Submitted by Michelle Miley Metro Denver Arvada Our troop visited Arvada Fire Station No. 9 at the beginning of the 2018 school year. The firefighters made such a difference to the girls that they wanted to make them their Hometown Hero! During the Girl Scout Cookie Program, the girls worked hard to collect packages for their firefighter heroes. The firefighters came to our location to show their appreciation for collecting so many cookies for them! We gave them over 50 packages of HTH cookies. We are so proud of Troop 68170 from Arvada! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #Arvada #GirlScoutCookies #GirlScoutCookieProgram #2018GirlScoutCookieProgram #HometownHeroes #MetroDenver #firefighters

Submitted by Andrea Robison Metro Denver Thornton Cadette Troop 60569 is hosting a western-themed “Me & My Guy” breakfast! Come join us in your finest western gear for some delicious food and learn to line dance! Our Cadettes are excited to sponsor, cater, and serve all of our guests! This yummy and fun event will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2018 at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church (3960 E 128th Ave, Thornton, CO 80241). You can choose to attend either session: 9 – 10:30 a.m. 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Breakfast is served the first hour and line dancing will be the last 30 minutes. Cost is $5 per person for your choice of base meal: -Scrambled Eggs & Bacon -Stack of four Pancakes -Biscuits and Gravy Other delicious food will be available for additional cost (taken by cash or check). All payments for the base meal must be made via this link prior to the event (echecks are accepted). No onsite registration will be available. 40963104_me_my_guy_breakfast_flier For more information, contact Andrea Robison at troop0569@gmail.com. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #GSCOevents #MeampMyGuy #MetroDenver #Thornton

Submitted by Tiffany Stone Metro Denver Denver Urban Trails service unit is hosting a unit camp at Magic Sky Ranch and inviting you to join in the fun!  Urban Trails is located in the heart of Denver from downtown to the southeast, so we are getting our city girls out for some fresh air and much needed stargazing! Camp activities will include stargazing (of course), archery, hiking, a court full of games, trees, and all sorts of excitement! Camp will be catered by Mountain Berry Culinary. Get your swaps ready and prepare your girls for an awesome classic camp, brought to you by the ladies who know their city comforts! Any troop from any unit is welcome. Activities will be geared for troops Brownie-Cadette. Register here: https://squareup.com/store/urban-trails-su-644 Contact urbantrailsdenver@gmail.com with questions! Act fast, registration deadline is April 18, 2018! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #daycamp #MagicSkyRanch #GSCOevents #Denver #MetroDenver

Submitted by Kristy Miller Metro Denver Aurora Troop 60972 is hosting a free event as our Take Action project at the end of the “Mission Sisterhood” Journey. The girls have planned a morning of activities that they have titled a Sisterhood of Strength on Saturday, May 12, 2018. This event is geared toward older girls and a significant woman in their lives. We will have a panel of women in leadership, be teaching some basic self-defense moves, have a mindfulness/yoga session as a group, and then will have other self-directed activities for everyone to participate in while we strengthen ourselves and explore other relationships within our sisterhood. Registration is limited to the first 20 girls and we would love for you to be one of them. Please contact Kristy Miller directly at kristy@miller-rascals.net if you have further questions or to register. We look forward to seeing you there. 40963104_sisterhoodflyer This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #Journey #GSCOevents #oldergirls #MissionSisterhood #Aurora #MetroDenver

Submitted by Lisa Zubia Northern & Northeastern CO Loveland Troop 73061 picked the Thompson Valley EMS for our Hometown Hero because they were a great help to our leader’s family, when he passed away in December. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #Loveland #ThompsonValleyEMS #NorthernampNortheasternCO #GirlScoutCookies #GirlScoutCookieProgram #2018GirlScoutCookieProgram #HometownHeroes

Submitted by Chris Kucera Mountain Communities Steamboat Springs When you are feeling overworked and under-appreciated while putting your all into running your troop, remember that you are impacting girls for their whole lives. Today, I got one of the best kinds of thank you’s… When I was in college and freshly married, I started a Girl Scout Junior troop in California. I was blessed with a wonderful group of girls long before I ever had a daughter of my own. A few months ago and again today, two of these beloved young women searched me out and friended me on Facebook. I just want to reach out and hug both of them. Over 20 years later, those girls remember me and want to reconnect with me. When you need a Girl Scout pick-me-up, just think about the long term impact you are having. It certainly lifted my spirits and makes me want to go that extra mile! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #VolunteerNews #VolunteerAppreciationMonth #SteamboatSprings #VolunteerAppreciation #mountaincommunities

Submitted by Bonnie Bell Northern & Northeastern CO Fort Collins Troop 76059 recently completed the Programming Robots badge without actually using a computer. As a software engineer, I think the more interesting part of programming is figuring out how to instruct a robot to do a job rather than the specific mechanics of any one language. I printed out some basic maze diagrams, and reproduced them on a sheet using painters tape for the lines, so that we could have a quick set-up and take down for our meetings. At the meeting, we had a discussion about robots, then the girls proceeded to the programming part. First, they solved the maze themselves. Then, they wrote a “program” of instructions for a robot to complete the maze. Our programming language had three instructions: go forward, turn right, and turn left. Next, they paired up and each got a chance to be the robot and execute a friend’s program. If the friend was able to follow the program and get out of the maze, they were done. If not, they went back and reworked their program. Some of the girls needed just one more pass, some of them needed to finally work through the program in real time (like you would using a debugger). All of them eventually got their robots through the maze. They have consistently listed the robot activity as one of their favorite things for the year. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #FortCollins #NorthernampNortheasternCO #Robotsbadge #STEM

Girl Scouts of Colorado is celebrating extraordinary volunteers throughout the state in honor of Volunteer Appreciation Month. Jen Rotar of Berthoud in the Northern & Northeastern CO region is a troop leader and for the past four years has coordinated the Scouting for Food event. She is also a shining example of the wonderful role Girl Scout volunteers play in the lives of girls and our community. GSCO asked Jen 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 daughter wanted her Girl Scout experience to include hiking, camping, and outdoor adventures – all stuff that I love to do. We decided the best way to make that happen was to start our own troop and recruit some friends. We quickly grew from one to six girls in the first year, and are now up to 13, and I have loved every minute of it. Tell us about your different volunteer roles as a Girl Scout. I’m started as a clueless co-leader when my daughter was a Daisy – basically a warm body to meet the adult-to-girl ration. From there, I’ve grown to troop leader for Troop 70700 with 11 Cadettes and two Juniors.  I’m the note-taker for the Berthoud Service Unit’s monthly meetings. I’ve been a Kiwa Day Camp unit leader for the past two years and helped out with their website. I also organize Scouting for Food in Berthoud, a huge joint effort between all the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts in our town. I enjoy helping out with other service unit fun stuff as needed. And, I’m looking forward to becoming a Girl Scout trainer for other leaders at some point. What have you learned as a Girl Scout volunteer? Patience, for sure. You can’t survive cookie season without it. Humor. My sense of humor has increased proportionately with each new girl added to my troop. Communication. You can’t over-communicate with parents, emails, texts, Facebook, phone calls – the key to our successful events is making sure the parents get the message! But, my biggest lesson has been to embrace the “girl-led” philosophy. I’ve learned that being a troop leader is not about my vision for what the troop is doing. It’s all about the girls’ vision. As an adult, it’s easy for me to plan things, but it’s harder to step back and let the girls plan, especially when I have doubts about how their plans are going to work. I definitely give them suggestions and guidance, but I’ve learned that letting the girls succeed, or fail and learn from their experience, with their own ideas, is much more exciting and fun than mapping out every step for them. What do you hope girls have learned from you? I hope that they have learned to TRY ANYTHING and to not fear new experiences or failure. I hope they have learned some camping skills, and that “leave it better” is ingrained in their brains whether they are in a park, campground, on a hiking trail, or even a meeting room. I hope they have all built confidence in themselves with every new adventure they take with our troop. How has your experience as a volunteer helped you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)? I’m a go-getter in that I’m always on the lookout for ideas that my girls might like to try, and I’m willing to spend the time and make the effort it its something the girls are passionate about. I’m an innovator in that I’m not afraid to “wing it” when it comes to creative and spontaneous ideas from the girls. Starting a new troop was a big risk, but it has worked out great and I’m so glad to be here. And being a leader for these girls (guiding them, facilitating their ideas, following along on their adventures, and making sure no one is injured) has been a wonderful experience. Want to nominate a volunteer for Girl Scouts of Colorado to spotlight? Please email Public Relations Director AnneMarie Harper at annemarie.harper@gscolorado.org. #VolunteerNews #volunteerspotlight #VolunteerAppreciationMonth #NorthernampNortheasternCO #VolunteerAppreciation #Berthoud

Girl Scouts prepares girls for a lifetime of leadership. You – our amazing volunteers – play a big part in their success. Our appreciation gift to volunteers this year is to have thousands of trees planted in areas around the state of Colorado that have been devastated by wildfires and floods. We made a donation to the Restoring Colorado’s Forests Fund, through the Colorado State Forest Service, to purchase a tree in honor of each of our volunteers. Your time, energy, and dedication to making Girl Scouts a great experience for girls has a lasting and positive impact. In recognition of all the amazing things that you do, we chose the gift of trees that will also have a lasting and positive impact by helping to restore forested areas in our beautiful state. Thank you for being a Girl Scout volunteer! Stephanie A. Foote, President and CEO Girl Scouts of Colorado Thank You Letter to Girl Scouts of CO From Mike Lester #StephanieAFoote #VolunteerAppreciation #VolunteerAppreciationMonth #VolunteerNews

Girl Scouts of Colorado is celebrating extraordinary volunteers throughout the state in honor of Volunteer Appreciation Month. Julie Southern of Arvada in the Metro Denver region currently volunteers with her daughter’s troop and the Outdoor Adventure Club. She is also a shining example of the wonderful role Girl Scout volunteers play in the lives of girls and our community. GSCO asked Julie 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? When my daughter joined Girl Scouts, I just naturally volunteered to be with her and experience the activities with her. I had not been a Girl Scout, so I was not sure what to expect. I continue to be overly impressed with the entire organization and lovely women in the program. The quality of programming and adventures that are planned for these young women is awesome. I am a middle school teacher and I truly appreciate that my own middle school girl has these opportunities. Therefore, I want to give back to this wonderful group and help out in anyway possible. Tell us about your different volunteer roles as a Girl Scout. I volunteer with the troop and also with the Outdoor Adventure Club. When I volunteer with the troop, I take on many different roles from leading meetings, to traveling with the troop to Girl Scout properties and being a camp leader, and just being a support for our leaders. With the Outdoor Adventure Club, I have had the amazing opportunity to support the girls in the countless adventures they have been challenged to accomplish. I have lead small groups, games, night time discussions and recaps, and just been their to support the organization. Anna Danilla has planned such amazing opportunities for these girls. I have been by the Girl Scouts as they encouraged each other through small cave spaces, down the face of a mountain, bouldering up a rock field, biking through the field, dog sledding, swimming, wilderness survival skills, archery, and so much more. To witness the growth, leadership, and encouragement that these girls give to each other is an honor. What have you learned as a Girl Scout volunteer? I have learned as a Girl Scout volunteer that being able to be by the sides of these young women is an honor. If I can continue to turn the responsibility of the experience and problem solving on the girls, they will learn and grow. I have to be willing to step aside and let these girl’s thrive. They never cease to amaze me. What do you hope girls have learned from you? I hope that the Girl Scouts learn that anything is truly possible if you keep trying. I also hope they learn to set personal goals, to try THEIR best, to do THEIR hardest, and to have FUN! By focusing on doing their own best, then they can achieve their goals. How has your experience as a volunteer helped you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)? See answers above.  I know that working with Girl Scouts has challenged me as well. Trusting that the girl is going to safely handle a bow and arrow, a kayak, to hold the line as you mountain climb is truly being a risk-taker. Also, the Girl Scouts are so encouraging of each other and of the adults that are choosing to take the challenge by choice. In the cave, we all had to guide each other through the crevices and tunnels because you literally could not see what was up in front of you. This made me be very clear in the directions and questions to the girls around me to help me get through the experience as well. In nature, you can make plans and be prepared, but sometimes you have to adjust to plan C and plan D.  I think that is when the natural innovator in me and the girls comes out. It is so great to have the girls modify and come up with solutions when the first ideas get washed away with the weather. It is such a great experience to be by these girls as well and I continue to learn from 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. #Arvada #OutdoorAdventureClub #VolunteerNews #volunteerspotlight #MetroDenver

Girl Scouts of Colorado is celebrating extraordinary volunteers throughout the state in honor of Volunteer Appreciation Month. Melissa Ellenberger of Colorado Springs in the Pikes Peak region is both a troop leader and service unit volunteer. She is also a shining example of the wonderful role Girl Scout volunteers play in the lives of girls and our community. GSCO asked Melissa 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? Girl Scouting is a family tradition.  My mother was my troop leader and earned the Curved Bar Award. As a Girl Scout, I earned the Gold Award.  I volunteered to ensure my daughter had a great Girl Scout experience. Tell us about your different volunteer roles as a Girl Scout. At first, I was a leader.  As I got more involved, I became the service unit cookie manager,  trainer, and service unit manager. What have you learned as a Girl Scout volunteer? That the Girl Scout experience is just as valid and important today as it was 20, 40, and 60 years ago. What do you hope girls have learned from you? That following the Girl Scout Law means you can live an amazing life and have a whole lot of fun. How has your experience as a volunteer helped you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)? I’m a teacher as well as Girl Scout volunteer. The two go hand-in-hand in showing off my G.I.R.L. skills. Want to nominate a volunteer for Girl Scouts of Colorado to spotlight? Please email Public Relations Director AnneMarie Harper at annemarie.harper@gscolorado.org. #VolunteerNews #volunteerspotlight #VolunteerAppreciationMonth #ColoradoSprings #VolunteerAppreciation #PikesPeak

Submitted by Sandra Scofield Metro Denver Westminster/Arvada Brownie Troop 66532 chose first responders as their Hometown Heroes to receive Girl Scout Cookies this year. Each girl took one of the local fire and police stations. We delivered Station 5 their cookies and they spent two hours answering all of her questions and giving us a tour of the station and all the equipment. They were grateful and so are we for all that they do to keep our community safe! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments, too. #Arvada #Westminster #cookies #GirlScoutCookies #GirlScoutCookieProgram #HometownHeroes #MetroDenver #2018GirlScoutCookiePorgram