Thursday, December 29, 2016

Top 10: It's a great time to sell Girl Scout Cookies!

It's almost January, which in western Pennsylvania means one thing: It's Girl Scout Cookie time! Here are the top 10 reasons why it's a great time to sell Girl Scout cookies!
  1. Recognitions! Girls will hoot over this year's owl-themed lineup of great goodies for go-getters! Fancy a FitBit? Admire the American Girl Doll of the Year? The hottest must-haves are choices for top sellers in 2017!
  2. Keep the fun going! Troops can use cookie proceeds to pay for girls’ memberships through Early Bird registration in the spring.
  3. Earning and learning! The proceeds troops earn from the Cookie Program funds camp, travel, events, programs, uniforms, community service and more!
  4. New Girl Scout S'mores Cookie! The favorite campfire treat is now a Girl Scout Cookie--and they'll be available for customers to buy and try starting Jan. 6. Find out more about the Girl Scout S’mores™ cookies.
  5. Treats for troops! Take donations to send cookies to men and women in the U.S. military and local veterans groups through Operation: Sweet Appreciation!
  6. It's tradition! Girls 2017 marks the 100th year of the first known sale of cookies by Girl Scouts! Find out more about this major milestone
  7. Cookie Troop 100! To celebrate 100 years of Girl Scouts selling cookies, one lucky troop from EVERY council across the country will win $100 each and one VERY lucky troop will win $3,000 to support their Take Action project! Check it out!
  8. Digital Cookie! Girl Scouts can reach customers near and far--and gain 21st century business skills--through their very own online sales sites on Digital Cookie. Girls who pair Digital Cookie with traditional sales sold 76% more cookies than girls who did not sell cookies online!
  9. Mad skills! 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.
  10. Girl-powered! The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led business in the world! What's sweeter than that?

Monday, December 26, 2016

Digital Cookie superpowers sales!

Is your daughter participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program this year?

Now there's one more way to superpower her sale—by adding online selling with the Digital Cookie platform. 

She can reach friends and family, near and far, to grow her sale. And she can participate at her convenience, based on her schedule and availability, all from the comfort of your living room. How cool is that?

Girl Scout Avery Schaeffer and her mom Chrissy love the convenience of using Digital Cookie to reach out-of-town family. The Schaeffers have lived in western Pennsylvania for only 10 years.

"All of our family is either in eastern Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, Florida, or California," Chrissy said. "Avery loves to sell to her family, but it’s challenging to actually get the cookies there. We were excited when Digital Cookie started."

Avery agrees that staying close with her favorite cookie customers is a whole lot easier thanks to the online platform. "I like to use Digital Cookie because my family who doesn’t live around me can still support my troop’s goals.”

Did you know? Girl Scouts who pair Digital Cookie with traditional sales sold 76% more cookies than girls who did not sell cookies online! Sweet!

Ready to jump in? 

Check your email for registration details and instructions. Getting your Girl Scout started on Digital Cookie is super simple, with just four easy steps! She'll register, set up her site, invite customers, and track her goals. That's it!

Check out these Four Easy Steps to Get Movin' with the Digital Cookie Platform!

No registration email? Whether you didn't get one or deleted it by accident, never fear! Just go to digitalcookie.girlscouts.orgenter the email address you used to register your Girl Scout and click ‘Forgot password/Need a registration email.’ then work with your Girl Scout to set up her page, play some cookie games and start inviting customers to purchase cookies and have them shipped to their door. 

Please note: Digital Cookie is not supported in Internet Explorer. Please use another web browser to access the site.


Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Three Girl Scouts Named GSWPA’s Top Youth Volunteers of the Year

Girl Scouts Megan Shissler, Jamie Neely and Gabrielle Corcoran
Girl ScoutsWestern Pennsylvania (GSWPA) today named three Girl Scouts its top youth volunteers of the year.
The honor was granted to Megan Shissler, 14, of Delmont, Jamie Neely, 12, and Gabrielle Corcoran, 13, both of Pittsburgh, as part of the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards.
A nationwide youth volunteer recognition program, the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards are sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
By selecting Shissler, Neely and Corcoran as its top youth volunteers, GSWPA has advanced their applications for state-level judging in the 2017 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. Prudential will announce Pennsylvania’s top youth volunteers of the year on February 7, 2017.
Shissler, a ninth-grade student at Greensburg-Salem High School, earned a Girl Scout SilverAward for her project to redesign and update her community’s website, delmontboro.com. Her goal was to make the website not only more relevant and updated, but to also increase web traffic and give her community a better online presence.
Neely, in seventh grade at North Hills Junior High School, helped renovate a community garden in Troy Hill. She assisted in creating a brightly colored cinder block garden and adding picnic tables with built-in chess\checker boards. To help make the project environmentally friendly, recycled cinderblocks, pallets, and reclaimed wood were used and new rain barrels were installed. Neely organized a picnic at the completion of the project to reveal the improvements to the community.
A seventh grade student at Providence Heights Alpha School, Corcoran wanted to help the Sisters of Divine Providence at her school take time from their duties to relax and have fun. She scheduled social time for the sisters and introduced games for them to play. Corcoran also created a Knit-a-Thon, benefitting the sisters who take a vow of poverty. More than 200 people were involved in the event, including three local businesses.
Girl Scout Katie Handy
GSWPA also recognized Katie Handy, 17, of Jeanette, for her exemplary volunteer service with a Prudential Spirit of Community Certificate of Merit. She is a senior at Hempfield Area Senior High School.
Handy is working toward a Girl Scout Gold Award for her project to landscape the grounds at the Baltzer Meyer Historical Society’s one-room Harrold Schoolhouse in Greensburg. She is leading a team of volunteers to remove trees, weeds, plant flowers, and bury an exposed pipe. Her project will make the grounds safer and more beautiful for the historic schoolhouse’s many visitors.
“We’re extremely proud of each one of these Girl Scouts who have worked so diligently and creatively to help make their corner of the world a better place,” said Patricia A. Burkart, CEO of GSWPA. “Their leadership is an inspiration to us all.” 
As Local Honorees, Shissler, Neely and Corcoran are now in the running to be named one of two Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees for Pennsylvania. State Honorees receive a $1,000 award and an all-expense-paid trip with a parent or guardian to Washington, D.C., for several days of special recognition events. Other state-level honorees will receive bronze medallions or Certificates of Excellence.
During May’s national recognition events in Washington, America’s top 10 youth volunteers of the year will be named by a distinguished selection committee. Each of these National Honorees will receive an additional $5,000, a crystal trophy for his or her school or organization, and a $5,000 Prudential Foundation grant for a charitable organization of their choice.
"Young people who contribute their time and talents to their communities are role models for all of us," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We salute their dedication, their achievements, and their spirit of community."
"Demonstrating civic responsibility through community volunteerism is an important part of life," said NASSP Executive Director JoAnn Bartoletti. "These Honorees practice a lesson we hope all young people, as well as adults, will emulate."
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents America’s largest youth recognition program based exclusively on volunteer service. Since 1995, the program has honored more than 115,000 youth volunteers at the local, state and national level. Learn more at spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Girl Scout discount available for dogsledding at Nemacolin


You don't have to go to Alaska to experience dogsledding. It's right in our backyard at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in Farmington! And now, Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania members can receive a 10% discount off the normal dogsledding rates.

Start the experience by meeting your very own team of sled dogs and their friends with a tour of the dog yard, which houses 24 Alaskan Huskies. You'll get a short briefing on the basics of dog sledding and how the musher maneuvers the sled while controlling the dogs with specific voice signals. Then, climb on in! Glide across the snow at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, making quick turns up and down the scenic landscape of the Laurel Highlands. Get an adrenaline rush that you have never had before!

GSWPA members will receive a 10% discount off of the following pricing per session: 
  • Rate: $150 for the first person, $25 each additional rider (maximum of 4 riders per session)
  • Holiday rates (Dec. 23-Jan 1, Jan. 13-15 and Feb. 17-19): $250 per session
  • All above rates do not include tax and gratuity.
To book a reservation with this Girl Scout discount, please call Grace Wright, Director of Event Recreation at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, at 724-329-6413.

Important Details
  • Reservations are required. 
  • Includes a 30-minute Kennel Tour and 30-minute ride. 
  • Two guest maximum per sled/cart, families of 3 or more may split ride time with a 4 person maximum per time slot. 
  • Maximum combined weight of 275 lbs. Minimum weight is 45 lbs. for children. 
  • Please meet at the Barn behind the Equestrian Center. The run will take place regardless of weather, so please dress appropriately.
  • Dogsledding hours: 8:30 am, 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m.