The GSSA Weekly from Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama

January 7, 2016 

 


Welcome to GSSA Weekly, the council's e-newsletter. 
 
At right, Girl Scouts gather at Kamp Kiwanis in December to make crafts, sing songs, and enjoy a sunny day at "Homespun for the Holidays."

Click here or on the image to see a larger version. 

Want to see your Girl Scouts featured in GSSA Weekly?  E-mail the photo with event information to communications@girlscoutssa.org.
  
Cookie Bites: Reminders for Cookie Chairs
  
We have some Girl Scouts registered in eBiz who are not linked with a troop --  please check to make sure all the girls in your troop are listed.

Can you see upcoming holes in your cookie inventory? The next planned order is due in SNAP this Sunday before midnight.

We will finish listing booth sites early next week. Booth site reservations will open next Wednesday at 11 a.m. You may reserve up to 9 booth sites.  (You can reserve even more on Saturday, 1/15.) 
. 
And of course, we are gearing up for our favorite Facebook event, the Walkabout Weekend Photo Contest! 
 
Follow Us!

Check out what GSSA is up to on these social media sites:

     

 

Quick Links
Gold Award Deadlines are Fast Approaching!
Girl Scout Gold Award 100th Anniversary
Are you an Ambassador who is graduating in 2016?  Your final opportunity to "Go For the Gold" is fast approaching.  While we recommend beginning your Gold Award Take Action Project in your Junior year of high school, it is possible for a  committed and organized Senior to accomplish the Gold Award.  If this is you, your deadline to submit a proposal is February 1.

For all other Girl Scouts working on their Gold Award, your Gold Award Proposal or Final Report  must be received by February 1 to be considered within the next three months.. Otherwise, it will be held until the next deadline.

For more information, please see the Gold Award Guidelines on the Earned Awards page on our website.
 
Welcome Amy Murray to our Montgomery Office!

The newest member of our staff, Amy Murray, started at our Montgomery office yesterday!  Amy will be working as support staff in the front office, as well as staffing our council shop.  She has two children and attends Frazer Memorial Methodist Church.  Amy enjoys crafts of all types.  She is a runner, which is great, because joining Girl Scouts during cookie season means "hitting the ground running," for sure!  Welcome, Amy! 

Morgan Mitchell Shares Her Gold Award Take Action Project Process: Bereavement Gowns
  
 Morgan has been a Girl Scout since fourth grade and credits activities with her troop for introducing her to many new experiences. She will graduate from Spanish Fort High School in 2016 and plans to major in Library and Information Sciences at Southern Miss. Her parents are Ricky and Amy Mitchell.

Morgan's Gold Award Take Action Project, Delicate Embrace Angel Gowns, provides bereavement gowns made from recycled wedding dresses to infants who pass away before they leave the hospital. 
Read more about Morgan's Gold Award at our Girl Blog 
Let Out Your Inner Artist --  Enter the Girl Scout Week Design Contest!

Show us what being a Girl Scout means to you!

Draw a picture for Girl Scout Week, showing a Girl Scout (or several) participating in your favorite Girl Scout activity!

We will showcase the winning artwork on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram media streams during Girl Scout Week in March.
It will also be on the front of the bulletin insert that churches may use on Girl Scout Sunday. 

Contest is open to individual Girl Scouts, troops,or groups. Entries accepted until January 15.  Click here for details!

New Opportunities for 2016! 

 
Where does the time go?   It seems like just yesterday we were heralding in 2015, and now it is gone, and we are looking to 2016.   But that always gives rise to a sense of hope, the future, and new opportunities.
 
We had a good 2015 -- lots of positive things happened.   There's a new porch on the rec hall at Camp Scoutshire Woods.   The vegetation has been sprayed at Camp Sid Edmonds.   Sadly, we lost our ranger, Ed Smith, in 2015. What a guy he was.   There's an observatory now at Kamp Kiwanis.   There were more than 40 council programs with around 2,000 girls attending those programs.   Girls had FUN, they developed and honed their leadership skills, and they changed their world.

We look forward to an even better 2016.   We are not far from planting a loblolly pine plantation at Camp Sid Edmonds, happening in late January or early February.   We hope it grows and does as well as the pine plantation we have at Camp Humming Hills.   We welcome a new co-ranger, Tom Tindol, familiar with Camp Humming Hills, to work with Wanda Smith to assure all troops that visit have a great time there.   We continue to address the many issues at Camp Scoutshire Woods, working to return it to its pristine beauty.   Program Manager and Camp Director Amanda Abercrombie will be moving to Kamp Kiwanis, so we have someone physically living on the property, and we are working on getting new horses for the summer camp program.   The horses we had been leasing are no longer available, but some new animals will arrive at camp for the girls to fall in love with.

Continue reading on our Virtual Volunteer Blog.  
 
New Programs & Updates

 Girl Scout Week Bulletin Insert Order Due 1/29

 Save the Date: Journey Overnight at Camp Scoutshire Woods (J C) 4/2-3

 DATE CHANGED: Journey Day at KK will not be held 4/22 due to schedule conflict.  New   date will be announced soon!

UPDATE: Girl Scout Night at the Bay Bears (ALL) 5/6


Upcoming Deadlines 

Event
Location
Date
Deadline
webinar
every Thurs + as needed
RSVP
Archery Certification  (Volunteers) 
Pike County
1/15
1/8
Planned order due in SNAP (TCM/SUCM)
online
 
1/10
midnight
Booth Site Reservations Begin (TCM/SUCM) 
online
1/13
11 am
 
CPR/FA/AED Certification  (Volunteers) 
Montgomery
1/14
online study
1/15
Planned order due in SNAP (TCM/SUCM)
online
 
1/17
midnight
1/15-18
2/25
Planned order due in SNAP (TCM/SUCM)
online
 
1/24
midnight
Montgomery
1/28
online study
 
 
1/29
Planned order due in SNAP (TCM/SUCM)
online
 
1/31
midnight
Final Gold Award Proposal Deadline (Graduating Ambassadors)
 
 
2/1
 
 
2/1
 
Other Opportunities
Because we want our girls to have many learning (and fun!) opportunities, we offer this additional calendar for programs that are not presented by our council. Some of these programs are presented by our volunteer Troops and Service Units, others are put on by groups in the communities we serve. Calendar listings do not imply endorsement by the council.  This calendar is available on our Events & Programs page 
Please contact the volunteer listed in the program for more information and program status.