Dear GSWNY Members,
We are so excited to launch back into another Girl Scout membership year! While there are many challenges facing families this fall, Girl Scouting remains a fun and engaging space for your girl to connect with friends, and stay active and involved.
Please read below for additional resources for leaders and for families to “Choose Your Own Girl Scout Adventure” this year! These resources will continue to be updated including property rentals for events and troop meetings, Zoom license accounts for troops, and more.
If you haven’t yet renewed your or your girl’s membership, please take a few minutes to complete this by 9/30 so that you do not miss out on incentives including SAGE college tuition rewards! (more details below). Financial aid is available and can be requested in the renewal process.
Please note that the GSWNY Council & Shops will CLOSE from 12:00-3:00 pm on Monday, September 21, 2020 for a Staff Development Training.
- Customer Care phone lines will be open 9:00-12:00 pm and 3:00-4:30 pm
- Shop Curbside pickup service open 10:00-12:00 pm and 3:00-4:00 pm
Please see the important announcements below and for questions, please contact Customer Care customercare@gswny.org or call 1-888-837-6410. In an emergency, please call 1-800-882-9268.
Thank you for all you do!
Alison
Two weeks left to renew your Girl Scout membership!
Girl Scouts may look different this year, but unlike so many other activities, we are still going strong! In these uncertain times, Girl Scouts is here to provide consistency and stability for your girl, and will continue to adapt to meet her needs.
We have supports for troops and individual girls to make sure they all have a great membership year.
No matter how your girl participates this year, renewal by 9/30 ensures you don’t miss out on our signature Renewal perk, SAGE Tuition Rewards – girls earn 2,500 points and leaders/SUMs earn 3,500 points. Each point equals $1 in tuition/scholarship that you can use at over 400 colleges and universities, including Canisius, St. Bonaventure, Daemen, the University of Rochester, and RIT. Learn all the details on our SAGE page.
Zoom Into Fall – New Round of Trainings!
TWO SESSIONS | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1
Join us for one of our FREE adult training sessions to learn all about how you can use Zoom this Fall to run your Girl Scout Troop and Service Unit meetings.
We will walk you through setting up a Zoom account, how to schedule meetings, and how to run a Girl Scout meeting virtually. We will also go over some of our great resources to help you run virtual Girl Scouting easily and successfully!
GSUSA has subsidized the cost of professional zoom licenses for troops and GSWNY will soon be sharing how you can sign up for one. The monthly fee will be $3 per month ($36 per year). Licenses can be purchased by troops using troop funds, and for troops who need it, financial aid will be available to cover the cost. More details to come!
Questions? Contact Customer Care at 1-888-837-6410 or customercare@gswny.org
MORNING SESSION 11:30 AM | EVENING SESSION 6:30 PM
Choose your own Girl Scouting Adventure!
How to have a great Girl Scouts Year in one document! This resource is your one-stop-shop for resources on leading a troop this year in-person, virtually, or both! Learn more about: safety guidelines, how to run a troop meeting virtually, badge-in-a-box, events, and Council patches and badges tailored for a virtual environment.
Virtual Video Backgrounds
With back-to-school season, we thought it might be fun to create some versatile new Zoom backgrounds for adults and girls to enjoy!
Retail Item of the Week: Western New York Duffle Bag
This adorable lightweight smooth duffle bag is perfect for an overnight trip or gym bag! It’s the perfect size for a sleeping bag and set of clothes to spend the weekend at Girl Scout Camp OR Grandma’s house! We love the GSWNY details and thick straps!
The bag is only $10 and available for FREE SHIPPING or Curbside Pick-up at your local WNY Girl Scout Shop!
Camp Windy Meadows has a new mascot!
Girl Scout Cyrene says, “I picked a baby fox as the animal because every time we go to Camp Windy Meadows, my mom and I get there first to set up and we ALWAYS see a fox in the field. I named her after Juliette Gordon Low. I love watching a TV show called Psych and one of the main characters is named Juliette and they calls her Jules for short. So, I thought Jewel would be the perfect nickname for the fox.”
Troop leaders: Pre-Order your Gluten Free Cookies NOW!
Girl Scouts of Western New York will offer a gluten free Girl Scout Cookie again this year. Troops must let us know of their intent to participate in advance of our normal ordering and selling period. Pre-order is required by ABC Bakers due to the special requirements of gluten free products. We will have extremely limited quantities available at the cupboards during the 2021 program, so to guarantee you’ll receive cookies, please be sure to pre-order!
If your troop would like to order Gluten Free Caramel Chocolate Chip, please read ALL the details below and submit your order by October 23, 2020. Payment will be due in March at the same time as all other varieties.
- Pre-orders are in CASE AMOUNTS only. (12 packages per case)
- The gluten free cookies will retail for $5.00 per pouch. Troop proceeds will follow the same plan as all other cookies sold.
- We can only guarantee product to troops who special order the gluten free cookies by October 23, 2020.
- Cases that are pre-ordered will be distributed with the troop’s initial cookie order at Service Unit (or Mega Drop) delivery.
- Caramel Chocolate Chip will not appear on the cookie order card.
- Submit your troop order by visiting the Girl Scouts of Western New York’s website: www.gswny.org. Order link is on the home page or you can click the link below.
- Caramel Chocolate Chip sales count toward girl recognitions.
Questions? Contact us at 1.888.837.6410 or customercare@gswny.org.
We know you love Girl Scouting, so your opinion is important to us! Let us know your thoughts!
Girl Scouts of the USA partnered with F.I.T student designers to create a student-designed collection in an attempt to make the Girl Scout uniform more versatile and relevant — to infiltrate the modern teenage wardrobe with scout swag. With a new vest designed for the modern Girl Scout that has pockets, it’s large enough to fit the largest model of the iPhone. There are more than a dozen separates for Girl Scouts in grades six through twelve, including things that are likely already in their closets, like black spandex leggings and a denim jacket.
Please take this 2 minute survey and help us decide what to bring into our Girl Scout Shops!
| Skills and Chills Hybrid Event C/S/A – Virtual + Camp Seven Hills Five activities will be held at Camp Seven Hills Goodyear and seven will be done as a team, virtually. We will gather for a virtual opening campfire on Oct. 2 and wrap up with a virtual campfire ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 13. October 3-4, 2020 Registration closes 9/30 Register Here | Skills and Chills Virtual Event C/S/A – Virtual Not comfortable meeting in person yet? You can opt out of the in-person portion of our hybrid Skills and Chills. Seven activities will be done as a team, virtually. The opening virtual campfire is Oct. 2 and a closing ceremony will be held Oct. 13. October 3-4, 2020 Registration closes 9/30 Register Here |
| Archery and Orienteering Adventures J/C/S/ A – Camp Piperwood During this fun-filled day you will learn about archery safety from certified instructors, and then how to use a compass to navigate the trails. Saturday, October 3 Registration closes 9/28 Register Here | Archery and Orienteering Adventures J/C/S/ A – Camp Piperwood During this fun-filled day you will learn about archery safety from certified instructors, and then how to use a compass to navigate the trails. Sunday, October 4 Registration closes 9/28 Register Here |
Looking for more to do? Check out our Programs & Events at gswny.org
If you haven’t completed the September survey yet, please take 2 minutes to provide feedback to GSWNY – and help us be even better!
- Troop Leader Survey – What supports do you need this fall?
- Parent Survey – What programming do you want to see for your girl?
Girl Scouting at Home
Looking for ways to stay involved with Girl Scouts? Check out our Girl Scouting at Home page today! New resources are added regularly.
Looking for more options? Head to girlscouts.org for even more at-home opportunities for your Girl Scout by grade level, and check out some of the online opportunities below:
Girl Scouts Doing Good Things
Girl Scout Troop 70214, 8th grade Cadettes, started their silver award by cleaning up Starpoint nature trail, clearing out garbage, and trimming branches last week!
We are #GirlScoutStrong! Looking forward to talking to you next Tuesday! In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Customer Care customercare@gswny.org or call 1-888-837-6410. In an emergency, please call 1-800-882-9268.
Categories: Member Essentials
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