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From Your Service Unit Leader:

I am hoping everyone had a great summer and is looking forward to a spectacular new Girl Scout year.  We are working on many fun events for the upcoming 2018-2019 troop year, which officially runs from 10/1/18-9/30/19.  All events will be listed on our calendar as they are announced: https://www.statecollegegirlscouts.org/events/.

Over the summer, in preparation of my new role, I received information from GSHPA and advice from our previous Service Unit leader, Jodi Vender. I also spent a lot of time with the girls.  This summer I’ve seen girls working in the garden at Tudek Park, teaching/earning the Bugs and Flowers badges at camp, climbing the ropes course at Carnegie Science Center, earning their Hiking badge at Millbrook Marsh, baking unicorn cupcakes at TasteBuds Kitchen, sleeping overnight at the Spikes stadium, and working together to go to Savannah next summer. The sisterhood and friendships girls build in Girl Scouts is marvelous.

I’ve also seen the struggle as Golden Pond was closed this past July. I know how this has saddened both girls and volunteers who’ve come to see it as a second home. The Camping Committee is striving to continue producing Camporees and is looking for assistance in continuing this Girl Scout tradition. For more information on joining the committee contact them here.

Please consider helping out at Fall Camporee if you have a “Pioneering camp skill” to share with the girls.  Also remember camping skills are a progression that can be learned at any time.

Why does the Service Unit exist?

The Service Unit gives troops a chance to collaborate with other troops to produce quality programming that they may not be able to do on their own due to constraints of time, information, and numbers.  The Service Unit also allows older girls and younger girls the opportunity to be together and learn from each other.  Examples of this include the cookie rally, camporees, badge workshops, World Thinking Day, Journey weekends and other events that have been produced throughout the last few years.  These events have all been organized and run by volunteers (both adult and girl).  Lastly the Service Unit assists with the sale of Fall Product and Cookies.

Our Service Unit is large.  Last year Service Unit 416 had just over 400 girls registered.  They were involved in more than forty troops.  That is a lot of meetings, badges, awards, activities, etc. for the girls.  It is also a lot of time, effort, emails, phone calls, etc. on the part of the leaders.

To better facilitate communication we started the website two years ago.  It provides families and leaders a central location to find out information about events.  Please check out https://www.statecollegegirlscouts.org/. If you are on Facebook we have a group where we share information within the Service Unit and a page which we use for recruiting and advertising purposes.

How can I help?

Our community has so many amazing people in it who have a lot to share with the girls.  Please consider taking on one of these essential Service Unit Positions.  (Parents as well as girls in eighth grade and up are encouraged to participate.)

  • Delegates (2, plus 2 alternates; must be members age 14 or older)
  • Treasurer (must be an adult member with clearances)
  • Communications – updating our website, Facebook, and putting our newsletter together
  • Recognition of outstanding volunteers, girls, and troops
  • Fundraising
  • Activities Planning Committee
  • Camp Committee
  • Bridging Committee
  • STEAM Exploration Committee
  • Community Involvement Committee

The Service Unit needs your help to keep our amazing programming going.  I would like to encourage every troop to think of how they can contribute to and expand our offerings throughout the year.

Ways troops can contribute:

  • Run a badge workshop for a younger level
  • Organize an badge/journey for their own level
  • Organize a level based or Service Unit based get together
  • Organize programming at a future camporee
  • Explore an area of interest and present a workshop on it
  • Plan a trip or sleepover
  • Organize a Community Service event

Remember, Girl Scouts is Girl-Led.  We want to hear their ideas and see them implement them.

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To Space

On the morning of Sunday, August 19th, Girl Scout Troop 41253, with help from Raytheon engineers Megan Roberts and Dan Muthler, launched a weather balloon at Tudek Park.  Raytheon provided the necessary materials for the launch and we assembled the weather balloon’s payload the Wednesday before we launched it.  The entire thing was encased in a styrofoam cooler box to keep it insulated and protected. We invited the entire Service Unit to come see the launch and we had quite a few girls show up with their parents and siblings.

Continue reading “To Space”

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Troop 41374 Goes to Iceland

Our trip to Iceland was an unforgettable adventure that started about two years before we ever got on a plane. Over the course of our sophomore and junior years of high school, we spent meetings doing research and discussing where we wanted to go, and how we would be able to get there. All the hours spent researching and fundraising finally paid off when we, about a week before our trip, collectively felt it sink in that “hey, we’re going to Iceland!” Our week there was jam-packed with loads of cultural and outdoorsy activities. We visited museums, went whale spotting, and hiked to our hearts’ content.

Overall, this trip was a once in a lifetime experience that was more than just a trip across the ocean, it was a lesson in what it means to be a Girl Scout: a hard-working citizen of the world, just trying to spread kindness wherever she walks.

BY: Katie Spearly Continue reading “Troop 41374 Goes to Iceland”