Submitted by Lori Thompson Denver Denver Metro Girl Scouts, friends and family are invited to Girl Scout Day at the University of Colorado Men’s Basketball game on Feb. 28th. The Buffs will take on Arizona State at 2:30 pm and Girl Scouts are invited to a special Recycling with Ralphie workshop after the game to earn a special patch. Girl Scouts and their families can purchase discount tickets to the game and badge event for $20 each and $5 will be donated back to Girl Scouts of Colorado. To order tickets, go to www.cubuffs.com/promo and use the code 2016GIRLSCOUTS. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #CUBuffs #Denvermetro #UniversityofColorado

Submitted by Cricket Hawkins Eagle Mountain Communities Abby and Gigi from Eagle Daisy troop 53582 groove for customers at their booth sale last week! The girls sold 137 boxes in just 2 hours–thanks girls for sharing your dance! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #cookies #Eagle

Submitted by Carmen Valdez Pueblo Pueblo and Southeastern Colorado Save the Date: Volunteer Appreciation Date: Tuesday, April 5th Time: 6:30-8:00 pm Location: Rawlings Library, 100 E. Abriendo Ave, Ryals Room We will be rocking and rolling with games, food, and fun to celebrate our amazing volunteers! Registration through Sign Up Genius coming soon. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #Pueblo #VolunteerAppreciation

Happy Birthday, Girl Scouts! Join us for a birthday celebration! Saturday, March 12, 2016 * 10am to 4pm Denver Public Library, 7th Floor, Vida Ellison Gallery 10 W. Fourteenth Ave. Pkwy. Denver 80204 As we celebrate Girl Scouts’ 104th birthday, we celebrate brave, incredible women who have led the way for today’s generation of young women. This year, we have received a special birthday gift from the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, and we want to share it with all of you. The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame is hosting an exhibit of their 146 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. 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! All girls in attendance will receive a special event patch. 10:00am – 11:00am : Highest Awards and Take Action training for troop leaders (registration required) 11:30am : Sing-Along with GSCO Songbirds choir! Noon : Council Update from President & CEO Stephanie Foote Questions? Contact Heidi.books@gscolorado.org or 303-607-4833 #ColoradoWomensHallofFame #DenverLibrary #GirlScoutBirthday

Submitted by Cricket Hawkins Avon Mountain Communities Snow and stormy weather did not hold Kyla Wolffe back from selling cookies on the first day! Way to go Kyla! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #Avon #cookies #mountaincommunities

The following was submitted by Kim “Ruddy” Pateau, camp director at Sky High Ranch. Kim grew up as a Girl Scout in Western Washington. Learn more about summer camps Ruddy leads or register now for summer camp! As I look down at the supplies on my living room floor; a suitcase, passport, cowboy boots, a coloring book and my membership pin, I think to myself, “How many people get to go to a conference in London to talk to young adults about coming to America to work and play with kids while canoeing, hiking, rock climbing, zip lining, playing with farm animals and otherwise having the best summer of their lives!?” Because of camp, I’ve found a career that allows me to experience new adventures and challenges without fear or trepidation. I look forward to what new might be thrown my way because I’ve learned so many skills along my journey. Certainly I’ve had many other positive influences in my life to help shape who I am; my parents, my friends, my opportunities as an American (corny I know), however, camp is the only place where I was completely safe, yet challenged beyond my comfort zone at the same time. Aside from making life-long friends, I’ve gained skills such as positive-risk taking, follow through and commitment, money management, supervision/management, team work and people skills, as well as youth development and program planning. Through camp, have I gained outdoor skills and self-reliance. I had such a broad variety of experiences, I have been able to sample a little bit of everything, from sailing and crafting, to rock climbing and horseback riding. I look at life as being full of challenges, rather than obstacles. Challenges that I’m able to overcome with hard work and perseverance. My life would not be the same if it weren’t for my experiences at camp, and I’m happy to say that so many of the adventures I’ve taken in life both physically and emotionally are due to camp. Camp molded and shaped me into the person I am today. #Brownie #camp #SkyHighRanch

Submitted by Angelia Zipplies Colorado Springs Southwestern Colorado My daughter Emma and I began the Cookie Sale on Sunday, the first day to sell. Unfortunately the weather thought a blizzard would be a great way to celebrate the start of the sale! We started out with a power wheel quad hooked to her wagon to help pull through the snow that had already started to fall. By the time we got around the block I was pushing her, the power wheel and wagon full of cookies from behind. After retreating home for an hour we got a sled out and headed back out after the next wave of snow had stopped. We received 15 inches of snow over the next 3 days so the next time we sold, we just used the sled. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #ColoradoSprings #cookies

Submitted by AnneMarie Harper Denver Denver Metro Join Girl Scouts of Colorado in congratulating Gold Award recipient Christina Bear of Golden! She was recently named a “Distinguished Finalist” for The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and will receive an engraved bronze medallion. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States’ largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and HandsOn Network affiliates, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth. In 2015, Christina earned her Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts, for organizing a week-long technology program for Latino students at Horizons Summer Program at Colorado Academy. Through informal learning in computer and robot programming and mini-science experiments, students were engaged and excited about technology. Christina is the 2015 recipient of the Stephanie A. Foote Leadership Prize. In November 2015, she will be awarded the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Christina has also won the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, Jefferson County Public Health Champions, Presidential Environmental Youth Service Award, Prudential Spirit of Community Award, Children’s Environmental Health Network Youth Leadership Award and International Action for Nature Eco-Hero Award. For information on all of this year’s Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #GoldAward #Golden #PrudentialSpiritofCommunity

Submitted by Kindra Nicodemus Grand Junction Western Slope Alivia told me the best part of selling cookies is walking door to door and meeting all of our community. She is also very proud of being able to count by 4’s now and count back money, especially since she is only 5! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #cookies #GrandJunction

To help our cookiebosses increase sales and attract customers, we’re sharing recipes for some delicious dishes made with your favorite Girl Scout Cookies. This week:  Thin Mints. Try making these Thin Mint Brownies or print and share the recipe card. Thin Mint Brownies

What did you do for your Gold Award project? For my Gold Award project, I created a list of books surveyed based on criteria including relationship intensity, language selection, reference to drugs and alcohol, types of social and mental issues, and presence of violence. The book list is intended for 5th to 8th grade readers with the purpose of providing a resource for students to find engaging books they will enjoy reading and want to finish. My book list is available online via my website, at Mountain Ridge Middle School, Bear Canyon Elementary School, Starry Sky Girl Scout Service Unit website and in the Arapahoe County Libraries. How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience? I measured the impact of my project based on the number of students I was potentially affecting by introducing my book list to certain schools and libraries. My book list is available to over 16,000 5th to 8th grade students due to its incorporation at Arapahoe County Libraries, Mountain Ridge Middle School, Bear Canyon Elementary School and the Starry Sky Girl Scout Service Unit website. I also measured the impact by determining who accessed my website using statistics collected through Google Analytics. I found that people were accessing my book list all over the world. 400 people have viewed my project online in the last four months. How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact after your involvement? My project will be sustained with an online website that is regularly updated with new book lists every few months. Karen Sprafke’s 7th grade English class at Mountain Ridge will be continuing to add book entries. Their goal is to survey 100 books per semester. It will continue to impact students by being an available resource at Arapahoe County Public Libraries, Mountain Ridge Middle School, Bear Canyon Elementary, and Starry Sky Girl Scout Service Unit website for all current and future students and Girl Scouts in my Service Unit. What is your project’s global and/or national connection? Rank Your Read is connected globally because my website is available to anyone on the internet. Over 400 people have viewed my project online in the last four months. Most views have come from Colorado, California, Texas and New York. There have also been over 100 views internationally with top views from Japan, the United Kingdom, China and Germany. What did you learn about yourself? In the process of achieving my Gold Award I learned that I get stressed easily without a plan to break down bigger goals. I learned how to manage my time and take even as little as an hour per week to make progress. I learned how to communicate with my peers, advisors and authorities. I learned that public speaking is a challenge for me but with practice, gets easier and makes me more confident and prepared. How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future? Earning my Gold Award will give me the confidence to tackle big projects in my future. I know where to begin, and I know I can complete any project because I completed my Gold Award. The confidence and lessons I learned about communication allow me to better communicate with my professors and peers. Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience? The Gold Award was a crucial part of my Girl Scout experience because it taught me the benefit of perseverance. Achieving my Gold Award was a goal I set for myself more than five years ago. It was a big commitment and at times seemed impossible to achieve. By finishing, I proved to myself that I could achieve even the most intimidating projects. My Gold Award gave me the opportunity to use the skills I had learned throughout my twelve years of scouting. I saw the benefit of working with a team as I worked with my advisor, teachers, parents and students. I used my resources at the Girl Scout office to help me distribute information about Rank Your Read. Most importantly, the Gold Award allowed me to make an impact on my community. By completing my project, I know I was able to help kids in my town, within my Girl Scout Service Unit, in Arapahoe County and on a national level. Without the Gold Award, I never would have pursued a project like this, and it is therefore, the culmination of my Girl Scout experience. **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 #HighlandsRanch #GoldAwardCentennial #GoldAwardees #Denvermetro #HighestAwardsProgram

From Girl Scouts of the USA: One of our favorite days of the year, World Thinking Day, is coming up fast on February 22, and we’re soooo excited! Every year (since 1926!) we use this day to rally our global sisterhood and support girls as they travel internationally, connect with sister Girl Guides, and take action on global issues to make the world a better place like only Girl Scouts can. This is a day to give thanks for the inspiring international friendships that we as Girl Scouts are a part of, and to celebrate the many ways these friendships enrich our lives, expand our worldviews, and drive us to create meaningful change for everyone. This year, we encourage you to use this day (and every day!) to connect with your Girl Scout “forever friends” by donating to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund, supporting girls as they build incredible global skills through eye-opening, awe-inspiring travel experiences. But why stop there? There are tons of other fun and creative ways to connect this World Thinking Day, and to share friendship and adventure on a global scale with so many amazing girls and women! For example, you can: 1. Make new friends! Hold a “bring a friend” event with the girls in your troop or group. You might plan a trip to a local park or museum and have each girl bring someone to join in on the fun. Make sure to think of some cool games everyone can play to get to know one another better! 2. Spread good vibes! Send positive messages to Girl Scouts and Girl Guides all over the world by posting to social media with the hashtag #WTD2016. Let them know how much they’re appreciated, and encourage all your followers to donate to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund! 3. Honor through service! Get together with a group of family members or friends and plan a service project to honor all the amazing things Girl Scouts and Girl Guides do for their communities every day. Share a fun pic on Facebook and Instagram, along with a summary of what you did. Don’t forget the hashtag #WTD2016! Have a cool idea for connecting this World Thinking Day? Share it with us on Facebook and Twitter today! And if you’d like to earn your very own World Thinking Day Award, check out more awesome activities you can do. #JulietteLow #WorldThinkingDay