Black History Month
Our Council enjoyed a very eventful Black History Month this year, featuring some exciting ways of honoring Black history at our DC office and satellite offices. Additionally, Shandel Johnson from our Brandywine Office sent out an incredible email series honoring the contributions, culture, and history of the Black community. Keep reading to see some of the ways our offices celebrated the month.
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Our DC Office hosted a poetry reading from author, American University professor and speaker, Gillie Haynes.
They also had a delicious lunch catered by Family Affair.
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Kingstown had a great lunch featuring Della J's mac & cheese and sweet potato pie!
They also viewed a documentary on the Montgomery bus boycotts.
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The Martinsburg Office learned some more about their local Black history while enjoying lunch.
Membership Area 3 is rich in Black history! They hope to incorporate this history into future programming as well to use it to further educate Girl Scouts in the area.
Follow the links to read more about Black history in Membership Area 3:
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Germantown
Germantown celebrated in several informational and interactive ways.
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Quote Wall: Team members shared quotes from Black activists and leaders on the whiteboard, and invited folks to read and write or share their thoughts.
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Guess Who: Each team member was given a Black celebrity and asked Yes or No questions to guess who they were.
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Black History Packet: Everyone was given a packet on the history of slavery in Maryland created by the Maryland State Archives and the University of Maryland.
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The LBGTQIA+ ERG met in-person on February 21st to play board games together at Board Room in Washington, D.C. They had a lot of fun getting to know each other and brainstorming plans for the future!
The LGBTQIA+ is a space for queer-identifying staff members and their allies to come together to support one another and GSCNC in creating a safe and inclusive culture for staff, adult volunteers, and youth members. Their goals include education, sharing queer culture, and bonding over shared experiences.
If you’re a member of the community or an ally and want to join the ERG (and help pick a name!), please email Kat Michalak at kmichalak@gscnc.org.
The next meeting is March 14th at 11am and will be held on Teams.
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Betsy West's Cats Flurry & Olive |
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Meet Betsy's cats Flurry and Olive! From Betsy:
"Flurry is the brown tabby. Her full name is Flurry Liberty. She has a white spot on her nose which my daughter said is a snowflake, and we adopted her on Inauguration Day 2021 in Lynchburg, VA. If a cat is going to make a cameo in a Teams meeting, it’s most likely going to be Flurry. She will turn an estimated 5 years old in June."
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"Olive is the tuxedo cat with beautiful green eyes. Her full name is Olive Carolina. Olive was her shelter name, and we liked it. We adopted her in July 2021 from the Lynchburg Humane Society which transferred her from one of their partner shelters in rural North Carolina when she was pregnant. She had her kittens in foster care in Lynchburg, and then we adopted her. Olive is estimated to be 7 years old."
Not pictured are the 40 kittens and 4 mama cats they have fostered over the past 3 years through Loudoun County Animal Services.
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To have your pet featured in our next edition of Juliette's Journal, email Joanna Omestad at jomestad@gscnc.org. | | |
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MARCH 7
President's Circle Dinner
The Westin D.C.
6:00 PM
MARCH 11
All Team Meeting
3:00 PM via Teams
MARCH 14
LBGTQIA+ ERG Meeting
11:00 AM via Teams
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MARCH 14
IDEA Commitee Meeting
3:00 PM via Teams
APRIL 5
Annual Meeting
The National Conference Center
Leesburg, VA
APRIL 8
All Team Meeting
3:00 PM via Teams
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After endless hard work and preparation, our DC Office space was cleaned out and vacated in time for renovation. A big thank you to everyone who spent extra days in the office packing, shredding, and making trips to the dumpster.
Thank you to the Customer Care Department for their considerable help setting up our temporary office space.
The biggest thank you goes to Carrie Banachowski for coordinating this enormous undertaking, and for making the new space ready for all of the DC Team.
Congratulations on the successful move!
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Share the good news! Send celebrations to Human Resources to be included next time. | |
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Here are some of Jaca's favorite things! | |
1. Cooking is my passion and the kitchen is my happy place. I’m always creating new recipes.
2. Shoes. Sneakers, sandals, pumps, platforms. I love them all.
3. I like to create art in many forms. From painting to poetry to sewing and crochet.
4. The color green. No real explanation here, just my favorite color.
5. Basketball. While I don’t play, it is definitely my favorite sport to watch and keep up with.
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Jaca Gooding is the Retail Operations Coordinator at our DC Girl Scout Shop. She has been with us since March 13, 2024. | | | |
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Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 thin mints (finely chopped
- 6 mini graham cracker pie crusts
- whipped cream
- 3 thin mints, halved to top pies with
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It's Cookie Season as we all know, and there are tons of recipes out there to make the most of all those cookies. | |
Directions
- Beat 1 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- Fold in 6 finely chopped Thin Mints. Refrigerate ice cream mixture until ready to serve.
- Place 1 small scoop mint chip ice cream into each of 6 mini graham cracker pie crusts. Spread until smooth, then freeze until firm.
- Top with the whipped cream, crushed Thin Mints and a Thin Mint half.
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Keep up to date on our health protocols! Review the Council's Respiratory Viruses Guidelines by clicking here.
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On January 18, Girl Scouts proudly marched under the theme "Commit to the Noble Struggle for Equal Rights." Not only did they take part in the parade, but they also engaged with the community at the MLK Wellness Fair—encouraging attendees to share their personal commitments on the Wellness Pledge Board. | | |
Girl Scout Senior Clarke joined Washington, DC's annual wreath laying ceremony at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial to pay tribute to Dr. King's unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and peace. | | |
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These "Girl Scout Proud" segments are featured from our social media.
Thank you to our Marketing and Communications team!
Click the buttons at the bottom of this newsletter to explore more.
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Employee Assistance Program
Do you know what an Employee Assistance Program (or EAP) is? Even if you aren't enrolled in our Council insurance plans, you can still take advantage of the EAP! Below are some of the things our EAP can help with.
Counseling on topics like:
- health and wellness
- legal regulations
- family and relationship conflicts
- childcare and elder care
- adoption
- grief and loss
- time management
- substance abuse
- work and education
- financial planning
- travel
Access to things like:
- articles
- podcasts
- videos
- slideshows
- on-demand trainings
Reach out to our HR team with any questions!
Employee Assistance and Wellness Support 24/7
Phone: (800) 344-9752
Website: www.guidanceresources.com
Web ID: NYLGBS
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