Submitted by Kristin Hurley Metro Denver Northglenn/Thornton Girl Scout Troop 61358 decided to honor first responders in Adams County as their Hometown Heroes this year. There has been an increase of crime in our area of Metro Denver, and we have a history with the North Metro Fire District. Three years ago, the firemen on duty at Station 63 helped our fellow Girl Scout sister when she called about her mom, our leader, who was having an insulin reaction due to diabetes. We have never forgotten their help, so we surprised them with Girl Scout Cookies at their newly-remodeled location! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #firstresponders #NorthMetroFireDistrict #GirlScoutCookies #GirlScoutCookieProgram #2018GirlScoutCookieProgram #HometownHeroes #Thornton #MetroDenver #AdamsCounty #Northglenn

Submitted by Angela F., Girl Scout Gold Award candidate Metro Denver Centennial Hello, my name is Angela and I am working on my Gold Award project, “Computers for All.” My project is providing computers to those with few resources. I chose to work with Family Promise to help provide them with computers for the families they work with who are currently homeless or have recently found a home. I learned about Family Promise through my church. Our church hosts families four times a year. I volunteer for them by making meals and by providing babysitting. I have met several homeless teens going to school without a computer. I couldn’t imagine not having a computer for school. This is what has helped me identify the need for my project. In my search for computers, I found another non-profit, Denver Tech for All. Their mission: Tech for All makes available to individuals in the community the means to become skilled and competent in computer use; we do this by gathering donations, collecting and reconditioning used equipment, identifying qualified recipients and placing the appropriate equipment with them solely for their use and at no charge. Denver Tech for All has agreed to provide the computers to Family Promise families in need. Currently, more than 30 computers have been distributed since January. I am also looking for additional teens in need by reaching out to local schools. Please email highestawards@gscolorado.org if you know others in need. Additionally, I wanted to help Denver Tech for All by obtaining computer equipment for them. To date, I have found 80+ monitors, 30 desktops, several laptops, keyboards, and mouses. My goal is to collect more than two tons of equipment for them. On June 2, 2018 I will be collecting computer equipment at Arapahoe High School for Denver Tech for All. Arapahoe High School is located at 2201 E. Dry Creek Rd Centennial, CO. The drive is between 10 a.m. – noon in the east parking lot. Please consider donating any computer equipment you are no longer using. Even if the equipment doesn’t work, we will accept it. Below is a flyer listing all the computer equipment needed. Thank you so much for your support! 40963114_computer_drive_flyer #GoldAward #HighestAwards #DenverTechforAll #GSCOevents #STEM #Centennial #FamilyPromise #MetroDenver #TakeAction

As a Girl Scout volunteer or parent, you see the value of Girl Scouting every day. At Girl Scouts of Colorado, we believe that every girl deserves the chance to be a Girl Scout, to have amazing experiences, to do things she wouldn’t otherwise do, and to become the best she can be. A family’s resources should not be a barrier to a girl’s future success. Girl Scouts of Colorado awards more than $125,000 annually in Opportunity Grants for families in need. Grants can support membership dues, uniforms and books, costs to attend camp or events, training fees for adult volunteers, and more. 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 are available to families who need a little help so that their girls can fully participate in the Girl Scout Experience. Whether you are already a Daisy’s Circle member or you become one today, you have the opportunity to double the impact of your support. Thanks to a generous match challenge made by lifetime Girl Scout and GSCO Board member Kathy Ambrose, all new Daisy’s Circle monthly donations or increases to existing monthly donations will be matched, up to $25,000. This offer ends May 31, 2018 so act now to maximize your support! Join now or learn more about Daisy’s Circle and how you can help. #DaisysCircle #funddevelopment #VolunteerNews

Girl Scouts of Colorado is celebrating extraordinary volunteers throughout the state. Laurie Stragand of Littleton in the Metro Denver region was nominated by her daughter as a shining example of the wonderful role Girl Scout volunteers play in the lives of girls and our community. GSCO asked Laurie 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? I became a volunteer first to help with the Brownie group in our troop.  They had a lot of girls and the leaders seemed stretched thin. I thought I could make a difference with the group my daughter was in. Tell us about your different volunteer roles as a Girl Scout. My volunteering started with the Brownies and during my daughter’s second Brownie year. I have continued being a leader during my daughter’s time as a Junior and will carry on as a Cadette leader. I became our troop cookie mom in 2014-15 and have served as our cookie mom every year since.  Last year, I also volunteered for the treasurer position. What have you learned as a Girl Scout volunteer? Girl Scouts has given me a surprising benefit from being both cookie mom and treasurer; with both of these positions my skill with Excel has increased dramatically.  On a serious note, I have learned that you get out of Girl Scouting what you put into it and my daughter’s experience, along with the other girls, is better for my being actively involved. What do you hope girls have learned from you? I hope the girls have learned from me while helping them with the badges.  As second year Juniors, the girls worked in groups and presented a badge for the rest of the Junior group.  I hope this helps the girls learn to be more independent, purchase within a set budget, take the initiative to research and lead the badges, and practice public speaking skills to overcome the fear of presenting to a group.  I also hope my own daughter has personally learned that it may not be easy to volunteer but with the right group/troop support it can be very rewarding. How has your experience as a volunteer helped you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)? Before taking on the roles I have in our troop, I was not used to being out in front of people. I am very comfortable doing things in the background.  As TCM for a troop of over 50 girls, I have created spreadsheets for booths to account for physical sales and the new digital side, for planning the initial cookie order, organizing cookie pickup times, and to schedule the last day for cookie return/settlement.  Holding parents and girls accountable for money and the schedule forces you to be assertive to achieve a better outcome for the whole troop. As treasurer, I have tried to make sure all the leaders are repaid the money they spend for badges and supplies in a timely manner.  To do that, we had to raise our troop dues and explain why the increase was necessary.  I feel in a smaller single level troop that would have been much easier than explaining to the parents of 50 girls in a multi-level troop why we needed a 60% increase in troop dues to continue to provide and an excellent program without the volunteer leaders personally covering the fees and expenses. Want to nominate a volunteer for Girl Scouts of Colorado to spotlight? Please email Public Relations Director AnneMarie Harper at annemarie.harper@gscolorado.org. #Littleton #MetroDenver #VolunteerNews #volunteerspotlight

Join your Girl Scouts sisters nationwide in showing your Girl Scout spirit on May 15, 2018! Wear your uniform or other Girl Scout-branded items, saturate your social media channels with messages and images of all the exciting things you’ve done in Girl Scouts, and tell everyone who will listen that you are a proud to be a Girl Scout. #GirlScoutPrideDay #GirlScoutsoftheUSA #GSCOevents #GSUSA

Submitted by Robin Morris Metro Denver Denver Troop 65698 in Denver delivered 163 packages of donated Girl Scout Cookies to their Hometown Hero, Denver Dumb Friends League, to say thank you to the staff and volunteers who care for and find homes for animals. We also earned our Brownie “Pets” badge here earlier this spring, so the troop voted to spend a third of their cookie sale earnings to buy $500 worth of supplies for the DDFL. They donated cookies, pet food, treats, toys, and other wish list items. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #DenverDumbFriendsLeague #HometownHero #Denver #cookies #GirlScoutCookies #GirlScoutCookieProgram #2018GirlScoutCookieProgram #MetroDenver

From Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts has been blazing the trail for girls’ leadership in the outdoors for more than a century, and our Outdoor badges (all 52 of them!) continue to be one of the most popular badge categories. So today is a big day for the Girl Scout Movement! Drumroll, please—we’re thrilled to announce a multiyear collaboration with The North Facethrough which girls will challenge themselves, learn about the natural world, and continue the Girl Scout tradition of having life-changing outdoor experiences. To power the next generation of women who push boundaries and move mountains, The North Face has teamed up with us to support the development of 12 new Outdoor Adventure badges, with programming ranging from mountaineering and climbing to backpacking, hiking, and trail running. As part of Girl Scouts’ iconic outdoor experience, with The North Face’s support, Girl Scouts will introduce bold new programming that embodies both organizations’ shared mission to provide girls, regardless of socioeconomic status, with outdoor experiences that enhance their leadership skills and confidence and encourage them to seek challenges. These 12 new badges, which will roll out over the next two years, will teach girls in virtually every U.S. zip code about the benefits of exploration as they take healthy risks, overcome fears, and revel in the beauty of the natural world. The North Face is also lending its expertise in design and tapping its network of subject matter experts to inform the badge activities. At Girl Scouts, we believe there are never too many opportunities for girls to experience the great outdoors and all the wonder and adventure it offers. The research is clear: outdoor experiences are imperative to fostering leadership skills in girls. And we’re the experts in this space—spending time in the outdoors is a cornerstone of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience and has been since Girl Scouts’ inception. Our all-girl environment and proven programming show girls the benefits of spending time in the world beyond walls in ways that encourage them to take healthy risks and overcome their fears. In a 2014 study from the Girl Scout Research Institute, 72 percent of girls said they improved a skill and a third of girls said they overcame a fear through outdoor experiences in Girl Scouts. Half of the girls stated that they could not have done a particular outdoor activity (such as archery, horseback riding, or canoeing/kayaking) were it not for Girl Scouts. Thanks to this new programming, Girl Scouts will be prepared to inspire even more G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™spirit in girls as they create their own outdoor adventures and develop crucial leadership skills, preparing them for a lifetime of exploration and success. #GirlScoutsoftheUSA #outdoors #GSUSA #gsoutdoors #TheNorthFace #badges

Submitted by Melissa DiLullo Northern & Northeastern CO Evans Daisy Troop 75910 made 21 birthday boxes filled with cake mix, frosting, plates, balloons, and candles to donate to the Weld County Food Bank. They wanted to make sure every child is able to celebrate their birthday! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #Evans #NorthernampNortheastern #WeldCountyFoodBank

Submitted by Bailey Stokes Mountain Communities Buena Vista I have been a Girl Scout since I was in the first grade. During the past 12 years, I have been heavily involved in Girl Scouts. I have completed multiple service projects including my Bronze and Silver Awards, and I am currently working on my Gold Award. I have also been going to camp since I was in the second grade, and most recently, I volunteered as a counselor in training. However, the Older Girl Advisory Board has been one of the most formative and impactful volunteer experiences I have had. I decided to join the Older Girl Advisory Board because I was interested in expanding my Girl Scout experience. I was also looking for a way to make a difference in my Girl Scout community. In addition, I applied during the beginning of my junior year, and during that time I was looking for a way to find something that I could put on my scholarship applications that would set me apart from other applicants. Being a member of the Older Girl Advisory Board showed scholarship committees that I am dedicated to serving my community, and that I am a strong leader. I sincerely believe that it helped me be selected for the scholarships that I have earned. Being a member of the Older Girl Advisory Board has enhanced my confidence in myself. It taught me how to confidently express my ideas. Due to the Older Girl Advisory Board, I also gained confidence in my ability to communicate with other people. It also taught me how to be assertive. Furthermore, the Older Girl Advisory Board allowed me to expand my Girl Scout experience outside of my own community and it gave me the opportunity to meet new friends. I enjoyed the opportunity to engage with other older Girl Scouts from all across the state. Through the Older Girl Advisory Board, I was able to help make real life changes in the world and our Girl Scout community. For example, I was able to give my feedback about the cookie and Highest Awards programs. I also helped bring programs that focus on confidence building, and body image to new areas in Colorado. Through the Older Girl Advisory Board, I have also had the opportunity to inspire younger Girl Scouts. The highlight of my time on the Older Girl Advisory Board took place at one of our retreats. We had just finished talking to the makers of Girl Scout Cookies about how we make a difference in the world, and when we walked inside the lodge at camp, we were all in our full Girl Scout uniforms. There was a group of younger Girl Scouts there, and I will never forget the look of amazement on their faces upon seeing all of us in our uniforms. I sincerely believed that I had inspired them. That moment was when I truly realized the difference that I am making on the world as an older Girl Scout. Being a member of the Older Girl Advisory Board was an amazing experience that changed my life. I would highly encourage anyone to apply to be a member. It gives you the opportunity to make a difference, add to your resume, build confidence, expand your Girl Scout experience, and make new friends. The Older Girl Advisory Board (OGAB) is a group of Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors from all regions of Colorado that provides feedback on projects that enrich the experience of Girl Scouts in Colorado.  Make your voice heard by applying today! Applications close on September 18, 2018. https://gscolorado.formstack.com/forms/ogab2018 #oldergirls #BuenaVista #OGAB #mountaincommunities #OlderGirlAdvisoryBoard

Congratulations to Troop 65889 of Parker in the Denver Metro region! The troop recently won $500 from Yoplait for participating in the company’s social media sweepstakes. GSCO asked the troop’s leader, Karen Grealy, to tell us more about the girls and what they plan to do with their winnings. Troop 65889 is a multi-level troop of four Daisies and seven Brownies — ranging in age from six to eight-years-old.  After working hard over their first cookie season, they were able to donate almost 350 packages of cookies to Children’s Hospital Colorado. The girls are excited to go to Great Wolf Lodge and a two-day camp at Tomahawk Ranch this summer using their cookie proceeds! Our troop has been STEM-focused this year and have completed the “Think Like an Engineer” and “Think Like a Programmer” Journeys.   Before the end of the 2017-18 year, the girls will be exploring robots — how they work, how we program them, and how they assist the community. The troop was fortunate enough to win the Yoplait Facebook Sweepstakes at the end of cookie season. In so doing, they have been awarded $500 from Yoplait! The girls decided to use their prize money to buy robots! They purchased four Wonder Workshop robots with which they can interact and program simple or complex tasks. In addition, they have activity cards for each robot. By completing the challenges on these cards, they will learn basic coding skills that they can carry forward into potential STEM careers. I would like to introduce the girls’ robots: Hamster, Samantha, BB8, and Princess Leia. The girls will take turns “babysitting” the robots between meetings — allowing them to have one-on-one time with their new, blue friends. #Yoplait #STEM #ThinkLikeanEngineerJourney #Journeys #MetroDenver #ThinkLikeaProgrammerJourneys

From Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts prepares girls for a lifetime of leadership like no other organization. From protecting our national parks to accepting a mission on the International Space Station to lobbying the city council, Girl Scouts is the best-suited organization to offer girls unparalleled opportunities to learn 21st-century skills and empower themselves with the experiences they need to succeed in life. “Girl Scouts is the premier leadership development organization for girls,” says Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA. “We are, and will remain, the first choice for girls and parents who want to provide their girls with opportunities to build new skills; explore STEM and the outdoors; participate in community projects; and grow into happy, successful, and civically engaged adults. We’re dedicated to building that critical STEM workforce pipeline that businesses and communities across the country are looking for. Girls are our country’s greatest untapped resource and are the key to our nation’s competitive advantage in the digital economy we’re living in. They’ll be the drivers and the designers of our industries of the future, filling and creating jobs that don’t even exist yet. And at Girl Scouts, we’re preparing girls for these opportunities.” Research shows that a girl learns best in an all-girl, girl-led, and girl-friendly environment. Here she can practice different skills; explore her potential; take on leadership positions; and even feel allowed to fail, dust herself off, get up, and try again. This pro-girl environment is now more important than ever—and the proof is in the research. Compared to their peers, Girl Scouts are more likely than non–Girl Scouts to be leaders because they: Develop a strong sense of self Seek challenges and learn from setbacks Display positive values Form and maintain healthy relationships Identify and solve problems in their communities Girl Scout alums continue to make waves across industries, proof that the Girl Scout effect is lasting. In the United States, more than half of female business leaders, 73 percent of current female senators, and all secretaries of state are Girl Scout alums. There’s no contest: Girl Scouts is unmatched in delivering proven outcomes that set girls up to close the gender gap and position our nation to compete in the global economy. The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting, is a top-tier credential for girls as they enter their post–high school lives, enabling them to distinguish themselves in the college admissions process, earn college scholarships, and enter the military one rank higher. Our findings are clear—there has never been a better time to be a Girl Scout. Because when girls succeed, so does society. Invest in Girl Scouts. Change the world. #GirlScoutsoftheUSA #GirlScoutDifference #GSUSA #STEM #21stcentury

Submitted by Liz Young Metro Denver Thornton Each year Troop 2237 uses a third of their cookie proceeds for charity. This year, the girls made snack bags for a local food bank. The snack bags are given to kids ages 2-18 that would not normally have a snack for school or after school. This was something the girls could relate to since they bring their own snacks to school each day. They knew this would make a difference for kids in their area. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #Broomfield #BroomfieldFISH #MetroDenver #Thornton