Help Your Girl Scout Meet Her Cookie Program  

Goals in 2013     

Essay Contest: We Want to Know Your Story!    

We always want to hear from Girl Scouts; but, since it's time for a GSMH essay contest, we especially want to hear from you! Volunteers are encouraged to participate by answering the guiding question: How have your Girl Scouts grown during their Girl Scout Leadership Experience? And don't forget to encourage your Girl Scouts to submit an essay answering the guiding question for her age category. Guiding questions can be found on the cover of the just-mailed girl newsletters.  

Essays should be 1 page long or less and submitted by January 15, 2013. You can email your submissions to gscouts@girlscoutsmoheartland.org with "Essay Contest" as the subject or mail to GSMH, Attn: Marketing/Brand Manager (Essay), 210 S. Ingram Mill Rd, Springfield, MO 65802. Please remember to include your first and last name, address, city and state, and troop number (if applicable).

Each category winner will receive her choice between a GSMH hoodie or a $20 gift certificate for any GSMH retail shop. All entries become property of Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland, Inc. and may be used or reproduced in publications, informational and/or promotional materials, or online.

It's Not Lunch or Dinner; It's Just Desserts!         

Plan to Attend the Council Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition Event

Save the Date for Annual Young Women of Distinction Celebration!    

Troop Pathway:

Let a Perfectly Effortless Program (PEP) do your planning for you. Information about 11 PEPs is available on page 18 of the Volunteer 411, but we're always adding new themes and resources for you. This month we are excited to introduce the Mathtastic PEP!

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is hot right now and Girl Scouts is right in the mix with our programs like Magic of Chemistry and Engineering for Girl Scout Juniors and Cadettes. Get your troop excited about math and have a lot of fun at the same time. Ask your local membership marketing specialist or leadership and learning specialist about the Mathtastic PEP. Questions? Contact Leadership and Learning Specialist-GSLE Karen Lawrence at klawrence@girlscoutsmoheartland.org or 877-312-4764 x1329. 

Service Unit Spotlight:

Cole County Service Unit 

By Angie Peth

Membership Marketing Specialist

This fall, the Cole County Service Unit hosted its annual Trick or Treat 4 Cans Drive. Girl Scouts collected 3,600 pounds of food for Samaritan Center, which will reach 1,900 people locally! This was an excellent collection. We increased last year's donation by 300 pounds! Samaritan Center was very excited for the donation and, more importantly, the formation of this annual project will continually assist families in the fall before the busy holiday season.

On November 10, the service unit volunteers pooled together the efforts of many state, federal, and local agencies to put on a Safety Day Badge Workshop. Girls learned many new skills ranging from first aid, CPR, Stranger Day, nature skills, emergency management, and so much more. Girls also had the chance to see the ins-and-outs of how an ambulance works, how a fire truck operates, the daily tasks of a police officer, and SEMA's emergency management. The day's success was truly a model of the mission of what we strive to teach the girls every day. More than 175 Girl Scouts participated, along with the siblings and family, making the day's attendance more than 300.

We are still making strides in growing our membership. Registrations continue to arrive on a daily basis and as our fall product program has come to a close; we thank everyone who helped support that project. Leaders are now gearing up, getting trained, and are excited for our upcoming Girl Scout Cookie Program. The new Mango Crèmes are surely something to get excited about!