In This Issue

QUICK LINKS

All About Outcomes

Property Update

Camping and Property Rental Fees

FAQ's on Council Programs and Highest Awards

The Great Girl Scout Gathering on the Gulfcoast!

July 7 - July 12, 2013

CLICK HERE

For Full Details

GSGCF is the

host of this
NATIONAL EVENT

Spread the Word!

LOOK WHATS NEW!

Please take a moment to view the inspiring video from Girl Scouts Honorary National President, First Lady Michelle Obama encouraging people to become important role models to girls through volunteering. Share with someone you think would be a great role model and ask them to visit girlscouts.org/volunteer.

First Lady Michelle Obama supports Girl Scouts

SAVE the DATES

ACTION Rally

November 23, 2013

9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

at the

Gulfcoast Event and Conference Center, Sarasota

Annual Meeting

of the Council

January 25, 2014

9:30am - Noon

at the

Gulfcoast Event & Conference Center, Sarasota

We Wish to Thank Our Following Community Partners:

Publix

Partner Agency

Girl Scouts of

Gulfcoast Florida, Inc.

4780 Cattlemen Road

Sarasota, FL 34233

941-921-5358

800-232-4475

www.gsgcf.org

October 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.

Stay in touch via social media . . .

Cookie Season is Almost Here

Help your troops get a jump start with these helpful hints and activities.

CLICK HERE

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"All About Outcomes"

As members of the service team you know the impact that leaders can have on girls and on the organization. If it was just about fun and friendship, girls could get together for coloring parties. Our survey program is about helping girls develop into their best selves and becoming leaders. We measure our success through girl responses to outcome surveys based on experiences through Girl Scout program (troop and journey awards, event, product sales, outdoor, etc.). Make sure you are knowledgeable about our 15 outcomes and how your leaders and your service unit activities impact the experience of girls.

This year in Team Talk, we'll be exploring the fifteen outcomes for girls from the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, and why it is important to measure these outcomes. Let's start with the basics.

Q. What exactly are "outcomes?"

A. When a girl has achieved an outcome, it means she has developed a specific skill related to the "Discover," "Connect," or "Take Action" keys to leadership, which are built into the Girl Scout Journeys. There are fifteen outcomes in all (five for each leadership key).

Q. How are these outcomes achieved?

A. Troop Leaders and other program volunteers don't teach the skills directly to the girls. Girls naturally develop these skills as they work through the Journeys, using of the "Girl-Led," "Learning by Doing," and "Cooperative Learning" processes.

Q. Are all of the outcomes incorporated to each of the Journeys?

A. No. Each Journey incorporates a combination of many of the outcomes, but no Journey is designed to include all fifteen outcomes.

Q. How do I know which outcomes are related to a specific Journey?

A. The related outcomes are listed in each adult Journey guide.

Q. How do we know that girls are achieving the outcomes?

A. That's where the Spring Troop Surveys come into play. Last year, we implemented a council-wide survey for each of the Girl Scout grade levels, to determine what our girls were learning, and to help us improve our programs for girls and adapt to meet their needs. The surveys are usually taken online, but paper surveys are sometimes used instead. We will share more information about this year's Spring Troop Survey, as well as the new Cookie Program survey, as we get closer.

Q. Where can I learn more about measuring outcomes, and the Spring Troop Surveys?

A. Please visit www.gsgcf.org, click on "for Volunteers," then click on "Girl Scout Voices."

Next month, we'll start looking at the specific outcomes and suggest ways you can help leaders understand their impact.

Property Update

In the October 23, webinar with Service Unit Managers, Corporation Team Members, Board Members and members of the Property Committee Task group, the decision to move forward in the sale of the Fort Myers Service Center and the discontinuance of the lease for the Port Charlotte Girl Scout House was discussed, as well as looking to a new rental plan for the Gulfcoast Event and Conference Center (GECC) in Sarasota. An email which included the slides and talking notes from the webinar were sent to those who were invited to help share the messages from the board. The messages included their request we speak in one positive voice about these decisions, and help overcome any impact these decisions will have.

The board, having to make the hard decision to pursue this avenue to ensure a balanced budget for current and future needs of girls and volunteers, shared some of the facts and figures going into the decision. All of us have seen the impact of low membership and the loss in cookie revenue and public support has had on our current budget. The loss of income has resulted in reduced staff, the refocus of program events and reduced shop hours as well as our shelving some needed projects. We have balanced this with the fact that service unit events have the largest numbers of girls in attendance and on line sales have more than tripled in the last year. Even with low attendance of girls at our camp properties, folks are happy that both camp properties will continue to be maintained for the girls to enjoy. We are making efforts to help leaders give girls this outdoor experience. Evidence of this has been seen in camp training and camp events. The board realizes that decisions to sell the FMCS and close the Port Charlotte Girl Scout House will have an impact. Volunteers and staff will need to strategize on how to overcome them. We know that we can. Most Girl Scout troops in GSGCF and across the US do not have a service center in close proximity. More important Girl Scouts have always been about connecting with the community they are in, so spreading our reach with meetings locations will help us be seen as relevant to and part of our communities.

As leadership team members, please find ways to deliver the messages to the volunteers in your service units or regions. We want to hear the challenges, but also ideas for solutions. There will be meetings set up in Fort Myers and Port Charlotte to discuss ideas/solutions to support girls and volunteers. Dates will be shared as available.

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Camping and Property Rental Fees

Overnight Activities and Camping is a great way for girls to have fun, meet new friends, and learn new skills. Girls might learn to build and cook over an open fire, make a clay pot, put on a skit, paddle a canoe, go on a hike, learn how to create a new computer program or use a global positioning system, make natural jewelry, or learn about the awesome birds of Florida. Camp is a place where girls learn to live and work with other girls, and prepare for the challenges of everyday life.

As troops have looked to reserve properties they shared that they were experiencing challenges. We have been listening and have made some changes. But with change can come a little discomfort. You've shared that the disconnected fees for property rental have confused volunteers and made it difficult to make plans and reservations, and the forms were not user friendly so we have been working on updating them. There's a new fee schedule for service unit and troop camping fees, it can be found on our website. In order to standardize the bed rate, some of the units jumped up in price, a few places went down, and the rate for the entire camp went up quite a bit based on the number of beds. A good change is that we incorporated the canoes, kayaks, archery equipment as free with rental- yes you still have to have trained adults, but girls can use what resources we have at no additional fee, check Safety Activity Checkpoints before planning. These changes are designed with the idea of getting more girls to camp. If fees seem out of reach, think about sharing your unit with another troop. Bridging activities could be done with an older or younger girl troop. You could consider a Brownie camp out for the service unit, One troop sends a mom to get lifeguard trained, and another troop sends a dad to Canoe training, etc.

Check out the new fees before you start planning your camping trips so you charge and plan appropriately. Share with your leaders at your next meeting. You can send your feedback or get information at property@gsgcf.org.

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FAQ's on Council Programs

and Highest Awards

This will be a resource on our website, but we wanted to share with you so as volunteers have questions you can know where to direct them.

How do I register for a program and can I bring a friend who is not a Girl Scout?

Program events are open to all girls. Activity Finder is the place to look for programs that are happening all over the council. Registration instructions will be provided in the details for each event.

What are the minimum and maximums on programs for?

The minimum on a program states the amount of girls needed to run a program. These are typically set by volunteers or paid collaborators to meet their costs. For example to run a sowing program you need $240 to pay your staff and buy supplies, the person running that program would then set a minimum of 24 girls at $10 a girl to make that program successful.

The maximum amount of participants on a program is typically the amount a facility can hold and is not how many girls you need to bring to attend that program. For example, a Girl Scout house might only comfortably take 30 girls and 10 adults, the maximum for this program would be 40.

How many adults can attend a program?

In most cases, only the number of adults recommended by the Safety Activity Check Points will be permitted to attend the events to allow for maximum attendance by girls. However there are exceptions made for large events where we are sure we will have enough space or for activities that where parents bring girls without a troop.

What steps do I need to take if I want to plan an event for my troop, a larger group or my service unit?

The Event Guide online will help walk you through the steps needed to pull off a successful event. Share your desire with your service unit manager for large group events.

Where would I find the requirements for my girls to earn the Bronze, Silver or Gold Award?

All of the guidelines for these awards can be found in the Girls Guide to Girl Scouts (GG2GS) for each age level and on our website.

Where can I find volunteers/organizations that are willing to come share their skill with my girls or offer discounted rates?

The Triptionary is an online guide that lets you know about people that are willing to come to your troop or have your troop come out to them for a reduced fee. We are always looking for new people/organizations to join this. If you know of any places/people please share at programs@gsgcf.org.

ABOUT GIRL SCOUTS

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.