Kitchens are made for people to gather and we can’t until our campers can gather in the new dining hall at Camp Juniper Knoll.
It’s been a few years since heavy snow caused the roof to collapse on the original dining hall and construction crews have been hard at work preparing the building for the upcoming camp season.
To help us serve Girl Scout campers for years to come, we’re stocking the dining hall’s kitchen … but we need your help. Shop the online kitchen registry to help fill the kitchen with all the gadgets and appliances necessary to ensure an exceptional experience for everyone who visits Juniper Knoll, which is located on Pleasant Lake in East Troy, Wisconsin.
Items, such as pots and pans, folding tables and chairs, range from $25 to $15,000. Gifts can be made as an individual, family, troop and/or service unit. You can also make a monetary donation to give a girl a camp experience with memories that will last a lifetime. Every gift makes an impact!
For more information or to purchase a gift, please visit bit.ly/gsregistry. To view additional pictures of the progress at Juniper Knoll, click here.
We look forward to inviting you to the grand opening of the dining hall this summer. Thank you for supporting our council in this exciting endeavor.
I can still remember 2008 when I was asked what my greatest accomplishment was for my college essay, and I wrote, getting my Gold Award.
Very few people at the time stayed in Girl Scouts to get their Gold Award. The cute faces no longer sold all of those Girl Scout Cookies and the stigma of being a good girl “Girl Scout” wasn’t very popular in high school.
I was part of the cool Girl Scout group. We liked volunteering. We spent our Girl Scout money on a cruise to Mexico and we stayed at Embassy Suites rather than a campsite for our annual Girl Scout meeting. Girl Scouting really is what you make it and it can be cool at any age.
I love volunteering and building community and that desire began with Girl Scouts – it began as my sister did her Silver Award project cleaning a home for pregnant teenagers and sewing baby bags for them with her troop. It began as we planned a trip to Savannah, Georgia to visit Juliette Gordon Low’s House or the Kennedy Space Center where we slept under a rocket. It began as I worked on badges to learn how to cook.
When I was 17, I started working on my Gold Award project. I was one of two girls in my troop to get her Gold Award. This service project for a Gold Award had to be over 60 hours and had to be something that lasted. So, if it was an event, it had to be an annual event. To start, I had to analyze my community and various issues within my South Florida community. I was more involved with my church community as a Sunday School teacher. I decided to make a mural of all of the kids in my Sunday School class for my Gold Award. I’m not the best artist, so I worked with other artists to help draw and paint my students. I think when we are young, we see our limits and don’t realize how powerful and impactful we are. It was rewarding to have my students represent a piece of the church and be a visual reminder to the diversity different voices within the congregation.
As an adult, I wanted to volunteer in my community, and I did a Google search for empowering women organizations to volunteer. The first result was Girl Scouts. I was afraid to be a Girl Scout leader because I didn’t have children, and I didn’t know if I could still relate to children. But I pursued that option.
The Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana paired me with another single twenty something, and we started a new Girl Scout troop in Edgewater, Illinois. We started in the middle of Girl Scout Cookie Season and thankfully sold all of our cookies and made more in donations than in profits, so we could buy books and Girl Scout uniforms for every girl in our combination Brownie and Junior troop.
My girls constantly surprised me with their insight, their energy, and their creativity. We participated in World Thinking Day by choreographing a dance, learning about Ivory Coast, and making too many plantains to share with the other Girls Scouts. We took a day trip to the Art Institute and completed our first Girl Scout badge. I got to teach and prepare the financial statements and most importantly, I got to know kids and families in my community.
It was a great experience and the four troop leaders who replaced us also were twenty-somethings without kids. I like to think we started a trend.
Amanda Elliott is a Chicago-based marketing professional and blogs about city life and the Chicago start-up community for Windy CityCosmo.
In 2017, Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana will host a Girl Scouts of the United States of America Destination to Mexico.
From the traditional crafts to the tasty cuisine and ancient architecture to the upbeat music and dancing, Mexico’s vibrant culture is rich and exciting. This Destination will begin in Mexico City, the home to Frida Kahlo, Ballet Folklorico, and 2,000-year-old pyramids.
Next, our travels will lead us to Our Cabaña in Cuernavaca, which is located in the heart of Mexico. At this World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) World Centre, our group will meet Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from the around the world in an adventure of a lifetime. Here, we’ll take part in a community service project, learn about Mexican culture, go white water rafting or waterfall jumping, and travel to nearby historic sites.
And the best part is Girl Scouts from our council will have the chance to plan parts of the trip! If you’re going to be a Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador in 2017, you can submit your application and reference form before the April 18, 2016 deadline.
The trip, which will take place between July 20 – 31, 2017, costs approximately $2,500 and includes meals, accommodations, round-trip airfare from Chicago to Mexico City, transportation within Mexico and much more.
For a sneak peek at what you can see and do at Our Cabaña, check out our travel vlog below and be sure to apply HERE before April 18, 2016.
If you have any questions, please contact Ashley Christensen, our manager of arts, cultural awareness and travel programs, at achristensen@girlscoutsgcnwi.org or 312-912-6322.
Girl Scout Cadette Troop 30457 from Cedar Lake Service Unit 308 collected and delivered items to the Indiana Veterans Home in West Lafayette as their Silver Award project. The Silver Award is the highest achievable award for the Cadette Girl Scout. Their project was to help stock a cart that is supplied by the American Legion Auxiliary with items not normally available at the home for the residents. Ramen noodles, pudding, microwave popcorn, Vienna sausages, chips, snack cakes, batteries, socks and toiletries were among the items. Collection sites included Hanover Middle School, Lincoln and Wanatah elementary schools, LaCrosse High School and Strack and Van Til stores in both Schererville and Cedar Lake. The girls’ families also contributed to their collection.
Customers at the grocers were given lists with items needed and combined with collection boxes at the schools. More than 4500 individual items filled a 12’x8′ trailer. Terri Rene, the American Legion Auxiliary member, was happy to have her pantry at the Indiana Veterans Home restocked. The girls also provided a check for $200 from cash donations received along with gift cards to Sam’s Club and Target donated to the Troop by the stores.
Earlier this month, the 8-year-old Girl Scout Brownie from Evanston, Illinois wrote a letter to Hasbro asking why Rey, the heroine in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was not included in the Monopoly version of the popular sci-fi series.
“I didn’t like that the main character was left out,” she explained. “It’s important because a lot of kids buy the game and kids need to see women are as strong as men.”
Two days after Annie Rose’s mother tweeted a picture of the letter to Hasbro with the hashtag #WheresRey, the toy and game company said it would include Rey in the Monopoly: Star Wars game available later this year.
“I feel very accomplished,” said Annie Rose. “I feel like I did what I had to do to get my point out there. Now everyone, boy or girl, young or old, can see that they can do almost anything.”
And it’s not the first time Annie Rose has spoken out on issues important to her. Last year, she wrote a letter to President Barack Obama about helping Syrian refugees. She takes her inspiration from another president, Abraham Lincoln.
“After I went to the Lincoln Museum and learned about the Emancipation Proclamation, I thought it was awesome that one person could do something so big and so inspiring,” she said. “I was amazed.”
Next on Annie Rose’s agenda is petitioning brands to make age-appropriate Halloween costumes for little girls. And, of course, she’ll be first in line when the new Monopoly version comes out with Rey.
“I like Rey because she’s really strong,” said Annie Rose, who wants to be a paleontologist or archaeologist when she grows up. “When there’s a problem, instead of saying ‘you do this for me, I’m a girl’ she goes and tries to fix it the best way she can. I really admire her for that.”
From blinging booths to crafting costumes, there’s no shortage of fun ideas when it comes to selling Girl Scouts Cookies.
Recently, Troop 21397 kicked the creativity up a notch when they performed a cookie-inspired parody set to the tune of Elle King’s hit song, “Ex’s & Oh’s,” on air with WGN Morning News producer Jeff Hoover in Chicago.
“We wanted the first part to be about what we do as a troop,” said Noelia DiMario, the 10-year-old Junior Girl Scout who wrote the parody. “And the refrain was listing all the cookies.”
Noelia’s no stranger to penning her parodies, often creating “silly songs” with her father. When she grows up, she wants to be a songwriter, fashion designer, interior designer, sleepaway camp owner, restaurant owner, ice cream parlor owner and, of course, a Girl Scout troop leader.
“Girl Scouts has taught me that girls can do anything,” she said.
To see Noelia and her Sister Girl Scouts in action, click HERE. Warning, you won’t be able to get their song out of your head!
Lisle Girl Scouts braved the cold Sunday to help children and adults with autism try out skiing, some for the first time, at Four Lakes Alpine Snowsports.
Troop 50796 members Maeve Doyle, Amanda Laurinec, Marley Malczewski, Emme Moore and Briana Ortiz organized the event in an effort to achieve their Silver Award, which is the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn.
Aside from helping the skiers, the eighth graders also handed out handmade coloring books and “super Crayons” that are easy for children with autism to use.
Four Lakes agreed to host the event and offer free admission to the autistic skiers and their families.
Lisa Sanchez traveled from Shorewood so her 6-year-old son Max, who has autism, could try out skiing.
Sanchez said “to be able to do something like this with the Girl Scouts so he can figure out if he likes it before we go find programs,” referring to her son’s special needs Sanchez added “if can be hard to find programs that just don’t throw them in with everyone else where then he struggles to keep up with everyone else.”
Allstate Arena was a sea of green and brown uniforms 2,800 strong Saturday afternoon as the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana held their seventh annual cookie kickoff.
The event, meant to inspire girls and show them sales and business practices that make for solid fundraising, is followed by a Chicago Wolves hockey game the girls and their families can attend.
Nina Grotto, 16, of Troop 51324, was the No. 1 seller of cookies last year at 6,300 boxes — 4,500 of which were donated to troops overseas. It took three months of hard work and determination to sell that many boxes, she said. She spent the day Saturday autographing pictures for other Girl Scouts.
Whether it’s hiking 20 miles of canyon at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois, presenting an award at our council’s annual Tribute to Achievement dinner honoring civic and corporate leaders, or teaching 25 women executives to makes S’mores around the campfire at Camp Butternut Springs in Indiana as part of Camp CEO, Girl Scouts has been featured everywhere in my life.
Girl Scouting is a timeless wonder uniting different generations of women and developing strong relationships of empowerment. From the moment you become a Girl Scout, you’re connected to a variety of women leaders.
Lauren showing off her SWAPS
Reflecting on my own experiences, I realize Girl Scouts has grown with me as much as I have grown with the organization. The advancement of technology and current push for more females in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields have not only enhanced quality of life in America, but also guided my individual journey. For 12 years now, Girl Scouts and I have flourished together.
Throughout grade school, my troop’s annual traditions of badge-earning, cookie-selling, camp sing-alongs, and service to our community laid foundations for lifelong learning, interpersonal leadership, and a healthy sense of self-esteem. Girl Scouts transformed me into a young woman of “courage, confidence, and character.”
It’s that can-do attitude that inspired me to start a fishing club in conjunction with the national nonprofit Trout Unlimited during my senior year at Riverside-Brookfield High School. And I was able to lead an overnight fishing trip in July 2015 to Alto, Michigan.
Lauren (right) with members of her high school fishing club
In addition to serving as a former camp program aide, Camp CEO alumna, and Camp CEO counselor, I have had the privilege of being an honorary award-presenter and emcee for corporate fundraising events in downtown Chicago. By guiding younger girls at Camps Green Wood, River Trails, and Butternut Springs, I learned the importance of taking the initiative, collaborating ideas, and leading by example. By delivering speeches before a ballroom of CEOs – including Anna Maria Chávez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA – I discovered value in effective communication, networking, and poised professionalism.
Both youthful and wise, the women leaders I’ve encountered reflect how dynamic and diverse Girl Scouts is. It evolves with the girls it prepares. Generation after generation, young ladies now grow to be proactive chief executive officers, problem-solving chief engineers, determined entrepreneurs, and all-importantly: beautiful women who become stronger each and every day.
Today, I am an honors engineering freshman and Stamps Leadership Scholar at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana surrounded by a world of thinkers, scholars, athletes, and activists. In my first-year endeavors, I have incorporated the Girl Scout ideals of citizenship, empathy, and global mindfulness.
Lauren (left) with former U.S. Chief of Protocol Capricia Marshall
Through the Cultural Companions program, which pairs international students with domestic students, I have found sisters from various ethnic backgrounds. In the Old Masters program, which introduces undergraduates to alumni, I have received words of wisdom from President Barack Obama’s former Chief of Protocol Capricia Marshall. At Purdue’s 20th Annual Space Day, I had the honor of presenting a handcrafted plaque to Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon.
Lauren with former astronaut Buzz Aldrin
Next year, I will travel abroad on an eight-day medical trip to Quito, Ecuador during my spring break. One of 20 Purdue students selected by Timmy Global Health, a nonprofit sustained by medical professionals and student volunteers to expand healthcare access worldwide, our clinics will provide checkups, medications, hospital referrals, and over 15,000 vitamins to 600 children, adults, and senior citizens.
Lauren (center) with fellow Purdue students
As a future biomedical engineer with the desire to make a global impact, I look forward to this opportunity to touch lives abroad. To this day, Girl Scouts maintains great presence in my life. Had I not been motivated to pursue a STEM career by Android app development workshops with my Camp CEO mentor at Motorola Mobility and hikes through the woods with physician executives and CEOs of engineering firms, my life’s path would have surely taken a different course. For this, I am grateful.
If I have learned anything after twelve years of being a Girl Scout, it is this: “We are the innovation generation, the game changers, the ground breakers. Each an integral part of herstory.” And, of course, I can’t forget this quote from a classic camp song: “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold.”
Lauren Primer is a Girl Scout alumna and freshman engineering student at Purdue University. She’s also a Stamps Leadership Scholar, Trustees Scholar and Honors Engineering Learning Community Board Chair among other accomplishments.
You already know Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with your friends, but did you know it can also help you sell Girl Scout Cookies? Social media is a fun and easy way to market your cookie sale in today’s digital world.
Marketing is important to let your customers know what you’re selling, when you’re selling and where you’re selling.
As always, be sure to follow the rules of Internet sites, including rules based on age of use, parental approval and knowledge, and public laws. Don’t forget to talk about guidelines for going online with your parent or guardian and take the Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge.
Now that you’re a full-blown cookie professional, check out some tips to share your pride, goals and accomplishments online to help boost your sales:
1) Share your story. Tell people who you are, why you’re a #CookieBoss and what you love about Girl Scouts. Do you have a goal to sell a certain number of boxes this year? Do you want to go camping, or are you saving up to travel abroad with your cookie money? Be sure to include that information as well! Be sure to tell people what you plan to do with your earnings to help them make a connection.
2) Share your inventory. Help your costumers discover a new favorite or reconnect with an old classic by telling them about the cookies you carry. Ask friends to vote for their favorite flavor. Meet someone with a food allergy? Ask them if they’ve heard about Toffee-tastic, our gluten-free variety. If they don’t want to purchase cookies for themselves, tell them about our Gift of Caring that sends cookies to women and men in the armed forces.
3) Share the five skills. You know the ones: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. Show them what these skills look like in action with plenty of photos. Use the hashtag #5skills to share stories of growth and learning through the Girl Scout Cookie Program.
4) Share the love. Word of mouth is the best way to let people know about your business. Recruit everyone you know to spread the word about what the Girl Scout Cookie Program does for girls just like you! Did you learn a new skill? Did you try something for the very first time as a Girl Scout? Are you planning to surpass your cookie goal of last year and use that cookie money to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip with your troop? Let your friends and family know how excited you are to be a Girl Scout!
5) Share our posts. We’re here to help you. Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for fun, shareable posts you can use to market your cookie sales to your online followers and follow our blog for more helpful tips.
Do you have cookie stories you want to share with the council? Are you saving your cookie money to make an impact in your community, travel abroad or go camping for the very first time? Let us know what you’re doing with your cookie money for the chance to be featured on our social media channels! Send your stories, pictures or videos to jrangel@girlscoutsgcnwi.org.
