Submitted by Cricket Hawkins Idaho Springs Denver Metro I stumbled across this fabulously decorated booth when visiting some of my cookie booth sales in the Mountain Communities on Saturday. Congratulations girls for being a brand new troop in January! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too.

The Girl Scouts of Colorado History Committee is celebrating Girl Scouts’ 104th birthday by releasing a new collection of historical photos. You can view all of them on our Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gscolorado/albums/72157665111878481 You and your troop are also invited to join us for a birthday celebration. When: Saturday, March 12, 2016 * 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Where: Denver Public Library, 7th Floor, Vida Ellison Gallery 10 W. Fourteenth Ave. Pkwy. Denver 80204 Here are some resources to help you and your troop plan your trip downtown. Consider alternative transportation, such as public transportation provided by theRegional Transportation District (RTD). The Library is located within short walking distance from the Civic Center RTD station. RTD Trip Planner: http://www.rtd-denver.com/GoogleTripPlanner.shtml All girls under the age of 19 qualify for discounts. Use this link to learn more: http://www.rtd-denver.com/DiscountFares.shtml If you plan to drive, keep in mind that parking may be limited. The Cultural Center Complex Garage is located at 65 W. 12th Avenue (12th and Broadway). It is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Access the garage from 12th Avenue, just west of Broadway. Use this link to learn more:https://www.denverlibrary.org/content/central-library-parking This year, the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame is hosting an exhibit of their 146 inductees, 39 of whom are Girl Scouts of Colorado Women of Distinction. The exhibitors have generously extended an invitation for Girl Scouts of Colorado to host activities during Girl Scout week. All girls in attendance will receive a special event patch. 10 – 11 a.m. : Highest Awards and Take Action training for troop leaders (registration required) 11:30 a.m. : Sing-A-Long with GSCO Songbirds choir! Noon : Council Update from President & CEO Stephanie Foote 12:30-3:30 p.m. The Girl Scout Way Badge workshop for Brownies, Juniors,  Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors. Come celebrate and complete requirements towards this fun badge. Daisies are welcome to join the fun, too! Stop by for anytime activities including birthday refreshments, tours of the Women’s Hall of Fame exhibit, badge earning opportunities and service projects. Also, see the GSCO archives roadshow and meet the History Committee! Bring your own Girl Scout memorabilia to be identified by the committee! Questions? Contact Heidi.books@gscolorado.org or 303-607-4833 #104thBirthdayCelebration #GirlScoutBirthday #GirlScoutWeek #GirlScoutsbirthday

What did you do for your Gold Award project? I created a more welcoming, more aesthetically pleasing, wheelchair accessible outdoor area at the Denver Fisher House. I designed it so current and former service members and their families during their stay would benefit and enjoy the space while they are undergoing intensive medical procedures. How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience? I measured my impact based upon the actual changes made in the space and on the people that relied upon the area. While I was driving my project, it was important to me that I met and exceeded the Fisher House’s expectations, because they are a very worthy organization. My overall goal was to make the area more accessible, safer, and more aesthetically pleasing.  In accomplishing that, I have deemed my project a success. How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact after your involvement? I created my project with sustainability in mind. I used long-lasting materials, such as concrete edging and quality paint, and I planted perennials so they would come back each year, without having to be replanted.  My project can go weeks or months without attention, due to the materials, and Colorado environment. What is your project’s global and/or national connection? The Fisher House is a global organization, with 69 houses currently in operation in several countries, and plans to build several more houses in coming years. In addition, the people that stay at the Denver Fisher House are stationed all over the world, and they are the ones who will benefit from my project.  I also sent out booklets to every Fisher House in the world, detailing my project and partnership with the Denver Fisher House. What did you learn about yourself? This project taught me coordination, communication, leadership, and problem solving skills that would otherwise have been impossible to gain. Most of all, my journey taught me to be realistic in my expectations and timeline.  I learned how to step back and ask myself, “Is this attainable on my current timeline?” before I began, and to refine my plan or timeline if I found that it was not possible in its current state. How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future? I believe that the skills that I have learned because of this project will stay with me for the rest of my life, but they are not done developing. I believe that I will continue to enhance my ability to lead a diverse group of people who may be older and much more experienced than I am.  A key part of leadership is the desire and the drive to make yourself and those around you better, this project has taught me that.  I will continue to learn about different leadership and motivational techniques and I will learn how to execute them in a way that will benefit all with whom I work.  I have laid a foundation of leadership skills and confidence upon which I will build my future. Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience? I feel my entire Girl Scout journey has built up to my Gold Award. It was in many ways the final test of the skills I have learned.  My project tested my creativity and leadership abilities, however I was well prepared to take on this challenge.  Girl Scouts produces strong young women who are able to act as individuals and leaders, and that is exactly what is needed to accomplish a project of this scale. **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 #GoldAwardee #GoldAwardCentennial #CastlePines #GoldAwardees #Denvermetro

What did you do for your Gold Award project? For my project, I created a fruitful, up-to-date library for the children living at Joshua Station, which is a transitional housing community in Denver that assists families as they make the transition from homelessness to a stable living environment. Currently, there are about 30 families living at Joshua Station, and among these families are more than 70 children. Overall, I collected over 2,900 new and gently used books in donations! I also started hosting a children’s book club there over the summer and continue to host it monthly. How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience? Before I started my project, I took inventory of the books that Joshua Station already had and what the library space looked like. They originally had around 500 books that were in poor condition and shelves that needed repair. The books were unorganized, and the kids didn’t really utilize the space. Now that my project is finished, the library has about 1,800 new and up-to-date books, as well as high quality shelves and a clean-looking space in the library room. When I go for open library time twice a month, I have multiple kids and families come in to check out books. I also added a reading nook to the front entrance space at Joshua Station, and kids now hang out down there and read books, whereas before they didn’t have a space like that to spend time together and read. I brought extra books to four Seeds of Hope schools in the Denver area, and I received thank-you notes from them saying how the books were in circulation already and that the kids were loving them. How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact after your involvement? The main way my project will be sustained is through the addition of brand new books to the Joshua Station library annually through Scholastic. I have received a letter of commitment from the Idyllwilde HOA community in Parker. They hold a Scholastic book fair each spring, and Arelene Jimenez, the committee head who runs it, has agreed to donate a portion of the proceeds each year to new Scholastic books for Joshua Station children and families. Kristi Stuart from Scholastic and June Zelkin from Idyllwilde have helped me in organizing this. I’m excited that new, updated books will continue to be added to Joshua Station to keep the kids engaged and excited about reading! My project will also be sustained through the continuation of monthly book club. Katy Hurstein, the ThunderRidge High School feeder area Girl Scout director, helped seek out girls age 12 and up who will sign up to lead book club once a month. These girls will be in contact with Julie-Anne Strivings, the volunteer coordinator at Joshua Station who will help with dates and times. Book club will be carried on through these younger girls, and I know that they will make wonderful friendships with the kids at Joshua Station like I did. What is your project’s global and/or national connection? “Imagination Station” achieved a Global/National link by growing and expanding beyond the original site at Joshua Station into four separate sites located in the city of Denver. I collected over 2,900 books in donations through the book drive I held at Tattered Cover Aspen Grove from June 1-July 31 and the Scholastic book fair held at Idyllwilde Community in May. Not all of these books could fit on the shelves at Joshua Station, and I had an overflow of about 1,300 books. With these carefully selected books, I separated them into picture books and chapter books and put them into boxes. I then took these boxes to four Seeds of Hope Schools in the Denver area which were Guardian Angels school, St. Bernadette school, St. Rose school, and St. Therese school. Seeds of Hope schools are inner-city Catholic elementary schools that are non-profit and mostly cater to low-income and impoverished families. The libraries in the schools lack very good quality books, which is mostly what I received in donations, so I was happy to give the extra books to these four schools. Guardian Angels school sent me a handmade letter in the mail that every single child signed and wrote a note of thank you for the books. The librarian at Guardian Angels also sent me pictures of students with the books in use and pictures of books on the shelves. I also got an email from the principal at St. Bernadette that personally thanked me for the books. What did you learn about yourself? What I learned about myself through my project is that I can accomplish tremendous tasks if I just try. I found that if I’m open to possibilities, things will work out wonderfully. This project seemed almost impossible when I was first coming up with ideas, and I seriously doubted that I would be able to finish, but I decided to put my fear and uncertainty aside. My project became a reality because I put all my energy, devotion, and determination into it. I chose something I was truly passionate about, and I think that made a huge difference in my attitude. I’ve learned to follow through with what I start and to never pass up opportunities because they seem too daunting or difficult. Something really important that I’ve learned that I will remember my whole life is to ask for help. The only reason my Gold Award was a success was through the help and generosity of other people. It’s truly astounding how willing others are to help if only I would ask for it. How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future? I’ve found self-confidence through this project because I’ve realized that I am capable of organizing a project so big and following through with it. I’ve made beautiful friendships with the kids at Joshua Station which has kept me passionate. In the future, I will carry the determination and ambition that this project required and take those things with me as I lead other projects. Especially since I want to go into journalism, I will take the skills I learned from this project and apply that to taking on a big story or going out of my comfort zone to bring light to a situation. I want to write for a change, and my project definitely inspired me to believe that I really can make a change. Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience? My Gold Award journey has been one of the greatest and most impactful experiences of my life! I remember hearing girls talk about their Gold Awards after my troop earned our Silver Award at a ceremony years ago. Ever since then I’ve wanted to earn my Gold Award, and now that I have, I realize how powerful girls can be. Girl Scouts has inspired me to make a difference in the world, and I will carry this determination and passion with me my whole life. I’m thankful for Girl Scouts for helping shape me into the strong young woman I am today. You can definitely earn your Gold Award if you set your mind to it. Make your project a labor of love and choose something that you really care about. Once you begin working, it won’t feel like work and the reward will be priceless! **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 #HighlandsRanch #GoldAwardCentennial #GoldAwadee #Denvermetro

Submitted by Jennifer Knapp Colorado springs Pikes Peak As a mom to 3 girls, cookies have become a huge part of our lives and I couldn’t survive without this amazing cookie dad. 3 years ago, Rick helped our daughter Callie with her first booth and now he is a co-leader, protector and all around awesome cookie dad. He has ran around the city retrieving cookies, delivering cookies and setting up booths this year. Sine we have 2 younger girls if he can’t physically stand with us at a booth, he is sitting not far ready to jump into action if Callie needs any help. Rick has dedicated so much time to helping Callie reach not only her initial goal but a second goal. Cookie season wouldn’t be fun without our “muscle”! Rick and other dads just like him are awesome and the girls are always so proud to say that the man standing behind them is their dad! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too.

Submitted by Amber Billig Denver Denver Metro Our Girl Scout Troop is made up of 9 very different young ladies. We have spent a lot of time learning about and embracing each others differences. We have a few athletic girls who like sports, a few girls who like dancing, and a few that like animals. We plan to spend our cookie money on going up to the mountains for a few nights and earning our hiking patch, sleepover patch, and horseback riding patch. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #Denver

[youtube=”https://youtu.be/5W1nFXDVHvE”] Submitted by Michelle Tellez Lakewood Denver Metro We are refining it but our last two booths we sang “Would you like to buy some cookies? How about a Thin Mint or two” to the tune of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” It seemed to make people smile! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too.

Submitted by Rylee Kardoes Arvada Denver Metro My daughter Rylee sold cookies for the first time last year. She sold 460 boxes so she set a goal this year of 500 because she figured a little extra work could get her to her goal. She worked so hard even after not being able sell the first week because of two sick brothers and then getting sick herself. She thought she wouldn’t reach her goal because she started later than most girls! She ended up reaching over 800 boxes! She was surprised and so was I! We are so proud of her and the hard work she had to put in just to get there! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #cookies

Submitted by Laura Walters Aurora Southwestern Colorado Ryp Walters is the best cookie dad ever.  He attends EVERY booth whether his daughter is working or not to support and encourage the girls (as well as set up and break down the booth).  The booth is amazing and awesome and was built by Paul Neiman, another dad in our troop, and his girls.  It WON the Bling Your Booth contest because of it’s awesomeness and creativity. Ryp not only supports Troop 4233 as the Cookie Leader but he also supports his other daughter and her Cadette troop in lots of ways. For this month of the year, Ryp’s garage and van are filled with not only love and family…but cookies and more cookies.  His commitment to excellence, to reaching goals and to having fun are what makes him the rock star that he is. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #bestcookiedad

The State of Colorado has officially proclaimed March 6-12, 2016 as Girl Scout Week! A PDF of the proclamation is below. Feel free to print a copy to share with your troop or display at your Girl Scout Week celebration. Girl Scout Week is celebrated each March, starting with Girl Scout Sunday and ending with Girl Scout Sabbath on a Saturday, and it always includes Girl Scouts’ Birthday, March 12. Learn more about Girl Scout Week and other Girl Scout traditions on the GSUSA website: http://www.girlscouts.org/en/about-girl-scouts/traditions.html Download the Girl Scout Proclamation

What did you do for your Gold Award project? For my Gold Award Project, the Teen Boutique at the Jeffco Action Center, I worked with the Jeffco Action Center, a local organization that provides various services (including a clothing bank, food pantry and financial services)  to Lakewood residents in need. My goal was to help raise the self confidence of teens in need in my school and community by addressing three main issues at the Jeffco Action Center: The lack of personnel to pursue long term teen clothing donations. The lack of merchandise items available for teens 3.The disarray in the teen clothing area due to the lack of organizational tools. I tackled all three of these items by doing a complete remodel of the teen area in their clothing bank to make clothes selection fun, interesting, and inviting; hosted multiple clothing drives at two area high schools (to help with the immediate problem of lack of merchandise); and obtained a commitment from another group interested in sustaining and building upon clothing donations specifically for teens as well as maintaining the teen clothing department. How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience? To measure the impact my Gold Award made on teens in my school and community, I took many before and after pictures of the clothing bank as well as counted the number of clothing items that the Jeffco Action Center had before my project and then continue to count the number of clothes that they have each week in the teen clothing area as clothing donations continue to come in from various sources. How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact after your involvement? To sustain my project, I worked with the Lakewood High School Key Club for many months to talk about my project and show them the area at the Action Center. They are always looking for more student involvement, so they were very excited to get this opportunity to involve more kids from Lakewood High School in this volunteer opportunity. Every month, Key Club volunteers at the Action Center do a variety of tasks, from working in the food bank to sorting clothes. To involve my project, I showed many of the kids the clothing bank and talked about the importance of the organization of the area and of keeping it well stocked with clothes. The Lakewood High School Key Club has committed to continue to volunteer monthly at the Action Center and focus on working in the clothing bank to keep it well organized for the clients. In addition, they have committed to hosting monthly clothing drives so that there will always be a good amount of clothes for teens to choose from with a wide variety of items. What is your project’s global and/or national connection? The national link to The Teen Boutique at the Jeffco Action Center is reaching out to the Christian Action Guild in Golden to educate them about starting a project similar to what I did. I have created an instruction manual and shared and distributed it to the Action Guild so that they can be educated on my project and volunteers will be able to hold a project similar to mine. I met for over an hour with the President of the Christian Action Guild, Joyce Sutton. They were very impressed with what I had accomplished at The Jeffco Action Center and were specifically going to highlight my ideas with the Board of Directors at their February meeting with the goal of using my manual as a template for expanding their clothing area to include teens and pursuing sponsored help with one of Golden High School’s clubs for local donations. After I had presented my instruction manual, Joyce proceeded to take me on a tour of the facility and throughout the tour, she held the manual close to her heart and complimented me several times on my template and for leading a successful campaign. She had recently completed a toy drive a few months prior and said many times that she had wished she would’ve had a copy of my manual because she had to go through the exact same process. She feels very confident that they will have even more success in the future. Within my manual, I provide step-by-step instructions on how to organize an area in a clothing bank (from purchasing bins to labeling them and placing them in the area) and how to successfully hold a clothing drive. I attached templates of flyers and labels that I used during my project. What did you learn about yourself? Before this project, I was not a very strong leader or speaker. But since I have gone through this journey, I have learned that I am very capable of talking to a wide variety of groups and people.  I also learned that I am very good at organization and forming a group of people to come together and work on a project. How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future? My Gold Award will continue to impact me in the future by providing me with an experience of taking charge of a long-term project and communicating with others along the way.  I now know what it takes to plan and perform a huge project like this and my Gold Award will continue to provide me with these organizational skills in the future. Also, my Gold Award has taught me the importance of communicating on a regular basis with your peers, advisors, teachers, etc.  In addition, I know have experience talking in front of many large groups of people by myself, which I had not done before this project. This will now prepare me for future presentations and give me more confidence to stand up and talk in front of different groups of people. Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience? I feel that the Gold Award allowed me to branch out and become a leader in my community.  Before starting my Gold Award project, I was a very reserved person and would always wait for others to take charge and lead the group.  However, the Gold Award allowed me to become a leader while doing a project on something that I was very passionate about and something that was very important to me.  I also feel that it was a very important part of my Girl Scout experience because I have gained many valuable communication and organization skills through my Gold Award project. **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 #Golden #GoldAward #GoldAwardee #denvermetro #GoldAwardCentennial

Submitted by Lori Thompson Denver Denver Metro Join GSCO for  the Girl Scout Way Badge workshop as we celebrate the Girl Scouts Birthday at the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Exhibit at the Denver Public Library on March 12. This special  badge celebrates the history and traditions of Girl Scouting. Girls will learn more about Girl Scouting through fun activities and crafts. Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors can earn requirements towards the Girl Scout Way badge. Daisies don’t earn the Girl Scout Way badge, but they are more than welcome to come and have fun! The workshop is from 12:30-3:30pm and is located in the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Exhibit at the Denver Public Library’s Main Branch at 10 W. Fourteenth Avenue Parkway in the Vida Ellison Gallery on the 7th Floor. Registration is not needed and we hope you will come an enjoy the rest of the day’s fun activities.  Day’s events include a Gold Award training at 10 am, the Girl Scout Song Birds choir at 11:30 am, remarks from Stephanie Foote, GSCO CEO at noon. All girls attending will get special event patches. The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame is hosting an exhibit of their 142 inductees, 39 of whom are GSCO Women of Distinction. The exhibitors have generously extended an invitation for Girl Scouts of Colorado to host activities during Girl Scout week. No registration is required for any of these events, except the Gold Award training.  For more information or questions, feel free to contact Lori Thompson at lori.thompson@gscolorado.org. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too.