GEICO is More Than a Gecko!

While the Gecko may be totally awesome, more so is GEICO's commitment to educating teens on road and vehicle safety.

On Saturday, Nov. 7, Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana will gather at the Collision Center of America, from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. for an interactive Road Safety program. Girls will see a simulated rollover accident, try to walk a straight line while wearing impaired vision goggles and meet local police officers. In an effort to educate Girl Scouts on preventative maintenance, girls will learn how to change a tire, jump a car, and check necessary car fluids. This all would've, no doubt, been very helpful to me as a teenager! Twelve GEICO auto damage representatives will be on hand to guide the girls through the day.

Of the partnership - Rynthia Rost, GEICO vice president
says, "GEICO is working hard to educate teens on road and vehicle
safety through our teen safe driving program and by partnering with great
organizations like the Girl Scouts."

The event is part of a comprehensive road skills, auto care and driving safety series, designed to help the girls earn the new GEICO Road Safety Patch. Once the classes are completed and the Girl Scouts sign an honor code agreement, they are eligible for the patch which shows they have learned how to make smart decisions on the road.

Empower Girls by Connecting Them Globally

Last Thursday I had the honor of attending an event at Girl Scouts National Headquarters called Learning To Lead - the kickoff of a partnership between Girl Scouts of the USA, CARE, Seventeen Magazine and The Documentary Group. This ground-breaking partnership, called The Power of Girls, will connect girls worldwide and mobilize them around important global issues, including the critical role that girls’ education and leadership plays in addressing poverty. In true Girl Scout style, The Power of Girls puts girls at the heart of a conversation about the most important issues of our time.

The event included Discussion, moderated by MTV News Correspondent SuChin Pak, with Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning actress Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Stoning of Soraya M, House of Sand and Fog, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, ABC hit series Flash Forward), Guest Speaker Ann Shoket (Editor in Chief – Seventeen); girls’ education and leadership experts from CARE, Girl Scouts Research Institute and Population Council; and on-the-ground perspective from the director of CARE Afghanistan, Lex Kassenberg.

Most importantly, there was live conversation via Intel-powered classmate PCs with Girl Scouts in New York and girls in a classroom in a developing country who discussed solutions to global girls’ issues.

Along with all this was the launch of The Power of Girls Pledge that urges American girls to learn about issues affecting girls worldwide, share their findings with friends, and take action – supported by Seventeen Magazine.

Take the Pledge, right away!

Justine R.E.A.L. Girl Contest

We are thrilled to announce a new editorial partnership with Justine magazine. To kick off this new collaboration, Justine is holding a contest that is open only to Girl Scouts.

Girl Scouts everywhere are encouraged to tell the world how they are "Remarkable, Energetic, Aspirational Leaders" by entering the Justine R.E.A.L. Girl Contest where the prize is a feature in the magazine. This R.E.A.L. Girl Contest is open only to Girl Scouts between the ages of 13-19, who are working to make the world a better place in their local communities and beyond. The winner will be featured in an article telling all about her activities as the R.E.A.L. Girl, and she will win a trip to the Justine offices in Memphis, Tennessee, for a professional photo shoot, as well as other fun prizes and Justine subscriptions for her troop and her school library. “As the publisher of Justine (and a former Girl Scout), I am thrilled that we are partnering with Girl Scouts of the USA to showcase amazing Girl Scouts through our R.E.A.L Girl Contest. Justine is proud to feature these girls and their many accomplishments in their schools and communities,” said Jana Kerr Pettey, Publisher/Editorial Director, Justine magazine.Submissions will be accepted until mid-January 2010, and the finalists and winner will be selected in February. For more information and contest rules, check out Justine Magazine! Good Luck...

Weekend Run-Down

Good Morning Everyone,

This weekend Girl Scouts across the country celebrated the birth date of Juliette Gordon Low! Read all about it and more in today's Weekend Round-Up.

• USA Today has a story about Savannah which includes the popular house for tourists -Juliette Gordon Low's Birthplace, where the founder of the Girl Scouts grew up.
• The Delaware News Journal also has a great piece on Juliette Gordon Low's birthday - check it out!
• In Florida, The Foster Folley News has a story about President Obama signing The Girl Scout Commemorative Coin Act.
• The dogs and cats at the Humane Society of Yuma, AZ, have a few extra friends thanks to a local Girl Scout troop. Read the full story in The Yuma Sun.
• St. Louis Suburban Journals is reporting that Astronaut Sandra Magnus met with Girl Scouts and their volunteers at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville to present them a council flag she had taken with her on her voyage to the International Space Station last November.

Enjoy

Girl Scout Commemorative Coin Act is Law

Hello Everyone - Fantastic news!

President Obama on Thursday signed the Girl Scout Commemorative Coin Act into law, authorizing the Untied States Mint to strike up to 350,000 silver dollar coins to honor the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Girl Scouts of the USA.

The coins will be minted and sold in 2013, marking the end of Girl Scouts’ yearlong centennial celebration and kicking off a new century of leadership and service to girls. The bill, H.R. 621, was introduced by Rep. Jack Kingston and easily passed by a voice vote on Oct. 13. Sen. Susan Collins sponsored a companion bill, S. 451. Instead of moving that forward, the Senate simply passed the House version on Oct. 19 by Unanimous Consent. President Obama signed the bill at 3:15 p.m. ET during a ceremony at the White House that included Connie L. Lindsey, GSUSA National Board Chair, Laurie Westley, Senior Vice President, Public Policy, Advocacy & the Research Institute, and girls from the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital.

"This is a wonderful honor for Girl Scouts," said Kathy Cloninger, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA. "Congress only allows the minting of two coins a year and this is such a fitting way to honor our Movement and the million of girls and women whose lives Girl Scouting has touched. We are grateful to the President, the House and the Senate for their support."

The act does not contain specific coin design language, which is standard. The coin design will involve collaborative efforts between the United States Mint, the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, the Commission of Fine Arts, and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. The main criteria is that the design must be "emblematic of the centennial of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America." The silver coin will include the inscriptions ‘Liberty’, ‘In God We Trust’, ‘United States of America’, and ‘E Pluribus Unum’). Each will weigh 26.73 grams and have a diameter of 1.5 inches.

The Girl Scouts USA Centennial Commemorative Coin Act includes a provision for a $10 surcharge per coin paid to the GSUSA and made available for Girl Scout program development and delivery.

Update

Good Morning Folks,

Sorry for the shortage of posts - I have been at Maria Shriver's Women's Conference in California and also preparing for the CARE/GSUSA/Seventeen event all week - both of which I will report on later, after I get some rest!

All Apologies,
Josh

Volunteers Make a Difference

USA Today has a brief mention of the Girl Scouts and our involvement with Saturday's Make A Difference Day - the nation's largest day of doing good. Make A Difference Day is the most encompassing national day of helping others - a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Everyone can participate, as millions have already. In 2008, 3 million people cared enough about their communities to volunteer on that day, accomplishing thousands of projects in hundreds of towns.

This year in California, an expected 5,000 Girl Scouts of California's Central Coast will tackle hundreds of projects across six counties. If you are planning on participating, please let us know - and share your stories with us!

NYC - You are Invited to an Event: October 29 - Learning To Lead

Every girl can become a force for change. To unlock her potential, she must have the opportunity to go to school and build the skills and confidence needed to meet life’s challenges head on – whether she lives in Manhattan or Mali. Girl Scouts of the USA and CARE are kicking off a ground-breaking partnership that puts girls at the heart of a conversation about the most important issues of our time. The partnership – called The Power of Girls – will connect girls worldwide and mobilize them around important global issues, including the critical role that girls’ education and leadership plays in addressing poverty everywhere. The event includes Discussion, moderated by MTV News Correspondent SuChin Pak, with Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning actress Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Stoning of Soraya M, House of Sand and Fog, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, ABC hit series Flash Forward), Guest Speaker Ann Shoket (Editor in Chief – Seventeen); girls’ education and leadership experts from CARE, Girl Scouts Research Institute and Population Council; on-the-ground perspective from the director of CARE Afghanistan with support from The Documentary Group. There will be Live conversation via Intel-powered classmate PCs with Girl Scouts in New York and girls in a classroom in a developing country who will discuss solutions to global girls’ issues. It will also stand as the launch of The Power of Girls pledge that urges American girls to learn about issues affecting girls worldwide, share their findings with friends, and take action – supported by Seventeen Magazine.

Are you in NYC on October 29? If so we'd love to see you here, at our offices - at this amazing event! All you have to do is RSVP to jackley@girlscouts.org. Details and Flyer below:

When/Where: Thursday, October 29 at 8:30am – 10am
Girl Scouts of the USA Headquarters; 420 Fifth Avenue, 11th Floor; New York City

What/Who: Breakfast event hosted by Girl Scouts of the USA and CARE and You

Girls-In-Gears

Girl Scouts from Troop 425 of the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council will become, on October 24, the first Troop in the nation to race in Girls-In-Gears, a hands-on engineering and racing program debuting from the American Kart Racing Association (AKRA). The NASCAR Wives Association and several Waltrips, of Daytona International Speedway and Daytona 500 family dynasty legend, are involved in the event.

Kart racing or karting is a variant of open wheel motorsport with simple, small four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher and more expensive ranks of motorsports.

“We dream big,” said Troop 425 Leader JoAnn Bruch, whose 11-year-old daughter, Taylor Michael, is in her Troop, which is part of the Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay. “Some of these girls are very gifted in math and science and could end up being engineers for NASA or anywhere.”

Read two articles about the event here and here! Also check out my previous post on Ali Owens - race car star and Girl Scout enthusiast!

Ghouls and Girl Scouts of the Garden State

Halloween is a time honored seasonal favorite of kids and adults across the country. Halloween is also an opportunity for Girl Scouts to have some fun and bond, in costume of course.

In New Jersey, The Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore Spooktacular took place this past weekend. Every year participants enjoy all the family-fun activities that make the Spooktacular awesome. Hayrides, Halloween-themed skits, Sing-A-Longs , S'mores and more.

After rattling around camp, attendees headed into the Program Activity Center for a Monster Mash DJ Dance Party and boogied the night away with friends and family. Sounds like a fantastic time to me! Please send in Halloween events going on in your area, I'd love to share more with everyone...