Cookies are coming!

Order taking begins Jan. 6!

Our favorite time of year is almost here: Girl Scout Cookie season! Cookie order taking starts on Friday, Jan. 6, with National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend and booth sales starting on Friday, Feb. 24.
Here's the low down on everything you need to know about this year's Cookie Program! 

NEW! Girl Scout S'mores Cookies
We’re SOOO excited about the new Girl Scout S’mores™ cookies. That’s right! We’re combining two iconic Girl Scout traditions—s’mores and Girl Scout Cookies! Find out more about this delicious new addition. 

 
Cookie Lineup
All the classic favorites will be available this year, including Do-si-dos, Samoas, Savannah Smiles, Tagalongs, Thin Mints and Trefoils, and the gluten-free cookie, Toffee-tastic, will also be offered again! All eight cookie varieties, including Toffee-tastic and the new Girl Scout S'mores, will be available on girl order cards, through Digital Cookie and at booth sales! See the full cookie lineup. 

Digital Cookie 
With Digital Cookie, the Girl Scout Cookie Program you know and love is better than ever. Now, there are more ways to sell, more ways to buy—and more ways to learn and have fun!

Parents: Watch for your registration email in late December to get started. You can start setting up your girl's site right away, so she'll be ready to go when sales start on Jan. 6!

• Registration emails are specific to each girl and cannot be shared with others. 
• The email will be sent to the email address identified in your membership profile. 
• The email will come from “Girl Scout Cookie Program” (email@email.girlscouts.org).

Be sure to check your junk/spam/promotions inbox so your Girl Scout doesn’t miss out on all the fun! If you do not receive an invitation email by Jan. 1, go to digitalcookie.girlscouts.org and click the “Forgot password/Need a registration” email link.

Cookie Troop 100
In honor of 100 years of Girl Scouts selling cookies, one lucky troop from EVERY council around the country will win $100 each to put toward their awesome cookie Take Action or service project. And one VERY lucky troop will win $3,000 to super-power their project! Find out more.

National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend -  Feb 24-26
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. 24 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.

Troop Leaders and Service Unit Cookie Managers: Be sure to check your email for Cookie Bytes, which will give you all the info you need on eBudde and much more.  
 

Girl Scouting works: Alumnae more successful and active in communities

Since 1912, millions of women have had their lives positively impacted and transformed by their Girl Scout experience. 

According to the Girl Scouts Research Institute study, "Girl Scouting Works: An Alumnae Impact Story:"

• One in every two adult women has at some point been a member of Girl Scouts, and there are currently 59 million Girl Scout alumnae.
• Alumnae with more than three years’ experience in Girl Scouts fare better than shorter-term alumnae in many areas, including sense of self, civic engagement, education and leadership. 
• All alumnae, even those with two years’ experience or less, are more active in community service and volunteer work than non-alumnae.

And the majority of female elected officials are also Girl Scout alumnae:*

• Fifty-eight percent of women in the 114th Congress are Girl Scout alumnae. 
• Seventy-five percent of current female senators are Girl Scout alumnae. 
• Every female secretary of state in U.S. history is a former Girl Scout: Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton. 

*Source: Girl Scouts of the USA Public Policy & Advocacy Office, Washington, DC (2015)

See more Girl Scouts Alumnae by the Numbers.

Help more girls become tomorrow's leaders today on #GivingTuesday!  

GSWPA is joining charitable organizations from all over the globe by participating in #GivingTuesday on Nov. 29. This global movement celebrates and encourages giving back to the community organizations, like Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania, that make a difference in the lives of your family and so many others. 

Last year, more than $45,000 in financial assistance was awarded to 2,200 girls in western Pennsylvania so they could have these life-changing experiences with Girl Scouts. We rely largely on donations--both big and small--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! 

Donate now > 

Girl Scouts explore the fun, challenges of STEM

Eighty-one percent of all high school girls are interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), but only 13% say it is their first choice, with about half of all girls believing that STEM isn't a typical career path for girls. 

At Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania (GSWPA), we believe that connecting girls to STEM and women professionals in STEM careers through the Girl Scouts can help change that perception among and the career opportunities for high school girls.

But showing girls that STEM can be challenging and fun starts long before girls enter high school. GSWPA offers STEM programs and opportunities to girls in grades K-12. Even our youngest Daisy Girl Scouts are discovering and enjoying STEM activities, too!

This Girl Scout year has been full-STEM ahead, with several programs taking place since Oct. 1!

Help more girls have STEM opportunities on #GivingTuesday

GSWPA is joining charitable organizations from all over the globe by participating in #GivingTuesday on Nov. 29. This global movement celebrates and encourages giving back to the community organizations, like Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania, that make a difference in the lives of your family and so many others.

Last year, more than $45,000 in financial assistance was awarded to 2,200 girls in western Pennsylvania so they could have these life-changing experiences with Girl Scouts. We rely largely on donations--both big and small--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!

Donate now >

GirlScouts@PSU STEM event at Penn State Shenango, Sharon

 STEM Badge Day at Penn State Behrend, Erie

Girl Scout Engineering Day at Pitt

"Going Gold" helps Girl Scouts achieve success

Girl Scouts has helped girls become strong, confident and courageous leaders since the organization was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912.

Nearly 115 years later, this work is more important than ever. Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania (GSWPA) needs your support to continue providing amazing opportunities for girls that helps them achieve success, now and in the future.

More than ninety percent of Girl Scouts not only attributed their success in life to Girl Scouts, but they also said they could not have had access to the same experiences anywhere else.  

The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout can earn, acknowledges the power behind each recipient’s dedication to not only empowering and bettering herself, but also to making the world a better place for others.

When compared to non-Girl Scout alumnae, Gold Award recipients are more ambitious, placing more emphasis on a successful career, financial security, and being a leader.

“Being able to deliver results...and being able to do it well with experience and leadership, I learned that from Girl Scouts,” said Christy Uffelman, Partner at Align Leadership. Learn more about what Christy learned from being a Girl Scout in this short video.

Gold Award recipients are more likely to see themselves as leaders and to have had leadership experiences in volunteer activities, school, their communities, and politics.

• 81% think of themselves as a leader, compared with 50% of non-alumnae.  

• 84% feel they have had success in leadership, compared with 64% of non-alumnae.

Also, Gold Award recipients have had more leadership experiences in volunteer activities (66% versus 37% of non-alumnae), in school (54% versus 39% of non-alumnae), in the community (50% versus 26% of non-alumnae), and in politics (21% versus 8% of non-alumnae).

Earning the Gold Award is just one of the amazing things girls can do as part of Girl Scouts. To join Girl Scouts or learn more about volunteering, please visit gswpa.org.

Support girls who are changing the world on #GivingTuesday

GSWPA is joining charitable organizations from all over the globe by participating in #GivingTuesday on Nov. 29. This global movement celebrates and encourages giving back to the community organizations, like Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania, that make a difference in the lives of your family and so many others.

Last year, more than $45,000 in financial assistance was awarded to 2,200 girls in western Pennsylvania so they could have these life-changing experiences with Girl Scouts. We rely largely on donations--both big and small--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! 


Donate now >

Source: The Power of the Girl Scout Gold Award: Excellence in Leadership and Life, Girl Scout Research Institute, 2016

Girl Scout Cookie Program: Teaching Essential Skills for a Lifetime

A well-known component of Girl Scouting is the Cookie Program, the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world. Each year, Girl Scouts around the country venture into the entrepreneurial world to learn business and financial skills and earn money to power new, unique and amazing experiences. 

Through “learning by earning,” Girl Scouts find the G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ within to do awesome things for herself and for her community through the development of the five essential skills: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.

In 2016, the Girl Scout Research Institute worked to better measure the impact of the Girl Scout Cookie Program and understand the extent to which Girl Scouts develop these five essential skills. 

Survey responses from 40,000 Girl Scouts, representing all Girl Scout levels and various regions of the country show that:

A majority of Girl Scout “Cookie Entrepreneurs” are developing the five essential skills.*

• Goal Setting: 85% of girls learned how to set goals and meet deadlines, make a plan for how to achieve a goal, change actions when needed to keep on track with their goal, and work with others to achieve goals set together.
• Decision Making: 88% of girls learned how to think through different choices, explain the reasons why they made a decision, decide between multiple choices, and listen to everyone’s thoughts when making group decisions.
• Money Management: 88% of girls learned how to count money and make change, create a plan to save their money, track their money so they know how much they have, and distinguish the difference between wants and needs.
• People Skills: 85% of girls learned how to be comfortable talking to and being around new people, determine the best way to get their message across when talking with people, and tell people what they hope to achieve when working toward a goal.
• Business Ethics: 94% of girls learned how to be respectful of others, take responsibility for what they say and do, keep their promises, and not lie to get out of trouble.
• Significantly, two out of three girls (66%) are developing all five skills.

Participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program helps girls experience amazing adventures—a trip she’ll never forget, a service project that will change her community forever, or the opportunity to learn, grow, and build a lifetime of memories at camp that broaden her world. 

Girls also learn essential life skills, gaining opportunities to set goals, make decisions, manage money, understand customers, and work well with others, all while being prepared to practice a lifetime of leadership.

Collectively, this data shows the role the Girl Scout Cookie Program can play in developing financially empowered girl leaders. Learning valuable life skills via the Girl Scout Cookie Program helps girls become successful business leaders, now and in the future.

Help more girls develop skills for success on #GivingTuesday

GSWPA is joining charitable organizations from all over the globe by participating in #GivingTuesday on Nov. 29. This global movement celebrates and encourages giving back to the community organizations, like Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania, that make a difference in the lives of your family and so many others.

Last year, more than $45,000 in financial assistance was awarded to 2,200 girls in western Pennsylvania so they could have these life-changing experiences with Girl Scouts. We rely largely on donations--both big and small--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! 

Donate now >

*Girls were considered to be developing a skill if the average score of the items that assess it was greater than a 3.0 (max score = 5.0).

Girl Scouts take action to end bullying

Abby Johnson, Ellie Shade, Riley Clever, Haley Bloomquist,
Chloe McMullen, and Ellie Conaway.

Girl Scouts in Troop 30188 hosted an anti-bullying Movie Night for younger girls on Friday, Nov. 4, at Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania (GSWPA) in Edinboro.

The group of seventh-grade Girl Scouts from J.W. Parker Middle School created and starred in a video called, “Be Buddies, Not Bullies.” The short film depicted brave female students standing up to a bully in school.

The Girl Scouts asked the younger girls to join them in signing a pledge to treat others with respect and kindness, and to promise to report bullying.

After the short program, girls enjoyed popcorn and watched “An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong,” a movie that also carries a strong anti-bullying message.

Girls signed a pledge to end bullying.

The event was the girls' Take Action project, the last step in a Girl Scout Leadership Journey that encourages girls to make the world a better place, have fun, learn more.

Developing healthy relationships, navigating cliques, and moving beyond stereotypes are major themes in "aMAZE! The Twists and Turns of Getting Along." In this Leadership Journey, Cadette Girl Scouts team up on projects with younger girls, senior citizens, or classmates to share their new friendship-building skills, just as Troop 30188 did with their Movie Night.

Well done, girls!

Support girls who are changing the world on #GivingTuesday

GSWPA is joining charitable organizations from all over the globe by participating in #GivingTuesday on Nov. 29. This global movement celebrates and encourages giving back to the community organizations, like Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania, that make a difference in the lives of your family and so many others.

Last year, more than $45,000 in financial assistance was awarded to 2,200 girls in western Pennsylvania so they could have these life-changing experiences with Girl Scouts. We rely largely on donations--both big and small--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!

Donate now >

Invite a friend to start a troop and everyone wins! Deadline extended to Jan. 31!

As a Girl Scout volunteer, you introduce girls to fun, new and unique experiences every day, and help them find their spark as they prepare to practice a lifetime of leadership. You're their biggest fan, their guiding star, and their hero, and we need more amazing mentors just like you to impact even more girls' lives. 

Now through Jan. 31, invite a friend to start a new Girl Scout troop and everyone wins!  

 

When your friend completes the volunteer application, becomes an approved and cleared volunteer, and starts a new Girl Scout Daisy, Brownie or Junior troop, you'll get $50 to spend in our Girl Scouts Official Online Store and they'll get a Volunteer Resource Pack to get their Girl Scouts experience off to a great start! Plus, when you double the friends, you double your prize: $100 for you and a Volunteer Resource Pack for each friend. Awesome!  

Here's how: 

1. Invite a friend to join by sending them a link to our volunteer join form at gswpa.org/volunteer. You can also spread the word on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by sharing the graphic below!

2. Once your friend completes the volunteer application, head over to girlscouts.org/inviteafriend to let us know.

3. After your friend is approved and cleared as a volunteer and starts a new Daisy, Brownie or Junior troop, you'll both receive emails about how to claim your prizes.  

Offer ends Tuesday, Jan. 31.

Questions? We're here for you. Email us.

Please review official Terms and Conditions.

GSWPA honors veterans

A note from our CEO:

Suzane Buttery

As you already know, Girl Scouts has a long history of honoring the men and women who serve our country through the U.S. military. Girl Scout troops send letters and care packages to deployed soldiers. They organize special events celebrating veterans. One Girl Scout troop spent many hours cutting and sewing a special Quilt of Valor for a veteran in their community. Did you know that more than 43,000 boxes of our iconic cookies were sent to soldiers and veterans in 2016 on behalf of Girl Scouts in western Pennsylvania? From every corner of our council, Girl Scouts respect and revere military service.

Today is Veterans Day, the perfect time to recognize our council staff who have served our country. On behalf of everyone at GSWPA, thank you for your service to this great nation, and all you do to support Girl Scouts. We’re grateful for your leadership, and your courage and character inspire us all.

Sincerely, 

Mike Black

Patricia Burkart
Chief Executive Officer



When you see the following GSWPA staffers, be sure to thank them for their service!

Robert Curzi, Singing Hills Camp Ranger, U.S. Army, Tank Gunner 1985-1989

Suzane Buttery, GSWPA Recruitment Specialist, Air Force Active Duty, January 1998 – December
2008; Air Force Reserve, December 2008 – present

Mike Black, Resting Waters Camp Ranger, January 1, 1976 through May 1, 1995, retired from the United States Air Force at the rank of Master Sergeant.

Gold Award 100th Anniversary Reception a shining success!

It was the celebration of a century Thursday night at the Gold Award 100th Anniversary Reception! Highest award recipients, friends and supporters gathered at the Pittsburgh Opera for an evening of fun, friendship and Girl Scout pride. 
Highest Award recipients received commemorative pins during an inspiring pinning ceremony, and attendees shared stories around the "campfire," snapped fun selfies, and enjoyed delicious food and great music. It was a wonderful evening to commemorate an amazing milestone. Thanks to everyone who joined us!