Character Counts

“Character is what you are in the dark.” D. L. Moody

Evangelist and Publisher, 19th Century

Girl Scouting is all about "courage, confidence and character", and that's what we adults are hoping for our girls.  I think that one thing that unites us as adults, is that we only want the best for the girls we work with, whether that's a daughter, granddaughter, niece, troop member or stranger.  We want those girls to grow up strong, to make good decisions and to proudly go where no one has gone before.....  thank you, Captain Kirk.

When I teach the Cadette Essentials classes, one of the things we keep coming back to is that this is a leadership program.  And while it can mean that a future President of the United States is in one of our troops, it's more likely that a future married, mother of three with a part time job, two labs and a mini van is too!  Both will need to be leaders:  for the country and for their own lives. Both will need skills that they learn in Girl Scouts. And both will need the character to move forward.

We give girls a safe environment to practice their leadership skills, and to make safe mistakes while they're learning.  Girl Scouting also gives them the opportunity to practice their leadership as a patrol leader, treasurer, Junior Jam staff, destinations participant, Silver Award Awardee, and more.  In the process they develop that strength of character that fits into the young woman they will become.

Whether it's in nation-wide politics or home-based values and beliefs, we want our girls to succeed, and to be the same great girls at both the beginning and end of the day.

Rock the Fair!

What a morning!  Girl Scouts Orange County Rocks the Fair!  Thousands of Girl Scouts, young and old, and everything inbetween showed up for the festivities.  We didn't quite fill the amphitheater, but we came close.  Wish I hadn't had to come back to work.....

Group Agreement

I missed the meeting where our Breathe Series girls came up with this list of how to treat each other, but I LOVE what they came up with.  A girl-led experience for 2 girls to be up front and write it all down. Then they all voted to abide by it!

Anne Rizzacasa (Rizzy) was sure to post it the next session, and when it looked like things were going a little off track, she pointed to the Agreement and said, "doesn't it say to have fun?  And do your best?"  The girls agreed, and it got them right back on track.

I love it when it works like that! I'm pretty sure it's posted on our Breathe website, but not sure if we gave each girl a copy to put in her lab book?  If we didn't, I think I will! 

Someday, it will get done....

”There are seven days in the week
and someday isn't one of them.”

Oh my, but it's so true!  I've heard that aphorism on and off my whole life.  And yes, I can be a procrastinator, though I work valiantly against it!!!

Our Cadette girls have "someday" for everything they need to do!  That 7th grade fog can take over, and we just lose that happ, eager little girl we used to know.  Instead, everything is an effort.  Everything can cause the rolling eyes and big sighs, and the girl only wants to do it later. Someday.

We're seeing it in our Breathe Journey, too.  One mom said, "well, she's just got a face on her", and when I asked why, she, a bit exasperatedly, said, "she's eleven!"  Nice to know "the look" wasn't because of Girl Scouts.  And fortunately, once she was hooked up with the other girls, she thawed out, participated and even smiled and laughed.  WHEW!

The "someday" she would smile again was the same day!  Though the posting on the website and doing the work ahead of time is still someday for about half of our girls.  Nice girls, but without enough days in the week.  Someday they'll get it done. Someday they'll go for the Silver. 

Someday will come, I just know it!  Someday.

Service Project into Silver

"The second graders planted close to 200 plants for a rain garden.

Armed with shovels, flowers and a lot of passion, the scouts were on a mission to plant a rain garden. It’s part of their 100-year anniversary service project. The garden acts like an environmental shelter — capturing rain water from the gutters and stopping run-off from going into the sewers.

The Root Pike Watershed Initiative helped fund the project. “It’s wonderful. We get both another rain garden and an opportunity to educate the next generation,” Root Pike Watershed Initiative Executive Director Susan Greenfield said."  From the GSUSA Blog

Wow!  What a great service project that could be morphed into a great Silver Award Project!  These Brownies really did something meaningful in their community!!!

So, how could it have been a Silver Award Project?  The small team of 2 or 3 girls could have learned in their Breathe Journey that plants really do clear the air.  Also, that flooding and wasting water is not a good thing for anyone.  They could have done some research to learn more about the needs in their community.

Discover the Issue:  Run-off water causing damage and waste

Root Cause:  No way to stop water run-off in specific places - why is that?  Lack of funds?  Lack of volunteers at the Watershed?  Lack of knowledge on the part of the community?

Connect with the need:  Identify an agency/agencies to partner with.  Find a location that has the need.  Figure out if there is anything else going on in the community to address the issue?  Find out if there are others who share concern about this issue, and ask if they can be on the team. Determine how much money it would take to make a difference.

Take Action: Make a plan!  Each girl has leadership over specific pieces:  creating education pieces, identifying native plants to use, training the team, working with the non-profit agency, etc.  And work the plan! Be sure that each girl has the opportunity to lead!

Sustainability:  Set it up to turn over to the agency if at all possible. Or have the troop adopt the garden as their project for the year, hopefully turning it over to another entity down the road. Remember, they do not have to ensure sustainability, as does the Gold Award Project.

Global: Talk about what it means!  What if every community planted a rain garden?  How would that affect our community?  the county?  the state?  Again, it's not planning for global buy-in, but it does need to be a discussion about how others could do the same thing to make a difference in the world.

 

Breathing along the Journey Pathway....

Pretty excited about this afternoon!

First day of our Cadette Journey Breathe Series.  Anne Rizzacasa and I have been talking about, planning for, and readying pieces for this Journey since January....and NOW it's here!

We had our first planning meeting with the girls last Sunday.  Not quite the input I'd hoped for, but a start!  This meeting will really get us started and focused on what the girls want to do.

I hope!  And I hope that their non-posting on our Breathe website is NOT an indicator of apathy or lack of interest!  (You can see what we have started, here:

https://sites.google.com/site/breathejourney/home)

I hope that it's just the start of something new, and the girls will just need some encouragement to get themselves motivated to do some work for the Journey.  I hope they don't expect us to deliver it all to them, by the spoonful.  I hope we really do get the girl leadership to deveop so that the girls will lead their Journey.

It seems a lot to hope for!  But I know they can do it!!!  And we can all do it together. Yes, I'm the optimist!  We'll be doing many of the things I talk about in training:  ice breakers, people bingo (thank you Chris Grisey from PA Training), kooshball name games, breaking into work groups, then changing the work groups, snack and craft, name badges, girl reports back about the women leaders featured in the Journey book, planning the overnight and field trip out to Palm Springs. 

Yes we have PLENTY to do!  I'll keep you posted on how it all goes.  

Cadette-Junior Blended Troops

Great training this week!  A small group of 3 leaders came for a GSLE non-level specific training in Irvine.  I'd met all 3 at various trainings, but it was Laura's comments from the last Cadette Essentials that really framed the session.

Laura is a brand new leader of a Cadette-Junior troop.  WOW!  She dove in with both feet at her daughter's K-12 school to create the first Girl Scout Troop ever.  Her recruitment was at the end of the school year, a bit unusual, but certainly workable!  Laura said that her challenge is how to make sure that these girls all have a great level-appropriate experience.

She emailed me this question ahead of time, so I had time to garner some great information from staff, leaders and other trainers.  Yep, I was prepared!  Turns out, so were the other participants!  All 4 of us shared ideas and strategies on how to make this work!  

Shellie Massick, Volunteer Development Manager, started the conversation off:  "In one word:  delegate!  In two words:  get help!"  

Susan Monk, SUM and Senior Troop Advisor added to be specific in what you ask the parents to do!  At the parent meeting, be very clear that you need:  a Silver Award Advisor, a Bronze Advisor, a Troop Camping parent, Cookie Mom, Junior Journey leader, Cadette Journey leader, etc.  

Barb Christenson, former SUM and Senior Troop Advisor said to be sure to have the Juniors meet in one room, and the Cadettes in another.  The younger girls may be all about the fun and noise, while the older girls have planning to do for the troop activities.  "Be sure that the Cadettes have opportunities to work with other Cadettes in the SU, or better yet, with Seniors and Ambassadors." You don't want the older girls to always feel that they are "stuck in the role as the ones training the younger girls. Conversely, the younger girls will also be stuck in the role as the ones being led/trained by the older girls in the troop, they will never be the experienced ones." "The leader needs to find opportunities for them to lead other girls." Maybe a Daisy troop?  Maybe other Juniors?

Barb also suggested that the leader "look into customizing the Journeys for the girls. The Juniors could have a lock-in weekend and the Cadettes could do a "spa" weekend to earn parts of their respective Journeys.  By not relying on the Journey to be the sole topic of the troop's meetings for the year, it is easier for the girls to do things together, regardless of the levels."

Teresa Beach, troop advisor, said she has great success with her multi-level troop by having the openings and closings with ALL the girls, then breaking them out to different rooms to do the business of their levels.  We talked about this at our training as well:  make each level feel special and maintain the girl-led leadership at each level.

One of the women in our Cadette Essentials training said she broke it up even further.  Two meetings a month as a troop, then one meeting a month for the Journeys, and another meeting a month for the girls working on awards.  She got a round of applause from the group!

Thank you to all for their input, and I hope that Laura and her girls will create a fabulous troop where everyone has fun, everyone has a chance to learn how to lead and work cooperatively with each other as they have a GREAT time in Girl Scouts.  I'm looking forward to seeing Laura and her girls at the OC Fair, Junior Jam, Cadette-o-Rama and everything else a girl can do in this council. And beyond.