Friday, April 26, 2013

Help GSOSW hold a screening of "Girl Rising," a documentary about the power of education to change a girl's life.

Girl Scouts of Oregon and SW Washington would like to host a screening of the documentary Girl Rising in Portland on May 21. This documentary follows the stories of several girls around the world and demonstrates the power of education to change a girl--and the world. You can see more about the film here: http://girlrising.com/.



In order to bring this screening to Portland, we need 100 people to reserve tickets by May 6. This screening is open to the public, and we encourage you to invite your friends, family, neighbors and more.

Here are the official details:
Date: Tuesday, May 21
Time: 7:30 PM (running time approximately 100 minutes)
Rating: PG-13
Location: Fox Tower Stadium 10, 846 SW Park Ave. Portland (downtown)
Price: $10/ticket

To reserve your tickets, follow this link: http://gathr.us/screening/3458. You need to use your credit card to reserve your seats, but your card WILL NOT be charged until/if we reach the 100 person minimum. We need to have 100 reservations by May 6 for this screening to happen. Spread the word and join us for this exciting opportunity!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Introducing 60-Second Seminars!

Girl Scouts OSW is proud to unveil a new video feature, 60-Second Seminars! In these videos, our aim  each month will be to answer questions and clarify things that we get asked frequently.  Here's our first video feature, showing where you can find information about our great day camps across Oregon and Southwest Washington!



Do you have a question you'd like to have explained in a 60-Second Seminar? We would love to hear your suggestions! Email Sarah Miller at smiller@girlscoutsosw.org to submit your ideas.

Friday, April 19, 2013

"Bring a Friend" Meeting Doubles Troop Size


Thanks to Brandy Slack, of Troop 45028 in SU 16, for this post! 

Troop 45028 began as a brand new troop last fall. We started out with only six girls – grades 4 and 5. We have been working on our Journey award badges. Since we're still such a new troop, we're trying to get the troop to run smoothly since next year we will be a blended troop.

Since I joined the SU team by becoming the new membership coordinator, I started thinking of ways that I could help get more girls signed up with Girl Scouts. I thought the best way to do this and also make our troop grow, was to have the girls invite their friends to join. The only thing better than doing something you like is doing it with your friends!

I made the suggestion to the troop, and of course the girls were more than ready to invite their friends! Each girl made invitations, and the girls planned the date and what we would do at the meeting, along with their parents. Most girls had at least one friend they want to invite, but some (like my daughter) had more than one  friend they wanted to invite.

For our invitation, I had a picture of four girls on my computer from the Juliette skating party back in October. I used website called Smilebox that had cards that you could print up, email, put on DVD, etc. I picked a card and added the picture of the girls* to it. Then I personalized the card to the information I wanted it to say, and printed it on photo paper. My daughter Brynne and I went to Michael's craft store for background paper and some Girl Scout stickers to add to it (Michael's carries Girl Scout items)! We ended up sharing the photo invitation with several girls. Each of them personalized the cards for their own use.

Nine new girls showed up to our Bring a Friend Meeting. Troop members introduced themselves and the friends they brought at the beginning of the meeting, and said something they loved about being a Girl Scout. The troop recited the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law. 

While one of the troop moms taught all the girls how to do a craft project, I talked to the parents that came to the meeting and gave them packets with information about our troop, what items were required to become a Girl Scout, the Girl Scout forms for both the girls and their moms in case they wanted to join.

On the day of invite, we had three new girls sign up. Three more girls signed up before our next meeting, two weeks later.  The girls who are new and in 5th grade share books with the original girls to help cut down on the cost of joining, since they will have to re-buy the next level books in the fall.

We will absolutely try this again! It was a great idea with little effort, but a huge pay off since six out of nine girls joined.

I believe the main reason more girls aren’t members already is because they either don't know that much about Girl Scouts, or they aren’t really sure they'd like it. Girls tend to enjoy something more if their friends are in it, too – which is why the bring a friend meeting was so successful.

If another troop wants to try this idea, I say GO FOR IT! A couple of tips to help make the meeting successful:

·        Watch out for cliques. Make sure girls have the opportunity to mingle and get to know one another so no one feels isolated or left out.
·        Let the girls decide what activities they want to do with their guests and let them design or decorate their own invitations. This will get the troop girls excited as well as the invited girls.

Friends will always talk to each other about what the troop does, the events they've participated in and how much fun they have with the other troop girls. There's no better advertising than that! 

*When using photos of members, please be sure to have appropriate photo permissions. You may use form #002 to obtain permission.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Local Girl Scout volunteer attends Our Chalet in Switzerland

Helen Storrow Seminar 2013
Young Women Leading for a Greener Future
By Rhianna Taniguchi

My first day at the 8th Annual Helen Storrow Seminar was spent snowshoing through Switzerland with international representatives from Sri Lanka and Canada. The seminar, hosted at Our Chalet from March 16-24th, is welcoming over 30 young women from around the world to discuss environmental issues and leadership development. Our Chalet is the first WAGGGS World Center and was founded over 80 years ago by an American Girl Scout, Ms. Helen Storrow. Anyone who questions Ms. Storrow's decision need only see the snow-laden mountains of Adelboden to sense the serentity that this magical place possesses. On the first night we ended with a tour of the historic building. We found secret compartments in some of the original furniture, learned the Center song, and ate traditional Swiss chocolate mousse. 

The second day was packed with personal development sessions and discussions about the current condition of our world. A part of the afternoon session had the participants talking about the current condition of our planet. Another part of the afternoon sesson had us talking about the impacts that weve noticed in regards to global warming and climate change. I decided to go for a run in the Swiss Alps and meditate in the snow in my free time and there was no sound but that of the wind and trees. That night was full of celebration, sparking apple cider, and snow cones fresh from the mountain!

Snow fell all of the third day and it was filled with outdoor activities such as sleding and hiking. We are being asked to develop action plans for our local community, region, or nation and are being provided with step-bz-step planning guides in order to effectively turn our visions into reality. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts brought facilitators from evey region of the world and worked with the participants on defining issues, identifying obstacles, and creating action plans that utilize their specific learning styles and skills to create a better world.