Submitted by Talya Z. Pikes Peak Colorado Springs My Girl Scout sisters and I made a plan to brighten the day of first responders in our hometown. 19 girls committed to doing something special for our first responders. I took Chick-fil-A food, along with pumpkin and apple scones, for CSPD to enjoy. A couple of my Girl Scout sisters took yummy treats and a cute thank you poster to AMR. This is one of my favorite things about being a Girl Scout. We like to make people feel appreciated and not forgotten. We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #firstresponders #ColoradoSprings #CPSD #AMR #PikesPeak

Girl Scouts of all ages are invited to meet Colorado State Senator Kerry Donovan on Thursday, December 3, 2020 from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Register now: https://www.girlscoutsofcolorado.org/en/events-repository/2020/meet_an_expert_senat.html From Senator Donovan “The presidential election is over, now we can take action on important policy that matters to you! There are lots of ways to impact the laws and policies that impact your life. Join me, Colorado State Senator Kerry Donovan, a rancher and former teacher, to learn about how you can continue to make your voice heard!” After Senator Donovan’s presentation you will have a chance to ask her questions live through the chat box. By completing registration, you are telling us you will be joining the session LIVE on December 3. Please make sure to mark your calendar and join on time. We will be recording the session and posting it to GSCO’s YouTube channel, so you can watch in the future. Please do not complete registration if you are planning to watch the recording. We will use Zoom to host this webinar. All information on how to join online or via phone will be emailed out to registrants the day before the webinar. Each individual participant should be registered so we can track participation. Please do not share the information on how to join with others who have not registered. Questions? Email aimee.artzer@gscolorado.org. We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #ColoradoStateSenator #KerryDonovan #GirlScoutingatHome #statesenator #GirlScoutsatHome #Meetanexpert #webinar #MeetanexpertWebinarSeries

Welcome to a new Girl Scout year! Whether this is your first year as a Cadette or you are completing your last year as an Ambassador, we are here to provide information that is fun and relevant to you as an older girl. We know we have said this before, but the theme for 2020 is definitely #GirlScoutsIsNotCancelled. Check out this newsletter to see what is coming up at GSCO and ways to get involved with your troop, family, and community. Do you have a friend who would enjoy our programs? Tell her about Girl Scouts! With her $25 membership she can participate in so many amazing programs to grow herself and her future. Help us to congratulate Colorado’s National Gold Award Girl Scout, Julia Trujillo! Julia is one of 10 teen activists to be named a 2020 National Gold Award Girl Scout. As a senior at Arvada West High School, Julia tackled the lack of accessibility to menstrual products in Colorado public schools and the stigma of periods. Girl Scout Seniors and Ambassadors: Now is the time to get started on your Gold Award! Remember, you only have until May 1 of the year you graduate high school to submit your initial proposal. Learn More Get Outdoors We are excited to release the new GSCO Get Outdoors Challenge Patch! This is a checklist challenge full of fun outdoor activities for each season. Challenge yourself to get outdoors and complete the required number of activities at each Girl Scout level to earn the patch; one for the fall/winter season and one for the spring/summer season. Troop Days at Camp! There is a new way for troops to visit select GSCO properties and get outside together! Troops can use Cookie Credits to participate in a half or full day of staff-led programs. Review the Troop Days at Camp program options and FAQs. Please share the blog posting with troops in your area to help spread the word! Upcoming Programs Cadette Program Aide Training Due to limitations with meeting in-person, we have taken our Cadette Program Aide training virtual! Register today to complete the training in the month of November. This training will be a blended experience where girls will attend a live introduction meeting on November 2, complete activities on their own, then practice their Program Aide skills in a live meeting on November 19. There will be three meeting times on each of the live meetings to keep our number of girls per meeting lower. You can pick from the following times November 2: 5-6 p.m.; 6:15-7:15 p.m.; or 7:30-8:30 p.m. November 19: 5-6 p.m.; 6:15-7:15 p.m.; or 7:30-8:30 p.m. Registration deadline is October 29. Badge Series Take your badge and Journey earning virtual! This is a great way to explore a badge that interests you, complete the requirements of a Journey for earning your Highest Awards, or engage with your troop or fellow Girl Scouts on a common theme. Registration is free for Colorado Girl Scouts. Check out what is being offered each month and register through our events page. GSCO Clubs Not ready to tackle a full virtual badge experience, but want to connect with other girls from across the state? Let us introduce Girl Scouts of Colorado’s Clubs! Check one out in November: November 3 at 4 p.m.- CSA Art Club November 5 at 4 p.m.- Creative Writing Club November 5 at 4 p.m.- CSA Naturalist Club November 5 at 4 p.m.- Cadette Book Club Get Moving with Denver Broncos Cheerleaders November 7, 9:30-10:15 a.m. Girl Scouts and their families are invited to a special session to get moving with the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders! The Denver Broncos Cheerleaders promote self-esteem, pride, commitment, and discipline among young women in our community. This collaboration with Girl Scouts of Colorado offers a rare and truly special opportunity for young women to learn from the experts in dance, movement, and fitness! Meet an Expert While you might not be thinking about your future career quite yet, our Meet an Expert series is a great way to learn from women in a variety of fields on what it is like to have their career as well as what it is like to be a woman in those careers. Think of it as a way to get some insider information that you aren’t exactly going to get in your school counselor’s office. Here is what is coming up: Meet an Expert: Authors of When Women Vote October 28, 5 p.m. Career Roundtable with Lockheed Martin November 18, 4 p.m. Girl Scouts of Colorado and Lockheed Martin Women’s Impact Network present a special opportunity for Girl Scouts to learn about goal setting, networking, and branding! Girls will hear from an amazing panel of women and participate in a live Q&A session. Trail Adventure Recordings Be prepared to earn your Trail Adventure badge by watching our Trail Adventure Kickoff webinar! Complete all your requirements for the Trail Adventure badge by February 1, 2021 and you are eligible to receive a free Trail Adventure badge AND a Girl Scout bandana! Complete this form AFTER you have earned the badge. Save the Date! We have more amazing programs coming your way, they are just not ready for registration quite yet. Subscribe to the GSCO Blog and check the events calendar to register when the events do go live. December 2 – Meet an Expert: Colorado State Senator Kerry Donovan December 12 – Virtual Day of Dance with Colorado Ballet December TBD – Financial Literacy with Morgan Stanley for Cadettes January TBD – Healthcare Career Roundtables with HealthONE Resources Diverse. Inclusive. Together. Patch Are you ready to have a conversation about race and racism to learn how to appreciate diversity and honor, and celebrate differences? Our Diverse.Inclusive. Together. patch program is designed to do that and much more. After you have completed the program, you can request your FREE patch by completing this form . Ready to move to the next step in engaging in social justice? Check out our Guide to Engaging Your Family in Social Justice Advocacy. 2021 World Thinking Day and Global Action Award guides are available now! World Thinking Day is an internationally celebrated day where girls from 150 countries think globally around a common theme. The 2021 theme is “Peacebuilding.” Get together with your Girl Scout sisters to plan what you want to do for this day. Each year the Global Action Award focuses on one of the Sustainable Development Goals set by leaders form around the world. This year, the award is focuses on SDG 13: Climate Action. Check out the guide to learn the five steps you need to complete to earn the award. What a great way to help not only your community, but the planet! #2020CSATimes #CSATimes #oldergirls

Submitted by Christine Kucera Mountain Communities Steamboat Springs The 2020 Girl Scout National Council Session was a total success. With more than 1,200 people on a virtual platform, we were able to get down to business, navigate through parliamentary procedure, and approve six proposals. Was it cumbersome, difficult, and frustrating? Of course. There are always people who have nothing positive to say. There are always people who just want to quit. There are always people who think it’s not fair. But at the end of the weekend when all the proposals passed, I felt that I made a difference. My voice was heard. I made the Girl Scout Movement better. I am sad we couldn’t meet in-person. There were no special speakers, no breakout seminars, and no convention hall. My troop planned to go to Orlando to experience SWAPS on a national scale, bonding with other Ambassadors, and traveling without their families. BUT, as when I attended in person in 2017, the National Council Session still sent me back to normal life with a renewed sense of dedication. I made a difference. I changed Girl Scout policy for the better. I have green blood running through my veins. I am motivated to try to run troop camp in June. I am motivated to provide virtual events that will be fun for all ages. I am motivated to give my girls the best experience I can, especially in this virtual world. Even though I never met most of the fellow delegates, I feel connected to them. We all joined together in Zoom calls and a chat app that helped us discuss the topic at hand. We gained insight into everyone’s personalities and needs. We bonded over the October snow, forest fires, and our hobbies. I may never have met most of our delegation, but I know their Girl Scout souls. I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I have new sisters. At the morning song sessions, the amazing crew performed a song that I had forgotten, and it struck a chord with me. My mother sang “On the Loose” to me when I was little. I did not remember the words, but I knew every note that was coming and could hum along with the group. The tune is stuck in my head and am thankful for the memory that NCS sparked for me. During the National Convention Session, I saw first-hand the end result of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Girls from around the country gave their opinion and practiced parliamentary procedure in front of more than 1,200 people. The G-Team presented their report on mental health during COVID. Girl Delegates and Alternates from our great state of Colorado spoke up and got involved. I can only hope that my leadership and mentoring guides the girls in my troop achieve the levels of greatness I observed during NCS. Fortunately, this was my second term as a delegate. I understood the procedure and flow of the NCS. I could imagine what things would have looked like if we were in-person. I felt a personal connection to each delegate from other councils that said “hi” in the chat. Now that I have more experience, I plan to be involved in sponsoring a proposal to make virtual sessions run more smoothly. I am hopeful that I can renew my service as a delegate to GSCO in 2023. I will continue working to become a true G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, and leader). We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #2020NationalCouncilSession #mountaincommunities #NationalCouncilSession #SteamboatSprings

Join Girl Scouts of Colorado online for Cadette Book Club in Fall 2020! Register for November here: https://gscolorado.formstack.com/forms/november_2020_cadette_book_club_virtual Register for December here: https://gscolorado.formstack.com/forms/december_2020_cadette_book_club_virtual In October, we read the delightfully frightful “Ghost Squad” by Claribel Ortega. We bolstered our courage, cloaked ourselves in Girl Scout magic, and ventured along with Lucely and Syd to battle the devious demons that had descended on the town of St. Augustine. Now, it’s your turn to prepare for the paranormal by making your very own ghost-catcher. We’ve just passed Halloween and the crisp fall nights are feeling a bit spooky. Your challenge is to use your Girl Scout magic to turn a mundane household item into a ghost-catcher strong enough to stave-off even the most sinister spirits. You’ll need your courage and creativity, along with these indispensable items: Strong container Something light and bright Happy memory While not absolutely necessary, these other items might be helpful in crafting your ghost-catcher: Tape Markers Scissors Washi Tape Stickers Paper Activity Directions: Your ghost-catcher can be made of any item that you can snap shut at a moment’s notice. A recycled jar, an old coffee container, or a wooden box would all make great ghost traps. To disguise your ghost-catcher from suspicious spirits, you may want to get a little bit crafty. Use whatever craft supplies or decorations you have around the house to dress-up your ghost-catcher. Now, you need to add power to your ghost-catching receptacle. Ghosts love dark, spooky places. So, you need to vanquish them with something bright. Get creative with what that means to you. You could grab a yellow or orange item, an unlit candle, a picture of a sun, or anything that reminds you of light. Your ghost-catcher only requires one more thing to make it ready-for-use: love. Grumpy ghosts don’t hate anything more than joy, so use a marker and some paper to write down a happy memory and tuck it into your container. Close-up your ghost-catcher and store it somewhere safe. It is now fully fortified and ready for any spooky spirits you may encounter. In case you want to add some extra courage to your ghost-catcher, take a picture of it with one of your pets and share it with Girl Scouts of Colorado on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Twitter and Instagram users should also use #GSColo. Warm, cuddly pets are widely known as excellent paranormal protectors. And, be sure to join us for our November and December Cadette Book Clubs! We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #2020CadetteBookClub #GirlScoutingatHome #GSCOClubs #oldergirls #Cadettebookclub #GirlScoutsatHome #bookclub

Congratulations to the winners of the 2020 Virtual Halloween Costume Contest! Watch a slideshow of the winners here. All winners will be contacted by the volunteer running the contest. Special thanks to judges Chelsea of the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders; Leanna Clark, CEO of Girl Scouts of Colorado; Rae Ann Dougherty, Board Chair for Girl Scouts of Colorado; and Lauren Whitney of CBS Denver. More than 60 Girl Scouts from across Colorado (Colorado Springs, Littleton, Grand Junction, Longmont, Pagosa Springs, Firestone, etc.) entered the contest. We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #Halloween #DenverBroncosCheerleaders #GirlScoutingatHome #costumecontest #GirlScoutsatHome #CBSDenver #2020CostumeContest #2020Halloween

Join Girl Scouts of Colorado CEO Leanna Clark on Saturday, November 7 at 2 p.m. for a special interview with 2020 National Gold Award Girl Scout Julia Trujillo of Arvada! You can watch live on the GSCO Facebook page and get a notification that the event is starting, by clicking the “Get Reminder” button on the bottom right of the Video Premiere post. Learn more about Julia and her project here: https://bit.ly/3jCWusW We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #HighestAwards #NationalGoldAwardGirlScout #GSCOevents #GoldAwardGirlScout #GirlScoutsatHome #GirlScoutGoldAward #TakeAction #JuliaTrujillo

Girl Scouts of all ages are invited to a special, one-hour webinar on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 from 5 – 6 p.m. to meet Park Ranger Laura from Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park. Register now: https://gscolorado.formstack.com/forms/meet_an_expert_national_park_ranger_webinar_12_08_2020 Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park is just one of many national treasures called “National Parks.” Join Ranger Laura and learn how national parks protect wildlife and nature, how Black Canyon protects the environment, what it’s like to be a park ranger, and how you as a Girl Scout can help park rangers protect the environment. Please submit your questions in advance through the registration form. Ranger Laura will answer your questions during the program. If time allows, we will also answer questions live during the webinar. By completing registration, you are telling us you will be joining the session LIVE on December 8. Please make sure to mark your calendar and join on time. We will be recording the session and posting it to the GSCO YouTube channel so you can watch in the future. Please do not complete registration if you are planning to watch the recording. We will use Zoom to host this webinar. All information on how to join online or via phone will be emailed out to registrants the day before the webinar. Each individual participant should be registered so we can track participation. Please do not share the information on how to join with others who have not registered. Questions? Email aimee.artzer@gscolorado.org. We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #GirlScoutingatHome #GSCOevents #NationalParkService #GirlScoutsatHome #Meetanexpert #webinar #ParkRanger #GunnisonNationalPark #MeetanexpertWebinarSeries

Submitted by Cindy Opong Pikes Peak Colorado Springs When Evans Elementary School in Colorado Springs put out a call for trunk-or-treat vendors, the Cadettes and Juniors from Troop 43483 decided to be of service. The troop is based out of the school, and the Cadettes are almost all alums of Evans. As the event was part of a STEM night, the troop decided to create a candy chute to safely deliver treats to kids. Over 300 kids visited the Halloween event, and the candy chute was a huge hit! Trick-or-Treaters had fun trying to catch candy and the Girl Scouts had fun making the chute and sending candy down for delivery. The Cadettes in this multi-level troop are also working on the Babysitting badge and this event helped fulfill some of the requirements. *** This was an outdoor event intended for and open to the community and within the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #ColoradoSprings #Halloween #PikesPeak #TrunkorTreat

Submitted by Sarah Benjamin Metro Denver Littleton When trunk-or-treat was canceled for Halloween, my co-leader and I decided to save the day! With enough disappointment going on, we wanted to bring a little joy on Halloween. The Girl Scout Fairy delivered Juliette Gordon Low birthday boxes to our girls! In the boxes were supplies to celebrate our founder’s birthday, along with facts about her. We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #FoundersDay #2020FoundersDay #JulietteGordonLow #MetroDenver #Littleton

Year-round, you support our efforts to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. On December 8, 2020, you can make your gift go even further. Colorado Gives Day is an annual statewide effort to celebrate and increase philanthropy through online giving. To make giving even easier, schedule your donation TODAY by using this link: https://www.coloradogives.org/index.php?section=organizations&action=newDonation&fwID=6854 By supporting Girl Scouts of Colorado on Colorado Gives Day, your donation dollars go further than they would on any other day of the year. That’s because the FirstBank Incentive Fund increases all donations made on December 8! Every nonprofit receiving a donation on Colorado Gives Day receives a portion of the incentive fund, which increases the value of every dollar donated. Schedule your donation today or give on December 8 at https://www.coloradogives.org/index.php?section=organizations&action=newDonation&fwID=6854.  Once you do, share one of these two images on your social media accounts and be sure to tag Girl Scouts of Colorado on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Twitter and Instagram users should also use #GSColo. We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #2020ColoradoGivesDay #ColoradoGivesDay #CouncilNews #funddevelopment

Mark your calendars, we’re getting an upgrade! In early December 2020, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) will release a refreshed member account management system. The upgraded system will provide increased visibility to your Girl Scout member account, make it simpler to manage and maintain household (and for troop leaders, troop memberships too!), and find more fun for your girl! To prepare for the system upgrade, the MY GS tab on the Girl Scouts of Colorado website will be inaccessible from November 18 – December 3. This means that you will be unable to access your member profile, the Volunteer Toolkit, and gsLearn. GSCO staff is here to guide you through the transition from beginning to end! As we approach system downtime, we will reach out with additional details. Be on the lookout for emails and communication in the weeks to come to guide and support you throughout this time! Things you can do prior to November 18 to help to make this upgrade go smoothly: Login to your MY GS account and review the email addresses for your household. Are the parents/caregivers in your household using the same email address? If yes, provide a new email address for the secondary caregiver. Verify your troop’s roster and make sure all members are correctly listed. Contact your Volunteer Support Specialist (VSS) to assist you in renewing or adding members to your troop before the downtime. Don’t know who your VSS is? Email inquiry@gscolorado.org. Login to Volunteer Toolkit and download any meeting plans, planning materials, and resources you might need during the downtime. Take any gsLearn training that you need. We want to hear how your girl is using her Girl Scout skills by taking initiative, caring for the community, and Girl Scouting at home. She can send in her story here. #gsLearn #VolunteerNews #VolunteerToolkit #volunteers