Friday, March 28, 2014
Girl Scouts of the Commonwealth Friday News

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Who Wants Cookies? 

"This picture represents Girl Scouts from Troops 35 and 415 (Midtown), and 5232 (South of the James) who worked together to sell Girl Scout cookies. The best part for us was working alongside our GSCV CEO, Mrs. Viola Baskerville. She is truly a "cheerleader for Girl Scouts and Girl Scout cookies."  Thanks for spending time with us at the sale!"

-Glennys Flemming, Troop Leader 

Colonial Heights Father/Daughter Dance 

On Saturday, March 15th, Colonial Heights Troop 3222 hosted its 5th annual Father/Daughter dance at the American Legion Post 284 in Colonial Heights. This year's theme was a Night in Paris. There were 118 girls in attendance at the event ranging from Daisies to Seniors. Girls enjoyed food, fun and dancing. Ruth Graninger, GSCV Retail Manager, taught the dads and their gals 2 American Smooth Waltzes. 

GS NEWS BRIEFS 
2014 USO Art Contest - USO of Hampton Roads Central Virginia

Apply Now for the 2014 Peace First Prize - Peace First
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS 
Resource Day
April 5, 2014

In preparation for the office move, GSCV will be having a Resource Day on Saturday, April 5, 2014 from 9am-1pm. Volunteers will have the opportunity to go through hundreds of FREE program materials that can be used at troop or service unit events. The room will be limited to 15 people at a time. As people leave the room, the same number of people will be allowed to enter. We ask that each person abides by the Girl Scout Law to be considerate and caring to those waiting in line behind them. Anyone in line before 1pm will be able to enter the room. The day will end promptly at 1pm. Items available will be located in the 2nd floor conference room.  

 

Volunteers will be allowed one grocery sized bag/tote to carry their items home and will be responsible for bringing their own bag. The shop will have Leader Totes available for purchase for $3 each should you need one. These Leader Totes will also get you 10% off one item every time you purchase something from the Shop when you bring the bag with you, including April 5th! The shop will also be open during this time and will have select items on sale!

Did You Know?
Striving for Operational Excellence
Girl Scouts of the Commonwealth of Virginia, what we all commonly refer to as the "Council" includes all of the membership. It is comprised of the girls, the volunteers, the staff, and the board. Together WE are the "Council".
 
"Did You Know?" was developed to provide feedback to our membership based on your questions and comments.

To better serve our membership, Girl Scouts of the Commonwealth of Virginia will relocate its council headquarters to a newly designed office near Willow Lawn Shopping Center in Richmond, Virginia. After almost 40 years at the current location in Mechanicsville, we are proud to formally announce our office relocation plans. We feel that our new location is much better suited to meet the needs of our girls and volunteers and will increase our ability to serve our membership. The new site is designed to be more functional and efficient and opens up many new and exciting possibilities to better serve the growing needs of GSCV. We are confident that a more centrally located office will prove to be more accessible to girls and volunteers.

 

To help you plan, we have provided an overview of our moving schedule. We will be closed for business April 23-30, 2014 for the move. Please contact us by phone prior to April 23 as our phone system will not be operational during this time. The Fredericksburg Shop will be closed April 23-25 to help with inventory and packing for the move. Fredericksburg will reopen Saturday, April 26 for regular hours. Should you need to contact a staff member during this time, please do so via e-mail.

 

With the exception of mailing and fax all communication methods will remain unchanged; i.e. phone numbers/extensions, website, email addresses, etc.

 

In the very near future, more details regarding closing dates and availability during our move will be available on our website at www.comgirlscouts.org.

 

Effective May 1, 2014, please visit us at the new location:

4900 Augusta Avenue                       
Richmond, VA 23230

PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES

Happening On COMAR

NEW 
Chesterfield Towne Center Cookie Booth Sales
Girl Scout Day with the Richmond Kickers
Poe Museum Program  

REGISTRATION CLOSING SOON
Menchies Frozen Yogurt Booth Sale Opportunities
Be Anything, Do Everything - CMOR Central - closes March 31
Goodwill to Others - closes April 2

Spring Fling - closes April 4 

Summer Camp Schedule

We have recently received several inquiries about our summer camp schedule. Due to the winter weather, some area schools are requiring students to extend their school year into June to make up for the amount of snow days that have occurred.

GSCV will not be altering the start of summer camp this year for numerous reasons.

  • We serve school systems in 30 counties and 6 cities, as well as numerous private schools that all have different schedules.
  • There have also been over 130 resident camp purchases that have planned their summers already based on the camp dates that have been published since November 2013.
  • We also have several items scheduled that cannot be changed at this point including horses arriving at camp as well as international staff already scheduled to arrive at camp in early June.
  • Moving resident camp would require us to adjust every other camp program option for the rest of the summer and into the fall, i.e. Resident and Day Camp, Troop/SU Camping, Adventure Weekends, special camp programs, etc., which is just not possible this late in the year.

If you have already purchased a camp program and have discovered that a school schedule is now in conflict, please contact Samantha "Pepper" Felton, Camp Director, as soon as possible at sfelton@comgirlscouts.org. She will be able to make recommendations for the best course of action for your Girl Scout and her school schedule.

 

If you have not signed up for camp yet, there are still several options available. Please visit www.comgirlscouts.org/camp to see all the available camp offerings this summer.

Goodwill to Others - Fredericksburg Area
April 5, 2014

Since 1966, Rappahannock Goodwill Industries (RGI) has believed in the power to change people's lives. Their mission is to provide to people with barriers to employment - particularly those with disabilities - an array of quality vocational and educational services so that they can work most independently. This Girl Scout patch program is a tradition in the Fredericksburg area that continues this year, with a new design! Check out the patch requirements and sign up for a shift on Collection Day, April 5 - search keyword 'goodwill' on COMAR. Even if you can't help on Collection Day, please clean out your closets and drop off your donations on April 5th. 

Girl Scout Day with the Richmond Kickers
April 19, 2014

Established in 1993, the Richmond Kickers have consistently been one of the most successful professional soccer clubs in America. On Saturday, April 19, Girl Scouts of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Richmond Kickers have joined forces for a great day of fun at City Stadium in Richmond. Kick-off against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds is at 5:00pm.

 

Added Bonus!  Every Girl Scout that has a ticket to the game can participate in a Soccer Clinic with the trainers and staff from the Richmond Kickers! All levels and skill abilities are encouraged to attend! The clinic is before the game, from 2-4pm.  Please register your Girl Scouts for this option when purchasing tickets. Girls who are not registered will not be allowed to participate in the clinic.

 

Visit COMAR and look in the Featured section on the right to register today! There are two ticket options - one with a pizza party and one without

PRODUCT SALES
Chesterfield Towne Center Cookie Kiosk

GSCV is excited to announce that we have partnered with Chesterfield Towne Center (CTC) in Chesterfield, VA to offer a full service CTC Girl Scout Cookie Kiosk. The kiosk will be available to all Girl Scouts who are participating in this year's Girl Scout Cookie sale and will be open through April 20, 2014. This partnership presents an excellent opportunity for girls and their troops to end this year's sale with a bang and meet their goals. The schedule is filling quickly - be sure to sign up today on COMAR, keyword 'kiosk'. 

 

Before you register, make sure you can adhere to the rules for this cookie sale:

 

Cookie Kiosk Rules:

  1. Max # of girls allowed: 5
  2. Max # of adults allowed: 3
  3. Must be in Girl Scout vest or sash.
  4. Must remain at kiosk; no solicitation in mall.
  5. Must remain at kiosk for your shift's entirety. Kiosk should not be unattended at any time.
  6. Must maintain a professional demeanor at all times. Running around and disturbing other mall vendors or customers will not be accepted.
  7. After you sign up for your shift, you must complete the online Cookie Cupboard Reservation form.
  8. Please note: after March 29, cookies will only be available for pick-up at the Mechanicsville cupboard, so please plan accordingly.
  9. If you have an emergency and you are unable to make your registered shift, please notify Courtney Mitchell at cmitchell@comgirlscouts.org immediately.

Register your troop for the CTC Girl Scout Cookie Kiosk now through your COMAR account. No troop will be authorized to hold a booth sale at CTC if it has not been secured through COMAR. Please note: the mall requires the kiosk to be staffed the entire time the mall is open; therefore, if a slot is not filled by a troop, you may notice a GSCV staff member manning the kiosk instead. 

 

The kiosk is located in the center of the mall between the former Justice location and the Best Buy retail location, just off the food court. Park close to the JCPenney or Food Court mall entrances for easy access to the kiosk. Click here to see a map of the mall and the exact location of the kiosk. 
Cookie Crumbs 
Did you receive our fifth edition of Cookie Crumbs? If not, you can view it here. This has all the latest information relating to Product Sales and the 2014 Cookie Sale and will remain available for the duration of the Cookie Sale! Be sure to check it out and stay tuned for the next edition!  
ADULT TRAINING & EVENTS
Volunteer Appreciation Week
April 21-25, 2014  
In celebration of the fantastic volunteers within GSCV, we are launching an essay contest to give fellow Girl Scouts the opportunity to share with our community why your leader is so special. Girls can write a very short 200 word essay about how their leader is helping to build their courage, confidence, or character and submit their essay through this online form. The deadline to submit is April 4. Each leader can only be nominated for one of the three C's, so find which C your leader instills and inspires in you the most and share that with us! Essay contest winners will be chosen based on the most inspiring story. One winner from each essay category, Courage, Confidence, and Character will be chosen and announced on April 22!  Leaders featured in the essay will each receive a certificate for a spa treatment to reward them for their hard work and dedication.  Every girl has a story to tell and every leader leaves a legacy; we can't wait to see what our girls share with us this year!

Other happenings for Girl Scout Volunteer Appreciation Week:

  • Any girl who visits the shop the week of April 14* can make a loom bracelet for your leader!
  • Leaders will be able to create a gift registry for themselves to let others know that special something they've always wanted!
  • First Time visitors to our shop will receive a scratch off ticket to use that day.
  • All leaders visiting the shop the week of April 14* will receive a GSCV tote bag they can use during future shopping trips to receive a 10% discount off of one item.

*Note: The GSCV office will be in the process of moving the week of April 21-25, 2014. Please visit the shop during the week of April 14. 

GSCV SHOPS

Shop at Camp
The Camp Shop will be open during Camp Open House at Pamunkey and Kitty! Come see our new camp shop location in Cabin 1 at Pamunkey Ridge Girl Scout Camp!
Order Now for Bridging!
Remember the GSCV office and shop will be moving to a new location soon, so get your bridging items now! Inventory will be lower the closer we get to our move. Also, make sure to take a peek at our 2014 Spring catalog! Remember you can shop online 24/7 at comgirlscouts.org/shop!


 
Shop Closings
Council Shops will be closed 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. for lunch beginning Jan. 6. Please plan your shopping trips accordingly. Thanks for your support!

Holidays/Events
Friday, May 23 - Closing at 12:30pm
Saturday, May 24 - Monday, May 26 - Memorial Day
Friday, July 4 - Independence Day
Monday, Sept 1 - Labor Day
Thursday, Nov 27 - 30 - Thanksgiving
Wednesday, Dec 24 - Saturday, Jan 3 - Winter Holiday

 

Staff Meetings
9 to 10 am - Both Locations will open at 11am on the following days:
Friday, Sept 26
Friday, Nov 21

Want to print out our hours? Just click here for a PDF!