What did you do for your Gold Award project? I collected recipes from my Taiwanese Grandma and helped people translate the recipes to Chinese and English. I also had a story along with these recipes, which explained Taiwanese culture and traditions. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? I pursued this award because I wanted to help preserve the Taiwanese culture and boost the self esteem of those Taiwanese Americans and those other cultures who can relate because they are proud of their culture. The best way to preserve culture is through food and language and food is the most enjoyable way. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? It has made a difference because people who are Taiwanese-Americans have something to be proud of. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? I have gained leadership, organizational, and communications skills. All of this came from the fact that I had to figure out a schedule for people to come and help translate the pages of the Taiwanese recipes. How did you make your project sustainable? My project is sustainable because it is a Facebook page. This allows many people to see it and add to it. This is as opposed to a cookbook, which would have only reached a couple of families. What was your connection to the national or global community? The connection to a national community is the connection to Taiwan and its culture. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? I will remember the faces of comprehension and pride after I had explained my recipes and stories to a group of people. How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? It will help me as a lawyer because as a lawyer I should be able to connect with my client. Because of my Gold Award project, I have a better understanding of Taiwanese culture and therefore have a better connection with future clients. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? As a Girl Scout, I should help better the community. The Gold Award allowed me to choose an aspect of the community I was passionate about and try and help fix it. ***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 #Centennial #GoldAward #HighestAwards

Gain professional experience, network with Latino leaders, hone your leadership skills, and get involved in your community this summer with a paid internship. Apply to the Young Ambassadors Program! Who? Graduating high school seniors with a commitment to the arts, sciences, or humanities as it pertains to Latino communities What? Week-long, all-expenses paid training and leadership seminar and a four-week internship with a $2,000 program stipend Where?  Denver, Colorado and internships in 19 cities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico When? June 21-July 31, 2015 Why? Opportunity to explore various career paths, embrace your own cultural heritage, and gain practical and leadership skills and intellectual growth Application deadline: April 6, 2015 For more information, to view the promotional video, and to apply visit: http://latino.si.edu/Education/YAP For questions: Email SLCEducation@si.edu The Smithsonian Latino Center gratefully acknowledges major and continued program support from Ford Motor Company Fund. About the Program The Young Ambassadors Program (YAP) is a national program for graduating high school seniors aimed at fostering the next generation of Latino leaders in the arts, sciences, and humanities via the Smithsonian Institution and its resources. YAP is a college preparatory and leadership program encouraging participants to explore various academic and career opportunities through the lens of the Latino experience. Students with an interest in and commitment to the arts, sciences, and humanities as it pertains to Latino communities and cultures are selected to travel to Washington, D.C. for a week-long seminar at the Smithsonian. This enrichment opportunity is a leadership development and skill-building training that exposes youth to a wide array of academic disciplines promoting higher education and encouraging the exploration and understanding of the Latino identity. The seminar, known as Washington Week, includes visits to the Smithsonian’s Latino collections and one-on-one interaction with renowned experts from various fields as well as museum professionals. Following the training seminar, students participate in a four-week interdisciplinary internship in museums and other cultural institutions in 19 cities across the United States and Puerto Rico, including Smithsonian-affiliated organizations. This hands-on component allows students to gain transferable knowledge and apply the skills acquired during the training seminar to their internship assignments. 2015 Internship Regions Denver, Colorado History Colorado Phoenix, Arizona Arizona Science Center Musical Instrument Museum Los Angeles/Long Beach, California California Science Center Museum of Latin American Art Oakland (Bay Area), California Chabot Space and Science Center Washington, D.C. National Portrait Gallery Miami, Florida Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County HistoryMiami Chicago, Illinois Adler Planetarium National Museum of Mexican Art Albuquerque, New Mexico Explora New York, New York National Museum of the American Indian-New York Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Museum of Art San Juan, Puerto Rico Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Austin, Texas The Thinkery Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Houston, Texas Children’s Museum of Houston Talento Bilingüe de Houston San Antonio, Texas San Antonio Museum of Art Seattle, Washington The Museum of Flight Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta History Center McAllen, Texas The San Antonio Museum of Art Expenses and Program Stipend Participation in the Young Ambassadors Program includes meals and accommodations for the duration of the one-week training seminar, round-trip travel costs to Washington, D.C. and a program stipend. Students selected are responsible for all expenses during the four-week internship, including transportation, accommodations, and meals. Upon completion of the five-week program, participants will receive $2,000 to contribute to their higher education. Students that do not complete the training seminar and four-week internship will not receive the program stipend. Eligibility Admission is competitive.  To be eligible for the program, you must: Be a high school senior graduating in 2015 Be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States with a valid Social Security Number at the time of application Have a minimum weighted cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale. Be fluent in English Be enrolled full-time in a degree-seeking program at an accredited college or university (enrollment will be verified for the fall 2015) Commit to participate in the one-week training seminar at the Smithsonian Institution and complete a four-week paid summer internship Evaluation Criteria Up to 24 participants are selected through a competitive process, guided by a selection committee comprised of museum and education professionals.  The selection committee evaluates all application materials and submissions based on the following criteria: Excellence in the: Arts (e.g., film, visual, performing, design); Sciences (e.g., natural, biological, chemical, planetary); or Humanities (e.g., language, literature, social sciences, business). Academic record Leadership experience Commitment to education Service learning and engagement with the Latino community For more information and to apply, please visit the Smithsonian Latino Center online at http://latino.si.edu/programs/youngambassadors.htm or email SLCEducation@si.edu. #GirlScouts #Latino #YoungAmbassadorsProgram

Submitted by Courtney Howell, Girl Scouts of Colorado Gold Award candidate Come have fun and explore science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) at a hands-on expo designed especially for kids. Learn to solder, drive a robot, build a rocket, check out the Doppler on wheels weather radar, watch a liquid nitrogen demonstration, learn what it’s like to be an astronaut, and lots more! “STEAM Day” is open to kids of all ages, and will be held on March 21, 2015 from noon-4pm at Silver Creek High School in Longmont ( 4901 Nelson Road). Admission is free. For more information about the event and its sponsors, check out the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/steamdaygs STEAM Day Flyer #Longmont #STEM #TakeAction

What did you do for your Gold Award project? I built a little book exchange at a local park and held a book drive at my school. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? I have been in Girl Scouts a long time and I wanted to do something awesome because I am graduating soon. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? People come to the park and use the little library all the time to get and leave books, and people in the community have let me know how much they appreciate it. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? I learned how to talk to people better, how to organize and contact people on my own. How did you make your project sustainable? I put it next to an elementary school, had my NHS look after it and made the little library water proof. What was your connection to the national or global community? My library is part of an international organization called The Little Library Organization. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? What I most remember was how proud I was once the library was installed in the park. How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? I want to be a film director and film directors need to know how to creatively fix problems and how to be a leader, making it clear what people need to do. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? I think it is important because I grew as a person and I was able to learn how to do lots of things and made something that I was very proud of. It also connected lots of lessons that Girl Scouts has taught me. ***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 #Arvada #GoldAward #HighestAwards

Submitted by Amy Keeler Colorado Springs Pikes Peak S.L. Rottman, who is well-known for her young adult novels, met with Girl Scout Troop 4262 to share her knowledge about writing novels. In the end, each girl took home a signed book to read and some inspiration from an amazing lady. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #ColoradoSprings #PikesPeak #SLRottman

What did you do for your Gold Award project? My Girl Scout Gold Award project centered on creating a hands-on, standards-based science discovery box that connected activities with the natural resources of Ridgway State Park. I developed activities for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students that connected to the state and common core science standards. I piloted my activities at two elementary schools, and developed a teacher’s guide to accompany my science discovery box. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? My Gold Award project allowed me to combine my passions for science, the outdoors, and working with 3rd through 5th grade students. My long term goal is to be an elementary school teacher, preferably in the 4th or 5th grade. My project helped me see how difficult and important it is to understand the standards used to shape curriculum, and gave me some first-hand experience in developing and implementing hands-on activities. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? More and more children are not getting outdoors. Living in Colorado gives us amazing opportunities to get outdoors and enjoy nature and science, but between parents’ schedules and the increasing use of technology, children in our state and nationwide are not experiencing the natural world as much as previous generations. My Gold Award project developed fun and easy to use activities that can be used in or out of the park, but connect to the natural resources of Ridgway State Park and Colorado in general. Teachers can check out my science discovery box, free of charge, and have an easy to use field trip activity for their students. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? My Gold Award helped me gain some first hand experience in what it means to be a teacher. I learned how to use the state and common core standards to develop age appropriate, hands-on science activities. By piloting my activities in elementary school classrooms, I learned the importance of connecting what I did on paper to guiding those activities for real students. My piloting experience taught me what changes to make to my activities and my teacher’s guide. How did you make your project sustainable? My science discovery box will be housed at Ridgway State Park and can be checked out by any teacher or homeschool parent. There are enough supplies and equipment in the box to be used by many classrooms, many times. The Friends of Ridgway State Park funded my science discovery box, as it fits well with the educational component of their mission, and they will continue to fund the replacement of expendables in the box. My activities were also designed to be very inexpensive to use in terms of expendables. What was your connection to the national or global community? The activities I developed for my science discovery box were designed with both the state and common core (national) standards in mind. My activities tied in specifically with the natural resources at Ridgway State Park, but they can easily be adapted to the natural resources anywhere. The common theme in my activities is the importance of water in a natural environment. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? My Gold Award project represents years of thought and hands-on work. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of my project, but I think what I will remember the most is presenting my hands-on activities to students, and having them really enjoy what they were doing. I worked hard to make my activities standards based, but also fun, so seeing students really having a good time with the science was very rewarding to me. How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? I want to be the best elementary teacher I can be. Many elementary school teachers do not have a strong background in science, yet science is all around us and can be a very fun class for students. I may not major in the sciences in college, but earning my Gold Award has renewed my belief that I need to be sure I come out of college with a strong science background. My Gold Award has given me hands-on experience in working with the age group I want to teach, and has taught me how important it is to have high quality science activities for students. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? The Girl Scout Promise and Law are guiding principles in my life. Through my Gold Award process I was constantly reminded how important these principles are for a future teacher. If every teacher and student lived by our Law, what a friendly and respectful place our schools could be! I took all the things I have learned over my past decade as a Girl Scout and put them together to complete my Gold Award project. Girl Scout camp, and being outdoors at camp, is one of my most important Girl Scout experiences, and was one of the inspirations for 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 #GoldAward #HighestAwards #Ouray

Submitted by Helen Gabbard Thornton Denver Metro This is the last booth we had to sell cookies this season so we had all hands on deck, including our dad. Our mom made these cool cookie costumes for us to wear at our booths this season so dad figured he’d wear one too. It took a lot of guts to stand on a major street corner in a cookie costume holding a sign that says “Honk if you like Girl Scout cookies.” He’s proud of us that we sold this year and we are proud of him that he supported us. This is why real men wear cookies! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #boothsale #CookieDad

What did you do for your Gold Award project? For my Gold Award project, I worked with Waste Management and Colorado Parks & Wildlife to start a recycling program at Jackson Lake State Park. I coordinated with both parties to get a recycling bin for Jackson Lake and find a fee structure that was sustainable for the park. I created flyers and signs to pass out to campers, and I coordinated an educational skit with middle school volunteers to teach campers about the importance of recycling as it keeps the Earth cleaner and conserves resources. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? I have been camping at state parks since I was 6-weeks-old. I treasure the time I spend there, but I was concerned about the amount of trash the state parks collected. I decided to start a recycling program for my Gold Award to help reduce the amount of trash campers create, which will then keep recyclable items out of the landfill, conserving resources and cleaning the environment. Campers use so many recyclable items such as plastic water bottles, cans of soda, and cardboard boxes that it is a shame to throw it all away. I wanted to help people understand the importance of recycling, but also how easy it was, so that they would be more inclined to recycle whenever they have the opportunity. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? My Gold Award made a difference because it taught people about the benefits of recycling instead of throwing things away. The park collected 1,700 pounds, or 0.89 tons, of recycled items in the first 8 months, meaning those items are now recycled into new products instead of rotting in the landfill. Campers are more aware of recycling opportunities and its benefit, but the girls that helped me throughout this project are also more knowledgeable about recycling and leading other people in a worthy cause. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? This project taught me the importance of being confident. This project was extremely daunting at first because recycling programs are hard to start and sustain. Plus, I needed to gain support of my project by two other community organziations. However, I developed the courage to advocate for the cause I believed in and to strive to achieve my goals even when the odds seemed slim. I learned how to communicate with others to help me achieve my goals, and I learned how to problem solve and stay calm when things did not go as planned. How did you make your project sustainable? I made this project sustainable by finding a park that was passionate about recycling. Recycling programs are not easy to start and sustain, so the park needed to be willing to work with me and stay excited through the challenges. I also worked with Waste Management to find a fee structure that would be economical for the park to fund on their budget. I was thrilled this past winter when Jackson Lake State Park said that they shared my passion for this recycling program, that they felt it had been a successful endeavor, and that they would be maintaining this program going forward. The park is even having new and permanent signs made that help direct campers to the recycling bin. I am also grateful to Waste Management because they will continue to support the park in this program. What was your connection to the national or global community? The national connection to my issue is the YouTube video that I posted of my educational presentation and the advertisements around the park that encouraged more people will recycle. People that see the video and come to the park will spread the idea of recycling around with them, influencing others to recycle. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? The most memorable part of my Gold Award project was a little boy at a campsite who wanted to recycle as soon as I told him that I was starting a recycling program. He listened as I explained my project to his parents, and when I was about to leave, he brought me 6 bottles to contribute to the recycling bin. It was so promising to see such a young boy excited about the new project and willing to go collect recyclable items. How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? My Gold Award will help me in the future because it has built up my communication skills. I am now more confident about talking with people and have ways to convey my message to people such as flyers, signs, emails, phone calls, and presentations. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? The Gold Award is an important part of my Girl Scout experience because it allowed me to use all the skills I had developed from earlier years and projects. This project was a culmination of making the world a better place, advocating for myself and others, and helping teach others about something important. ***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 #Centennial #GoldAward #HighestAwards

Submitted by LeEllen Condry Travel gives you opportunities to learn about new cultures and meet new people. It is the mission of Global Girl Scouts of Colorado to provide unique opportunities for you to travel with your sister Girl Scouts to amazing destinations. In 2016, you will be transported back in time and experience the old-world wonders of England, Ireland and Wales, where you can “Kiss the Blarney Stone” in Killarney,  marvel at the Gothic spires of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, and explore the bustling streets of London. From 16th-century Shakespearean works to the modern-day Harry Potter saga, it’s no wonder this corner of the world is rich in literary tradition. Below is more information on how you can put your cookie funds to use this season and get started on an amazing adventure! Lead chaperone of Global Girl Scouts is LeEllen Condry. Please contact her with any questions on travel at: nemoursLM@yahoo.com Pricing and Itinerary Information: (valid through March 31st) 2016 Tours: *Additional $200 discount through March 31st! England, Ireland, and Wales – Enrollment, Current Pricing, and Tour Website England, Ireland, and Wales Itinerary *Please note: Lunches (as noted on the itinerary) and a suggested tipping amount for the Tour Director, local guides, and bus drivers are not included. Every EF tour includes airfare, ground transportation, comfortable hotel accommodations, breakfast and dinner daily, a full-time tour director and local guides, and the most extensive safety and security regulations in the industry. EF also offers the lowest prices, guaranteed, as well as unparalleled support for Girl Scout Leaders, girls, and their parents, making it easy, safe, and affordable for your girls to experience the very best historic, cultural and natural sights in the world. How to Enroll: You can enroll online using the tour websites linked above. Each tour website has a pink button saying “Enroll On this Tour”. Click to start the online enrollment with EF now! Enrollment is $95 per person and locks in your total price. Payment: Travelers have the option to enroll with the manual payment plan or to sign-up for EF’s Automatic Payment Plan. This is a great way for families to make the trip more affordable!  I would recommend that your entire group enrolls on the Monthly Payment Plan – it is much easier to manage! Automatic Payment Plan -$95 Enrollment Fee -Automatic Monthly or bi-weekly Withdrawals until a month prior to departure -Can be supplemented with Fundraised Money to adjust Monthly Payment Amount OR Manual Payment Plan -$95 Initial Deposit -$50 maintenance fees -$150 due 60 days later -$150 20 months prior (fall 2014 for a 2016 summer tour) -$300 14 months prior (late spring 2015 for a 2016 summer tour) -$300 due 9 months prior (fall 2015 for a 2016 summer tour) -tour balance due 110 days prior to departure Money Earning: We also know that money-earning is a large part of planning a trip! From learning about goal-setting and budgeting to team-building and event-planning, girls can learn life skills while preparing for their tour. We have gathered many fundraising ideas and resources from our years of working with Group Leaders and Girl Scouts and we invite you to take a look: www.eftours.com/gsfundraising. #GirlScoutstravel #InternationalTravel #travel

What did you do for your Gold Award project? My Gold Award project addressed the issue of emergency preparedness. I wanted people to be prepared for any emergency that may happen. I organized and executed an Emergency Preparedness Fair for elementary aged children. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? I pursued this Gold Award project because I have seen natural disasters rip apart my community and the world within the last few years. For example, the Waldo Canyon Fire and Black Forest Fire directly impacted my neighbors and I. If people were more prepared for these emergencies, the disasters would have a less catastrophic impact. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? My Gold Award project made a difference on many young people in my community. I passed emergency preparedness information to families so they can be ready to face any situation. The young participants of my fair and their families gained skills and knowledge to enable them to react swiftly and properly in an emergency situation. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? One of the skills I gained through earning my Gold Award is that I learned how to successfully create a large scale event. This includes things like recruiting volunteers, planning time frames, receiving donations, and organizing information in an accessible format. I learned that I do have the skills and capability to lead a large scale project on my own. I gained practical life skills because as I completed my research, I also learned a lot of new things about emergency preparedness that I did not know before. I also was able to resolve conflicts. I had to convince a large amount of young children to stay still and pay attention. How did you make your project sustainable? My Gold Award project is sustainable because my information was passed on through families. My information for the fair was also passed on to Cheyenne Mountain Boy Scouts, who have already succeeded in executing their own fair based on my outline. My information and plan were also given to Monument Boy Scouts, who have used it as well. The project was given to Boy Scouts and published in their newsletter to be available for all local Boy Scout packs. The curriculum was given to Prairie Hills Elementary, and it will be used with the annual Heath Jam. Lastly, I passed the project to Academy District 20, to be available for use in all elementary schools in the district. What was your connection to the national or global community? I found that the national and even global link to my issue is that emergency preparedness is lacking all over the world. There are always going to be people caught unprepared in an emergency. The people I directly gave my information to have already informed me that they have passed the information to even more organizations. By presenting my project to more and more people, we can reduce people’s stress accompanying an emergency through preparation. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? What I will remember most about my Gold Award project is that I successfully created and ran a large scale event with minimum problems. I have received a lot of positive feedback about my fair, and I have also been told that my information is spreading beyond me. My project inspired people to prepare themselves and others in case of an emergency. I was able to make an impact on my community! How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? Earning my Gold Award proved to me that I am capable of making a tangible difference in my community, and I will use this confidence to lead others in many more future projects. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? I gained practical life skills because as I completed my research, I also learned a lot of new things about emergency preparedness that I did not previously know. I also worked within the leadership key Connect. One way I did this was when I resolved conflicts. I had to convince a large amount of young children to stay still and pay attention. Also, I was able to Take Action. I educated and inspired others to act. I have received a lot of positive feedback about my fair, and I have also been told that my information was spreading beyond me. My project inspired people to prepare themselves and others in case of an emergency. ***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 #ColoradoSprings #GoldAward #HighestAwards

What did you do for your Gold Award project? For my project, I created a reading-friendly environment in the Partner’s in Housing Colorado House. I redesigned a room to better suit the space for a children’s reading space, in addition to initiating a regular reading days with the children. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? Children’s illiteracy is something I am extremely passionate about. Literacy is a basic skill that is not adequately fostered by parents, especially in impoverished homes. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? My Gold Award project continues to bring access to appropriate literature to the children of Partner’s in Housing, as well as, a fun space to enjoy reading in. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? Through my Gold Award, I learned how to advocate for myself and others. I was forced to make phone calls to strangers and sell my idea to people. Also, I learned how to recruit helpers of all backgrounds. How did you make your project sustainable? Aside from the room itself being sustainable, I ensured that the organization continued hosting literacy days for the resident children. What was your connection to the national or global community? I created a guide about how to complete a service project, using my own as an example. The blog post can be found at anotherquest.blogspot.com (Press the Start Button). The blog post also contains pictures of my project. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? I remember the long hours I put into designing and executing my plans in the room. Although spending ten hours each day bending over a paint can is painful, seeing the transformation I created was inexplicably rewarding. How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? I will now attack my future with the tenacity with which I attack my Gold Award. I know that I am capable of doing a project so large and truly making a different in my community, and I will carry that knowledge forever. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? The Gold Award allowed me to use all of the skills I collected over the years from completing my various patches. It forced me to utilize and exhibit every line of the Girl Scout Law, and was an amazing apex to my scouting career. ***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 #ColoradoSprings #GoldAward #HighestAwards

We recognize how hard the girls and volunteers in Colorado have worked to achieve their cookie goals this year, despite the inventory challenges. As a council we will end this sale having sold 3.5 million packages of cookies. Early indications showed that our girls were poised to sell as much as 4 million packages of cookies. It won’t happen because of a supply problem from the bakery, but we want to reward our girls as we would have if they had sold at unprecedented levels and reached 4 million packages. In a situation that was largely beyond our control, we want to do what we can to make it right for the heart of Girl Scouting – our girls. We have adjusted the rewards levels past the 210 mark by lowering the number of packages to reach the next incentive level by approximately 12 percent. Below is the structure which will be automatically adjusted for the girls in eBudde by Tuesday, March 17.Revised LevelsItem 12“2015” Year Patch40Theme Patch75Wristband & Zipper Pull100Magnet & Sunglasses125Summer Fun Bandana & Bandana Hanger OR $15 Cookie Credits175Cool Cat Fashion Tee & Samoa Tee Ties OR $15 Cookie Credits210Cheetah Plush & Hat OR $15 Cookies Credits240Beach Towel-in-a-bag & Water Bottle OR $20 Cookie Credits315Cookie Journal, Sweet Notes Cupcake & Crate OR $25 Cookie Credits425Build A Bear Experience OR $35 Cookie Credits440Camp Discount 5%530Cookie Clipboard & Wristlet Wallet OR $40 Cookie Credits750750+ Event & Medallion OR $50 Cookie Credits & Medallion880Barnes & Noble Experience OR $60 Cookie Credits88010% Camp Discount1100Large & Small duffle, Pillow, Blanket OR $70 Cookie Credits1320American Girl Doll Experience OR $125 Cookie Credits132015% Camp Discount1760Beats Headphones OR $225 Cookie Credits176020% Camp Discount2200Nike Design Shoes OR $300 Cookie Credits3080GoPro Action Camera OR Laptop OR $400 Cookie Credits4000Cookie Credit Bonus of $6004500For every 500 packages sold beyond 4000, girls earn an additional $50 in Cookie Credits FAQ: Can the girls keep selling to reach a new revised level? While this structure is offered to offset inventory challenges, not an incentive to sell more, as long as there are cookies, girls can keep selling through March 27. We understand it’s not as easy without chocolates, and this is partly why the levels are lower. Remember, you also have Hometown Heroes and Digital Cookie as sales options that don’t impact your inventory. Why are you offering a one-size-fits-all solution when circumstances were different for different girls? We understand that some girls were not affected by the inventory issue and others were affected more. Unfortunately, there is no way to truly measure what individual goals were and how many cookies girls would have realistically sold under different circumstances. The most generous and equitable thing we can do as a council is to make an adjustment that helps all girls get to a collective level that would have been a real stretch as a council. Why are the lower levels not adjusted? This adjustment was designed for girls who had higher goals and weren’t quite able to get there because of inventory issues. Girls who sold under the council average were less likely to have been affected. Why is the 750 level unadjusted? The 750 level is not an item, but an event with a limited capacity; so we don’t have the same flexibility. It’s also a well-recognized level of distinction that could make girls who surpass it feel undervalued to have girls who didn’t sell to that level added. What about troop proceeds? We were able to make an adjustment for troops or girls, and impact on the girl level was the greatest, so that’s where the council offered the help. If troops are not financially able to fund goals they set to fund with troop cookie money, they can apply for an opportunity grant to partially offset those costs. #cookies #rewards