Emily Calzolari Longmont Mead High School Helmet Helper What did you do for your Gold Award project? I provided helmets for the Longmont Ice Pavilion and educated Learn-to-Skate parents and participants of the dangers of skating. Through word of mouth, posters, flyers and a Facebook page, the dangers of figure skating where addressed and proper safety techniques were put to the test. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? As a competitive figure skater and figure skating instructor, safety is my number one priority for me. But some people don’t know how dangerous it can be. I felt as though it was my responsibility as a Girl Scout Ambassador, a figure skating instructor and an athlete, to educate those who wanted to participate in the sport of figure skating. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? After my Gold Award I noticed almost all the participants were wearing helmets. It was an amazing thing to see, and I was amazed at what my Gold Award had done. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? Public speaking skills were definitely involved, and because of my Gold Award, I am a well-spoken young lady who can convey her thoughts and ideas with ease. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? The kids faces! When I first started teaching at the Longmont Ice Pavilion many kids where scared to let go of the wall because they would fall and hurt themselves. But now that they are equipped with safety techniques and safer equipment (helmets), they venture far from the wall without falling, and this is helping them improve their ice skating skills. How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? Earning my Gold Award has taught me a lot about perseverance and determination. Many people kept shutting me down and telling me that none of this would be possible. But I was determined to make a difference in my community. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? Earning your Gold Award is like going to the Olympics. It’s a long, hard journey that only few can attend. But if you are determined, and work hard, anything is possible. To be a Girl Scout Ambassador and to have achieved my Girl Scout Gold Award is something I am proud of, knowing only 1% of girls achieve it. It makes me proud to know that I have impacted my community and will continue to do so through my project’s sustainability. #Colorado #GirlScouts #GoldAward #Longmont

Taylor Hale Boulder Niwot High School Music on the Brain What did you do for your Gold Award project? I provided some relief to Alzheimer’s patients through my therapeutic music program, which also offered company to these lonely nursing home residents. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? Music has the potential to unlock otherwise lost memories for Alzheimer’s patients and temporarily relieve cognitive and behavioral symptoms. I plan to study neuroscience in college and this was a great introduction to mental illnesses and treatment. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? I provided therapeutic music sessions and a person to talk to for the residents. In the future, my project will mostly have the impact of education about the benefits of similar projects via the project’s blog and newspaper article. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? I improved my communication skills and gained self-confidence in situations outside of my comfort zone. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? I will remember the people and the experiences I had at the home. The residents were some of the sweetest people I have ever met, and I am glad I was able to talk to them and hear their stories. How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? Going into college as a pre-med/neuroscience major and having this background with mental illness reminds me why what I want to do is so important and has the potential to impact so many people. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? I think that my Gold Award serves as a capstone to my Girl Scout experience. I was able to do my own project, specifically in my own area of interest. It also served as a transition project from high school into college. #boulder #Colorado #GirlScouts #GoldAward

When: July 31 – August 4, 2014 Cost $170.00 per person Registration deadline 7/1/14 Want to go to camp and be a camper again?  This program is open to all adult women:  GSCO staff, former MMR camp staff, leaders, volunteers and their friends.  Bring your favorite program resources and come and play!  The peace and serenity of MMR’s mountain wilderness await you. What’s included?     Site fees & food.  We will be cooking out most of the time in the units. Where will we stay?   Meeker’s Bluff & Larkspur units have been reserved for our group. What program is provided?   Only what we bring ourselves!  If you want to do crafts, bring enough to share.  If you want to take a hike, put up a notice as to when you plan to leave.  If you can offer special programs, like rope’s course or archery, bring your certifications with you.  If you want to lie in the grass in the meadow, fly a kite, paint a picture, sleep out under the stars, sing for hours – – – it’s all there for your enjoyment! Can we come for only part of the time?  Absolutely, just let us know how many days/meals and we’ll price it out for you accordingly. (P.S.  No dogs are allowed on the property, and there will  be no horses available for riding.) THE VERY INFORMAL CAMP DIRECTOR is Penny “Pan” Roberts. Send your check to P.O. Box 211, Estes Park, Co. 80517 along with your brief personal information, including e-mail, address, phone, etc.  If you don’t mind, please make the check out to Penny Roberts. Questions:  Call Penny at 970-586-1775 or 970-577-2027.  E-mail is proberts@.larimer.org #adultonlycamp #MeadowMountainRanch #womenscamp #womensweek

We’re celebrating a year of transformations within the organization and within girls and society. We’re happy to report the Girl Scouts of Colorado organization is on solid financial ground and focused on our mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. Thanks to our supporters and donors for standing by us and making these transformations possible. To read the Annual Report, click the image below. o #annualreport

The Southern CO Town Hall meeting originally set for March 8 to discuss outdoor properties has been rescheduled. In response to volunteer feedback, there will now be two meetings. Although all properties will be discussed at both meetings, there will be a specific focus for each, based on the region in which the meeting is held. Below are the details about each meeting. April 6, 3-4:30 – Colorado Springs Regional Office (5353 N. Union Blvd, Ste 101, Colorado Springs), Focus: Hamp Hut and Sky High Ranch April 13, 3-4:30 – Pueblo Regional Office (21 Montebello, Pueblo), Focus: Lazy Acres #SkyHighRanch #OutdoorPropertyEvaluationTaskForce #property #GirlScouts #Colorado #LazyAcres

Attention Cadette Level Doctor Who fans:  we’ve added a camp just for you! Session Name: MS60 TARDIS (Try A Really Delightful Interesting Session) Dates: 7/13/14 through 7/18/14 Description: Try A Really Delightful Interesting Session at camp this summer. Create your own version of a time machine, and discover who you might be in the future… perhaps a doctor or an explorer or an intrepid adventurer!  Plenty of time for camp activities in the present too. Cost: $500 if  you pay in full prior to April 30, $550 if you pay in full from May 1 and beyond Grades: Entering 6th-8th grade Registration Deadline: 6/13/14 To register: http://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/events/2188 #CadetteSummerCamps #MagicSkyRanchCamps #DrWhoCamps #DrWho #Cadettecamps

This week’s “Because of Girl Scout Camp” entry is written by Rocky, the Assistant Camp Director at Magic Sky Ranch. Because of Girl Scout Camp…. You always hear about how rewarding being a part of Girl Scouts or attending camp is from future leaders of America. Each year that I return to Camp, I realize more and more why people claim these organizations have changed their lives. Camp has been an addicting, yet rewarding unexpected life adventure. Through my experiences each year, I become more confident and willing to lead, or work as a team member. Camp has helped me become a proficient public speaker, and has instilled a new sense of confidence that pushes me to challenge myself past the limits my mind has set. I have literally reached new heights, and each year I become more and more excited to further push the boundaries. Because of camp, I believe I can and must try to reach my goals, and set new ones to eventually conquer. From a Staff. The summer is almost upon us, or so it seems, and I’m so excited for the new programming Magic Sky will be offering!!! I can’t wait to see what kinds of animals will be filling the ranks of the small animal farm, and it will be exciting to have life back at the barn. I can’t wait to explore the trails around camp to discover what new flowers will be blooming, and to have another picnic lunch on top of Rabbit Ears! I hope to witness some amazing archers this summer, and can’t wait to refresh some much needed survival skills. Here’s to hoping that time flies faster, so a new camp adventure can arrive! #Becauseofcamp #BecauseofGirlScoutCamp #leadersandcamp

Nicole Burkhalter Westminster/Broomfield Arvada West High School Teen Drinking and Driving Awareness What did you do for your Gold Award project? For my project, I put together an assembly for the junior and senior classes at my high school to educate them on the dangers of drinking and driving. I also created lesson plans as a follow-up to the assembly which allowed students to use impairment goggles as a simulation for being drunk. Why did you pursue this Gold Award project? I chose this project because I had attended a program at the Anschutz Center titled Preventing Alcohol Related Trauma in Youth. I learned so much about the dangers of drinking and driving and I realized that many teenagers don’t understand the consequences. How did your Gold Award project make a difference? My project reached more people than I thought it would. I educated the students and staff at my school on drinking and driving, but I also included texting and driving. Since my project, the number of accidents around my school related to texting and driving has decreased. What skills did you gain through earning your Gold Award? I gained stronger communication skills through my project. I felt more comfortable talking to complete strangers to ask for help on my project and I was able to stand in front of more than 800 people to educate them on the consequences of deciding to drink and drive. What will you most remember about your Gold Award project? I will remember the lives I touched most from my Gold Award project. During my assembly, there was not one dry eye in the audience. I truly feel like I made a much bigger impact in everyone’s lives than I ever thought I could. How will earning your Gold Award help you in your future? It will help in public speaking and organization. It took a lot of skills to organize such an event with a lot of people involved, and I think those skills will become very handy as I continue into college and my future career as a nurse. Why do you feel the Gold Award is an important part of your Girl Scout experience? I think it’s an important part of my Girl Scout experience because I was able to prove that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. I’ve never took on such an important leadership role until now, and I now I know that I can make a difference if I set my mind to it. All of the little leadership roles I took on through camps and rendezvous definitely prepared me for my Gold Award and being able to advocate for myself. #GoldAward #Arvada #Westminster #Broomfield #GirlScouts #Colorado

Submitted by Melissa Hinton Monument To earn Bronze Award, the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn, three 4th grade Juniors from Troop 43107 in Monument planned the Pi = Pie Fun Run/Walk that took place in Palmer Lake on 3/15/2014 (the day after Pi Day). The fun run/walk was 3.14 miles long and at the end everyone got a piece of pie. Kaitlyn, Sarah and Zoe met every week for 6 months to plan this event. They created a budget, wrote business letters soliciting local businesses for donations to cover the cost of the event, filled out the special event permit application, applied for event insurance, set up an online registration page, designed a flier and visited local businesses to display the flier, ordered race numbers, designed bracelets for the give-away and baked pies. When registration in February was slow, the girls brain-stormed additional ways to get the word out and decided to participate in their school math and science fair with a pie experiment and hand out fliers. They also contacted local running clubs and requested that the Pi=Pie Fun Run/Walk event information be posted on their websites. The day of the event the temperature was 38 degrees with a wind chill of 22. Of the 71 people registered for the event 61 people came. The girls were out in the cold for 3 hours while they set up the event, ran it and then cleaned up afterwards. This event raised $835 to purchase healthy snacks for the Snack-Pack Program at the Tri-Lakes Cares Food Pantry. The Snack-Pack Program provides supplemental snacks for the weekend for children who are at risk of not having enough to eat. Zoe, Kaitlyn and Sarah earned Bronze Award with courage, confidence, and character by making a real difference in the lives of the children who rely on the Snack Pack Program to have enough to eat and by making the world a better place (with pie :). –Melissa Hinton, Troop Leader (Troop 3107) This story was submitted via the Share Your Stories form. http://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/share.You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #PieFunRunWalk #TriLakesCaresFoodPantry #Troop43107 #BronzeAward #Monument

[slideshow] Submitted by Cricket Hawkins Steamboat Springs Girl Scout Troop 14595 collected 25 Hometown Hero boxes to be delivered to the often forgotten volunteers of the Steamboat Springs Animal Shelter & Routt County Humane Society. The girls also had the opportunity to take a tour of the animal shelter after hours! They learned how the shelter operates, what an Animal Control Officer does, and had many questions answered. It all culminated with playtime with the kitties and presenting the Hometown Hero boxes. After learning about the shelter, many of the girls are excited to return with their families to help walk dogs and play with the cats. This story was submitted via the Share Your Stories form. http://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/share. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #HometownHeroes #RouttCountyHumaneSociety #SteamboatSpringsAnimalShelter #Troop14595

Submitted by Reyna Medrano Eagle Brownie Troop 11147 delivered the Hometown Hero boxes to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office and the Librarias on Eagle and Gypsum libraries. This story was submitted via the Share Your Stories form. You can share your Girl Scout moments too. #HometownHeroes

The following entry was written by Becky “Chipmunk” Saad, director of Magic Sky Ranch resident camp. Becky has been working with Girl Scouts of Colorado for over 7 years, and has spent the majority of her time at Magic Sky Ranch. Never been to Magic Sky Ranch? Try our 3-day Troop Camp at Magic Sky Ranch, or one of our other 3-day camper sessions each week! Because of Girl Scout Camp…. Because of Girl Scout camp, I can sing a song about nearly anything and everything.  And I know there is a chance if I break out in song, someone else nearby will also know that song. Because of Girl Scout camp, I can go to a new place on my own, knowing that even if I am a little nervous, I will meet new people and have a great adventure with them. Because of Girl Scout camp, I have come to appreciate the fine art of s’mores making. Because of Girl Scout camp, I have lifelong friends. Because of Girl Scout camp, I know how to use my resources wisely – whether making a sit-upon, or making a budget. Because of Girl Scout camp, I have direction and passion in my life – being able to share camp with as many young people (and young at heart people) as possible, so they can share “because of camp” moments with others. Because of Girl Scout Camp. What will your story be?