Four Ways to Celebrate Girl Scouts' Birthday

Girl Scouts is 99 and looking great! The Girl Scout Birthday, March 12, commemorates the day in 1912 when Juliette Gordon Low officially registered the organization's first 18 girl members in Savannah, Georgia.

Here are some fun ideas to get the celebration going:

1. Throw a Girl Scout Bash - Ask the girls how they want to celebrate the Girl Scout birthday as a group. You may suggest cooking foods from Savannah, trying Girl Scout cookie recipes, or decorating cupcakes with green frosting.
2. Visit with Juliette Low - Let the girls design an event around Girl Scouting's early years. Activities can include music, art, and the culture of Savannah or their own hometown.
3. Create a Scrapbook - Suggest the idea to the girls - they can bring in photos, drawings, and poems of what Girl Scouting has meant for them. The girls can decorate the pages and the cover together.
4. Focus on Environment - Explain how Girl Scouts prides itself on making a positive impact in communities and the natural environment. Talk with the girls about leaving the world a better place than they found it. Ask them how they might make a difference in their neighborhoods. The ideas can be placed in a hat and one can be selected for the girls to do as a group. If the girls are stuck for ideas, suggest planting a tree in a local park or a recycling activity.

Whether the girls decide to have a birthday party or plant a tree, the important thing is to provide an opportunity for the girls to celebrate together. Happy Birthday Girl Scouts!

Girl Scout Week 2011

March 12, 2011, marks the 99th anniversary of Girl Scouting. Serving as a Girl Scout today means being part of a worldwide organization that builds leadership skills by providing girls with opportunities to discover their interest, connect with others, and take action to make the world a better place.

Girl Scout Week is celebrated in conjunction with the Girl Scout birthday, starting with Girl Scout Sunday (March 6) and ending with Girl Scout Sabbath (March 12). During Girl Scout week, girls of all ages celebrate being a by demonstrating leadership and commitment in ways that leave a lasting impact on their communities.

Girl Scout Sunday and Girl Scout Sabbath give girls an opportunity to attend their place of worship and be recognized as Girl Scouts. If a place of worship is the group sponsor, girls may perform a service, such as greeting, ushering, or doing a flag ceremony. These days can also be a time when girls explore other faiths.

In celebration of Girl Scout Week, Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada is having a drawing to win a gift basket full of Girl Scout shop items. Come visit the Girl Scout Leadership Center during Girl Scout Week to enter.

Doodle 4 Google!

Girl Scouts of the USA has partnered with Google for the fourth annual Doodle 4 Google contest. Open to K-12 students in the U.S., Doodle 4 Google is an opportunity of a lifetime: design the Google.com homepage doodle for millions to see, and take home a $15,000 scholarship and a $25,000 technology grant for your school. In the spirit of thinking big, the theme this year is "What I'd like to do someday..." - giving all of the talented young dreamers an opportunity to flex their creative muscles.

Get started today! Whether you're a parent of a leader, register your girl(s) by March 2, 2011. Then get out the crayons, paints and marketers and throw your own doodle party!

Please note that all entries must be postmarked by March 16, 2011. Check out contest rules and download the google template here.

Last year, eight-year-old Girl Scout, Indira was a finalist in the Doodle 4 Google contest - view her entry here. Will your Girl Scout be next?

New Year's Resolution - Healthier Girls

Did you make a New Year's Resolution? I made a few - many of the same ones I made last year, and the year before; spend more time with the family, save more money, and of course eat healthier, exercise more, and lose a few of the extra pounds I've been carrying around!

A few days into the new routine, my daughter picked up on the changes I was making and immediately made reference to her eating habits and body type in relation to mine. Our conversation reminded me of a study issued by the Girl Scout Research Institute called The New Normal - What Girls Say About Healthy Living.

We hear so much about childhood obesity and everybody has an opinion on the causes - lack of exercise/too many video games, changes in our food, portions of food, etc. But what is unique about the study issued by the Girl Scout Research Institute is that they asked girls and boys what they thought about healthy living. Here are a few of the major findings of what girls had to say about healthy living:

1. Aspiring to be "Normal Healthy" - 65% of girls said their lifestyle was "healthy enough for my age." For most girls, being healthy has more to do with appearing "normal" and feeling accepted than maintaining good diet and exercise habits.


2. Emotional Health Is Central - One in four girls (26%) has some dissatisfaction with her weight compared with 19% of boys. Most girls view emotional health and physical health as equally important.


3. Tension Between Health Awareness and Behaviors - 60% of teenage girls skip breakfast at least once a week and nearly 20% skip it every day. Although girls demonstrate basic knowledge about healthy foods and eating behaviors, they often do not put this knowledge into practice, and it is "normal" for many girls to make poor choices with respect to diet and exercise.


4. The Influential Role of Mothers - Eighty-nine percent of girls report that their mothers make positive comments about how they look. Mothers were the most frequently cited source of information on healthy living and they clearly function as role models for their daughters.

So what does this all mean? "Do as I say, not as I do" just doesn't cut it when it comes to healthy living. Our girls are watching and for as much as they are influenced by their peers, this is one area where we can make a meaningful difference in their lives. Make your New Year's Resolution to help your girl gain the knowledge and life skills to lead a healthy life.

Need help? Girl Scouts offers more than 60 age-level awards combing physical fitness with good nutrition and a healthy body image to help girls attain an overall healthy lifestyle. Interested in reading more about what girls are saying - visit the Girl Scout Research Institute.

Emily Smith

Chief Marketing & Development Officer

Dessert Before Dinner

In a 1962 Time magazine article, a dental surgeon from Albuquerque, New Mexico advocated for eating dessert before dinner. His reasoning was twofold:

1) Later courses are more likely to wipe away sugar left in the mouth by the dessert, which is eaten first.

2) Individuals will most likely eat less by having a small dessert first.

While his points, may be debateable, Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada found a few more reasons why Dessert Before Dinner is undeniably the best!

1) It's our annual gala fundraiser, raising money to support Girl Scout leadership programs in Southern Nevada.

2) The desserts are yummy, the entertainment incredible, and the guests delightful!

Last Saturday, more than 250 people attended Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada's 5th annual Dessert Before Dinner gala. Guests were treated to desserts prepared by eight incredibly talented pastry chefs - each one using Girl Scouts Peanut Butter Patties cookie in their recipe. Local Girl Scouts performed Whitney Houston's, The Greatest Love of All in sign language for the guests and comedian Kevin Burke stopped by to shower the crowd with a few laughs before making his way to the Fitzgerald for his late night comedy show.

Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada presented Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick with the Juliette Low Pearl Award, recognizing her longtime advocacy and support of Girl Scouts. Chef Jaret Blinn from Red Rock Resorts claimed the title "Master Cookie Chef" for the second time in a row and was rewarded with a $1,000 gift certificate from the evening's presenting sponsor, SuperPawn. And most importantly, more than $65,000 was raised to support Girl Scout leadership programs for girls in Southern Nevada!

Many thanks to all of the Girl Scouts, Volunteers, and Supporters who attended Dessert Before Dinner!

Emily Smith

Chief Marketing & Development Officer

Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada

Girl Scout Swaps

Last night I received SWAPS while visiting the Henderson Service Unit. (That's him to the left there, a clothespin wrapped in yarn - I named him Manny the Mummy) It's been awhile since I was a leader, so it's not often that I receive SWAPS anymore - but it reminded me of how much fun my daughter and I had making and trading SWAPS.

MakingFriends.com offers a great history of the origin of SWAPS, otherwise known as "Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere" or "Share With A Pal." But I wanted to share with you a few observations about the benefits of SWAPS.

1) SWAPS create a great ice breaker for girls who have never met before. It takes courage and confidence to walk into a room and talk to a complete stranger! SWAPS are a great conversation starter!

2) SWAPS are a creative expression of the girl who made them - they don't have to be expensive or intricate. What matters most is that each girl have an opportunity to express herself creatively by making a gift to share with someone else. Girls gain a sense of pride and accomplishment when they see their SWAPS pinned to the hat or vest of another girl!

3) SWAPS are enduring! I know many leaders who still have SWAPS from when they were girls. SWAPS help bring back fond memories of where you were and what you were doing when you received your SWAPS. I still remember my daughter making SWAPS for her troop's father/daughter bowling event. They were matching bowling ball SWAPS that said "I'm with him" & "I'm with her."

So what are you waiting for? Don't know how to make SWAPS? Check out this wikiHow and help your girls create special memories of their own!






Emily Smith
Chief Marketing & Development Officer
Girl Scouts of Southern Nevada

Girl Scouts support healthy media act!

Last week, eighteen high school Girl Scouts from Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital participated in Girl Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill to encourage Congressional support for the Healthy Media for Youth Act. The Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925) is a bipartisan bill that promotes healthy media messages about girls and women for the benefit of all youth.

The Healthy Media for Youth Act would provide for the establishment of a National Task Force on Girls and Women in the Media, to promote media literacy and youth empowerment programs, and to authorize research on the role and impact of depictions of girls and women in the media.

Join the Girl Scouts Advocacy Network today and encourage your U.S. Representatives to be a voice for girls and support H.R. 4925!