Wayzata Service Unit - Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys

News

Encourage your girl scouts to invite a non-registered friend to join between February 1 and July 31, 2010 for the Bring a Friend Campaign. Girls who recruit a new girl to Girl Scouting during this time will receive a patch (and so will the new girl) and can earn additional patches for each additional girl recruited. See more details on the program.

The 2nd Annual Family Fall Harvest Party has been set for Sunday, October 10 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Apple Jack Orchard. Please mark your calendars! We are working on getting a family/group rate set and will announce closer to the date. Bring the whole family and enjoy and afternoon of fun – find your way through the corn maze, hop on the wagon ride, share some cider and donuts by the fire, and participate in the service project. Come early and pick apples, find that perfect pumpkin, or have a bite to eat in the restaurant. Each Girl Scout attending will receive a participation patch.

GSUSA has lifted fundraising restrictions for Girl Scout members to raise money to support relief efforts in Haiti from January 14 – September 8, 2010. This now makes it possible for our girls to raise much needed funds for the relief efforts in Haiti. Please note that the money raised can be contributed only to those agencies approved by GSUSA. A list of approved agencies is available on our council's website. River Valleys has also Tweeted and posted this information on their Facebook and council web pages.

This is a reminder that Camp Greenwood will remain open through September 30 (it is not available during the summer), and if you want to have one last overnight there – get your reservations in now! With only a quarter of the River Valleys member participating in outdoor programs at camp (all camps), declining membership and rising costs, funding for the 17 council properties could not be sustained. As part of this property decision, River Valleys has decided to decommission Camp Greenwood and offer it for sale.

New this year, the council will provide only one grant per girl for summer camp – whether it is resident camp or day camp. Families should apply for aid for the camp the assistance gives them the biggest benefit.

Diamond Troop Patch Program is a tool for troops to provide a balanced, multi-faceted Girl Scout Leadership Experience for girls of all program grade levels and to assist troops with girl planning. The program and requirement information is available here. This program is an easy guide to assist you in working with the girls to plan out your year.

Special Interest Volunteers are people who want to share their talent, interests and time with girls on a flexible, as needed schedule and are a great resource for leaders. You can access the database to find a volunteer with the skills you are looking for, and then contact them directly to see if they can help with your project. You can choose from camping, nutrition education/cooking, cultural diversity awareness, lifeguard, and more. One of the volunteers is a forensic scientist with the BCA Laboratory and can provide a tour of the state crime lab and/or assist troops working on the “Uncovering the Evidence” Interest Patch.

If you will be making purchases at OfficeMax, use the Office Max Discount Card. It will automatically flag your purchase as tax exempt (and sometimes gives you a discount on general office supplies). Note: OfficeMax is the preferred office supply store for the council, and gives you a big discount on copies. For Office Depot, use this number – it’s a general Girl Scout number that can be used by any troop – 30177961.

Be sure to stop by Dick’s Sporting Goods and pick up a packet for Scout leaders that includes two $10 off coupons for the leader plus coupons for camping items for troop members.

If you have done something fun with your troop that you’d like to share with others (e.g. JoAnn’s Art to Wear or Stitch It badge or programs at the Three Rivers Park District), please submit the information to be included on our Web site as a resource for other leaders. Provide a brief description of the program along with contact information.

Need Ideas? Check the recent edition of The Edge for community service opportunities, program openings, Destination information, etc. Other terrific sources are our leaders, our service unit website, and our service unit library!

Open positions in the Service Unit are Webmaster, Organizer/Recruiter (for Greenwood and Holy Name), Fast Start Coach, Event Chairs/Co-Chairs and Family Fundraising Campaign Chair(s). These positions are very important to the success of our service unit, and some can be shared with another adult. You can contact Kris P. or Norma P. if you are interested or want more information.

Are you a saged and experienced Girl Scout Leader? Remember all the questions you had your first year? Mentor new adult Girl Scout leaders through the stages of troop leadership and girl planning. If you would be willing to help mentor a new leader/troop and get them off to a great start, please contact Kris P.

Find out more ways to volunteer from our council.

Our next service unit meeting will be held Monday, September 20, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at Wayzata Community Church in the Community Room.

Do you have age-level handbooks, badge books, leader guides, or Journey books you are no longer using and would like to pass on to another troop? Bring them to the next service unit meeting and we'll find a new home for them - let's use our resources wisely!

Be sure to browse through our wonderful selection of books in our service unit library to help with your troop meetings/events. Please return all outstanding materials as soon as possible as we have other leaders waiting to use them!

Go to Troop News to read about our service unit's troops and to take a peek at Web sites of troops in our service unit and in other service units!