Girl Scouts of Colorado Camp Staff encourages you and your family to share positive attributes about yourself and others as part of an activity called “Encourage-MINTS, Accomplish-MINTS, and Excite-MINTS!” Step One:  Find a comfortable place to relax with your family. Step Two: Distribute to each person as many mints as there are people in the room. For example, if there are five people in the room, each person gets five mints. If you don’t have mints, that’s okay! You can use other candy, tokens, or nothing at all. The point of this activity is the senti-“mint.” Step Three: Take turns as each person gives an encouragement, accomplishment, or excitement.  After you do, give the person a candy mint as a representation of your Encourage-MINT, Accomplish-MINT, or Excite-MINT. Examples: Encourage-MINT Encourage a loved one to do something for themselves. Afterwards, give them a mint. “Because you deserve a break, I encourage you to take a bubble bath sometime this weekend! Here is your mint!” Accomplish-MINT Shout out of an accomplishment of a loved one. Afterwards, give them a mint. “Thanks for cooking dinner for the family, it was so delicious! Here is your mint!” “You did great on that school assignment. Here is your mint!” Excite-MINT Share in someone else’s excitement you know they have experienced or will experience. Afterwards, give them a mint. “I am so excited that you love playing basketball. Here is your mint!” “I am so excited for our trip in December! Here is your mint!” This program can also be done virtually, so be sure to  send virtual MINTS with Girl Scout sisters or other loved ones! #mints #GirlScoutingatHome #outdoorprograms #GirlScoutsatHome #GirlScoutCamp #TomahawkRanch #camp

Share the fun of Girl Scout Camp with your family! Girl Scouts of Colorado Camp Staff has developed a series of activities you can do with your family at home. Or, you can even share them with your Girl Scout sisters virtually. This week’s activity is a fun and easy game called “Who’s Most Likely To…” We hope it helps you get to know your loved ones just a little bit better! Game Play: This game needs absolutely no materials! You and your loved ones need to just sit together somewhere comfortably, so you can all talk and see one another. One at a time someone will ask a “who is most likely to” question. As a group, you then discuss who among you would be most likely to do that thing! Answers and questions can be silly, random, or meaningful. Feel free to get creative. You can also nominate yourself for a question if you think you are most likely to do that thing! Here are some fun questions to ask: “Who is most likely to…..” Become President of the United States? Eat an entire cake in one sitting? Be a ski or snowboard instructor? Memorize the theme song of their favorite TV show? Bake the most delicious chocolate chip cookies? Wear pajamas all day long? Adopt a puppy? Attend summer camp? Become a superhero? Win an Oscar? Die their hair a fun color? Win a reality TV show? Finish a puzzle the fastest? Sing a song to their pet? Meet a celebrity? Become an astronaut? Set a world record? Compete in the Olympics? Start a band? Find out they are secretly a wizard? #camp #GirlScoutCamp #GirlScoutingatHome #GirlScoutsatHome

Girl Scouts of Colorado is celebrating extraordinary volunteers throughout the state in honor of Volunteer Appreciation Month. Deena Buffington of Gunnison in the Western Colorado region is a shining example of the wonderful role Girl Scout volunteers play in the lives of girls and our community. GSCO asked Deena to answer a few quick questions about her volunteer experience. We hope you find her as inspiring as we did. Why did you become a Girl Scout volunteer? My youngest daughter wanted to join Girl Scouts and the troop here in Gunnison is parent and girl-led and they needed volunteers. Tell us about your different volunteer roles as a Girl Scout. I have been helping lead the troop since 2016 and started as the Fall Product Program Manager and Cookie Manager in the 2018/2019 seasons.I now serve as the fall product, cookie, and service unit manager.  We are a small town and small community, so many people take on several roles. What have you learned as a Girl Scout volunteer? I have learned how to handle many different situations, personalities, and ways of dealing with them all. There have been so many funny, fun, and interesting situations. I’ve learned a lot about different troops and people who have been Girl Scouts at one point in their lives. What do you hope girls have learned from you? I hope the girls have learned hard work, life skills, fun crafting, traveling, and also dealing with different personalities and situations. My favorite time was last year when we took the troop on a cruise… to see the excitement in the girls’ eyes as some of them had never been on a plane much less a cruise ship. It was great to share that excitement and fun with them. How has your experience as a volunteer helped you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)? There is so much that goes into everything from planning a meeting to taking care of cookies, start to finish.  It’s fun to help girls set goals and help them achieve them. Want to nominate a volunteer for Girl Scouts of Colorado to spotlight? Please email Public Relations Director AnneMarie Harper at annemarie.harper@gscolorado.org. The nomination deadline for 2020 Volunteer Recognition Awards is April 30. GSCO invites members statewide to take this opportunity to recognize an outstanding volunteer by nominating them for a Volunteer Recognition Award. Nominators are responsible for ensuring enough endorsements are submitted to support their nomination of a volunteer for an award. Your volunteer support specialist can check nomination and endorsement submissions for you. Learn more. #VolunteerNews #volunteerspotlight #VolunteerAppreciationMonth #2020NationalVolunteerAppreciationMonth #NationalVolunteerAppreciationMonth #VolunteerAppreciation #WesternColorado #Gunnison

This resource was created by Jenni Grossman, a troop leader in the Western Colorado region. Vocabulary you might need to knowMedium: your favorite dearing tool (pens, colored pencils, crayons, markers, pastels)Still Life: An object that doesn’t move like a bowl, fruit, or a vaseShading: A major part of drawing and it means showing the dark areas of a drawing.  It adds depth to help the picture look more real. Value in art: is how light or dark something is on a scale of white to black Hatching: Using a bunch of little or big lines to make a valueCross Hatching: Making a grid with the hatching linesStippling: Using dots to shade by repeating them over and overSmudging: When something touches the graphic (lead in the pencil) and smears itPerspective: Some objects in the picture look farther away than othersGraphic Artist: An artist whose job is to communicate messages or ideas in visual form, like a logo for a company.  They often use a computer.  Portfolio: All the work an artist has completed that can easily be shown to others Step 1: Experiment with different materials Supplies: depends on what you choose from the three options below. Choose a still life you want to draw.  We are going to draw it three times so choose one way below: #1 draw it with black pen, black colored pencil, and a regular pencil Or #2 draw it with colored pens, colored pencils, and crayons Or #3 choose your own 3 mediums and draw the still life with each Step 2: Learn how to add shading Supplies: pencil, paper HOW TO ART – How to Shade with Pencil Watch this video and then do your own value scale (she will tell you what it is in the video) and practice the kinds of shading she explains Step 3: Get some perspective Supplies: pencil, ruler (or something that can help you draw straight), colored pencils, black marker Watch this video and do your own perspective landscape drawing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFNRxfaCKLw Step 4: Use your imagination like a graphic artist Supplies: paper and whatever mediums you choose Watch this video to learn more about graphic artists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTi5SNgxE3U&list=PLnFwNzPWa3kCq6sUokAIWga4Z5gI2QlZh Then, draw a new cover for a book.  What do the words make you think about? How do they make you feel?  What does this book mean to you? How could you show that in your drawing? Have fun being a graphic artist. Step 5: Make your masterpiece–and show it off! Supplies: It’s totally up to you! It’s time to show off your things you learned!  Create a new masterpiece with some techniques you learned like shading, mediums, and perspective and be ready to show it to your sister scouts (and maybe we can invite parents to see it too) at an upcoming meeting either in person or virtually. We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #VolunteerNews #GirlScoutingatHome #GrandJunction #GirlScoutJunior #GirlScoutJuniors #GirlScoutsatHome #badge #WesternColorado #GirlScoutJuniorbadge #DrawingBadge #drawing

Submitted by Laura Falin Metro Denver Littleton Even though our Brownie troop can’t meet in person due to COVID-19, we met online and did activities to earn our “Cybersecurity” patch. The girls shared different things that have layers, clothing when we go outside, baking cakes – and we talked about how the computers we’re using so much right now also have layers of security to protect us. The girls also drew pictures of castles – some of them had moats, and guards, and security cameras, and sharks, and all kinds of things to protect the castle. We talked about how computers have passwords and usernames, and how the school computers the girls are using have (fire)walls to keep out websites that aren’t appropriate for kids. By completing this activity, the girls will earn this special cybersecurity patch. Learn how to earn yours. #GirlScoutingatHome #STEM #GirlScoutsatHome #cybersecuritypatch #cybersecurity #MetroDenver #Littleton

Girl Scouts of Colorado is celebrating extraordinary volunteers throughout the state in honor of Volunteer Appreciation Month. Dean Parrish of Colorado City in the Pueblo and Southeastern CO region is a shining example of the wonderful role Girl Scout volunteers play in the lives of girls and our community. GSCO asked Dean to answer a few quick questions about his volunteer experience. We hope you find him as inspiring as we did. Why did you become a Girl Scout volunteer? It started when we were at last year’s kick off meeting. Our service unit was looking for volunteers to help with the Brownies and my daughter turned to me and said, “You can do it, you did it for Gavin (my son) when he was in Cub Scouts.” Hard to turn down your kids when they say they need you. Tell us about your different volunteer roles as a Girl Scout. I helped with day camp and have been a troop leader and a cookie manger for the last few years. What have you learned as a Girl Scout volunteer? That Girl Scouts are so much more than cookies. I  have been amazed at impact the program can have on the girls. What do you hope girls have learned from you? That hard work pays off and to celebrate their differences. Want to nominate a volunteer for Girl Scouts of Colorado to spotlight? Please email Public Relations Director AnneMarie Harper at annemarie.harper@gscolorado.org. The nomination deadline for 2020 Volunteer Recognition Awards is April 30. GSCO invites members statewide to take this opportunity to recognize an outstanding volunteer by nominating them for a Volunteer Recognition Award. Nominators are responsible for ensuring enough endorsements are submitted to support their nomination of a volunteer for an award. Your volunteer support specialist can check nomination and endorsement submissions for you. Learn more. #VolunteerNews #PuebloandSoutheasternCO #volunteerspotlight #ColoradoCity #2020NationalVolunteerAppreciationMonth #NationalVolunteerAppreciationMonth #VolunteerAppreciation

Girl Scout community, Everything has changed: Your daily routine, your physical connections, for many people their ability to make a living, and for many others their health and well-being. At this time of global crisis, we lean (virtually and figuratively) on one another. The Girl Scout community has a solid history of coming together, of taking the lead when things get tough, of showing compassion for those in need and being resilient when facing challenges. This pandemic is no different. We’ve seen troops and Girl Scouts staying connected virtually, trying new things at home and earning badges, and dreaming up ways to help her community through this crisis. I’m so proud of the Girl Scout Movement – the caring, ingenuity, resourcefulness, and innovation is evident at all levels. From the Girl Scouts who tied white ribbons around trees at Littleton Adventist Hospital in a show of support for health care workers, to the troop that set up a no-contact sandwich stand (including Girl Scout cookies) in Rocky Ford for truckers to grab a bite and know we appreciate their work, acts of kindness like these have been bright spots in this crisis. Our staff and volunteers have pivoted quickly to provide the Girl Scout Leadership Experience virtually. Our team at Sky High Ranch had a 2-week virtual spring break camp ready to go the first Monday after schools closed. It attracted more than 500 participants from 30 states and three different countries! We quickly put together resources to guide parents and troop leaders in badge and patch activities that can be done at home. Our virtual programming task force is planning much more to come. While many organizations cannot offer their activities online, Girl Scouts can be a stable, consistent support for girls and their families. This week, GSUSA launched a new, interactive website to bring the fun and exploration of Girl Scouts home when we cannot meet in-person. Taking care of business Our physical offices are closed but our entire staff is working remotely, ensuring that our volunteers and members have the support they need during this time. The Girl Scouts of Colorado emergency response team had a plan in place to make sure we were prepared. Because girl safety is always our top priority, we canceled all in-person events beginning March 13 through May 17, and set up all employees with telecommute access in February. As good stewards of our resources, GSCO is able to ensure that all of our staff will be paid normally during this time and they have the tools they need to perform work remotely throughout Colorado. We feel lucky that our Girl Scout Cookie Program wrapped up just before COVID-19 arrived in Colorado and we’re hopeful that troops will begin putting their cookie proceeds to use helping their communities, celebrating with one another, and trying new things as soon as this crisis has passed. In addition we have: Extended the deadline for Women of Distinction nominations to April 6. Extended the deadline for volunteer award nominations to April 30. Extended the deadline for bridging Girl Scouts to complete Highest Awards projects to Dec. 31. Continued to take and fulfill online orders at our retail shop. Kept abreast of new federal laws and how they affect our workforce. We are working on: Developing meaningful, virtual ways to honor Highest Awards recipients this spring and considering when/how we might honor Gold Award Girl Scouts in-person. Looking at rescheduling some large scale spring events (such as Daisy Flower Garden and statewide bridging) to the fall. Creating additional virtual resources for current members and to show non-members what Girl Scouting is all about. Updating our spring renewal timeline and incentive program. Evaluating whether it will be safe to hold summer camp. I have joined GSUSA and other philanthropic leaders in lobbying our U.S. Senators, asking for their support of nonprofits in the economic relief and stimulus package. I have no doubt that our society will come out of this forever changed. I know that Girl Scouts will rise to the challenges and continue to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. We’re all in this together. Stephanie Foote #CouncilNews #COVID19 #StephanieFoote

Submitted by Samantha K. Mountain Communities Steamboat Springs My Ambassador Troop 54313 in Steamboat Springs was working on the “Water” badge before the COVID-19 social distancing and school closures started. We met with our biology teacher, Ms. Frithsen, about water issues. She introduced us to many shocking issues. We spent many meetings narrowing down and researching the topics. As we were ready to put together our final project, school was cancelled. We missed each other, so we set up a web call, started a Google Doc, and all worked on our project together. Social distancing can’t keep a good troop down! Here is the link to our project: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ewakt6uhHSNlpOD32z4wNfiqFZjv_wAkbtmtkEO9lkA/edit?usp=sharing We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #Virtualmeeting #GirlScoutingatHome #oldergirls #Waterbadge #Water #GirlScoutsatHome #SteamboatSprings #badge #mountaincommunities #badges

Everything has changed: Your daily routine, your physical connections, for many people their ability to make a living, and for many others their health and well-being. At this time of global crisis, we lean (virtually and figuratively) on one another. The Girl Scout community has a solid history of coming together, of taking the lead when things get tough, of showing compassion for those in need and being resilient when facing challenges. We’ve seen troops and Girl Scouts staying connected virtually, trying new things at home and earning badges, and dreaming up ways to help her community through this crisis. If your troop or girl is in a position to continue their Girl Scout experience, we’ve compiled a number of ways to support that experience virtually. Check out the new, interactive Girl Scouts at Home website and Girl Scouts of Colorado’s web page highlighting council patches that can be done at home. GSCO has developed a list of activities/service projects that can be done at home and may even help girls earn a badge or patch! Please note, this resource is not inclusive of every activity Girl Scouts can do at home. Check out the complete list of Girl Scout Badges and Journeys online and use the online Badge Explorer to understand basic requirements. Watch our social media channels, website, and blog for more virtual programming opportunities in the near future! Our first-ever VIRTUAL Girl Scout Spirit Week Show your Girl Scout Spirit Sunday, April 5– Saturday April 11, 2020! Each day will have a special theme and you can join the fun by sharing your videos, photos, comments, etc. on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Twitter and Instagram users, be sure to tag @GSColo in your posts and use #GSColo. Sunday, April 5: Favorite Girl Scout T-shirt or sweatshirt Monday, April 6: Favorite badge or earned award Tuesday, April 7: Favorite memory Wednesday, April 8: Favorite Skill Thursday, April 9: Favorite Song Friday, April 10: Favorite Trip Saturday, April 11: Favorite Patch New “Stand and Be Counted” patch! Girl Scouts of Colorado is thrilled to launch our “Stand and Be Counted”patch in honor of the 2020 Census! Earn this patch to discover why we count everyone, what happens afterward, and how you can become involved. Learn more Highest Awards Now is also the perfect time to start working on requirements for your Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award! The Highest Awards program will be adding a few additional virtual trainings in the next few weeks while everyone is at home. Also, the award project completion deadline for bridging girls has been extended to Dec. 31. Learn more #VolunteerNews #GirlScoutingatHome #GirlScoutsatHome #COVID19 #CouncilNews

Submitted by Marti Shuster Metro Denver Thornton My Brownies, Troop 66802, have now had two virtual troop meetings via Zoom. At our last meeting, we worked on the Safety Award for Brownies. The girls love being able to “get together” with each other once a week. We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #MetroDenver #Thornton #VirtualTroopMeeting

Are you or your girls feeling restless? Need to get outdoors, but you live in an urban area? Go urban hiking! Wondering what that is? Check out Girl Scouts of Colorado’s Guide to Urban Hiking. Getting outdoors for even 20 minutes can greatly improve your headspace and can provide a little exercise to get those wiggles out. We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #GirlScoutsatHome #GuidetoUrbanHiking #UrbanHiking

Submitted by Jessica Spangler Metro Denver Denver Girl Scout Cadette Elizabeth completed the “Think Like an Engineer” Journey with the help of her multi-level troop. She planned a blog to help improve the lives of people experiencing homelessness in the Denver Metro area. First, they used the Design Thinking Process (identify the problem, brainstorm, design, and test) to make a life vest for a dog,  camp cabin, and model elephant prosthetic. Next, they identified the causes of community problems with the question “But why?” They identified the problem they wanted to address: people experiencing homelessness . The girls came up with many questions about the problem. They learned that in 2019, 5,755 people were living in shelters or on the streets in the seven-county region and 946 people were staying in “unsheltered” locations, such as outside in tents, parks, vehicles, or underpasses. Elizabeth and her troop thought making a blog and a comic to educate and inspire were both good ideas, so they chose to do both. They chose to make a blog with their comics to advocate for the un-housed in our community to help create understanding and compassion. Her idea was that if people learned more about how homelessness can happen, why it continues, and what is needed, the whole community, including people experiencing homelessness, will benefit from the knowledge being shared. To make the project sustainable, the girls wanted individuals experiencing homelessness themselves to be able to contribute to the blog. The troop leader contacted The Delores Project, which provides safe, comfortable shelter and services for unaccompanied women and transgender individuals experiencing homelessness. The Delores Project staff was delighted to learn about the blog and how individuals could share their experiences and feelings anonymously. Individuals can contribute by commenting on one of the girls’ comics, or by working with a staff member to submit a blog entry of their own. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #ThinkLikeanEngineer #STEM #Denver #ThinkLikeanEngineerJourney #Journeys #MetroDenver #TheDeloresProject