQ6uMW

Recording: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/3386816142098652418

Questions? Contact: cookies@girlscoutsccc.org

COOKIE U: Save the date, Cookie University is coming to a location near you, January 9 or 16 -

Questions? Contact: Carol cchavez@girlscoutsccc.org

RETAIL SHOP

UNIFORMS, PROGRAM MATERIALS, GARMENTS & GIFTS

The holidays are packed with Girl Scout fun: Caroling, Parades, Winter Wonderland events... we have a patch for that! Visit us or email your orders to shop@girlscoutsccc.org. December 4 is the last day to place special orders for guaranteed delivery by December 22.