Monday, November 25, 2019

Buck Harris Award

The Buck Harris Award was established upon the retirement of Buck Harris, a former executive director of the Virginia Tidewater Girl Scout Council. Buck dedicated her life to providing the finest in camping and outdoor camping education programs, and her friends felt that this award would be an appropriate way to honor her. The award is presented at Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast's Annual Awards Celebration and consists of a framed certificate and a certificate towards attending a GSCCC-sponsored summer camp. One Girl Scout will be selected and honored in this manner. All other nominees will receive a nominee certificate.

Complete the nomination packet and submit to the Council at customercare@gsccc.org by January 15, 2020.

Formal Award Appreciation

Our volunteers do amazing things making a difference in the lives of girls throughout the year. Take a moment and recognize those special volunteers who made a significant impact during the 2018-2019 membership year by nominating them for a GSUSA award.

You may know a volunteer who qualifies for the Volunteer of Excellence Award, Appreciation Pin, Honor Pin, Thanks Badge, or Thanks Badge II. Visit the Recognitions and Awards page on our website to find out which award is the best for your nominee. Learn about each award and how to submit the nominations by viewing the Awards Webinar recording.

In addition, if you have been an adult member registered with Girl Scouts of the USA for years of active volunteer service for 20 years or more (in five-year intervals), complete the Volunteer Years of Service Pin Application and submit to the Council by January 15, 2020.

Completed nomination packets must be submitted to customercare@gsccc.org by January 15, 2020.

Deadline Extended: Help GSUSA and Earn Free STEM Badges in the Process!

Girl Scouts of the USA is looking for troops at each Girl Scout level to participate in a research study on troop use of Girl Scout STEM program.We are seeking troops who are willing to engage their girls in local and/or national STEM program during this membership year.

What's Involved
  • Throughout the study timeframe, October 1, 2019, to July 31, 2020, troops will go about their regular troop-selected activities.
  • By December 1, 2019, leaders and girls will complete a pre-survey.
  • Troop leaders will report their troop's program activities monthly through a short online tracking survey.
  • At the end of your troop year, troop leaders will complete a leader post-survey and administer a girl post-survey to all girls in their troop. All surveys will be available online and in paper format.
  • All surveys must be submitted to GSUSA by August 15, 2020.

Who Can Participate
  • Any Girl Scout troop interested in participating in local and/or national STEM program during this membership year. We are looking for troops at all Girl Scout levels (multi-level welcome).
  • Troops with any level of STEM experience welcome. No STEM experience required.

Thanksgiving Holiday Closing

GSCCC offices and shops will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday from Wednesday, November 27, through Saturday, November 30. Normal business hours will resume on Monday, December 2.

Refer to our website for regular office and shop hours.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Monday, November 18, 2019

Vision Board Workshop

Friday, November 29, 2019
Gatling Pointe Yacht Club
903 Gatling Pointe Pkwy
Smithfield, VA 23430
10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Cost: $25 (includes light lunch fare and board materials)

Learn to use the Laws of Attraction to set your dreams in motion by creating your own VISION BOARD. You can leave with a complete board, gifting yourself for the coming year!

All proceeds benefit the "She Believes She Can, So She Does" Scholarship for Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast, a dream manifested by a vision board in 2017.

View this flyer for full details.

For questions and to RSVP by November 26th, contact Kate Godby at kate.godby@gmail.com or 757-506-5654.

Just Released!

Just released... The Five Elements of a Successful Girl Scout Gold Award video.

View the video and hear from Gold Award Girl Scouts about what every Gold Award should have and what it means to:
  1. Address the root cause of an issue you are passionate about.
  2. Demonstrate leadership.
  3. Develop a solution with sustainable impact.
  4. Measure your success.
  5. Show a national or global link to your effort.
For more information about the Girl Scout Gold Award, visit our website.

Questions? Email the Gold Award Committee at gsgoldaward.gsccc@gmail.com.

Shop Promotions for the Month of December

December 1-31
Booth-in-a-Bag
Receive a 2020 Cookie Tote, 60" Table Cloth, Money Pouch, 36x20 Vinyl Cookie Banner, Roll-a-bana, Handheld Sign, and Magnet for only $45 (a value of $53.75)! Available for pre-order! Free delivery to your cookie pick-up location. While supplies last. In-stock merchandise only.

December 10, 11, 12
Holiday Open House
Receive a discount of 15 percent off your total purchase! In addition, with a $50 purchase, you will be entered into a drawing to win a Fleece Blanket. With a $150 purchase, you will be entered into a drawing to win a GSCCC Cotton Polo. Take 50 percent off clearance items. Daily giveaways and refreshments! While supplies last. In-stock merchandise only.

December 4, 18
Candy Cane Wednesday
Draw a candy cane at checkout and receive a 10 percent, 15 percent or 20 percent discount off the entire purchase. May not be combined with any other offer.

Safety First

Keeping girls and adults safe is our top priority! You can do your part by viewing the online Risk Management learning module. Beneficial for anyone working with girls but required annually for troop leaders and VST members.

The online training can be accessed here.

GSCCC Retail Shop Closings/Openings during Holidays

Wednesday, November 20th: Peninsula Retail Shop closed for All Staff Meeting.

Friday, December 6th: Chesapeake Retail Shop will be closing at noon and Peninsula Retail Shop will be closed for Holiday Party.

Saturday, December 7th: Chesapeake Retail Shop will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday, January 4th: Chesapeake Retail Shop will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Refer to our website for regular office and shop hours.

Thanksgiving Holiday Closing

GSCCC offices and shops will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday from Wednesday, November 27, through Saturday, November 30. Normal business hours will resume on Monday, December 2.

Refer to our website for regular office and shop hours.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Monday, November 11, 2019

Recognize Exceptional Volunteers

Volunteers are the HEART of Girl Scouts!

Recognize those special volunteers who make a difference in the life of girls! Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast volunteers who made a significant impact during the 2018-2019 membership year can be nominated for a GSUSA award.

The adult award nomination deadline for the Volunteer of Excellence Award, Appreciation Pin, Honor Pin, Thanks Badge, and Thanks Badge II is January 15, 2020. Nomination forms can be found here.

In addition, if you have been an adult member registered with Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. for years of active volunteer service for 20 years or more (in five-year intervals), complete the Volunteer Years of Service Pin Application and submit it by January 15, 2020.

Completed nomination packets must be submitted to customercare@gsccc.org by January 15, 2020.

Climbing Wall Instructor Course

Saturday, December 14, 2019
Camp Skimino
Williamsburg, VA
9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Cost: $20

Attend this course to learn how to instruct girls on the climbing wall at Camp Skimino.

Register by December 9th. Questions? Contact customercare@gsccc.org.

Girl Scout Program Basics, Part II

Attend one of the FREE upcoming Girl Scout Program Basics, Part II, classes where you will learn how to teach your girls how to plan their year and their troop meetings.

A Place for Girls
912 Cedar Rd
Chesapeake, VA 23322

Tuesday, November 19, 2019
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Register by November 14th.

OR

Sunday, December 1, 2019
2-4 p.m.
Register by November 26th.

Register on eBiz. Questions? Contact customercare@gsccc.org.

Effectively Facilitating Adult Learning Course

Do you like to work with adults?
Do you like to have fun?

If you answered "yes" to either of those questions, the adult learning facilitator volunteer position might be for you! A facilitator delivers courses, workshops and resources to individuals and/or groups of volunteers in order to prepare them throughout their appointment. We offer classes that are indoors as well as outdoors. You decide what you like! Start your journey as an adult learning facilitator after taking this course.

Effectively Facilitating Adult Learning Course
Sunday, November 17, 2019
A Place for Girls
912 Cedar Rd
Chesapeake, VA 23322
Noon-6 p.m.

Register by November 11th. Questions? Contact customercare@gsccc.org.

News from the Gold Award Committee

Effective immediately, girls going for Gold will not need to attend the Gold Workshop. The new 2.0 Gold Award App is extremely user friendly and will walk girls going for Gold through everything to complete her Gold Award Proposal. GSUSA has a full resource page that contains guides for girls, families and educators/leaders. In addition, Gold Award App tutorial videos will be available soon. The workshop is no longer available, however, if a girl has any questions about anything related to the Gold Award, she can email the Gold Award Committee at gsgoldaward.gsccc@gmail.com. In addition, if a girl feels she needs a mentor, she can be assigned one.

The Gold Award Committee is offering mini mentoring Q&A sessions with its members. These sessions will be set up before or after our regularly scheduled interview/review dates. Girls can sign up to request a slot via the Gold Award Committee's email at gsgoldaward.gsccc@gmail.com. These sessions are for girls to come and discuss project ideas, get answers to their questions or to receive assistance in finding a project idea if she is struggling.

For more information about the Girl Scout Gold Award, visit our website.

2020 National Delegate Role Informational Webinar

Please join us on Monday, November 18, 2019, 7:30 p.m. We will answer questions and provide additional information before you submit your National Delegate application. If you have questions ready, please submit them ahead of time to Sunny Smith at sunnys@gsccc.org by November 15th, and we will incorporate them into the presentation.

Register here for the webinar.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

2020 National Delegate Role Informational Webinar

Please join us on Monday, November 18, 2019, 7:30 p.m. We will answer questions and provide additional information before you submit your National Delegate application. If you have questions ready, please submit them ahead of time to Sunny Smith at sunnys@gsccc.org by November 15th, and we will incorporate them into the presentation.

Register here for the webinar.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Help Us Get More Girls Outdoors!

The Council Program Team is looking for volunteers interested in helping with the following outdoor adventure programs. If you're interested and available, click the links below to sign up.

  • Camp Sampler - sign up here.
    • Saturday, November 9, 2019, Camp Skimino, Williamsburg
  • Campfire Challenge - sign up here.
    • Saturday, November 16, 2019, Camp Burke's Mill Pond, Gloucester
  • Archery Aim I & II - sign up here.
    • Saturday, March 7, 2020, Camp Apasus, Norfolk
    • Saturday, March 21, 2020, A Place for Girls, Chesapeake
    • Sunday, April 5, 2020, Camp Burke's Mill Pond, Gloucester
    • Sunday, May 10, 2020, A Place for Girls, Chesapeake
  • Amazing Race - sign up here.
    • Sunday, March 8, 2020, Camp Darden, Courtland
  • Paddle Away - sign up here.
    • Saturday, May 9, 2020, Camp Burke's Mill Pond, Gloucester

Awards Webinar

Girl Scout Adult Awards and Recognitions are awarded to adult members who provide exemplary service and go above and beyond the expectations of their position to make a difference in the organization.

Everyone knows at least one volunteer who deserves to be nominated for an award, but you may not know where to start. Join us on Wednesday, November 6, 2019, on the Awards Webinar, beginning at 8 p.m., by registering here, where you learn about award nominations and how to write a strong nomination or Letter of Endorsement. If you cannot attend the live webinar, you can still register as you will receive the recording to listen to when you can.

Visit the Recognitions and Awards page on our website here to access the nomination forms.

Complete award nomination packets are due to customercare@gsccc.org no later than Wednesday, January 15, 2020.