Girl Scouts make more than 200 ornaments for deploying soldiers

Suzane Buttery, a recruitment specialist for GSWPA and mother of five (including three Girl Scouts), will be spending the next 10 months away from her loved ones. Right after Christmas, she'll be deployed to the Middle Eastern country of Qatar to serve with the 914^th Airlift Wing of the U.S. Air Force.

To send her off, her Girl Scout family from Brookville and Brockway gave her a surprise that will help make the holiday season a little brighter for Suzane and the other deploying soldiers in her unit.

Suzane was invited to attend their Christmas party to talk about her activation and upcoming deployment. There, they presented her with 216 handmade patriotic ornaments to be given to all of the soldiers from the 914^th Airlift Wing deploying to Qatar, Kuwait and Afghanistan.

Every year, the girls decorate a tree at the Jefferson County Courthouse. Suzane’s deployment inspired them to decorate this year's tree with handmade ornaments for the soldiers, to show their appreciation for their service and to brighten their spirits before they deploy.

Well done, girls! 

We send our best wishes and heartfelt appreciation to Suzane and the rest of the brave men and women in the 914^th Airlift Wing. Thank you for your service, and safe travels!

Q&A: Girl Scout sisters talk cookies

Girl Scouts and sisters Alyssa and Alison Keefer.

Alyssa Keefer, a Cadette Girl Scout and member of the GSWPA Media Team, recently sat down with her little sister Alison to ask her about her experience in the Girl Scout Cookie Program.

Alison is a Junior Girl Scout.

Alyssa: What are some of your strategies for selling Girl Scout Cookies?

Alison: My mom and dad help me by allowing me to ask their work friends if they want to buy cookies. They also help me to visit our neighbors and family. They help on what to say when I ask my neighbors.

Alyssa: What is your favorite Girl Scout Cookie?

Alison: Thin Mints because I love the mix of flavors and there are a lot in the boxes so I can eat more!

Alyssa: What do you tell potential customers about the cookies? What do you tell them about Girl Scouting?

Alison: That it will help my Girl Scout Troop and that they will be delicious.

Alyssa: What do you plan to do with the money your troop earns?

Alison: Trips and sleepovers!

Alyssa: What is the biggest sale you ever had?

Alison: One of my mom’s coworkers buys a lot of cookies every year to give to her students as a treat. I don’t remember exactly how many boxes.

Alyssa: What do you feel you learn from the cookie program?

Alison: It teaches me about sales and money. I also learn how to talk and ask people to buy things. The booth sales help my friends and I to learn how to make change. We help our troop leaders decide how to spend the money we make from our sales.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is back January 8! 

Girl Scout Cookie season is just around the corner! Cookie order taking starts on Friday, Jan. 8, with National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend and booth sales starting on Friday, Feb. 26. For more information, visit gswpa.org/cookies.

Cookies take Girl Scouts to the moon (and back!)

Many love eating Girl Scout cookies, but few know the amazing adventures that those boxes of yummy treats provide for Girl Scouts.

Troop 51514 funded an exciting trip to the moon on a space shuttle using the proceeds they earned through the Cookie Program. 

Not the actual moon, of course, but a simulated journey at The Challenger Center at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia.

"We all had different jobs in the simulation and then built and launched rockets made out of paper," said Amy Herne, co-leader of the Junior troop. "The girls had to do a budget, purchase the parts and each person on the team had a defined role, like safety manager."

The trip was made possible by the girls' participation in the annual Girl Scout Cookie Program. 

"We funded space camp 100% with cookie money," Herne said. "The girls didn’t pay a dime."

Launch your adventures with cookies starting January 8!

Girl Scout Cookie season is just around the corner! Cookie order taking starts on Friday, Jan. 8, with National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend and booth sales starting on Friday, Feb. 26.

Cookie Lineup
All the favorites will be available on this year's order card, including Do-si-dos, Rah-Rah Raisin, Samoas, Savannah Smiles, Tagalongs, Thin Mints and Trefoils. The gluten-free cookie, Toffee-tastic, will also be offered again during booth sales and by ordering through Digital Cookie. Although customers can't order these on the order card, troops can get these at Cookie Cupboards. See the full cookie lineup.

Digital Cookie
Through Digital Cookie, girls can email friends and family to purchase and pay online for cookies. (Shipping and handling fees will apply.) A number of enhancements have been made to Digital Cookie this year to make it easier to use for volunteers, girls, parents and customers. Also, girls can have some fun with their online business with new games and activities. We're also happy to report that this year there are no processing fees for Operation: Sweet Appreciation donations!

National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend - Feb 26-28
National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend celebrates the world's largest girl-led business--and happens to coincide with the kickoff of cookie booth sales in western Pennsylvania! Girl Scouts will be kicking off the weekend on Friday, Feb. 26 with a cookie blitz in Pittsburgh, Erie and Johnstown, along with booth sales throughout the weekend. Cookie customers will be able to purchase their favorite varieties on-site or donate cookies to send to our troops through Operation: Sweet Appreciation.

Guest blogger: Girl Scout for life

by Brittany McCartney

Imagine this: A six-year-old girl with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes entering Neason Hill Elementary School on a Tuesday night in September of 2003. That would be the start of something that would change her life. That Tuesday night, was the first Girl Scout meeting she ever attended. 

The meeting began by saying the Girl Scout Promise and Law, making crafts, singing Girl Scout songs, eating delicious snacks and then the meeting ended with the Friendship Circle. She was hooked. 

The little girl had talked about the Girl Scout meeting every day and every night until the following Tuesday evening when she would be able to walk through those doors again. Those doors opened her to a world of courage, confidence, and character. 

The little six-year-old who had walked into her first Girl Scout meeting started off lacking all three, she was shy, she was timid, and she was terrified. Courage is defined as the ability to do something that frightens one. The amount of courage it had taken her to stand in front of the family and friends of her troop during her first Girl Scout awards ceremony was immense. That ceremony had taught her that anything was possible. She knew that she would be able to talk in front of the five girls in her troop or the nearly five hundred adults, girls, business leaders, and community members during the 100th year Anniversary Celebration. 

Courage does not come alone; undoubtedly courage comes is hand-in-hand with confidence. 

Confidence is defined as a feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities. This sweet and lovable six year old starting her Girl Scout experience had begun with the smallest amount of self-confidence, since she was afraid of what others would think about her. 

After years of being told of the astounding things she has accomplished in Girl Scouts and what an asset she has become to the organization, she had finally gained the confidence to stand up for herself and for those around her. Courage and confidence stand as the foundation to a person’s character. 

Character is defined as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. She will do what is right, even when she is the only one doing it. She stands up against those who do not follow the Girl Scout Promise and Law or are not acting as a Girl Scout should. Her leaders and fellow Girl Scouts have taught her to use the courage, confidence and character that was instilled within her to always be the best her that she could be. 

Fast forward twelve years and that little six-year-old girl is now an eighteen-year-old young adult with long blonde hair and hazel eyes who entered through the doors of United Methodist Stone Church one Monday night in June of 2015. 

That Monday night, was the last Girl Scout Meeting she will ever attend. 

The meeting started with her showing up late with dinner in her hand, sitting around the tables talking with the younger girls in her troop, tears streaming down her face and then for the last time, her mom passed out the badges, the Journeys and the patches she had earned throughout the year. 

That girl is me. I was a Brownie. I was a Junior. I was a Cadette. I was a Senior. I was an Ambassador. However, I will always be a Girl Scout. 

Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout.

You can help even more girls build courage, confidence and character with your donation to GSWPA.

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Girls benefit from time spent outdoors

According to a study by the Girl Scouts Research Institute (GSRI), Girls who regularly spend time outdoors eclipse their peers who spend less time outdoors in environmental stewardship, challenge seeking and problem solving—all important traits in twenty-first century leadership.

But camp gives girls benefits beyond problem-solving and leadership skills—here are what Girl Scouts had to say about their camp adventures:

“Camp helped me be brave. It was the first time I was on my own and away from my parents for that long.”—Libby H. 

“Going to camp has helped me make new friends, become more adaptable to change, become a leader and talk more and not be shy.”—Cheyenne R. 

“The thing I love most about Girl Scout camp is meeting new people and getting to go on a mini-vacation! Each time I go camping I come back with a thousand new memories.”—Brittany M.

Girl Scouts keeps up-to-date with the interests of today's girls, which is evident in its wide range of camp offerings— everything from beginner horse camps to high-adventure rafting trips.

GSWPA is committed to pursuing its mission through the camp experience, offering an astounding array of innovative, fun, and memorable camp activities that allow girls to build courage, confidence, and character, and make the world a better place.

You can help preserve camp experiences for girls with your donation to GSWPA.

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Source: National Study of Girls & the Outdoors (Girl Scouts Research Institute, 2014)

Support the next generation of female business owners and leaders

Investing in girls through the Girl Scouts will support financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs that empower girls through the development of five essential skills: goal setting, money management, people skills, decision-making and business ethics. 

Did you know? Eighty-five percent of girls developed money management skills through the Girl Scout Cookie program, the largest girl-run business in the world.

Planning pays off

Troop 50099

Troop 50099 created a two-year business plan for selling Girl Scout Cookies at a workshop hosted by The Hill Group, and increased their sales to “Super Troop” status in that year's Cookie Program. 

This summer, the girls got to enjoy the result of their hard work. Just as they planned, the troop saved Cookie Program proceeds for two years to fund a five-day trek in the Great Smoky Mountains!

  

Purposeful product

Cheyenne Rhone, a Senior Girl Scout from West Mifflin, was recently featured as a young Pittsburgh entrepreneur.

Cheyenne started Hopes for the Best, her own business where she creates and sells bracelets that double as survival tools.

She made similar bracelets with her Girl Scout troop which inspired her to create her own business.

Help girls succeed

Girls envision a future where they are financially independent and empowered. Help them get there by donating to Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania today.


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Who says science is just for boys?

Sophia explores the exciting activities at a local STEM event.

Women are still underrepresented in higher-paying positions, especially in science and engineering. Despite the higher earning potential, many girls don’t see themselves in STEM careers.

Girl Scouts introduces girls of every age to STEM experiences relevant to everyday life. We help every girl see that STEM careers can help fulfill their desires to make the world a better place.

Hands-on STEM

Girl Scouts participated in exciting science experiments, met women engineers/scientists and learned more about what it takes to pursue a STEM career at an event hosted by Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation.

Cinzia Gagetta raved about the experiences her daughter Sophia enjoyed at the program. 

“The activities they had really opened her mind on the possibilities of what she can do. I can tell you she has already made it clear that she wants to be a scientist! She also went on to say how happy she is to be a Girl Scout,” she said.

Girl Scouts from troop 54481 ask questions about STEM

Cadette troop 54481 from West Allegheny learned how circuit boards were produced, were educated on various manufacturing technologies, and held discussions on career opportunities in STEM fields at Industrial Scientific.

Kim Wagner, one of the troop leaders, works as the Director of People & Leadership for Industrial Scientific. Paula Yeager, Senior Quality Engineer, volunteered her time to provide the troop with a tour of the Pittsburgh facility.  

Following the tour, the girls had a hands-on activity called the "Marshmallow Challenge" where they had to construct a tower using spaghetti sticks, a marshmallow, string, and tape. 

The goal was to build the tallest tower using only the materials provided, and the marshmallow had to be at the top without falling over. Marshmallows aren't just for s'mores anymore for these Girl Scouts!

You can help give girls more amazing STEM experiences with your donation to GSWPA.

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Girl Scouts help communities prepare for fire emergencies

The American Red Cross is teaming up with Girl Scouts to spread the word about fire safety basics that can help make homes and families safer.

Through their Home Fire Preparedness Campaign, the Red Cross aims to canvas more 7,000 homes by June 30, 2016 to distribute fire-preparedness information and brand new smoke alarms. 

That’s where the Girl Scouts come in.

There are two ways Girl Scout can help:

Canvassing Preparation—Junior through Ambassador level

Girls will be responsible for preparing materials for the canvassing teams to take to high risk fire areas. The Red Cross volunteers can bring the materials to troop meetings if desired or girls can come to other locations to help compile the items needed.

Canvassing Teams—Cadette through Ambassador level

Girls will be responsible for distributing the smoke detectors and campaign materials within the specific neighborhoods or targeted high-risk fire areas along with Red Cross volunteers.

If your troop is interested in participating, please contact Geoffrey Domowicz at the American Red Cross.

Bonus! The community partnership and service can be used toward girls' Bronze and Silver awards!

Father-daughter dance creates memories

Jenna and Jason Shultz

More than 200 Girl Scouts and their dads—or uncles, grandpas, or stepfathers—will enjoy a night of food, fun and dancing at a special father-daughter dance hosted by Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania (GSWPA) on Friday, Nov. 20, 6-9 p.m., at the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 4376 West Lake Road, Erie.

Girls and their dates will enjoy a delicious catered dinner and dancing to music provided by a local DJ. A King and Princess of the ball will be randomly selected from everyone in attendance. Dads, girls and friends can commemorate the evening with pictures from the photo booth.

The event offers girls more than just a fun Friday night dance. It’s a chance for fathers and daughters to connect and make great memories. “We want to encourage strong father-daughter relationships and provide a quality experience to spend time together,” said Amber Carson, Girl Experience Specialist at GSWPA.

Jason Shultz, father of Girl Scout Jenna Shultz, enjoyed the dedicated time with his daughter when they attended last year. “We generally don't get a chance to do things together without her brothers there,” he said. “This allows me to spend one-on-one time with her.”

Jenna loved having a great time with her father along for the fun, noting her favorite moments were “dancing with my friends and dad” and being crowned King and Princess. Both are looking forward to going again this year.

Click for more information or to register for this year's father-daughter dance.

West Allegheny Girl Scouts take action

Cadette Girl Scouts in troop 54481 recently volunteered to pack surplus medical supplies to send to resource-poor countries through Global Links, a medical relief organization.

Their efforts not only provide vital healthcare supplies to those in need, but they also help the environment by eliminating waste.

According to the organization's website, Global Links has been working to redirect still-useful materials away from U.S. landfills to support public health programs in targeted communities throughout the Western Hemisphere. See more at: globallinks.org

Rachel Main, the troop's leader, says the girls are always looking for new ways to help others and learn skills. In December, the girls will collect donated gifts for Toys For Tots. They also plan to participate in an upcoming STEM program.

Keep up the great work, Girl Scouts!

Girl Scouts Emma Main, Hannah Wagner, Myka Wright, Alyssa Keefer and Alyssa Brajdic.

Girl Scouts receive Religious Emblems

Front row: Colleen Barnett, Haley Gray, Korena Behe. 

Back: Lily George, Bishop Bartchak, Allura Nesbella and Monica Behe.

Girl Scouts from Lilly, Pa. received their Religious Emblem Awards from Rev. Mark Leonard Bartchak, Bishop of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, on Saturday, Oct. 24 at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Altoona. The Girl Scouts also participated in the Mass. Lily George and Allura Nesbella were altar servers. Monica and Korena Behe were greeters.

Well done, girls!

Celebrate Faith

Religious recognition programs reinforce many of the values inherent to Girl Scouting and help girls grow stronger in and learn more about their chosen faith. 

You can find details about religious recognition programs and other resources for collaborating with faith communities at P.R.A.Y. Publishing.

Give the gift of Girl Scouting on #GivingTuesday

You've heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but do you know about Giving Tuesday? 

Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania is excited to be participating in this year's #GivingTuesday, a national effort to inspire personal philanthropy and charitable giving during the holiday season.

Starting on Tuesday, Dec. 1 and extending through the holidays, GSWPA will be joining charitable organizations from across the country to show that the world gives as good as it gets. 

Why support GSWPA on #GivingTuesday?

It costs an average of $300-$500 per year for one girl to have the full Girl Scout experience, and last year more than $77,000 in scholarship assistance was awarded to girls in western Pennsylvania so they could have these life-changing experiences with Girl Scouts.

We rely largely on the generosity of our donors to make this possible.

Please consider kicking off your holiday giving season with an end-of-year charitable gift on or before #GivingTuesday, and help us bring Girl Scouting to more girls. We appreciate your support!

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