Submitted by Marcy Kendall Northern & Northeastern CO Boulder Girl Scout Juniors are welcome to join Troops 72418 and 73010 to earn their “Space Science Investigator” badge on Friday, October 4, 2019 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Fiske Planetarium (2414 Regent Drive. Boulder 80309). Cost is $12/girl. You must register by October 1. Space is limited! All five steps will be available, so girls can earn the badge. The first step of the badge is a scale model. This starts OUTSIDE the planetarium and the leader/parent needs to do the walk with the girl(s). That is  NOT done by the volunteers at the planetarium. The time is 4:30-6:30 p.m. and includes a show specifically for the Girl Scouts to earn their badge. What’s included: Dinner: pizza, veggies, and fruit “Bake” your own spacecraft Make a spectrometer Planetarium show Ball Aerospace engineer volunteers What’s NOT included: The “Space Science Investigator” badge itself – (can be added on separately) Beverage: Bring your own water bottle Enough volunteers to walk with your girls on the scale model (done before or after other stations with parents/leaders who brought the girls). This step is to be done by girls with their leaders/adults either before 4:30 or after the planetarium show. Directions for the scale walk will be provided to adults before the date. For parking information use this website: https://www.colorado.edu/fiske/plan-your-visit/parking-bus-information Registration link: https://junior-space-science-investigator-night.cheddarup.com Questions? Please email Marcy Kendall at marcy.kendall@gmail.com. 40963104_junior_space_science_investigator_night_flyer_and_registration This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #GSCOevents #STEM #NorthernampNortheasternCO #GirlScoutJunior #GirlScoutJuniors #Junior #boulder #Juniors #MetroDenver #FiskePlanetarium

Having your girls’ experience be girl-led is one of the three processes in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, but how can this happen without everything spinning out of control? Join GSCO on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at noon for a Facebook LIVE event to chat about tips and tricks, answer your questions, and share why this process is important. Can’t attend live, but have a question to ask? Send your question to girlexperience@gscolorado.org and we will address it. You can access the recording of this Facebook LIVE on our Facebook page under videos. #FacebookLive #GSCOevents #VolunteerNews

Girl Scouts of Colorado is proud to announce Crocs as the Women of Distinction Corporate Champion. This award recognizes hard work in advancing women in their industry, supporting and encouraging women and girls, and working to raise awareness about remarkable women. Says Shannon Sisler, SVP & Chief People Officer,  “We are thrilled to receive this award, which validates our mission to support women and girls thriving at all levels. Crocs is proud to join the Girl Scouts of Colorado in helping today’s girls become tomorrow’s leaders. As part of our mission for everyone to be comfortable in their own shoes, Crocs supports the Girl Scouts of Colorado in helping girls unleash their inner G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)™.” Crocs, Inc., headquartered in Colorado, is proud that two-thirds of its global workforce is women and Crocs has dedicated itself to making an environment that values an open mind, looking on the bright and colorful side of life, and embracing and celebrating the uniqueness in everyone. This is the first year this award is being presented, and it joins the Women of Distinction Award as the highest recognition of philanthropic efforts and volunteerism in Colorado’s communities.  The 2019 Thin Mint Dinner recognizes the Corporate Champion and the Class of 2019 Women of Distinction. This year’s dinner is moving to the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center at 7800 E Tufts Ave., and will be held on October 30, 2019, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event includes Thin Mint cocktails and dessert made with Thin Mints, a three-course meal, and event program. Event co-chairs are Tasha Jones, Senior Director of Marketing, Community Relations, Stapleton Denver, Mixed-Use Development, Woman of Distinction ’15; and Michelle Lucero, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Woman of Distinction ’15. The Women of Distinction program brings together a group of women dedicated to raising support for Girl Scout leadership programs. For information regarding tickets and sponsorships, visit www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/woddenver or contact Heidi Books at (303) 607-4833 or at heidi.books@gscolorado.org. About Crocs, Inc.: Crocs, Inc. (Nasdaq: CROX) is a world leader in innovative casual footwear for women, men, and children, combining comfort and style with a value that consumers know and love. The vast majority of shoes within Crocs’ collection contains Croslite™ material, a proprietary, molded footwear technology, delivering extraordinary comfort with each step. In 2019, Crocs declares that expressing yourself and being comfortable are not mutually exclusive. To learn more about Crocs or our global Come As You Are™ campaign, please visit www.crocs.com or follow @Crocs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. #ThinMintDinner #2019ThinMintDinner #Niwot #WomenofDistinctionCorporateChampion #NorthernampNortheasternCO #Denver #Crocs #funddevelopment #2019WomenofDistinctionCorporateChampion #MetroDenver #WomenofDistinction

What is your Secret to Success? All girls in the community in grades 6-12 will have the unique opportunity to ask that question and more in a fun and engaging format at our second annual Secrets to Success program in Colorado Springs on Saturday, November 9, 2019 from 8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at Pikes Peak Community College, Centennial Campus. Girls will connect with Pikes Peak-area professionals in a speed-networking format, panel discussion, and networking lunch. The cost is $8/girl – one adult per girl attends free. Register online: https://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/en/events-repository/2019/secrets_to_success_c.html Conversation stations will introduce girls to more than 20 women in different career fields! Breakout sessions will dive deeper into career options such as skilled trades, education, STEM, public service, healthcare, and entrepreneurship. A full list of participating professionals and keynote speaker announcement are coming soon! ** This event is open to all girls in grades 6-12. You do not need to be a Girl Scout to attend. ** While parents/guardians/troop leaders are not invited into the event with the girls, they are welcome to participate in a separate campus tour and financial aid session and then join the girls for lunch. Adults must register with girl participant(s). All girls will need to submit a completed permission form upon check in. Financial assistance available to all via registration. Registration closes Tuesday, November 5. Questions? Email aimee.artzer@gscolorado.org. #GSCOevents #ColoradoSprings #Communitypartnerships #SecretstoSuccess #funddevelopment #communitypartners #PikesPeak

The North Face has teamed up with gyms all over the world to provide inclusive climbing opportunities, lower barriers to entry, and celebrate Global Climbing Day on August 24, 2019! Girl Scout Daisies and Brownies are invited to celebrate Global Climbing Day with The North Face at Movement Climbing + Fitness gym in RiNo! Girls will be working on requirements toward the NEW Daisy or Brownie Climbing Adventure Badges! Who:  Girl Scout Daisies and Brownies What:  Climbing Adventure Badge Clinics Where: Movement Climbing + Fitness 3201 Walnut St. Denver 80205 When: Saturday, August 24, 2019 Daisies: Check in at 12:15 p.m. Brownies: Check in at 1:45 p.m. Clinics are approximately two-hours long More details: All Girl Scouts must attend with a troop leader, parent, or guardian. We strongly encourage girls to attend with their troop and troop leaders, so we can accommodate as many girls as possible. No tagalongs. All girls will need to submit an online, digital waiver before August 24. A link to the waiver will be emailed out on Monday, August 19. Registration will close when the event has met capacity OR on Friday, August 16. To register: Email aimee.artzer@gscolorado.org with the following information for each individual girl. Girl first and last name Email address for parent or guardian Grade Troop Number Questions? Email aimee.artzer@gscolorado.org. #MovementRiNo #Daisy #GSCOevents #GirlScoutBrownie #Brownie #NorthernampNortheasternCO #GirlScoutDaisy #Brownies #GlobalClimbingDay #Denver #Daisies #GirlScoutBrownies #MovementClimbingFitnessgym #GirlScoutDaisies #MetroDenver #TheNorthFace

You’re a new Girl Scout leader or volunteer? Awesome! Now, what? What can you do to ensure your girls have a great Girl Scout year? Amy Caperton, Denine Dains, and Darby Petitt in the Metro Denver region are experienced leaders of troops with older Girl Scouts, many of whom have been together since Daisies and Brownies. They offer this advice for new troop leaders and volunteers. Amy: Hold a parent meeting to get their commitment for involvement and for signing permissions slips and medical forms signed. Ask the GIRLS what they want to do, what is their vision for the year. This may take more guidance with younger girls. If your troop is new, spend time at each of the first several meetings with “get to know you” activities. Darby: Get together with your co-leader before the school year to discuss the year ahead. For younger girls, this might involve mapping out the year, leaving meetings for fun holiday stuff, Cookie Program learning, World Thinking Day prep, badges, Journeys, etc. For older girls, I still map out the major events, but leave a lot of meetings for the girls to plan. Denine: Have the girls create a plan for the upcoming Girl Scout year. Invite parents to a meeting and have the girls present their ideas. This helps not only a girl to be engaged in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, but the entire family as well. Once caregivers and siblings know what their girl wants out of Girl Scouts, they can support her journey! Darby: We start out each year with a planning meeting. We welcome the girls back, find out how their summer was, and take suggestions/ideas for what they want to do and pencil them in. We bring all the badge requirements and have them look through to see what interests them. For girls who can earn one of Girl Scouts’ highest awards, they can also map out their two/three years for when they will start to work on the award. Do you have any tips, tricks, “life hacks,” etc. to share? We would love to hear them! Just email GSCO Public Relations Director AnneMarie Harper at annemarie.harper@gscolorado.org. #TipsandTricksfornewleadersandvolunteers #VolunteerNews

Girl Scout Juniors and Cadettes are invited to join the female pilots of the Colorado 99s for Aviation Patch Day on Saturday, October 12, 2019 from 1-4 p.m. in Colorado Springs! The 99s is an international organization of women pilots who work to promote the advancement of aviation through education, scholarships, and mutual support while honoring their unique history and sharing their passion for flight. This event has filled quickly in the past! Register online now: https://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/en/events-repository/2019/colorado_99s_aviatio.html This event will introduce 45 Girl Scouts to five different parts of aviation. Aviation History: Take a trip through aviation history to the first pilots and their planes. Aircraft Design: Tour a General Aviation hangar to view and explore different types of airplanes. Airfield Design: Explore the meaning of the pavement markings, signs, and lights at an airport and learn how they help with traffic at an airport. ATC (Air Traffic Control): Tour the Colorado Springs Air Traffic Control Tower (Located on Peterson Air Force Base). Airline Maintenance: Tour SkyWest Airline’s Colorado Springs maintenance base. Check-in is 12:30 – 1 p.m. The event starts at 1 p.m Event locations: Jet Center (1575 Aviation Way, Colorado Springs 80916) SkyWest Maintenance Hanger (1945 Aviation Way, Colorado Springs 80916) ATC Tower (460 Kinchloe Loop, Colorado Springs 80914) Registration will close when capacity is met OR on October 3. Please note: This is not a drop off event. All Girl Scouts must attend with a parent, guardian, or troop leader. This event takes place at three locations (listed below) and adults in attendance are expected to transport their girls to each location throughout the event. The whole group will move to each location together. Questions? aimee.artzer@gscolorado.org #Colorado99sAviationPatchDay #GSCOevents #AviationPatchDay #STEM #ColoradoSprings #Colorado99s #PikesPeak

Girl Scouts in grades K-6 are invited to spend the morning with Xcel Energy employees to unravel energy mysteries and work on requirements for energy badges. Xcel Energy Day of Service is Saturday, September 7, 2019 from 8 – 11 a.m. at the  Xcel Energy – Kipling Service Center in Lakewood. During the morning, you will also participate in a service project as a way to help others in your community. It will be a special day of learning and caring, designed just for Girl Scouts. Register now! https://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/en/events-repository/2019/xcel_energy_day_of_s.html. Please make sure to click “Girl Scout Registration” to sign up to participate. All Girl Scouts will receive their “Utility Safety Ambassador” patch from Xcel Energy. Girl Scouts in grades 6 and up are also welcome to attend, but content is aimed toward a younger audience. #GSCOevents #Lakewood #Communitypartnerships #communitypartners #XcelEnergy #MetroDenver

What did you do for your Gold Award project? I created vegetable container garden kits which included soil, seeds, nutritional information, and a bilingual “how-to” brochure, after experimenting with container gardening myself. I partnered with Community Food Bank to distribute the kits to low-resource families, with the hope of inspiring them to eat healthy produce at low or minimal cost, as well as teach their kids about good nutrition. How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience? I kept track of the number of kits distributed and collected personal testimonies from family members who received them, as well as gathered feedback from food bank volunteers. A total of 39 kits were given to families in the community. How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact after your involvement? Families can continue and expand upon the container garden idea, so that friends, neighbors, and future generations will be positively impacted. My container garden brochure will also be distributed to future Community Food Bank families to inspire a greater number of people. A local church plans to duplicate my garden kit project next year. Library displays placed in Grand Junction High School and Central High School were donated for future educational use. What is your project’s global and/or national connection? Healthy eating and living on minimal resources are global issues. People all over the world, not just in my community, struggle with limited access or affordability of healthy food choices. What did you learn about yourself? I learned to believe in myself and ask for what I need, that organization is a strength of mine, and communication is very important to getting things accomplished on schedule. I learned that an idea can become a reality with hard work and perseverance. I also learned how to project my voice… becoming more confident and believing in myself helped. How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future? The Gold Award helped strengthen my leadership and communication skills, both of which are needed in the “real world.” Opportunities to take charge, speak publicly, and help others are everywhere. Earning my Gold Award has made me more self-confident. Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience? The Gold Award personalized my Girl Scout experience. I was able to work on a project that I was passionate about, while making a difference in the community on a much larger scale than I had ever done before. How did earning your Gold Award help you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)? Earning my Gold Award helped me become an innovator. Using vegetable container gardens to address the need for low cost, healthy eating options among families with minimal resources was a new idea in my community. I took my love for gardening and shared it with others who could benefit from growing fresh produce. Another way I became an innovator was through the process of searching for support materials. I realized that much of the published materials about container gardening were for flowers, not vegetables. This discovery led me to develop my own informational brochure. **IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog represents only a small fraction of the hard work, dedication, and requirements that go into earning a Girl Scout Gold Award. It is simply a brief summary, which is meant to inspire Girl Scouts to Go Gold in the future. For more information on earning your Gold Award, please email highestawards@gscolorado.org. #GoldAward #HighestAwards #gardening #containergardening #GrandJunction #GoldAwardGirlScout #GirlScoutGoldAward #CommunityFoodBan #WesternColorado #TakeAction #GrandJunctionHighSchool

Tell us about your connection to Girl Scouts. I started as a leader when my oldest was in second grade. I had those girls until they graduated high school. When my girls were in school, I was the service unit manager for five years. I loved what the Girl Scout Cookie Program gave the girls, so I got heavily involved and loved watching the girls achieve goals and gain confidence. In 1994, I got talked into volunteering at day camp and found my place! I worked at Genesee the next year as a counselor and then moved to the urban team as the business manager and then took over as the director where I stayed until the program was eliminated. During the school year, I worked at a few different outreach programs until I found my passion for the Focus on Ability program where I have been for the last 20 years. What is the most valuable thing that Girl Scouts gives girls today? The ability to have self confidence! I love that it gives them a place where they can try new things and explore with safe boundaries and amazing mentors, My girls still attribute many of the leadership skills they have and self confidence to Girl Scouts. Why did you join Daisy’s Circle? I joined because as a leader and camp director, I saw many girls benefit from scholarships that allowed them the experience when money was not available for them. I would like to help girls have that experience. What is the best thing about monthly giving? It produces an ongoing, reliable source of income. Named after Girl Scout founder, Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, Daisy’s Circle is Girl Scouts of Colorado’s monthly giving program. Funds raised through Daisy’s Circle provide financial assistance for girls and volunteers, support Outreach Programs and more.  For more information: https://www.gscodaisyscircle.org/ #VolunteerNews #Outreach #DaisysCirclesupporterspotlight #Denver #funddevelopment #MetroDenver #FocusonAbility #DaisysCircle #alumnaenews

Update: The registration deadline for Careers in Construction has been extended to Wednesday, September 25, 2019. Girl Scout Cadettes and Seniors are invited to join GE Johnson Construction Company for “Build Like a Girl: Careers in Construction” on Saturday, September 28, 2019 from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the GJ Johnson Logistics Facility in Colorado Springs! Girls will learn about construction careers, work as a team to build a community library book stand that can be placed in their community, and participate in a behind-the-scenes construction tour at the U.S. Olympic Museum. Cadettes will work on requirements for the “Woodworker” badge and Seniors will work on requirements for the “Social Innovation” badge. Register online: https://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/en/events-repository/2019/build_like_a_girl_ca.html All Girl Scouts will receive a special event patch. Waivers will need to be signed and submitted for each person at the event. Waivers will be emailed directly to all registrants when registration closes. This is not a drop off event, all Girl Scouts must attend with a parent, guardian, or troop leader. Girl to adult ratios for events should be met. No tagalongs. Around 2 p.m. the group will need to drive from GE Johnson to the Olympic Museum (130 West Vermijo Ave., Colorado Springs) for the tour. The event will end at the Olympic Museum at 3:30 p.m. Capacity is 100 Girl Scouts. To secure your t-shirt size and dietary requests, please register before September 12. Registration will officially close when capacity is met OR on September 18. If you register after September 12, we cannot guarantee your t-shirt size or dietary request. All attendees must be registered Girl Scout members. If girls are attending without their parent, adults attending must be approved volunteers. Questions? Email aimee.artzer@gscolorado.org If you have any questions or trouble completing registration, please contact inquiry@gscolorado.org. #communityparnterships #construction #STEM #ColoradoSprings #GEJohnsonConstructionCompany #communitypartners #PikesPeak

Girl Scouts and their families are invited to Denver Zoo for a special after-hours event! Girl Scout Night at Denver Zoo is Saturday, September 28, 2019 from 6 – 9 p.m. Discover how the zoo provides specialized care for the animals. The event includes up-close animal encounters, games, and activity stations that support badge requirements, free carousel rides, entertainment, and a 2019 commemorative patch!  Tickets may sell out , so get yours today! https://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/en/events-repository/2019/denver_zoo_s_girl_sc.html Tickets are $15 per person. Groups of more than 10 will receive a $1 discount per registrant. #GirlScoutNight #GSCOevents #Communitypartnerships #Denver #DenverZoo #communitypartners #MetroDenver