For the safety of our volunteers during this winter storm, GSCO is extending the return deadline to Thursday, February 26, 2015. Please check with your local cupboard manager for hours of availability. Please stay safe and warm this evening! #returndeadline

What did you do for your Gold Award project? For my Gold Award project, I created a lending library and tutoring center at my church. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? I pursued this project because I have always had a love for reading. The lending library was a way for me to share that love with others. While volunteering every summer at my local library, I was asked to participate in their tutoring program. I developed a bond with my young students and saw how just an hour a week made a big difference. I was able develop a tutoring program at my church. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? My Gold Award Project made a difference by giving people easy access to books and helping students who are struggling in school. It also helped parents who are not able to help their children with homework, especially in math. This is a valuable, free resource for students, parents and volunteers. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? I learned leadership and time management skills. I learned how to work with parents and difficult students. How did you make your project sustainable? I made this project sustainable by leaving behind a manual for both the library and the tutoring center. The manuals provide step by step directions on every aspect of the library and tutoring center. There are also management at my church that are fully aware of the procedures. What was your connection to the national or global community? Literacy is an important national and global problem. I feel honored to do my small part to help eliminate illiteracy. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? What I will remember the most is bonding with the children that I tutor, and hearing them say that they want me to tutor them. How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? Earning my Gold Award has given me confidence in knowing that I can make a difference. This project forced me out of my comfort zone. Now that I’ve stepped out it will be easier to do it in the future. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? Once I earned my Bronze Award, I wanted to go for my Silver and then the Gold. Having achieved all three is huge for me. The awards signify really taking my Girl Scout experience to the community. It makes me feel like I have done my part in society, not just sell cookies or go camping. My girl scout experience has helped me make a difference. ***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? I started an anti-bullying club at my school and we mentored a local middle school’s club so they are able to continue our club at the high school level. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? I pursued this Gold Award project because one my best friends committed suicide due to being bullied. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? My Gold Award made people aware of the issue and how large it actually is. In fact, every member of my club was bullied at one point in their lives and it did change the way they thought of everything. It changed the way they thought of their own actions as well. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? I gained perspective, realizing that everyone can be bullied and just because you are bullied doesn’t mean there is something wrong with you. How did you make your project sustainable? My project was sustainable by mentoring the middle school group to let them know we had a club that they can continue with in high school. What was your connection to the national or global community My global connection was to compare and contrast countries’ bullying rates to those of the United States. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? I will always remember now that no one is alone and that we all need someone. Bullying is something that happens more often than it should, but we can make a difference. How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? My Gold Award project has taught me lessons I would not have otherwise learned. It taught me to work with others, above and beyond what Girl Scouts alone taught me. I also taught me to reach farther into the community to make a difference and that leading project like this can change you forever. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? Finishing this project gave me a sense of self confidence that I had never had before.

Submitted by Emily Fernandes Erie Denver Metro This is a story about determination. Selling Girl Scout Cookies in Colorado can sometimes be a challenging feat. With only 45 boxes away from my personal goal, I was determined today to make things happen! Here is a video of a new, clever way to buy cookies from me, even on a cold and blustery day like this. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #cookievideo

Submitted by Lana Berning And Sierra Sikich Loveland Northern and Northeastern Colorado We love reading! And we wanted to share that love with others. We looked at our community and decided that the best way to instill the love of books was to start early, we knew that not every family could afford a lot of books, so we set out to give a book that they could keep to each preschooler in our school district. We wanted to collect 1,500 books to give out. We met with the preschool team for the district to discuss what we wanted to do, They thought it was a wonderful way to help young children to love reading. We put together a donation letter and went to all the local bookstores asking for donations. With the help of friends, family and Book Haven (a used book store here in Loveland) We collected over 2,200 books. WOW! we never expected to get that many. Our next step was contacting the preschools. We got a list from our contact at the school district and sent out email’s and made calls to set up days and times that we can go in to read a story to the kids and give them books. We went to all 14 preschools that are part of our school district and read Green Eggs and Ham to the kids, and since we had gotten so many more books than we set out for we were able to give each child 2 books of their own to keep. We had many books left over which included quite a few chapter books. So we decided to donate them to Alternatives to Violence to build a library in their Safe house and to donate some to the School District to split between the preschools to have more books on hand for the kids to read and enjoy. We had a lot of fun collecting books to share the love of reading with. It felt amazing to see all the excited faces of the preschoolers when the got their books and we told them they where theirs to keep. We hope that the many kids we read to will continue reading and enjoying all the places you can visit and adventures you can have through books. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #Loveland #reading #communityservice #literacy #NorthernandNortheasternColorado

Submitted by Katherine Weston Berthoud Northern and Northeastern Colorado Chocolate cupcakes- 2cups white sugar 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon 2 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or applesauce) 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup boiling water 1 1/2 boxes of samoas 1.) Preheat oven to 350F 2.) Mix the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Then add the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and water, mix for 2 minutes. 3.) Spray the cupcake pan, I had to use 2, and I still had extra batter 4.) Put just enough batter in the bottom of the cupcake pan to cover the bottom. Then press a cookie into the batter. 5.) Finish covering the cookies, each cupcakes spot should be about 3/4 full. 6.) Put the cupcakes in the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Frosting- I used caramel frosting, but when I make these again, I’m going to use vanilla frosting. Then toast some coconut and sprinkle it on top. Cut one of the samoas into quarters, and put it on the top. Enjoy your chocolately treat. 🙂 This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. This was submitted as part of the “Cooking with Cookies” recipe contest. To find out how you can enter, click here. #cookingwithcookiescontest

Submitted by Ashley Lampe Eaton Northern and Northeastern Colorado Dani, Jadeyn, and Zoe of Troop 70586 had a blast creating a cookie song to the tune of Frozen’s “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” Singing at their booth today caught a lot of attention and many compliments! This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #BoothSales #Eaton

Submitted by Dawn Evans Loveland The 3 older girls of our troop in Loveland 2 Cadettes and 1 Ambassador decided to create a Rah Rah raisin banana bread We used 1 box Rah Rah Raisins 1/2 cup butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 4 bananas 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt They creamed the butter & sugar added the eggs and crushed bananas and combined them together well. They then sifted together the flour, soda & salt and added to the creamed mixture and then added vanilla and crushed rah-rah raisins. They poured mixture into a greased & floured loaf pan and baked at 350 for 1 hour The older girls worked well together, taking turns, being on task and getting their mixture mixed with all ingredients and into the pan and baking quite well. This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. This was submitted as part of the “Cooking with Cookies” recipe contest. To find out how you can enter, click here. #cookingwithcookiescontest

Submitted by Dawn Evans Loveland We have a multi-level troop so our 3 brownies decided to make a cheesecake. We made the crust using 1 box trefoils, 1/3 cup butter and 1/3 cup of sugar. We preheated the oven to 350, we crushed the cookies and then mixed all the ingredients together and baked it for about 10 minutes. While it was baking we made the cheesecake. We used 1 package Philadelphia cream cheese, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, a splash of lemon juice and a box of crushed Samoas. We mixed the cream cheese, the sweetened condensed milk and the lemon juice together. Then we mixed in the crushed Samoas, spread it out evenly on the Trefoil crust and used another box of Samoas as a topping. Our 3 Brownies were so excited to do this cooking adventure and they can’t wait to do more This story was submitted using the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. This was submitted as part of the “Cooking with Cookies” recipe contest. To find out how you can enter, click here. #cookingwithcookiescontest

What did you do for your Gold Award project? I put together a performing arts clinic for middle schoolers in my district. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? There is a lack of understanding in the community (and world) about what Color Guard is, thus a lack of funding and participation. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? Many people were exposed to a sport that is my passion, and something they might not otherwise have known about. Students learned dance, movement, and how to spin and toss flags. Color Guard is a fun and supportive environment in high school. Students who join will have a supportive base and friends in high school. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? I learned leadership skills, planning, and flexibility. How did you make your project sustainable? I made a Facebook page and YouTube page with pictures and instructional videos. I also made a flash drive with all clinic information, from permission slips to t-shirt orders and daily schedules to give to others who wish to hold a clinic. What was your connection to the national or global community? Color Guard is a global sport, with very little recognition. My Facebook and YouTube pages will attract people to the sport with instructional videos on tosses and routines. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? I will most remember watching the veterans helping the new students, and the enthusiasm everyone showed toward the sport. How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? I have learned how to be a leader in my community: how to step up and lead a large group of people towards a common goal. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? I feel the Gold Award is an important part of my Girl Scout experience because it makes me more confident in organizing and leading events. It is the highest award possible for a Girl Scout to earn, and I plan on being a Girl Scout for the rest of my life. It is 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 #GirlScout #ColoradoSprings #oldergirls #GirlScoutsofColorado #girls #GirlScouts #Colorado

With meteorologist predictions of the worst blizzard in three years on Sunday, February 22, 2015, Girl Scouts of Colorado has decided to reschedule the Jeffco World Thinking Day Celebration. We have troops and entertainers coming from all over the metro area, and CDOT has requested people to stay off the roads on Sunday. We are sorry for the inconvenience, but excited to reschedule for Sunday, April 12. We want to have full attendance for what is sure to be an amazing cultural experience for the girls and families. To still bring a little taste of the world to your family on Sunday, consider: Making friendship bracelets Cooking an ethnic meal together Watching Tipping the Balance and identify fair trade products in your house Reading the newspaper, AP newsfeed or world news blog and discuss global issues as a family You will receive more updates on our April 12 celebration soon. Please stay warm and safe this weekend! #JeffersonCounty #WorldThinkingDay

Girl Scouts of Colorado is so proud that the girls in Colorado have been on track to have the best cookie sale ever this year. Our girls are determined entrepreneurs, our volunteers are amazingly dedicated and we have a hard-working staff that wants nothing but success for all the girls. And, we recognize how frustrating the inventory situation has been this year. We would move heaven and earth if we could to make more cookies to help the girls achieve their goals. We appreciate our girls, families and volunteers beyond words, and we are sorry that Little Brownie Bakers (LBB) has failed to deliver our needed inventory. In short, LLB is not able to fill reorders for Colorado and other states. They projected lower demand because of lower numbers of girls selling, despite the high goals we asked for inventory to fulfill. The inventory shortfall is nationwide, and that’s what makes it even harder – we can’t drive to another council and get cookies for your girls because they don’t have them to give – we’ve asked, and we would drive anywhere to pick up cookies in a heartbeat. GSCO ordered and deployed cookies based on multiple business-driven data points and could not have logically foreseen this unprecedented demand for cookies from our troops. We ordered more cookies from LBB the day after the sale started to help our girls to keep their incredible momentum going. The good news is LBB has said we should get a partial reorder today, Feb. 20, and we are hopeful that we will have some more cookies in inventory after the return date next Wednesday, Feb. 25, but we don’t know how many troops will return. The bad news is that yesterday LBB informed us that they do not know if, when or how many reorder cookies they can send to Colorado. April is their projection, which is of course, after our sale is scheduled to be over. What are we going to do? To give girls a chance to fulfill orders with late arriving cookies, we have decided to extend the council sale through March 27, with girls using existing inventory. All cookies sold by March 27 will count toward council rewards and earning Cookie Credits and troop profits. If unexpected inventory becomes available, girls will be able to take more orders or do more My Sites. Girls should use existing inventory for booth sales scheduled through Wednesday, Feb. 25. After Feb. 25, the focus will shift to fulfilling existing girl orders. We will see where we are at the end of next week before we can make a recommendation about booth sales past the return date. We do not recommend taking new orders unless inventory becomes available. The best way that customers can support Girl Scouts who do not have cookies is to make a donation to their Hometown Hero. This is a win-win-win for the girls, the heroes and the council. The other way customers can continue to support girls is through their Digital Cookie personal sites. Fulfillment of these orders is from national. Shipping costs are reasonable for 3-day shipping, and the processing charge for Hometown Heroes is minimal. We have a new cookie deadline schedule as a result of the extension: March 27 — Sale ends March 29 — Final troop data (Including rewards orders) due in eBudde March 31 — SUCM review and submission of orders due April 21 — Final debit This is an evolving situation, and GSCO will continue to share information with you as soon as we have it. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding as we work to make the best of our challenges together. #cookieinventory #LittleBrownieBakers