 Service Unit Leadership Planning and Luncheon |
Calling all service unit team members!
We are excited to share that we will be hosting Service Unit Leadership Planning Sessions in May. We are offering two dates from which to choose from, but encourage service unit teams to attend the same date together as a team.
Key leadership folks should plan on attending. Snacks and lunch will be provided, all you need to bring is a positive spirit , enthusiasm, and excitement for the new Girl Scout membership year! Please check with your membership specialist for more information and to provide input in the selection of the team.
DATES & LOCATIONS
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Forum Hyatt in Lee County
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Gulfcoast Event and Conference Center in Sarasota County
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
|
FAMILY
SUPPORT
PLAN
|
Whether we have connected by phone, email or in person, I want to thank you for partnering with me in bringing the Family Support Plan to families. It is vital for the health of our council, it improves the quality of the Girl Scout experience girls currently enjoy and it enables girls to join who otherwise couldn't afford it. By bringing FSP to families and asking for their support you are giving them the opportunity to consider a gift for their own personal reasons. Families can give according to their means, and they can give multiple times throughout the year. They may prefer different timing for their gifts. Gifts are cumulative and count toward the $25 needed to earn a patch. Every gift makes a difference! I have created an email that you are welcome to use to remind families about FSP if you would find it helpful. Email me at kateo@gsgcf.org. I would be happy to share it with you. Don't hesitate to contact me anytime with questions, comments and most importantly, to share suggestions.
|
| |
|
|
| |
We Wish to Thank Our Following Community Partners:
Partner Agency
Girl Scouts of
Gulfcoast Florida, Inc.
4780 Cattlemen Road
Sarasota, FL 34233
941-921-5358
800-232-4475
www.gsgcf.org
Back to top |
|
|
 |
April/ 2013
| |
Dear Service Unit Leadership Volunteers.
Welcome to TEAM TALK - the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc. online newsletter keeping administrative volunteers informed of all the great things being done by and for Girl Scouts. Administrative volunteers are asked to send out emails, present at upcoming meetings, etc. sharing or reinforcing the information contained in this online newsletter to appropriate volunteers.
Go Green! While there may be some sections of this email you need to email or share, save paper and avoid printing.
Don't forget to stay in touch via social media! .
|
 |
|
Please spread the word. We'd like to take just a moment to offer sincere thanks to all
of the volunteers, parents, family members, and girls who have been involved in the 2013 Girl Scout Cookie Program. I know many of you sat through frigidly cold cookie booths, walked around your neighborhoods in the rain, and gave so much of your time and energy to helping girls reach their goals and build their skills during the 2013 Cookie Program. I look forward to sharing data and successes soon.
Thank you all for everything you do to support girls and the
Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida Cookie Program.
Corinne Wright, Director of Sales
BACK TO TOP
| | |
Wow . . . . . The 2013 - 2014 Girl Scout membership year
is fast approaching! Which means, it is time to
Early Bird re-register all troops for our new membership year.
We need you to spread the word. All girls deserve the gift of their membership. Troop leaders can re-register the troops as "Early Birds" and get their girls a patch to start off the new year. Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida believes that a family should only pay for their daughter's membership once, the first time they join. Then their work at selling cookies should ensure their troops enough funds to secure the next year's registration fee. Please share this philosophy with your leaders.
The Early Bird incentive program will run from April 16 through June 14, 2013.
We know many service unit leadership teams are planning fun events to ensure they are off to a great start to the membership year. We hope you have fun and much success. Those events can be a place to look for parents and others to get more involved with some of your service team positions. Very important ~ please share ~ troop leaders have the ease of re-registering the troop using eBiz's Troop Management System. This feature is only available for a limited time so encourage all of your troops to participate in the Early Bird program. |
| |
|
| BRIDGING... MORE THAN A TRADITION!
Troops are winding down and getting ready for year-end festivities. Many troops will be working on a traditional end of the year ceremony in which girls celebrate moving from one grade level to the next. These ceremonies are held by service units or several troops together and usually find girls walking over a bridge being welcomed by girls of their new age level. We encourage service units to host bridging ceremonies for all troops to participate in. The ceremony makes it very special for those girls and is a way for families to celebrate with their daughter and encourages a sense of sisterhood. This is also an opportunity to invite local city and county officials and school principals to share in the excitement. Staff loves these ceremonies as much as volunteers so please include them in the invitation.
Bridging is more important than a ceremony. Not only because it is the management of retention and placement for girls, but because it shows our sisterhood very profoundly. Bridging ceremonies help ensure that every girl who is a current member has a place to go, is connected to her next year's troop, and that she feels welcomed and wanted to come back.
You, as a leadership team need to be managing this process. As you get ready it's a great time to do assessments of your troops. Talking with leaders about whether or not they will return, if not who are the next leaders? How many girls are bridging and do they have a plan in place? Where do you need to form new troops, merge others, or help a struggling troop? Preparation for this celebration is an easy way to analyze the status of all troops in preparation for the upcoming fall recruitment season.
| | |
|
| Career Connection and Skill Builder Opportunity for
Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors
Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida's Fund Development department has an opportunity for a group of
five to six girls to get involved with building a new campaign.
Get hands-on experience developing a campaign from the ground up. Develop a marketing plan and campaign strategy, set a goal, build a budget, help design materials, and work as a team to help organize this new initiative.
The campaign, in cooperation with Symphony Salvage, will involve creating a campaign case statement and message used to spread the word to members' families, volunteers, Girl Scout alumnae, and the community-at-large to donate clothing and other items which will be collected in donation bins.
Symphony Salvage collects these items, sorts them in their warehouse, and ships them internationally to missions who have raised funds to buy and sell or give much needed items to people in need. A percentage of the funds are donated back to Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida for the Council's Girl Scout Promise Fund - financial assistance allowing all girls the ability to join the movement.
Girl Scouts who participate in the project will meet at the council headquarters in Sarasota starting in April. For questions or to express your interest, please contact Melissa Burtless, Chief Development Officer, at melissab@gsgcf.org or 941-921-5358, Ext. 307.
| | |
|
| VOLUNTEER LEARNING UPDATES
The Volunteer Resources department has some exciting things happening and wants everyone to join in the action!
Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida is looking for individuals that have a strong dedication to enriching the lives of other adults through the sharing of knowledge and experiences. These individuals should be a self-starter, passionate facilitator, eager to promote positive influence at the service unit and council level, who understands the importance of facilitating classes according to the outlines and has great communication skills. Learning Opportunities include adult leadership, camping, outdoor specialties, leadership enrichment, team enrichment, and health and safety. If you or someone you know is interested in attending this meeting, or becoming an adult facilitator, please contact Nicole King, Manager of Volunteer Learning Services; 941-921-5358 ext 318, or nicolek@gsgcf.orgSomething new on the Adult Learning tab of our website, www.gsgcf.org, is Facilitation Courses at a Glance. This resource tool has been added for you to use at your service unit meetings when making announcements, when meeting new potential leaders, and as a quick reference in general. The chart is updated regularly and has the most current adult learning opportunities information. If there are courses you would like to see in your area, please contact Nicole King, Manager of Volunteer Learning Services at nicolek@gsgcf.org, or 941-921-53528 ext 318. Lifeguard Certification Course: April 12 (5:00 p.m.) - April 14 (3:00 p.m.) at Camp Honi Hanta
Interested in a summer job or a challenging career as a professional lifeguard? Each participant must be able to pass a "pre-test" of swimming 300 yards (no time limit), treading water, and retrieve a dive brick from the bottom of the pool. Through videos, group discussion and hands-on practice, you'll learn teamwork, rescue and surveillance skills, First Aid, and CPR/AED and other skills you need to work as a professional lifeguard. The American Red Cross Lifeguard Course is designed to certify participants in the four areas: Lifeguard, CPR Pro, AED, and First Aid. Topics include: injury prevention and facility safety, patron surveillance, rescue skills, victim assessment, and care for head, neck and spinal injuries. Upon passing the written exam and physical requirement the participant will be certified. All certifications are for two (2) years. Overnight accommodations and meals at camp are included in the fee. You must complete all three (3) days in order to become certified.
Event Cooking Certification: May 3 - 5 at Camp Honi Hanta
Become certified to use the kitchen for your service unit or troop events while at Camp Honi Hanta. You will get hands-on experience with operating all of the kitchen equipment, review of all health and safety practices of the equipment, meal planning and preparation. You must complete all three days to become certified.
OWLS (Outdoor Weekend Learning Spectacular): October 11 - 13 at Camp Honi Hanta
All Adult Volunteers, Ambassadors, and Seniors are welcome. OWLS will offer all outdoor education courses that will allow you the opportunity to become certified in a variety of outdoor activities, such as canoe, kayak, archery, low ropes course, and event cooking, just to name a few. Not only will it be a time for learning new things, but you will also benefit from enjoying old friends and making new ones too. It is sure to be a weekend of fun! Make sure to save the date and plan on attending, more details to come!
If you are interested in being on the planning committee for OWLS, please contact Nicole King, Manager of Volunteer Learning Services at nicolek@gsgcf.org, or 941-921-5358 ext 318. | | |
|
| | |
Please share these great shop specials
and information with the volunteers in your service unit
Featured Shop Item: Girl Scout Cookie Glasses
Let your Troop Cookie Manager or Troop Leader know you appreciate all her hard work and dedication to your troop. Give them a set of Girl Scout Cookie Glasses. They can relax and enjoy a favorite beverage and their favorite Girl Scout Cookies. Glasses are 16 oz. Made in USA. $12 per set.
Year End Awards Special - Buy Early, Save $$
Don't miss our 3rd Annual Year End Awards Special In an effort to ensure you have all the supplies you need to make your Year End Awards Ceremony a HUGE Success, we are offering a 10% discount on all awards orders placed and paid for by Saturday, April 27, 2013. All awards orders placed by this date will have the purchasers name entered into a drawing for a $50 Council Shop Gift Certificate. Two winners will be drawn!
Orders can be placed in person, via email to shopsrq@gsgcf.org
or by fax to 941.923.5241
BACK TO TOP
|
|
Girl Scouting builds girls of Courage, Confidence and Character who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, Inc. is chartered by Girl Scouts of the USA and serves over 10,000 girls in ten counties including: Manatee, Hardee, Highlands, Sarasota, DeSoto, Charlotte, Glades, Lee, Hendry, and Collier. For more information about the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida visit www.gsgcf.org.
|
|
|
