Another amazing Girl Scout Cookie Sale Program has come and gone. No doubt your girls are now busy planning the fun adventures they will go on and the ways they will help others. The 2017 Girl Scout Cookie Sale Program  was a huge success with just more than 16,000 girls participating and a per-girl-average of 273 packages of cookies. About 4.5 million packages of cookies were sold statewide, 357,409 of those sold online through Digital Cookie. The top seller in the state sold more than 7,000 packages of cookies! Rewards Rewards are currently being delivered to Service Unit Cookie Managers. Cookie Credits have been mailed directly to the girl at the current address in the membership database, unless the family has requested these credits be held at council for camp. Keep in mind delivery times vary with different vendors, so patience is appreciated. Please follow pick-up procedures set in place by your SUCM. It is important to distribute rewards promptly to the girls as they have worked hard to earn them. We know many troops like to distribute these rewards at year-end ceremonies, but please do not delay this activity waiting on one or two items to arrive from the vendor. Please note that May 5, 2017 is the deadline to report any missing rewards or reward issues to staff. Hometown Hero deliveries When your troop is out delivering Hometown Hero cookies, please remember to take a few photos and share your story here on the GSCO blog and on social media (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram). Need help? Contact your Service Unit Cookie Manager (listed on your troop page of eBudde) Ask the staff Product Sales Specialist for your area (see below) Try our Customer Support Team at 877-404-5708 or inquiry@gscolorado.org GSCO Product Sales Specialists Mary Ann Deard (Region 1, 2, 5) – maryann.deard@gscolorado.org Rychelle Arnold (Region 3, 4) – rychelle.arnold@gscolorado.org Laura Aguon (Region 6) – laura.aguon@gscolorado.org Elizabeth Lipp (Region 7) – elizabeth.lipp@gscolorado.org Use Cookie Credits to pay for camp Girls have worked hard selling cookies to earn troop proceeds and Cookie Credits; now put them to use by registering for summer camp! Troops can use troop proceeds to help pay for a troop camp experience. Brownies or girls bridging to Brownies, might want to check out the 3-day sessions to ease themselves (and their parents!) into the idea of overnight camp! There are water camps, adventure camps and more sessions available for Girl Scout Juniors. Older girls love camp life too! Check out the 12-day sessions for girls ready to really immerse themselves in the camp experience. View the session listings for an opportunity for your girl. Girls can use Cookie Credits to help pay their way to camp and if she registers and pays by April 30, 2017, she’ll get the Early Bird discount. #2017CookieSale #cookiecredits #cookierewards #GirlScoutCookies

Submitted by Karen Wilson Metro Denver Aurora I am so proud of the girls in Troop 62226! For their Silver Award project, they collected supplies and assembled over 100 backpacks and over 300 stuffed animals for kids involved in an incident in which the Aurora Police Department responds. The girls learned while doing this project that the Aurora PD responded to over 6,000 calls that involved someone under the age of 18 in 2016. The Chief of Police was even there to welcome the girls and thank them.  The Aurora PD will be thanking them by having two officers attend the Highest Awards ceremony. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #Aurora #AuroraPoliceDepartment #MetroDenver #SilverAward

In honor of Volunteer Appreciation Month, Girl Scouts of Colorado is celebrating extraordinary volunteers throughout the state. Anita Lucero in the Pikes Peak region was nominated as a shining example of the wonderful role Girl Scout volunteers play in the lives of girls and our community! Anita has been a troop leader for the last six years, but her commitment to our girls doesn’t stop there! She is also a Service Unit Manager, Service Unit Product Sales Manager, Cookie Cupboard Manager, Site Delivery Manager for a Colorado Springs delivery site, active member of the region’s Cookie Committee, and GPS Leader (putting on Product Sales rallies and the local mall lock-in). Under her leadership as Service Unit Manager, she has grown the service unit and for the past two years, the service unit has met its goals. We asked Anita to answer a few questions about her experiences as a Girl Scout volunteer. We hope you find her story as inspiring as we did! How long have you been a Girl Scout? This is my 16th year in Girl Scouting, 10 years as a girl with this year being my sixth as an adult. Why did you become a Girl Scout volunteer? Seven years ago, my daughter joined Girl Scouts with my niece and I was just the drop and go parent for the first part of the year. As I continued to see coloring sheets coming home after every meeting, I decided to check it out some more. She was bored with the activities that they were doing and so the two of us decided that if we were going to stay in Girl Scouts, we were going to start our own troop. I knew that as time would go on my Girl Scout past would catch up with me and help me along the way. However, I figured out many things had changed over the years, but the core values were the same and you learn as you go. Tell us about your different volunteer roles as a Girl Scout. Well, my first and most important role is being a parent. I have to remember that the reason I became a volunteer was because of my daughters.  It is very important to give them as much time and support as I do to every other girl.  I have to remember to treat them like girls and not as assistants.  Although they will be amazing, but it’s not their time yet.  Secondly, I am a troop leader of six amazing girls: two Brownies, one Junior, one Cadette, and two Seniors. They are all very motivating in their own way and we have a ton of fun.  Next, I am Service Unit Manager and Service Unit Cookie Manager of 414 in the southeast area of Colorado Springs. I support about 25 troops all year long and mentor them in the beginning of their troop set-up until they feel comfortable to support their girls on their own. I always remember my first year and how nervous I was, so if I can take a little stress off their shoulders and teach each them a few tips and tricks to help along the way I do. The past two years I have also been on the Cookie Committee in Colorado Springs supporting troops, parents, girls, and staff in anything cookies. My husband and I have also been a cookie cupboard during the selling season, supporting troops in keeping inventory available for girls to sell.  Four years ago, I helped start a group in Colorado Springs called GPS (Girl Planning System).  They were all 6th to 12th graders already PA’s or wanted to be Program Aide trained.  Our first year we planned and carried out the annual Mall Lock-In.  This group has evolved over the years and we currently have 12 girls that have planned many programs to include Fall Rallies, Cookie Rallies, Badge Workshops, Mall Lock-In, and some of the girls are currently planning a day camp for this summer.  Lastly, I just help were needed, I do a ton of recruiting events, I teach at training’s, and support the staff in Pikes Peak Region with anything else they need. What have you learned as a Girl Scout volunteer? What do you hope girls have learned from you? I have learned that without these girls in Girl Scouting I would have a lot more free time.  Just kidding! I love to stay busy. I have learned that all of these girls are like good smelling onions. Every girl is different and sometimes we have to peel off more or less layers to find out who they really are and how to guide them through Girl Scouts. Some come because they are told to and others can’t get enough of it. Each girl has their own talents and their own weaknesses and we have to love them for the whole package. We have to be patient and caring. I have learned that as girls grow older their outlook on Girl Scouts changes and we have to respect their emotional feelings. I have also learned that some girls come to Girl Scouts because they obtain opportunities that they can’t get anywhere else. For example, it maybe something simple like how to build a bird house, or how sew a sit upon, or to camp, or travel out of state, or travel to Europe. Whatever it might be for some it could be building memories that last a life time, and I am privileged to be apart of that. I hope that girls have learned how cool it can be to be a Girl Scout and how you don’t have to be ashamed to tell people at school that you are. I hope that girls learned that they are worth it in this world. They can be who they want to be and no one can stop them. I hope they have learned that you can be super-women without having all the super powers. You don’t have to be perfect you just have to be you, there are always people around you that have the strengths of your own weaknesses, and that what makes teams so great. What is your favorite Girl Scout memory? Man this question is so hard!!! I have so many amazing memories from when I was a girl. But, the one that means the most to me is “Senior Trip 2000”  my best friend Sara and I were the only ones left in my troop. The year prior we completed our Silver Award and went to Disney World. But, the summer of 2000 we went on a trip of our lifetime.  We went to Europe with a group of selected Girl Scouts from what was the Wagon Wheel Council in Colorado Springs. We traveled through 7+ countries in just over 20 days. It was absolutely amazing. I saw so many beautiful things and made many new friends. I got to visit Pax Lodge and Our Chalet, two very beautiful Girl Scout World Centers. We went to Buckingham Palace, The Eiffel Tower,  a salt mine, The Louvre, and ate chicken everyday, but one amazingly enough cooked a different way every time. I learned how to pack and unpack and how to call home with a calling card. This trip gave me so many learning lessons that I would have never got sitting in a classroom. I learned on this trip and many years since that even though I may not see those same girls today I still know in my heart that they are sister Girl Scouts and we will forever have a connection. What words of advice do you have for other volunteers? The best advice I can give to every volunteer (and staff) is without the girls we won’t have an organization. Each and every thing that we do daily, weekly, or monthly is for the girls. To my fellow volunteers, we are here to support and guide.  Girl Scouting is supposed to be girl-led so let it happen. No matter how bad our OCD is for control or for their success that we want them to have we have to remember it is okay to fail let them learn from their mistakes. Working with girls and teaching them something new will help them on their path. Listening and understanding of what they want to accomplish and volunteers supporting them will better them for their future roles of Girl Scouting. I encourage everyone to take updated training’s, ask questions, and be more involved. The more networking that you do with others the more educated you become.  Attend your Service Unit meetings and check/reply to your email. Shadow other troops and invite older girls to come with your Daisies and Brownies. Put those crayons down and take your girls (EVEN DAISIES) on a hike, go to camp (Sky High is AMAZING!!!!!), and tackle a fear or two.  Girl Scouting can be anything you want it to be sometimes you just have to try-it. Want to nominate a volunteer for Girl Scouts of Colorado to spotlight? Please email Public Relations Director AnneMarie Harper at annemarie.harper@gscolorado.org. #volunteerspotlight #VolunteerAppreciationMonth #ColoradoSprings #GirlScoutvolunteers #PikesPeak

Submitted by Kara Hlavnicka Metro Denver Littleton On Saturday, April 8, 2017, Troop 60185 from Littleton and Morrison delivered Hometown Hero Girl Scout Cookies to the Flight for Life CO team. Not only did they tour the helipad, and the medical helicopter, they also visited the call center for Flight for Life. What an awesome experience and such a great team of individuals! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #FlightforLife #GirlScoutCookies #2017CookieSale #Morrison #HometownHeroes #MetroDenver #Littleton

The City of Centennial honored Girl Scout Gold Award recipient Sarah Greichen as one of six outstanding Centennial high school students with a Youth Achievement Award during a City Council meeting in April. The Youth Achievement Award honors and recognizes Centennial youth who have made a significant impact in the community through volunteer work or other special deeds that demonstrate exceptional leadership. All 2017 Youth Achievement recipients received a $500 scholarship. Sarah, a senior at Front Range Christian School, was chosen for serving as an Adam’s Camp volunteer and as president of various unified sports clubs at both Heritage and Front Range Christian schools. She sits on the Special Olympics Youth Activation Committee and earned the Girl Scout Gold Award and Stephanie A. Foote Leadership Prize for Gold Award Excellence. Her Girl Scout Gold Award project led her to create the Score A Friend, Inc., a nonprofit organization which works to include students of all abilities in school activities. Currently, there are Score A Friend clubs at Front Range Christian School, Louisiana State University, and Northern Arizona University. Sarah is also in the process of implementing nine new clubs in local area schools. The Centennial Youth Commission and the City of Centennial’s Building Services provider, SAFEbuilt, provided $1,500 each to recognize these outstanding youth in the community. #StephanieAFooteLeadershipPrizeforGoldAwardExcellence #GoldAward #FrontRangeChristianSchool #CityofCentennial #Centennial #SarahGreichen #MetroDenver

Submitted by Chico Basin Ranch Pikes Peak Colorado Springs Would your troop like to meet real-life cowgirls and their working horses? See a songbird up-close and watch it be released? Observe young craftswomen making handmade leather goods? Explore a vibrant grassland ecosystem AND camp under the prairie skies? All of this can happen in ONE place, and that’s why the Chico Basin Ranch is the perfect spot for your next Girl Scout adventure! The Chico is an 87,000-acre working cattle ranch that’s open to the public and focused on conserving land, wildlife, and western heritage. For the past 17 years, the Chico has invited visitors to experience how ranching can work to preserve our native Colorado rangelands while exploring scientific research and ecology first-hand through the ranch’s seasonal bird banding stations. Here’s what learning looks like on the Chico: http://ranchlandsreview.com/bird-banding/ Appropriate for all ages, a visit to the ranch can include: bird banding observation (April 12 – May 21, Sept 5 – Oct 5); a prairie and pond ecology walk; a visit to our working leather shop; and a corral tour with a horse and rider demonstration. We also welcome the opportunity to work with your troop on building certain skills for badges, customizing an overnight camping trip, and/or developing a service project. Located between Colorado Springs and Pueblo in the high desert prairie just east of the Front Range, the Chico is easily accessible from I-25. We are booking Spring and Fall 2017 field trips for our seasonal bird banding station so now is the time to set your date! Please email becca@ranchlands.com or call 719-683-7960 for scheduling. We look forward to hosting Girl Scouts from all over Colorado soon! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #ColoradoSprings #ChicoBasinRanch #ranch #communitypartners #cattle #Pueblo #PuebloampSoutheasternCO #PikesPeak

Join Girl Scouts across the state on the Royal Gorge Bridge for a very special centennial bridging event on Saturday, May 20, 2017! GSCO is organizing an official bridging walk at the bridge in Canyon City at 11 a.m. and will host a short reception afterwards. Cost is $5/Girl Scout and $3/friends and family, plus $16 per person for discounted entry to the park, which is good all day. To Register: **Registration will be done in two parts. To participate in GSCO’s bridging ceremony and reception, please register at https://goo.gl/exHstj. The registration deadline for the reception is May 15, 2017. Each Girl Scout registration includes a special centennial event patch. To purchase admission tickets, please contact the Royal Gorge Bridge directly at (719) 275-7507. Tickets can also be purchased at the bridge the day of the event. All Girl Scouts, friends, and family will need to purchase an admission ticket to enter the Royal Gorge for the bridging ceremony. Girl Scout troops and families are also welcome to visit the Royal Gorge Bridge and enjoy discounted tickets, even if their troop or Girl Scout is not bridging. Interested in camping near the Royal Gorge for this event? Check out these campsites: • Royal Gorge Park – https://goo.gl/wXcUIX • Other campsites on the hill close to the Royal Gorge – http://www.canoncitycolorado.com/camping Questions? Contact Brook Sklenar at brook.sklenar@gscolorado.org or Lori Thompson at lori.thompson@gscolorado.org. #bridgingceremony #RoyalGorgeBridge #MetroDenver #PuebloampSoutheasternCO #PikesPeak #royalgorge #GSCOCentennial

Submitted by Junior Troop 62215 (Savannah, Cali, Elyana, Tanes, Desiree, Kelsey, Aubry, Emily, Mia, Autumn, Izzy, Nevaeh, and Evelyn) Metro Denver Thornton Hello! We are Juniors from Troop 62215. Our troop did our Bronze Award on Food Waste. We would like to share with others how bad food waste is. We made two videos to be shared to help others learn about it. Please share the videos with your troop and others in the world. We would like this message to be shared worldwide. Full Length Trailer We are in the process of completing some bookmarks to share our message too. Please let us know if you would be willing to give a bookmark to your Girl Scouts, troop families, friends, family members, etc. They are free. We would like to thank our troop leaders, Jordan and Michelle, for helping us with this project. We would also like to thank “Weird Al” for the song. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #BronzeAward #JuniorGirlScouts #MetroDenver #Thornton

Submitted by Kathy Kettler Metro Denver Thornton Have a magical night at  The Wood’s SU mother/daughter dance on Saturday, April 22, 2017 from  6 to 9 p.m. at The Waymire Dome on the Adams County Fair Grounds. Presale Tickets: $16/couple, plus $7 per additional person by April 20 At the door cost: $10/person at the door and silent auction Order and pay for your tickets here:  https://www.cheddarup.com/tabs/mother-daughter-dance-theme-disney PLEASE BRING A DONATION FOR THE ADAMS COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER! Mother_Daughter_Dance_April_2017 This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #MetroDenver #motherdaughterdance #Thornton #WoodsServiceUnit

From Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts is continuing our exciting partnership with the National Park Service and the “Girl Scout Ranger Program,” a joint venture connecting girls with National Park Service sites throughout the United States, including monuments, seashores, and urban sites. Through this program, girls are invited to play outdoors, learn about national parks and why they’re preserved, and develop essential leadership skills. Even better, girls have the opportunity to earn patches, complete journeys, and achieve Take Action and Gold Award projects! So, how exactly do you earn your Ranger patch? It’s simple! Choose a National Park Service site. Visit http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm. Choose a national park, a monument, or any of 417 sites protected by the National Park Service. Explore nature, learn the history, and read the stories to discover why it is important to preserve your park. Imagine Yourself in a National Park. Brainstorm activities that you might want to experience at a national park. Consider working outside with a geologist or inside identifying fossils. Maybe wildfire restoration, building a bridge, or a night sky project interests you. Contact the park and make a plan. Call the park (the phone number is on the park’s website under Contact Us). Identify yourself as a Girl Scout. Ask if there is someone who works with the Girl Scout Ranger program or a volunteer coordinator. Express your ideas to the coordinator. Together, plan a project to help the park and fulfill your goals. Go to the park and Have Fun! If your park does not have a volunteer program or is too far away to visit, create a Take Action Project. Share the experience Share your best shots on Instagram and Twitter using  #FindYourPark and #NPS101 (don’t forget to tag @GirlScouts and @GSColo) and invite your entire troop to do the same! Ready to learn more about becoming a Girl Scout Ranger? Click here to read FAQs! #GirlScoutRangerProgram #GirlScoutsoftheUSA #NationalParkService #Rangerpatch

(Linda says she is usually the one behind the camera, so this is a photo of her girls.) In honor of Volunteer Appreciation Month, Girl Scouts of Colorado is celebrating extraordinary volunteers throughout the state. Linda Jester in the Pikes Peak region has been a troop leader for the past 11 years– six of them in Colorado!  She was nominated as a shining example of the wonderful role Girl Scout volunteers play in the lives of girls and our community. Since moving to Colorado, she has volunteered for GSCO in a variety of different ways, including: Service Unit Manager for three years, during which time she has been very active in mentoring new leaders and often mentors volunteers outside of her service unit Trainer for age level training and PA training Assembling a comprehensive new leader checklist that follows Volunteer Essentials and all policies Volunteer Recruiter for three years We asked Linda to answer a few questions about her experiences as a Girl Scout volunteer. We hope you find her story as inspiring as we did! How long have you been a Girl Scout? Two years as a girl (1972-1974); since 2007 as an adult Why did you become a Girl Scout volunteer? Because my 5-year-old daughter wanted to join (her older brother was having fun as a Cub Scout). There were no troops at her school and all other local troops met after school at other locations. Since I worked, I couldn’t get her to those. The only way she could become a Girl Scout was if I started a troop. I did what I had to do for my daughter! Tell us about your different volunteer roles as a Girl Scout. Troop Leader, Recruitment/Membership Specialist (different terms for this role in different councils), Service Unit Manager, adult and girl trainer, new leader mentor, and a whole bunch of other duties as needed over the years! What have you learned as a Girl Scout volunteer? What do you hope girls have learned from you? I have learned that the main thing holding girls back are moms! In general, today’s moms are generally over-protective (my opinion) and do way too much for their kids. I tried to teach the girls that they can do anything  and they are more capable than they think they are. They probably sometimes thought I was mean because I wouldn’t do things for them (“you can roll up your own sleeping bag”) and I made them do things they didn’t have to do at home (“yes, you have to wash your own dishes”)! What is your favorite Girl Scout memory? We were at Hamp Hut when the Waldo Canyon Fire started. My girls were rising 5th and 6th graders, but a troop of rising 2nd graders had just joined us for their first campout as Brownies. We had badge stations everywhere—back patio, front porch, on tables in the hut– and of course, the “bedroom” looked like a tornado had gone through. The girls were all just finishing up a snack they had baked in the kitchen (older ones helping the younger ones with their first Brownie badge activity) when I made the decision to evacuate. My girls sprang into action. They got everything packed up and loaded into the cars—including all the young Brownies and their things—in 45 minutes! We were just backing out when the ranger came by with the official notice to evacuate. I was so proud of the girls! They kept cool under pressure, got things done, and did their best to keep the younger girls calm. What words of advice do you have for other volunteers? Don’t try to do everything yourself! First, remember that troops should be girl-led. No, things won’t run smoothly, but that’s ok! It really is! Consider the age of the girls, but have them do as much as they can and certainly have them make decisions whenever possible. Second, it’s ok to ask parents to take on a task. You can come up with a list of jobs (including running a meeting—you don’t have to do every one!) and ask each family to take on one or two jobs. Trust me, you will burn yourself out if you try to do it all yourself. Want to nominate a volunteer for Girl Scouts of Colorado to spotlight? Please email Public Relations Director AnneMarie Harper at annemarie.harper@gscolorado.org. #ColoradoSprings #PikesPeak #VolunteerAppreciationMonth

Submitted by Melissa Ellenberger Pikes Peak Colorado Springs Troop 40607 had a great idea to hike to the top of Pikes Peak. They knew in order to do so, they would have to train for it. The girls looked up local trails and devised a plan to hike them. We then invited troops to join us! Our first hike was April 8, 2017 at Fox Run Park in Black Forest. If you are interested in joining the Girl Scout Hiking Club: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeGITRtH0S2eBcUsS33zziMx2Jvf7sImvPX61b3cMCpVSEz1g/viewform This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #ColoradoSprings #hiking #PikesPeak