Get $50 for your troop by adding 5 girls!
Attention Troop Co-Leaders:
Encourage your girls to invite a friend to join your troop between November 14 and December 13, 2019 and receive a deposit of $50 to your troop account!
- Register 5 or more new girls to your troop and receive $50!
- The first 5 troops to add 5 or more girls will receive $100!
Steps to Troop Deposit:
- Ensure the new girls are registered in your Troop by December 13, 2019.
- To be eligible for the Troop deposit, complete the survey once 5 or more new girls register and join your Troop. Survey Link: http://bit.ly/inviteafriend2019
- An ACH form will be sent to you. Complete and return the document to GSWNY for processing of deposit.
- A transfer will be placed in your Troop Bank account.
- As an added bonus, each girl in your Troop will receive a Girl Scout Fun Patch for welcoming new friends.
**Volunteer Safety ratios as identified on page 47 of the Volunteer Essentials handbook must be followed to be deposit eligible.**
Questions? Contact Customer Care at 1-888-837-6410 or customercare@gswny.org.
Invite A Friend Campaign Q&A
What are the campaign dates?
The Join A Friend Campaign runs from November 14th-December 13th.
Do girls that have renewed in my troop count for the campaign?
No, to be eligible all girls must be new to Girl Scouts.
If a girl transfers to my troop does she count as new?
No, troop transfers do not count as she is not a new Girl Scout.
If my troop adds 10 girls do we receive a double incentive?
No, troops will received 1 Troop transfer for 5 or more girls.
Is completion of the ACH form required to receive the Troop transfer of $50.00?
Yes, GSWNY must receive the document to ensure we are processing the transfer to the correct account.
Join the Stargazers Astronomy Club!
Are you a Cadette, Senior, or Ambassador Girl Scout who loves science? Are you curious about stars, space, and astronomy? If you answered yes to either of those questions, we have the club for you!
Last June, local Girl Scouts boarded a plane and began their NASA journey to the Goddard Space Center in Maryland. They spent a week learning about the stars, the sun, space, and how to start – and run – an astronomy club. They worked through the summer to outline a series of meetings and activities to start up this fall, and now they’re ready to share this information with you!
Join us on Thursday, November 21, at 6 p.m. at the Buffalo Central Library in Downtown Buffalo where you can meet your NASA-trained Girl Scout “Mission Control” team.
As a founding member of our inaugural club, you will: Meet girls who share your interest, expand your knowledge of the cosmos, keep up with the latest news from NASA, learn to operate our awesome club telescope, hear from guest speakers, participate in hands-on activities, and more!
Meetings will be held the third Thursday of the month at the Buffalo Central Library in Downtown Buffalo from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Non-Girl Scouts who would love to join this club are invited, but must register to be a Girl Scout either at a Stargazers meeting or online at gswny.org/join.
The cost is $25 and includes a t-shirt, supplies, membership to the Buffalo Astronomical Association, and a discounted membership to the Buffalo Museum of Science.
2019-2020 Meeting Schedule:
- November 21
- December (no meeting – Happy Holidays!)
- January 16
- February (no meeting)
- March 19
- April 16
- May 21
- May 30 – Explore the Sky and S;more at Girl Scouts Camp Windy Meadows
- June – End of year celebration, details TBD
If you have any questions, please contact Sheila Waker at 1-888-837-6410 x.6510 or sheila.waker@gswny.org.
Zaria’s Gold Award project, ‘Inspire You’
Zaria Gibson-Stevenson recently completed her Gold Award project! Watch her project and learn more about it, in her own words!
“I did a Girl Scout recruitment and awareness video that interviewed African American/Black Girl Scouts from all troop levels talking about how fun and exciting scouting can be. My Gold Award Project video, Inspire You, will hopefully help brown and black girls stay in Girl Scouting to the Ambassador level, and encourage new girls to join Girl Scouts.”
“My Inspire You Gold Award Project video helped others by showing brown and black girls the benefits of Girl Scouting. It also showed positive images of brown and black girls doing positive things. It also gave my Girl Scout sisters and I another positive experience in Girl Scouting.
I was able to bond with my Girl Scout sisters, and encourage them on one day completing their Gold Award Projects. I was able to serve as a role model to them, and that made me feel good. Another good thing that came out of my Gold Award Project was that many of my Girl Scout sisters in my Williams Park Service Unit stated how they now wanted to work on their Gold Awards.
One of my Girl Scout sisters told me that when she heard that I was doing my Gold Award Project, it motivated her to complete her Silver Award. I was humbled and honored to be an inspiration to my younger Girl Scout sisters. It has taught me that you never know who is looking at you, and it is always important to set a good example.”
“I hope to encourage African American/Black girls to join Girl Scouts, to stay in Girl Scouts, and to see all of the benefits of Girl Scouting. I want my video viewers to learn about the importance of being a good Girl Scout sister, the activities/journeys some scouts participated in, the Girl Scout Promise and Law, and how to be a sister to every Girl Scout.
While going on Girl Scout cookie fundraisers/troop activities, my Girl Scout sisters and I would often get comments from others in the community about how surprised they were to discover that black and brown girls were involved in scouting, and that I was involved in a predominately black/brown Girl Scout troop. They would often comment how many of my Caucasian/White Girl Scout sisters were often visible in Girl Scouting, and that they did not know any black/brown troops existed. I wanted to do something to change that.”
Congratulations for your incredible work, Zaria!
Girl Scouts of Western New York Weekly Round Up – November 14, 2019
We love seeing our Girl Scouts out and about, whether they’re doing a service project, attending a council program, having a party, going on a field trip, and everything in between! Here’s some of the submissions we received this week:
“Troop 10045 worked on their Philanthropist, Simple Foods, and Entrepreneur badges at Rizzo’s Pizzeria, LLC in Franklinville, a female-owned and -operated business!”
“Senior Troop 10193 enjoyed their evening learning about Japanese culture at Jamestown Community College‘s Global Girls: Japan program!”
“On Saturday, Chadwick Bay Service Unit took a Pound class at Elevation Combat Sports Academy (ECSA) with Tammy. The girls gave donations for veterans as a thank you to both ECSA and veterans.”
“Pittsford Service Unit’s older girls had a Pad Packing Party for their Period Insecurity Project! The supplies are being donated to Rochester schools and their local food pantry to help normalize periods and stop the shame that many girls and women feel surrounding menstruation. 40 girls packed 2000 period kits!”
“Webster Cadette Troop 63113 used Camp Timbercrest as home base this past weekend. They traveled to Splash Lagoon to use the tickets they earned during cookie sales. They also stopped at the Walden Galleria Apple store to earn the first Robotics badge.”
“Girl Scout Shelby attended JCC Global Girls Japan on Friday. The event included making sushi, writing your name in Japanese, poetry, origami, and anime. Many of the girls, including Shelby, tried sushi for the first time. It was a great experience, informative and fun! Thank you to Jamestown Community College for putting on such a cool program!”
“On Saturday, Troop 70085 hosted 3-4 other troops in a babysitting badge blitz. The girls earned their ARC Babysitting certification and finished all the requirements for their babysitting badge. The girls had a blast and the leaders enjoyed watching them so much that the troop is going to offer it again in the spring! We applaud the success! 💚👏💚”
“KenTon Cadette Troop 30646 took a close look at printed media while completing their MEdia Journey at Lakeside this weekend!”
“Junior Troop 30734 and Troop 30040 from Grand Island visited the Fashion Lab NY to work on their product design badge. The girls had to come up with a product, sketch it out, figure out costs including overhead and a price for selling! Thank you to the Fashion Lab NY for their help with this badge!”
“Troop 34633 loves giving back! These young ladies are Considerate and Caring! They each donated a shoebox packed full of goodies to be be donated to Operation Christmas Child this Holiday season along with some homemade cards to spread their cheer!”
“Brownie Troop 39300 has been hard at work this Fall working their pottery badge and leap bot badge. The pottery studio was a private home studio. The leap bot pics are all from Salem Lutheran Church in Springville.”
To send us photos of your Girl Scouting activities, email communications@gswny.org!
Memories from a Hi-Adventure volunteer
Girl Scouts of Western New York recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, but the history of Girl Scouts runs much deeper in the area. Prior to becoming one, our legacy councils served their girls with unique and unforgettable programs.
One such program was Hi-Adventure, an outdoor experience for girls in Niagara County. They would learn outdoor skills and venture into the wilderness for seven to 10 day trips where they would backpack, camp, and canoe.
Recently, one of the program volunteers reached out to us to share some of his memories and photos from his time leading trips with Hi-Adventure.
Dean Johnson, pictured above in a tipping test, was a canoeing instructor who started his time with Girl Scouts as a one-time volunteer helping girls in a pool learn about canoeing. Soon he became a part of the Hi-Adventure program, helping to lead several trips.
After going through his photos, Dean sent along all the photos in this post (and promises to send more!).
Since our beginning, Girl Scouts have been passionate about getting outdoors. In fact, one of the main goals of Girl Scouting in the beginning was getting girls involved in physical activities outside. Juliette Gordon Low even established the first Girl Scout camp in 1921.
Volunteers like Dean have helped us continue Juliette’s mission and help girls get outside and find adventure. Hi-Adventure no longer exists, but its spirit lives on in our outdoor programs and camps.
Today, we remember and honor all Veterans
This Veterans Day, we salute all of the servicemen and servicewomen who keep our country safe each and every day, especially our Girl Scout sisters.
From sending Girl Scout Cookies overseas to marching in military parades, Girl Scouts all over the country send support to military servicemen and women all year long.
Troop 20173’s second annual JLow Glow Party!
[This post was submitted by Troop 20173. To share your troop story, email communications@gswny.org.]
What’s the best way to celebrate a birthday? Throw a party!
So how do you celebrate the birthday of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts? Gather 42 Girl Scouts from 13 troops, along with a Juliette Girl Scout, together to sing “Happy Birthday” and party in her name, of course!
Girls from Westfield, Chautauqua Lake, Ripley, Cassadaga, Sherman and Clymer schools came together on October 28 to have a “JLow Glow” party at Eason Hall in Westfield.
The girls skated (or tried to!), played games, and shared snacks with their sister Girl Scouts. With the lights low, the glow party’s colored lights and glow sticks set the mood for fun.
At the end of it all, the girls gathered in a huge friendship circle and sang in honor of Girl Scout founder Ms. Low. Some girls even took the opportunity to join Girl Scouting that evening!
Hosted by the Cadettes in Westfield’s Troop 20173 of the Twin Lakes Service Unit, this second annual event was a terrific success.
