Weekend Run-Down

In this week's Weekend Run-Down, check out stories ranging from the Phoenix Astronomical Society to Scouts trekking through Costa Rica.

• The Rockford Register Star in Illinois has a fantastic profile of Ruth Little, CEO of the Girl Scouts Rock River Valley Council.



• In Gloucester, NJ, The Gloucester County Times is reporting on a young Girl Scout who has been lobbying her local council to install crosswalks at a dangerous intersection.



• Marianne Elizabeth Cook of Chapel Hill, NC, has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for building an outdoor art shelter. Read more about that in The Chapel Hill News and Observer.



• The New York Examiner has a great story about The Phoenix Astronomical Society, which hosts major events for Girl Scouts.



• In a story that will surely inspire jealousy, Inside Costa Rica is reporting about a 15-day Girl Scout trip trekking through the clouds and rain forests of Costa Rica.

Do you have a story to share?

Flamingo 'Flocking' For Europe

Yesterday, The Pennsylvania Patriot-News ran one of my all time favorite fundraising stories. It involves Girl Scouts and Pink Flamingo lawn ornaments. The story states:

"Cadet Troop 1314 want to go to on a scouting-related trip to Europe in two years, but they're not selling cookies to raise the $30,000 they'll need to get there. The troop, headed by leader Cathi Bornman, has purchased 100 pink plastic flamingos. For a price, they'll sneak a flock of the birds onto the yard of your choice."

Read the entire story here, and definitely let us know about creative Girl Scout fundraising campaigns in your communities!

Girls in Space Program

The Ohio Chronicle Online is reporting that The Girl Scouts of North East Ohio have teamed up with NASA and Girl Scouts of the USA to create an astronomy club dedicated to the exploration of science and space — the “Girls in Space Program.” The North East Ohio Girl Scouts Council was one of only 10 in the country that was awarded $1,300 to start up an astronomy club and receive an all-expenses paid trip to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Congrats to them! I just wonder if they will able to enjoy space ice cream.

On April 23-25 in Chappaqua, New York, 24 young women from all over the nation joined in the launch of the National Board Leadership Lanes (NBLL) project. Our mission for the NBLL: "to influence operational and policy-making processes" for the Girl Scouts. The NBLL project consists of three distinct leadership opportunities:

1. National Girl Consultants (me!) work with the National Board and Girl Scouts of the USA staff to provide feedback and project support.

2. The National Board Task Group members serve on the Advocacy and World Association of Girl Guides (WAGGS) task groups

3. The Young Alumnae Volunteers receive governance training and mentor the NBLL participants.

A teenage native of Austin, Texas, I am working with highly accomplished girls from Washington to Florida. Although a bit nervous at first, I was quickly put at ease with this group of talented, young women as we each contributed our thoughts and expectations to create an ambitious, optimistic group vision statement for the NBLL. With this vision statement in place, we are now able to set the conceptual foundations that will drive our interaction with the National Board members and GSUSA staff:

To use our voices and experiences as young women of today, to make changes wanted and needed by girls and to create a permanent forum for girl leadership.

Perhaps most of all, I love getting to know all of the other motivated young women of the NBLL. I feel privileged to work with them. And think that these following months could be incredibly consequential to the future of the Girl Scouts.

Sohini Bandy, National Girl Consultant
Austin, Texas

Weekend Run-Down

From rock bands and celebrations of Hispanic heritage, to Gold Awards and Dancing With Our Stars, there is no shortage of innovative and inspiring Girl Scout stories across the nation.

• Sixteen year old Sarah Bullock is working to change the perceptions and unhealthy habits of college students by hosting a demonstration at the Ohio Valley University Student Expo. Read more about the project in The Ohio News and Sentinel.


• The Victoria Advocate in Texas is reporting on the upcoming Los Lonely Boys performance at a local Girl Scouts fundraiser. It's an outdoor show and there will be a cook-off and BBQ going on all day, which sounds like a great summer event to me!


• Also in Texas, The Austin Statesman is reporting on two Scouts who have earned the Girl Scout Gold Award - both with really cool projects.


• Girl Scouts in Mt. Vernon, IL, hosted their own Dancing With the Stars event - with original choreography and a competition - in order to raise awareness about healthy lifestyles. Read more in The Mt. Vernon Register News.


• The Brandon News and Tribune in Tampa, FL, is reporting on Girl Scouts who are kicking off the school year with events aimed to raise environmental awareness. The events are modeled after the Girl Scouts Journeys Program.


• In Eugene, OR, The Register Guard shares a story about an annual Girl Scouts gathering for Hispanic girls that inspires them to have pride in their heritage.

Enjoy!

Online Safety: A Growing Concern

Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal published an article detailing the rise and fall of Albert Gonzalez.

Gonzalez was the ringleader of a data breach that siphoned off more than 40 million credit-card numbers from TJXCos. and others in recent years, costing the parent company of the TJ Maxx retail chain about $200 million. The article states:

"Wire fraud, conducted in cyberspace because wire transfers now use networks that connect to the Internet, has exploded in recent years. The Treasury Department recently reported that of the more than 55,000 incidents of wire fraud since 1998, more than half of them occurred in the past two years..."

As an identity theft victim myself, I can certainly state that it is not a joke - and often times there is no easy fix. What you can and should do is protect yourself. Many good ways to empower yourself with useful online safety techniques can be found at girl led website LMK. It has a very helpful Privacy module that you should check out. More importantly however, there is a quiz - which I failed.

Head on over to the quiz and let us know how well you do!

Camp CEO in The Washington Post

The 2008 Census of the Fortune 500 done by Catalyst - a group focused on building inclusive workplaces and expanding opportunities for women and business - shows that women’s advancement in corporate leadership continues to stagnate. This sobering study illustrates the ongoing need for programs which encourage business and leadership development in today's girls.

One such program that I've posted about before is Camp CEO. The Washington Post published a fantastic story about Camp CEO over the weekend.

..."female business leaders from the Washington region traded their BlackBerrys and business suits for bug repellent and song books last week. Instead of heading to work, the women headed to camp to mentor area Girl Scouts and give them a glimpse of life in corporate America."

Read the entire article here, and let us know how you feel about the role of women in the future of business and leadership.

Video Vault: Muslim Girl Scouts Thrive in Minnesota

A great example of the positive difference we make in the lives girls every day at Girl Scouts of the USA:

Photo Fun, Submit Yours!

Recently, I was e-mailed a photo from one of my best friends, Josie. Regardless, it's from her Girl Scout years and it's awesome.

Do you have any fun vintage photos from your Girl Scouting history that you'd like to share? If so, please send them to jackley@girlscouts.org - Looking forward to the response!

Kathy Cloninger Profiled in the 2009 NonProfit Times Top 50

Head on over to the NonProfit Times (pdf) and see Kathy alongside other nonprofit leaders in a pretty impressive line-up.

The article states that "Cloninger is leading both an organizational rebranding and in an era of online social networking, a tech revolution for girls, while not forgetting that leadership is also face to face."

Cookies and a Library in Africa!

Girl Scout troop 2298 from Parkview Heights in LaVista, Nebraska (Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska), brought smiles to the faces of women in Tanzania, Africa, when they sent Girl Scout Cookies as part of their Gift of Sharing program.

A friend of the troop, Martin Russell, took them when he left this summer to go to Tanzania’s Machame Lutheran Hospital, where about 700 babies are born each year. Many of the mothers are of the Masai tribe, who travel quite a distance to get to the hospital--usually by foot and in a very pregnant condition. After giving birth, they rest a bit for the journey home and because the Masai love treats, and have so little, the cookies lit up their faces and made their stay a lot sweeter. Bob Kasworn from the hospital sent this message to the troop: “Please tell the Girl Scouts they have done a good thing and the women here say, God bless you, ‘Mungu akubariki.’”

In Hillsdale, CA, Girl Scout Katie Nickison is working to collect books to support the African Library Project, which will open a children’s library in Lesotho. Lesotho is a landlocked country and enclave — entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. Lesotho boasts one of the highest literacy rates in Africa. Read more about Nickison's international efforts in the San Mateo Daily Journal.

Do you have examples in your community of globally minded Girl Scouts? Please let us know!

Twitter Time! Vanessa Hudgens and Aly Michalka to become honorary Girl Scouts

This just in via Girl Scouts Twitter:

RT @TheHudgensNews Vanessa Hudgens and Aly Michalka to become honorary Girl Scouts http://bit.ly/dz7ZB

Sounds pretty awesome to us!