Help Girl Scout Tatyana McFadden Win an ESPY Award

Help Girl Scout Tatyana McFadden win an ESPY award (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award). Tatyana McFadden is a Paralympian athlete and life time member of Girl Scouts who competes mainly in category T54 sprint events. She won the New York Marathon this year. Vote for her under the category “female athlete with a disability”.

Tatyana was born with spina bifida in St. Petersburg, Russia and was abandoned in an orphanage, where she spent the first six years of her life. She was not expected to live. After being adopted by an American family, receiving her first wheelchair and medical attention, she began to thrive. Her family introduced Tatyana to swimming and from there she became hooked on sports and today is recognized as an elite athlete holding many US and international records.

Tatyana was the youngest member of the USA Paralympic Track and Field Team in the Athens 2004 Paralympics and, at age 15, surprised the world by winning a silver and bronze medal in the 100m and 200m. During the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships in the Netherlands, McFadden set a world record on her way to winning gold in the 100m and also took home silver medals in the 200m and 400m. She has spoken to many community groups, testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Adoption, and was keynote speaker before an audience of 8,000 at the National Girl Scout Convention. McFadden holds US records in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1500m, and is ranked 2nd in the world as a sprinter.

An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade presented by the American cable television network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. Vote now!

Girl Scout Earns All Brownie Patches Before Bridging To Junior

Virginia's Midlothian Exchange reports that nine-year-old Courtney Galligher is the first one in her troop 635 who has received all 57 of the Girl Scout Try-It badges. She also earned seven additional badges.There are four steps Girl Scouts have to complete to earn the Try-It badges. Courtney and her mother Cheley Galligher, who is the troop leader, have been involved with Girl Scouts for five years. From learning about computer safety to making puppets and dolls to writing her own song to selling over 500 boxes of cookies this year, Courtney Galligher has filled her brown vest with a number of achievements.

Galligher aspires to be an electronic engineer, and has even built her own robot.

Girl Scouts and American Medical Association Promoting Healthy Media for Youth

Yahoo News reports that having an unrealistic body image is growing more and more common in today's image-conscious society. About three percent of American adolescents suffer from an eating disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Many people suggest the culprit is the severity of Photoshopped images of models in advertisements and on the covers of magazines.

Girl Scouts of the USA recognize this problem and have started the Healthy MEdia: Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls campaign. The program is designed to "encourage advertising associations to work with public and private sector organizations concerned with child and adolescent health to develop guidelines for advertisements, especially those appearing in teen-oriented publications, that would discourage the altering of photographs in a manner that could promote unrealistic expectations of appropriate body image," according to a statement from the Girl Scouts organization. Girl Scouts of the USA is also working with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA),and The Creative Coalition on the campaign. Events are planned to coincide with the campaign and are listed on the Girl Scouts' website.

The American Medical Association has issued its own anti-Photoshop plea to advertisers. The new policy -- adopted during the association's 2011 annual meeting -- is aimed to discourage distorted photographs from negatively influencing young people. Girl Scouts of the USA joined the American Medical Association in urging advertisers to promote healthy media images. The American Medical Association, the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States, voted yesterday to adopt a new policy to “encourage advertising associations to work with public and private sector organizations concerned with child and adolescent health to develop guidelines for advertisements, especially those appearing in teen-oriented publications, that would discourage the altering of photographs in a manner that could promote unrealistic expectations of appropriate body image.”

Do you think the media goes too far with digitally altered images?

The Flying Monkeys are a Hit!

ABC World News followed The Flying Monkeys to Washington DC recently, where they began the process to patent their award winning invention. Other media outlets have been on The Flying Monkey's beat. So far the story has appeared in The Washington Post, Huffington Post, MSNBC, Yahoo, The Imperfect Parent, Ubergizmo, The Stir, TMC, Wired, Strollerderby, AZO Robotics and Iowa's NBC News 13. The Flying Monkeys, a group of Girl Scouts from Ames, Iowa, developed a prosthetic hand device to help a 3-year-old toddler without fingers write. The device not only won the group the $20,000 FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award from the X Prize Foundation, it scored the scouts a provisional patent.

The group confirmed their dedication to work on hand and arm prosthetics when Melissa Murray, one of the scouts' mothers and co-coach of the team, met Dale Fairchild on a Yahoo Group for families affected by congenital limb differences. Murray's daughter, one of the Flying Monkeys, uses an adaptive device for a hand difference. Fairchild's 3-year-old daughter Danielle, born with symbrachydactyly, had a thumb and palm but no fingers on her right hand.

"Reading Rocks" Program Initiated for Girl Scout Bronze Award

The Star-Ledger, NJ, reports that Girl Scout Troop 81158 of Edison and Highland Park initiated a program called "Girl Scouts Think: Reading Rocks" which the troop donated books to Menlo Park Terrace Elementary School. In mid May, the nine girls in the troop began collecting books at four locations. Today, members of Troop 81158 presented nearly 1,000 books to the library at the Menlo Park Terrace School 19 in Woodbridge.

"It’s always a big plus to get an influx of books. They will benefit the school’s commitment to literacy and education," said school Principal Sharon McGreevey.

The troop of junior girl scouts, ages 9 through 12, needed a project for their Bronze Award — the highest honor for their age group. Collection bins were placed at two Metuchen schools, the borough library and a church, where the books piled up. This past weekend, the scouts held a ceremony at the Reformed Church of Metuchen.

Army Major Thanks Girl Scouts for Care Packages

Juno Kughler Carlson writes for the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Blog about the "I CARE" program, which allows people to purchase Girl Scout cookies as gifts to be donated to our deployed military. This year Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio collected a total of 107,000 boxes of cookie donations to be shipped to deployed military through Operation Gratitude--the largest single donation from any organization ever!

The recently received this thank you note from an Army Major to Girl Scout Troop 1247. The troop had loaded up 4,000 boxes of the "I Care" cookie donations over Memorial Day and traveled to the VanNuys Armory to assist Operation Gratitude with care packages for deployed soldiers. The girls wrote many letters & helped assemble the boxes to be shipped out.

Moving Into the 21st Century With Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming

Montana's Billings Gazette reports that employees and volunteers at the Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming headquarters have been hard at work the past few weeks moving to a larger building. The new location, 2303 Grand Ave., is west of its old Grand Avenue location and about three times as big to accommodate the organization’s growing staff.

The community is invited to an open house today for the Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming's new location in Billings. The event is from 2 to 6 p.m. with ribbon cutting is 2:30 p.m., followed by tours of the building, and of course, Girl Scout cookies. Marketing and Communications Director Anna Paige said the goal of the event is to give the community a better sense of what Girl Scouts are all about. "Everyone is invited to come and take a look at it," Paige said. "We're a 21st century organization serving girls where they are at today."

For updates on Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming, check out their excellent Blog!

Girl Scouts Okay After Train Crash

Colorado's Daily Camera reports that a semitrailer crashed into an Amtrak passenger train Friday in rural Nevada that was carrying several girls from a Girl Scout troop in Lafayette.

The five scouts from Troop 71048 and five mothers accompanying them were on a trip to San Francisco to celebrate the girls becoming ambassador scouts, the highest rank in Girl Scouts. They had gotten on the train Thursday night, and the mothers were on the observation deck when the crash happened.

"We just heard a loud pop and then a puff of smoke and then we saw flames off to the right," said Alison Powers, whose daughter Sarah Sorensen was of one of the scouts. "My daughter was down in the snack car, and she saw a fireball go past her window."

All 10 in the group were able to escape the fiery crash with only some red cheeks.

It's Your Summer - Camp It!

Thirteen Girl Scout Councils have been awarded the 2011 It's Your Story - Tell It! Summer Camp Grant, made possible by Dove, to implement aMUSE, the newest Junior leadership journey during day and resident camps. Girl Scouts of the USA and Dove have been partnering since 2002 to promote self confidence among girls first through the uniquelyME! program and most recently through It's Your Story - Tell It! Self-esteem is a natural byproduct of this latest leadership journey series because through storytelling and creative expression girls gain a better understanding of themselves and their potential. Juniors will take the journey and have a great time learning about the many roles girls and women play in the world and the limitless possibilities available to them when they bust stereotypes and challenge themselves and other girls to continue to try out new roles. In doing so, these girl scouts will develop the confidence they need to be leaders in their own lives and the the world.

Hawaii's KHON 2 News reports on a local aMUSE Camp.

Volunteering for Girl Scouts, A Great Way to Help

Arizona's KVOA News 4 reports that The Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, Sahuaro Council, is looking for volunteers. In a segment titled How Can I Help, Girl Scout Girl Experience Associate Audrey Bockerstette, talked about how you can volunteer in many different areas to help with the girl scouts. She relates that Girl Scouting would not be possible without our incredible volunteers! For information on how you can become a volunteer, look here.

Girl Scouts of GulfCoast Florida Awarded Grant to Prevent Violence

In Florida, representatives of six local nonprofits dedicated to protecting area girls and women from all forms of violence were awarded grants from the Zonta Club of Bonita Springs, Inc. at the Club’s June meeting.

Naples News reports that The Girl Scouts of GulfCoast Florida, Inc., received $2,500. This grant will fund the Girl Scout’s 411 on Middle School program that will help prepare the 2011 class of 5th grade girls from Bonita Springs and Estero for their journey from elementary to middle school. Designed to help build courage, confidence, and character in the girls, the program covers practical, real-life applications including esteem building, bullying, and peer pressure and anger management. The girls will also learn skills that are the basis of becoming a leader at home and in the community, improving each girls potential to succeed at school, with family and in their future careers. Students will also be encouraged to participate in Girl Scouts.

Honoring Our Sisters in Michigan

Michigan's Jackson Citizens Patriot reports that at the Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan’s “Honoring Our Sisters” Native American pow wow, girls learned an inter-tribal dance.

A drum circle, dancers and speakers were all on hand to teach scouts and other visitors about American Indian culture. Another highlight of the annual pow wow was a traditional tipi, built by drum maker and self-proclaimed “Tipi Man” Andy Baxter. The Cleveland resident lives in the tipi during pow wows.

Laurel Richie on Touring the WNBA as President

The Atlanta Journal Constitution catches up with WNBA president Laurel Richie, who was hired in mid-April to replace Donna Orender, and is currently making a tour of WNBA cities to promote the league. Richie, a marketing veteran, previously was behind the brand revitalization of the Girls Scouts.

Reporter Meghan Rose asks Richie, "How do you see this position as an opportunity to empower women and young girls?"

Richie replies, "It’s interesting, when I took this job and the offer came, I was speaking with my niece who is 13. She just looked at me and said, ‘Auntie Laurel, you just like that girl thing, I can tell.’ I think I laughed a little bit, but I realized she’s actually right. One of the great things about being part of the WNBA is not only is it basketball, but these are women that are role models for their athleticism, for their sense of style, for their commitment to the communities in which the teams compete, and the way in which they work together and show up as individuals at the top of their game, but also come together as a team. I think they are just phenomenal role models."

Texas Woman Gives Kidney to Fellow Girl Scout

In Texas, The Katy Times reports that Katy native Kimberley Adcock recently gave up a kidney to Meredith Kelly, her fellow Girl Scout. Before the two women shared vital organs, they had in common a family tradition in Girl Scouting and shared the same church. James Hale reports that "Kelly’s grandmother was a Girl Scout leader, and her mother was a scout before Kelly. Adcock’s family history in the Girl Scouts is nearly identical, with the mother serving as troop leader to her daughter for the past two generations."

The two women, five years apart in age, both attended the same church, Memorial Church of Christ, but were always in separate youth groups because of their age difference. It was at the Memorial Church of Christ, which Kelly’s parents still attend, that Adcock first heard of Kelly’s life-threatening circumstances. Through church and social media, Adcock was aware of Kelly’s worsening condition, and decided to begin the process of donating her kidney.

“My parents always raised me to help others in need, and my faith in God continually showed me that being on this earth is not about serving ourselves, but serving others,” Adcock said. “Being a Girl Scout since I was a Daisy, it’s those same principles that we say every time in the Girl Scout Promise and Law about helping people at all times, and making the world a better place.”

Do you know any life-saving Girl Scouts?

Sharon Sayles Belton: Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout

Sharon Sayles Belton, Girl Scout alumna, former mayor of Minneapolis and Vice President of Community Relations and Government Affairs for Thomson Reuters legal business penned a post for the Girl Scouts River Valleys Blog about being a lifelong Girl Scout. "I learned many of the important skills needed to be successful in life through Girl Scouts," she states. "Scouting teaches girls the confidence to take on any challenge they encounter. Girl Scouts reinforced in me the importance of taking responsibility for my own personal development; helped me understand my relationship with the community, and my responsibilities in the community as a citizen. My parents believed that their values would be reinforced through the Girl Scout experience—and they were right!"

With nearly 50 million Girl Scout alumnae and counting, it's no surprise that many successful women credit Girl Scouting as a source of leadership development.

"Today, I’m still a Girl Scout," says Belton. "The truth of the matter is that once you are a Girl Scout, you are always a Girl Scout. You may not wear the green sash every day, you might not go to a troop meeting, but the basic beliefs—giving back, sharing skills, improving your community, networking, mentoring and helping others in a joyful way—are something you carry with you every day."

Girl Scouts of the USA has recently launched an Alumnae Online Community. A fantastic resource for all Girl Scout Alumnae - it serves as a site for Alumnae to reconnect with and to rediscover Girl Scouting. Definitely check it out!

Girl Scout Research Institute Cited in Huffpo

Stephanie Marcus reports for the Huffington Post that "unless you monitor every key stroke your daughter makes, you probably don't know the extent of socializing she does online. There are already 7.5 million Facebook users under the age of 13, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg says they have no reason not to be there."

The article points out that Canada's Atlantic Status of Women Ministers is developing a five-year strategy on the impact of social media on young girls. Marcus points to studies showing that social media can put teen girls in confusing situations. A survey by the Girl Scouts Research Institute found that nearly three quarters of girls use social networking sites to appear "cooler than they really are."

"It's not hard to see why girls would want to develop a presence online," says Marcus, "especially when becoming an online personality can actually lead to professional success."

According to the Girl Scout Research Institute, there are many up-sides to girls being online. Fifty-two percent of girls online have gotten involved in a cause they care about through a social network. Are you involved in any social causes online?

Girl Scout Silver Award Project Helps Those With Aphasia

To earn her Girl Scout Silver Award, Sophie Call has launched an initiative to help people who have suffered strokes. For those with aphasia, the aftermath of a stroke, reading can be difficult. A patient sometimes is able to read only a word or two at a time, so trying to comprehend a or chapter or a full book is a challenge.

People with aphasia can process only straightforward sentences and basic vocabulary. Connecticut's Westport News reports that Call plans to read seven books and outline them chapter by chapter to create reading guides for people with aphasia. The outlines are designed to help patients with aphasia to read with some support and guidance.

The project, she hopes, will help people with aphasia, all over the USA (to be able to enjoy books again, which would improve communication skills and be fun. Do you have any outstanding Girl Scout Silver Award examples to share?

Girl Scouts Joins American Medical Association in Promoting Healthy Media for Youth

Girl Scouts of the USA joined the American Medical Association in urging advertisers to promote healthy media images. The American Medical Association, the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States, voted yesterday to adopt a new policy to “encourage advertising associations to work with public and private sector organizations concerned with child and adolescent health to develop guidelines for advertisements, especially those appearing in teen-oriented publications, that would discourage the altering of photographs in a manner that could promote unrealistic expectations of appropriate body image.”

“Through the Girl Scouts’ Healthy MEdia: Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls, we are working with the advertising industry and other media leaders to promote images on screen and in print that we want our girls to emulate in real life,” said Girl Scouts of the USA Chief Executive Officer Kathy Cloninger. “We applaud the American Medical Association for taking a strong position on this issue and join them in encouraging advertisers to use healthy, realistic images when marketing to young people.”

Healthy MEdia is being launched by the Girl Scouts of the USA, the National Association of Broadcasters, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, and The Creative Coalition. Commission Members include media industry leaders, subject matter experts, youth representatives and the creative community. For more information, look here.

Safety is the Subject

Jess Radke, Creative Copy Editor for Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes Inc., writes in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune that Girl Scouts can help victims of bullying. In her column about June being National Safety Month, Radke touches on online safety, stating that "some of the biggest safety threats are so hidden that parents might not even realize they're present. Keeping an open conversation about these issues and monitoring the time spent on the Internet and cell phones is a start. But one of the most effective ways to avoid these issues is to keep kids involved in programs that empower them to be positive leaders."

According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, adolescent girls are significantly more likely to experience cyberbullying. "That's why the Girl Scout Leadership Experience makes a difference for thousands of area girls," states Radke. "Ninety-five percent of local Girl Scouts will stand up for what they believe in and speak out against what is wrong, and 94 percent of local Girl Scouts feel comfortable advocating for themselves and others."

In a similar column about safety in AuburnPub, Kim Dunne, Media Manager for the Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways, writes that "nearly half of girls define safety as not having their feelings hurt, and approximately one-third of all girls worry about being teased, bullied, threatened or having their feelings hurt when spending time with peers, participating in groups and trying new things," (Feeling Safe: What Girls Say, The Girl Scout Research Institute). "Girl Scouts believes that policy solutions should embrace an all-encompassing approach to improving school safety," according to Dunne. "Creating programs and policies that focus solely on the prevention of physical harm will not suffice; Congress should support more holistic programs and policies that address both emotional and physical security."

How do you define safety?

Girl Scouts Helping Victims of the Monument Fire

The Arizona Daily Star reports that residents of Tucson have come together to help victims of the Monument Fire by collecting food, clothes and money, and volunteering their time at evacuation centers. Staff and volunteers from the Girl Scouts in Tucson have been going to the shelters in Sierra Vista to deliver donations and organize games for the children there. Since last week, the Girl Scouts' offices have become drop-off centers for donations. Volunteers have made several drives to deliver food and drinks, but there is still a need for basic hygiene items. Girl Scouts are also set up outside many Walgreens stores in Tucson, collecting items and monetary donations in the next few days.

Those wanting to help can make a monetary donation to the Red Cross fund for the Cochise County wildfire victims at the American Red Cross Southern Arizona Chapter or call 1-800-341-6943. For the latest information on donation and volunteer needs go to www.sierravistaaz.gov.

On 14 June 2011, the Wallow fire was "upgraded" to the largest fire in Arizona history, passing the Rodeo-Chediski Fire which burned 732 square miles in 2002. Nearly 6,000 people have been evacuated. In addition to other air assets, a converted DC-10 Very Large Air Tanker, capable of dropping up to 12,000 gallons of fire retardant in seconds, was deployed to help fight the fire.

The Success of Pathways and More With Anna Maria Chavez, CEO of Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas

Latina Lista has an interview with Anna Maria Chávez, who as CEO of Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas has overseen a period of substantial growth for the council, now serving more than 21,000 girls in a 21-county region.

Reporter Tony Cantú states that "such gains didn't come by accident, but largely attributable to a new direction for the organization offering a more flexible model for Girl Scouting participation. Called Pathways, the new approach allows girls to participate based on their lifestyle and time availability, be it for a few weeks or a few months."

Of the Pathways, Chávez says "it is a template that will be replicated throughout the country, but we were one of the first to establish and develop those pathways. That's why we're seeing such an increase in participation. From May 30, 2010 to May 30, 2011, we've seen a 32 percent membership increase."

Prior to accepting the position of CEO, Anna Maria Chávez served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Urban Relations and Community Development for the former Governor of Arizona and current U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. Chávez is a licensed attorney and practiced law in Washington, D.C. before serving the Governor’s administration. She holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona, College of Law and a B.A. in American History from Yale University.

Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma Helping a Family in Need

In Oklahoma City, KFOR News 4 reports that the Girl Scout Council of Western Oklahoma is hosting a food drive for Hamil family, who lost their two young boys, 15-month-old Cole and 3-year-old Ryan, in last month's tornado that tore through Piedmont.

Do you have any examples of Girl Scouts helping their communities after a disaster?

Join a Live Camp CEO TweetChat This Afternoon!

Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana is hosting a TweetChat at 1:15 p.m. CST today! Designated Twitter ambassadors from among the 25 enthusiastic teen Girl Scouts and the amazing CEOs/senior executive women participating in Camp CEO this week will share the insights they’re gaining related to leadership and careers.

The TweetChat will focus in on a very special “Dreaming Your Future” session live from Camp Butternut Springs in Indiana. Featured during the TweetChat will be six executive-level women who will share their stories about being leaders in fields as diverse as banking, medicine, technology, and utilities. Also featured will be the Girl Scouts of the USA National President Connie Lindsey.

Everyone is encouraged to join the conversation! Log into your existing Twitter account, or create one. Next, log onto TweetChat and enter campceo in the space designated for the hashtag at the top of the page. Set the refresh frequency to 5 seconds or so, and it will automatically post the tweets coming from Camp CEO LIVE! Today's TweetChat begins at 1:15 p.m. CST to see a flurry of activity and focused conversation. Be sure to post all your comments and questions during the TweetChat using the following hashtag: #campceo. The hashtag connects everyone’s posts into one feed on one topic at a coordinated time.

This is a unique, sneak-peek opportunity to see exactly what goes on at Camp CEO. Spread the word!

Alabama Legislators Named to Honorary Girl Scout Troop!

In Alabama, several Shelby County legislators recently earned honorary spots on a Girl Scout troop created to celebrate the organization’s centennial anniversary.

According to the Shelby County Reporter, State Senator Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, and Representatives Mary Sue McClurkin, R-Indian Springs, Kurt Wallace, R-Maplesville, and April Weaver, R-Brierfield, joined several other state legislators as they were named to Girl Scout honorary Troop 1912 on June 2.

The troop was named in honor of girl scouting’s upcoming 100-year anniversary. The members of the troop were named to the organization to serve as “the voice for girls in the legislature.

Are there lawmakers in your community involved in Girl Scouting?

Cookie Sales and Community Donations Finance Home Redecoration Project

The Journal Times, WI, reports that a Girl Scout Troop from Waterford recently redecorated the home of two men with Down Syndrome. The Girl Scouts upgraded the Union Grove home where Rudy Garcia lives with caregiver Patti Rushing, her three adult daughters and Ryan Andry, her 25-year-old son who also has Down syndrome.

The girls selected Rushing's home for the project because they wanted to help people with disabilities. So Rushing, her family and Garcia left their home early Saturday morning; then about 35 people, including 10 Girl Scouts, got to work.

With about $1,000 in cookie-sale profits plus assorted donations from family and friends, they managed to clean the house, do landscaping, set up a new patio set, finish basement tile work and redecorate rooms including Rushing's bedroom and the bedrooms of Garcia and Rushing's son, Ryan Andry.

Girl Scouts Take The Cable Show!

Last week, the Public Policy and Advocacy office hit The Cable Show in Chicago to promote Healthy MEdia: Commission for Positive image of Women and Girls.

Deborah Taylor Tate, Former FCC Commissioner and co-chair of Healthy MEdia, joined the Girl Scouts for meetings and panels with major policy makers and industry executives involved in the cable industry. In addition, the group convened with Commission Members attending the show to discuss the first Commission meeting, which will be held in July.

(Photo – Debi Tate and Girl Scouts visit the Cartoon Network. Alice Cahn, VP of Social Responsibility for Cartoon Network, is a Healthy MEdia Commission Member)

Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital Holds Flash Mob in DC

The Washington Post reports that The Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital held a flash mob dance in the main hall of Union Station to announce the date for their signature 100th anniversary event, Girl Scouts Rock the Mall. The event is expected to draw over 200,000 Girl Scout friends, family and alumni from across the country to D.C. for a celebration on the National Mall.

Barbara Murphy-Warrington Named New CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York

Barbara Murphy-Warrington has joined the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, as its new Chief Executive Officer. In this role, Murphy-Warrington will provide leadership for accelerating growth and development of Girl Scouting for girls and volunteers in five boroughs – The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island. Murphy-Warrington stated that working with the board, staff and volunteers to serve the Girl Scouts of Greater New York is the “opportunity of a lifetime.”

Murphy-Warrington credits her own early experience as a Girl Scout for providing the early foundation for her impressive leadership journey. She has demonstrated her passion for people and organization excellence through more than 25 years of senior leadership experience working in major global and domestic organizations including The Ford Foundation and CARE USA. According to Patricia Stensrud, Board President, “Barbara’s unique blend of experience, expertise and accomplishment will add tremendous value to our Council especially as we approach our 100th anniversary and continue to experience demand for our programs which outpace our capacity. We look forward to her leadership in making Girl Scouting as relevant as ever for New York City girls.”

Murphy-Warrington holds a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers and Master of Laws in Tax (LLM) from New York University, a Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science from the University of Kansas, and certificates in coaching from The Fielding Graduate University and executive human resources management from Cornell University.

Operation Toothbrush

A troop of Girl Scouts who are deafblind recently delivered hundreds of toothbrushes for the gorillas at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, MA. Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts reports that Troop 71984 from Perkins School for the Blind’s Deafblind Program gave the toothbrushes to Zoo New England President and CEO John Linehan at the indoor gorilla exhibit inside the Tropical Forest. “Operation Toothbrush” served as a chance for the girls to show that physical challenges won’t stop them from helping their community and learning about their world.

Deafblindness is the condition of little or no useful sight and little or no useful hearing. Educationally, individuals are considered to be deafblind when the combination of their hearing and vision loss causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they require significant and unique adaptations in their educational programs. Deafblind people have an experience quite distinct from people who are only deaf or only blind.

ABC World News Celebrates The Flying Monkeys

ABC World News followed The Flying Monkeys to Washington DC on Wednesday night, where they began the process to patent their award winning invention. The Flying Monkeys, a group of Girl Scouts from Ames, Iowa, developed a prosthetic hand device to help a 3-year-old toddler without fingers write. The device not only won the group the $20,000 FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award from the X Prize Foundation, it scored the scouts a provisional patent.

The group confirmed their dedication to work on hand and arm prosthetics when Melissa Murray, one of the scouts' mothers and co-coach of the team, met Dale Fairchild on a Yahoo Group for families affected by congenital limb differences. Murray's daughter, one of the Flying Monkeys, uses an adaptive device for a hand difference. Fairchild's 3-year-old daughter Danielle, born with symbrachydactyly, had a thumb and palm but no fingers on her right hand.

On Wednesday night, The Flying Monkeys finally got to meet Danielle Fairchild for the first time and watch her draw and color with their invention. Danielle's mother, Dale Fairchild, said the BOB-1 gave her daughter the option to use her right hand.

Do you know any girls interested in being inventors?

197 Golden in Greater Los Angeles

California's San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports that nearly 200 young women received Gold Awards, the highest honor Girl Scouts can attain, at a ceremony Sunday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

The awards, presented by the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, the largest girl-serving nonprofit agency in Los Angeles, were given to 197 young women from communities in Los Angeles County and surrounding areas.

The ceremony's keynote speaker was Erin Gruwell, founder of the Freedom Writers Foundation and a former Girl Scout. KTLA "Morning News" anchor Michaela Pereira was the master of ceremonies.

U.S. Ambassador Nicole Avant Hosts Girl Scouts in Nassau

Bahama Islands Info reports that U.S. Ambassador Nicole Avant hosted a group of 13 young women and troop leaders representing Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana. The Girl Scouts met with the U.S. Ambassador to learn about her leadership role in The Bahamas and discuss their careers goals.

The Girl Scout troop visited Nassau as part of a cruise and earned their well-deserved vacation by holding a range of activities and fundraisers that included selling their signature Girl Scout cookies and teaching younger scouts first-aid.

Have you traveled as a result of Girl Scout fundraising?

It's Your Story, Tell It Through Cheerleading!

Ohio's Coshocton Tribune reports that a recent Girl Scout event taught participants about self-confidence and breaking stereotypes. The Girl Scout Leadership Journey activity, "It's Your Story, Tell It Through Cheerleading," helped girls develop practical life skills around healthy living.

Nine Junior scouts divided into two groups for a breaking stereotypes session. One side of the table sat a group stereotyped as softball jocks while the other side sat as band geeks. Once the girls broke through the exterior of the stereotype, they realized that differences can be a good thing.

"Everyone has different personalities and talents," Girl Scout Paige Jackson said. "Every girl needs to be a sister to every Girl Scout."

The day ended with cheerleading activites, aimed at encouraging self-esteem and self-expression.

Spotlight on Girl Scout Koralina Pior, Sailing Coach

In Texas, The Bay Area Citizen reports that Koralina Pior is the only female sailing coach at one of the most prestigious sailing schools in the country, J World in Annapolis, Maryland. Koralina got her start in Girl Scouts, finding an outlet in the Girl Scouts' Mariner and Summer Programs. Year round, she devoted her time to sailing and eventually progressed from learning the basics to teaching younger girls.

Now an accomplished sailor, Pior placed fourth in 2009 at the J24 World Championship the first time she ever sailed in Annapolis, Maryland. She has also participated in the 2009-2010 Trans-Atlantic crossing, a 4,000 nautical-mile sail through eight countries that only advanced mariners attempt. Make sure you read the entire article. Do you know any girls interested in sailing?

Special Flag Flies at Spirit of Nebraska Council

Last January, a Daisy Girl Scout troop from Omaha set out to earn their “Red Petal,” which represents the qualities of being “courageous and strong.” While earning this Daisy recognition, the girls made Valentine cards and sent them to United States troops in Afghanistan, who demonstrate everyday what it means to be courageous and strong.

The Daisies were thrilled to receive a package last March from the U.S. troops as a thank you for the Valentine cards. The package included a U.S. flag that was flown over Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan, a certificate presenting the flag and photos of Afghani Girl Scouts! Because the Daisy troop had no place to display the U.S. flag, they donated it to the council where it was raised recently as a tribute to the women and men serving our country.

Video: 100 Years of History

Girl Scouts of the USA is turning 100 in 2012! Are you excited for the next 100 years of Girl Scouting?

Girl Scouts Participate in the Women in Aerospace and Technology Program

Pennsylvania's Limerick-Royersford-Spring City Patch reports on the Women in Aerospace and Technology Program. Introduced recently to Girl Scouts, the Women in Aerospace and Technology Program was developed to encourage an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for girls between the ages of 8 and 17. Mike Spletzer, who is also a volunteer at the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center in West Chester, developed the program as part of his MBA requirements at St. Joseph’s University. After securing sponsors such as Boeing, Sikorsky Helicopters, and Bentley Systems along with educational talent from Drexel, West Chester and Arcadia, and with advisory teams from St. Joe’s and Penn State, Mike and the Helicopter Museum were able to offer this experience to Girl Scouts.

With opportunities such as the Women in Aerospace and Technology Program, Girl Scouts have embraced the fact that while many girls are interested in certain program offerings, they are not always available for weekly Girl Scout meetings. Competition from sports programs, dance, art and music classes, etc. often make attending weekly meetings impossible. Girls can now take part in countless programs without being part of a traditional troop experience. For more information on how flexible Girl Scouting can be, look here.

Girl Scouts of Orange County a Most Trusted Brand!

OC METRO Magazine, a business lifestyle magazine in Orange County, California, highlights Girl Scouts of Orange County as one of the 10 companies Orange County consumers selected as most trustworthy. The article states that "besides building lasting brand awareness and friendships through its world-renowned cookie drives, Girl Scouts provides the nation’s most successful leadership-development and personal-growth experience for girls ages 5-17.

Congrats Girl Scouts of Orange County!

Samoas for Kelly Ripa!

The Health Essentials reports that although she does not overindulge, Kelly Ripa and her family can’t say no to Girl Scout cookies. “Samoas are everyone’s favorite. They’re gone in three days!”.

Kelly Maria Ripa Consuelos is an American television host and actress. Since February 2001, she has served as the co-host of Live with Regis and Kelly, along with Regis Philbin. Earlier in her career, Ripa played Hayley Vaughan Santos for 12 years on the soap opera All My Children; she also played Faith Fairfield on Hope & Faith. Both were television series on ABC.

On September 15, 2006, Ripa broke the Guinness World Record for custard pie throwing, tossing 24 banana cream pies in one minute at actor Wilmer Valderrama, as part of a Guinness World Record Breaker theme week on Live with Regis and Kelly. She beat the record set by NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth on the previous day, when he threw 17 pies at Ripa herself.

Foreign Service Officer Patricia McArdle Cites Girl Scout Experience in Novel

NPR reports on Patricia McArdle—a retired Foreign Service officer and Author who has served in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe and Afghanistan. Her debut novel, Farishta, tells the story of Angela Morgan, a diplomat whose husband died in the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut in 1983. Like McArdle, Angela is summoned to serve for a year in an isolated British Army compound in Afghanistan. One story in the novel was inspired by an experience McArdle had while on patrol with British soldiers.

McArdle noticed groups of Afghan children dragging large bundles of kindling back to their homes in the blistering heat. "I remembered that I had built a solar cooker when I was a Girl Scout many years ago," says McArdle. "I wondered if the Afghans knew about solar cooking because they had all this sun and they have no wood."Then McArdle searched online, and found instructions for building cookers on a site called Solar Cookers International. "The people were fascinated," she says.

Has your Girl Scout experience ever led you to teach others?

Girl Scouts Attend Annual Strawberry Festival

In South Carolina, The Sun News reports that Girl Scouts recently County gathered at Tyler's Strawberry Farm for the annual Girl Scout Strawberry Farm Event. The event was hosted by Girl Scout Troop 552 led by Denese Tyler. Hundreds of Girl Scouts, leaders and parents enjoyed a variety of activities in a carnival-style atmosphere. Activities included strawberry picking, jam making, candle making, finger painting, sunflower seed planting, scratch art and science lessons on growing strawberries.

Alabama Celebrity Dog Wash for Girl Scout Bronze Award

In Alabama, Junior Girl Scout Troop 20 of Limestone County has been working since August toward a community project to help the canine members of their community and earn the Girl Scouts Bronze Award. The News Courier reports that the 11-member troop, based out of Athens Bible School hosted a Celebrity Dog Was to raise pet food for Peace, Love, and Animals, a no-kill shelter.

The Celebrity Dog Wash featured country music artist Cristina Lynn and radio personality Flyin’ Brian of WSLV 1110 AM radio as dog washers. Participants enjoyed a demonstration by the Limestone Correctional Facilities’ K-9 unit. Troop 20 also hosted a bake sale and silent auction. Items auctioned included: an autographed football from Philip Rivers, quarterback for the San Diego Chargers and former Athens High School quarterback; autographed football from Auburn University football coach Gene Chizik; autographed football from former Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden; an original sketch by syndicated cartoonist and Alabama native Bill Holbrook; and an original drawing collage of former Auburn University quarterback Cam Newton by artist Nathan Simpson; paintings by local artist Woody Woodard.

The Girl Scouts Bronze Award is the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn. Do you have any Girl Scout Bronze Award stories to share?

Food Bank Cookbook for Gold

Ginger Moshofsky reports that Tualatin High School senior Melissa Aust, a Girl Scout since in kindergarten, has created a cookbook for the Tualatin School House Pantry to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award.

As a longtime volunteer at soup kitchens and food banks, Aust wanted to design a cookbook to address the needs of pantry patrons: to cook simple recipes using ingredients available at the food bank. Her cookbook features 332 recipes submitted and tested by community members who contributed over 350 volunteer hours.

Among her accomplishments in Girl Scouting, Aust is a Tualatin High valedictorian, a student principal ambassador, an editor of the school's online literary magazine "The Paw," and captain of the women's varsity lacrosse team. Read more in The Oregonian.

Girl Scouts Learn Value of Science at Chicago's Journey World

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the most popular way to get kids interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is hands-on work and play. In time for summer, The Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana offer workshops at their interactive space, called Journey World, to teach girls about science, math, engineering, the environment and nature.

Journey World offers 45 workshops, camps and overnight programs for young people including the Eco-Lab, where a mock cave, campground, prairie and lake ecosystem teach kids to figure out the consequences of a fire, a flood, an algae bloom and other simulated surprises. The situations are presented in complex ways, such as detailing the devastation that wildfires cause alongside information about such fires’ beneficial effects on certain wilderness areas, said local Girl Scouts CEO Maria Wynne. Students at all-day events explore 30 types of scientific careers and work in teams on projects such as creating animal habitats that use solar and wind technologies.

Do you think people learn better by hands on work?

Michelle Obama Encouraging Young Women to go Into Diplomacy

USA Today reports that Michelle Obama is using German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to the White House as an opportunity to encourage more women to go into diplomacy. Merkel is the first female head of government to visit during the Obama administration, the first lady's office pointed out.

In a motivational effort, Michelle Obama will mark the occasion with an event aimed at encouraging more women to go into diplomacy. She will host at an event with Ambassador Brooke Anderson, the chief of staff for national security, with young women from the Girl Scouts, Girls Inc. and two Washington high schools in the State Dining Room in the afternoon.

Michelle Obama is the Honorary National President of Girl Scouts. With this position, Mrs. Obama takes her place in a tradition stretching back to 1929, when Lou Henry Hoover became the first Honorary National President of the Girl Scouting movement. Since then, each successive First Lady has served in this post.

Jane Carsten, Citizen of the Year

Congratulations to Jane Carsten, who was recognized in Ohio as 2011 Citizen of the Year. She was selected from numerous letters of nomination submitted to the Citizen of the Year Committee.

The Post, OH, reports that for the past five years, Carsten has served as leader for Girl Scout Troop No. 341. She trains program aides at Camp Ledgewood and Camp Hilaka, schooling youth in how to relate to other kids by teaching leadership skills and become role models. Carsten became increasingly involved with the community with her volunteering centering on activities which involve older children and adults. Her passion is working with children at Our Savior Lutheran Church Youth Ministry.

Slumber Party for Tornado Victims

In Kansas, the Emporia Gazette reports that a group of girls from Reading affected by the May 21 tornado received special attention recently from Girls Scouts in Emporia.

Susan Faler, a volunteer services manager for Girl Scouts of the Kansas Heartland in Emporia, came up with an idea to allow girls from Reading to get away from the trauma and be pampered overnight Friday and all day Saturday. The slumber party consisted of miniature golf, movies, crafts and hanging out with friends. Since the building also has showers, some of the girls who didn’t have running water in Reading had the opportunity to take a hot shower.

Supplies for the sleepover were donated. Some of the girls who came in with nothing, thanks to donations, received clothes, sleeping bags, sandals, hair bows, coloring books and a wealth of other items.

"What Did You Do Today?" Campaign is a Hit!

The two Girl Scout brand campaigns have surpassed estimated media donations in Public Service Announcement placements to date. The “What Did You Do Today?” multicultural campaign has achieved $26 million and 1.2 billion impressions in donated placements, while the “Real World Experiences” Hispanic campaign has achieved $3.1 million and 328 million in donated placements. Girl Scouts of the USA will continue to engage external audiences through various media channels with our PSAs and campaign ads across the country, leading up to the 100th anniversary.

Girl Scout of Arizona Cactus Pines Saves Life

KPHO CBS News 5 reports that an 11-Year-Old Girl Scout recently became an 11-year-old life-saving Girl Scout! Gillian Perdue, a Junior Girl Scout, credits Girl Scouts with her heroic effort. Having just earned her water safety badge, she was prepared with the tools to save a child's life.

Do you know any life saving Girl Scouts?

Healthy MEdia Community Conversation in Alabama

On Friday, May 6, 2011, Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama and the Children’s Policy Council of Jefferson County hosted a Healthy Media Images Community Conversation. The event highlighted panelists that discussed the impact of media images on children, especially young girls. The panel included Heather Austin, Ph.D., Children's Hospital; Tina Savas, Author, Women of True Grit; Brittany Trotman, BeautyGirlMag.com editor; and America Hosch, a current Girl Scout. The panelists helped identify solutions to help young people encounter media images that inspire, empower and engage. The Community Conversation brought awareness to not just what kids watch, but how they watch it, emphasizing that every child should be influenced by media that promotes confidence and character. Along with GSNCA, the event was co-hosted by Kappa Delta, the Children’s Policy Council of Jefferson County and Bright House Networks.

Geena Davis, Academy Award-winning Actor and Founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, and Deborah Taylor Tate, former FCC Commissioner, recently joined forces to launch Healthy MEdia: Commission for Positive Images of Women and Girls. Working together with teen Girl Scouts and other commission members including Katherine Schwarzenegger, Emme, Nancy Snyderman, NBC Chief Medical Editor, and Ann Shoket, Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen Magazine, the group will lead the national conversation about how to ensure we are creating a positive media environment for our children.