Important Information for Upcoming 2015 Girl Scout Cookie Program

 

 

IMPORTANT COOKIE PROGAM INFORMATION! GSSI plans to upload all Troop Leader and Girl Member information into the eBudde system later this week. GSSI send e-mail notifications once the upload has occurred.

We’ve noticed that not all troop l...eaders are correctly identified as “01 – Leader,” so we are missing some important data which may cause a delay. We encourage all Service Unit teams to go into eBudde to verify correct information for their troops after the upload is complete. This information also needs to be corrected in eBiz – updating information in one system will not automatically update in the other at this point. Please remember to input all information when registering to prevent complications in the future.

After Jan. 8, Troop Leaders will be allowed to enter in all NEW girls into the eBudde system. Upon saving the girl’s information, eBudde will prompt the Troop Leader to fill out an additional form to obtain e-mail address, guardian name and girl’s date of birth. This will allow the newly added girl to sell through the online Digital Cookie program.

For more information, please contact Director of Product Program Kelly Jansen by e-mail kjansen@gsofsi.org.

Katie Albert From Waterloo Has Earned the Girl Scout Gold Award

 

 

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Katie Albert from Waterloo has received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.

For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Katie held two Unplug and Go Outside events to get more children in her community to put down their electronic devices and go outside and participate in outdoor activities. One of her Unplug events centered on a sports theme where she had children participating in t-ball, wiffle ball, croquet, lawn darts, washers and ladderjacks. The second Unplug event was centered on nature and crafts that included making sidewalk chalk, planting herbs, hiking a nature trail and doing leaf rubbings.

 “My Girl Scout Gold Award project taught me how to communicate effectively with a diverse group of people. My team included people ranging from my peers to retired educators and established business leaders. I discovered that I can speak well, and confidently promote my ideas,” Albert said.

 Katie is the daughter of Karla Albert. She is a junior at Waterloo High School and has been Girl Scout for 12 years. Katie has earned the Trifecta Award which honors her achievement of earning the Girl Scout Bronze Award, Girl Scout Silver Award and Girl Scout Gold Award.

The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, recognizes a Girl Scout's commitment to excellence as she develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges in her life. To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, a Girl Scout Senior or Girl Scout Ambassador must design and carry out a project that fulfills a need within a girl’s community, creates change, and is sustainable. The project must be completed with a suggested minimum of 80 hours of work. Only about 6 percent of eligible girls earn the prestigious Gold Award.

Kaylynn Clement From O'Fallon Earned the Girl Scout Gold Award

 

 

 

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Kaylynn Clement from O’Fallon has received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.

For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Kaylynn developed workshops for O’Fallon District 90 students in 3rd-5th grades on anti-bullying, self-esteem and body/skin care. “I used my life experiences with bullying and that it was happening to girls at a much younger age. I have Aspergers and Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) and have always felt differently than other girls,” Clement said. “Through my Girl Scout Gold Award project, I wanted girls to have more resources that could help them combat bullying and increase their self-esteem and confidence.”

“No matter what shape, size, disability or color, everyone has the right to be accepted for who they are,” Kaylynn added.

Kaylynn is the daughter of Dedric and Crystal Clement. She is a senior O’Fallon Township High School and has been a Girl Scout for 12 years. She plans to attend Southwest Illinois College (SWIC) and major in Fashion.

 The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, recognizes a Girl Scout's commitment to excellence as she develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges in her life. To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, a Girl Scout Senior or Girl Scout Ambassador must design and carry out a project that fulfills a need within a girl’s community, creates change, and is sustainable. The project must be completed with a suggested minimum of 80 hours of work. Only about 6 percent of eligible girls earn the prestigious Gold Award.

Earn the Girl Scout Gold Award During Its 100th Anniversary!

In 2016, Girl Scouts everywhere will be celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scout Gold Award! How awesome would it be to be awarded your Gold Award on its centennial?!

Completing the Girl Scout Gold Award takes a minimum of 80 hours, so now is the time to start the process. To get started, first work on Senior or Ambassador Journeys. Girls who did not earn their Girl Scout Silver Award need to complete two Journeys at these levels. Girl Scout Silver Awardees need to complete just one. The next step is to attend a Girl Scout Gold Award Training. There are trainings held throughout the council, see the schedule of remaining dates below or visit our website, www.gsofsi.org to check for updates.

For more information, contact Program Manager Julie Fox at 800.345.6858, ext. 1119 or e-mail jschloss@gsofsi.org.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program Starts Jan. 10, 2015 - How Families Can Get Involved!

Girl Scout Cookies are coming to southern Illinois on January 10, 2015!  Funds from sales of Girl Scout Cookies help pay for troop activities and help GSSI provide quality programming, volunteer training, camp maintenance and financial assistance.   Girls also learn five essential skills: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.   Girls also have fun and develop lifelong friendships while working as a team.   Read more...

How Families Can Help: 

Getting Started Before Cookie Program Starts:

• Girls must be registered members, as well as have a parent/guardian permission form signed and turned in before participating. 
• The Digital Cookie platform is new this year and will give girls a safe place to sell cookies online.  To participate, her membership account needs to include a parent/guardian e-mail address.  If necessary, update her information using eBiz or by calling 800.345.6858.
• Read GSSI's Family Guide to the Girl Scout Cookie Program
• Go Over Safety Tips Together

Support her sales:

• Encourage goal setting by guiding her to set practical and useful goals about what she wants to learn and earn.
• Practice a sales pitch and offer suggestions for improvements or role-play a sales transaction together. Visit www.gsofsi.org and www.littlebrownie.com to explore great resources, clip art and activities to use throughout the sale.
• Help her use the online Digital Order Card platform. Share e-mail addresses of family and friends for online orders.
• Help her take orders or arrange booth site sales at work, places of worship or other locations.
• Help your Girl Scout network with family and friends, but let her do the “ask” so she can learn important business skills.
• Volunteer to help with cookie booth sales, picking up cookies at the delivery site and more.
• Meet all deadlines for turning in order cards and money to the Troop Leader.
• Practice safety and above all have FUN together!
• Remember that the Girl Scout Cookie Program is a part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience which is girl driven. Let your Girl Scout take the lead in selling cookies and reaching goals. Your encouragement, coaching and guidance are key ingredients to a successful Cookie Program experience for her.

Happy Holidays from GSSI!

Happy Holidays from GSSI!  Thank you to all of our Girl Scouts, volunteers, families, friends, donors and supporters for helping us build girls of courage, confidence and character during 2014.  We wish you all happy holidays full of warmth and cheer and are looking forward to all of the adventures that 2015 will bring.   See 2014 Holiday Card Contest Finalists...

 

As the year comes to an end, please consider GSSI in your year end giving plans.  GSSI depends on contributions from generous donors to help us continue to provide financial assistance, quality programming and exciting outdoor experiences to girls in southern Illinois.  All gifts are 100% tax deductible.  Learn more or Donate Now!

Kathryn Stacy from Shiloh Has Earned the Girl Scout Gold Award

 

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Kathryn Stacy from Shiloh has received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive. 

For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Kathryn shared her love of cooking and gardening with the O’Fallon community.  “For my Girl Scout Gold Award project, I volunteered at the O’Fallon Garden with members of the O’Fallon Garden Club.  We grew vegetables that were then donated to the O’Fallon Community Food Pantry,” Stacy said.  “For the other part of my project, I prepared recipes that included vegetables from the O’Fallon Garden and shared the recipes and food samples with clients at the food pantry.”

 “By completing my Girl Scout Gold Award, I learned that in order to be the leader I wanted to become, I had to be loud and make myself known.  I also learned that I have what it takes to overcome the smallest to the biggest obstacles in life,” Stacy said. 

Kathryn is the daughter of John and Kari Stacy.  She is a senior O’Fallon Township High School.  She plans to attend Southwest Illinois College to major in Culinary Arts.   

The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, recognizes a Girl Scout's commitment to excellence as she develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges in her life.  To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, a Girl Scout Senior or Girl Scout Ambassador must design and carry out a project that fulfills a need within a girl’s community, creates change, and is sustainable.   The project must be completed with a suggested minimum of 80 hours of work.  Only about 6 percent of eligible girls earn the prestigious Gold Award.

Girl Scouts Highlighting Holiday Service Projects with #GirlScoutsGiveBack

Girl Scouts of the USA is featuring holiday community service projects from across the globe with the #GirlScoutsGiveBack campaign.

Nothing says “Happy Holidays!” like donating a coat to a child in need, or participating in a canned food drive. Every year, Girl Scouts continue the tradition of being leaders in their homes, schools, and communities by taking the lead on these “Give Back” projects.

 

 

Some recent GSSI #GirlScoutsGiveBack projects:

After their school held a food drive,  Girl Scout Troops #8043 & #8921 worked together to put the food, along with holiday supplies, in care packages and deliver them to Community of Christ Church in Thompsonville.

 

 

Girl Scouts from Perry County collected 425 canned goods for the Pinckneyville & DuQuoin food banks. 

 



Girl Scouts made a quilt for a Gallatin County girl who is out of school fighting cancer.

Girl Scouts from six troops in SU 211 - Waterloo caroled with residents of Garden Place Assisted Living Home.


These are just a few of the great photos and stories from Girl Scouts around southern Illinois!  Watch GSSI's social media platforms for more great news throughout the holiday season!    

 

GSSI Girl Scouts "Spread the Bread" for Fall 2014 Community Service Project

GSSI's "Spread the Bread" council-wide community service project ran from Oct. 1-Nov. 20. More than 660 girls participated from 83 troops in 33 service units! These troops shared more than 1,000 loaves of bread wrapped with messages of hope, inspiration or gratitude with local police and fire departments, nursing homes, food pantries, shelters and others in the community.   Patches will be distributed to participants through Service Unit meetings in January.

 

Two GSSI Robotics Teams Headed to FIRST LEGO League State

Purple Robot Penguins

Lightning Storm

Two Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois robotics teams have qualified to compete in the FIRST LEGO League State Tournament on Jan. 24 at

University of Illinois Rec Center in Champaign-Urbana.

 

Purple Robot Penguins from O'Fallon/Shiloh qualified at the regional tournament on Nov. 22 at Carriel Jr. High in O'Fallon.  They also won the Project Award.

 

On Dec. 6, Lightning Storm from Belleville had the top table score and won the Champions Award at the regional tournament at Cassens Elementary School in Glen Carbon to qualify for state level competition.  

 

FLL is a robotics program for 9 to 14 year olds which is designed to get children excited about science and technology, as well as teach them valuable life skills. Along with programming robots, teams are also evaluated on an elaborate research project, as well as how well they demonstrate FLL Core Values, which include teamwork, collective learning, active participation and gracious professionalism. After practicing and preparing for months, teams meet at regional qualifying tournaments to be graded on the three elements, with the top teams advancing to state competition.

Shelby Wratchford From Fults Earns the Girl Scout Gold Award

 

 

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Shelby Wratchford from Fults has received the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive. 

 

 For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Shelby shared her love of art by providing a program called Mornings with the Masters: Art and History Experiences for Middle-schoolers in her community.  Shelby said she took this on as her Girl Scout Gold Award project after learning that art education in America’s middle and high schools is disappearing.  “I wanted to provide students with unique opportunities to explore their artistic interests and abilities,” Wratchford said.

According to Shelby, she created fun, hands-on art sessions where students were introduced to a certain period of art history, such as Cubism, and the great masters associated with those movements.  “Then, students worked with a variety of art materials such as chalk, clay and oil pastels to create their own versions of the artists’ works,” she added.

“By completing my Girl Scout Gold Award, I learned a great deal about developing and implementing a plan.  I know that these skills, along with those I learned during my 13 years in Girl Scouts, will serve me well in the future as a college student, an employee and beyond,” Wratchford said. 

Shelby is the daughter of Phil and Jamie Wratchford.  She is a freshman at Webster University majoring in art and French.  She has been a Girl Scout for 13 years. 

The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, recognizes a Girl Scout's commitment to excellence as she develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges in her life.  To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, a Girl Scout Senior or Girl Scout Ambassador must design and carry out a project that fulfills a need within a girl’s community, creates change, and is sustainable.   The project must be completed with a suggested minimum of 80 hours of work.  Only about 6 percent of eligible girls earn the prestigious Gold Award.

GSSI Council Shop Update - December 2014

 

 New Fall and Winter Items

Check out our new merchandise for fall and winter! GSSI has a multitude of new merchandise for girls and adult volunteers. Stop by a retail shop soon or browse our virtual catalog.


Go to Girl Scouts’ Virtual Catalog


GSSI Council Shops Extended Hours:


GSSI Council Shops will be open from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on the following Saturdays of the month:

Dec. 6, 2014
Jan. 10, 2014

December 6, 2014 – A Girl Scout Holiday Sale!


Special prices on some gift items will be available at GSSI Council Shops in Glen Carbon & Mt. Vernon

Regular priced jewelry will be 20% off
Loomband kits regularly $11.95 now $7.99
Bling bracelets regularly $8 now $3.99
Girl Scout Jeweled Lanyard regularly $10 now $6.99
Assorted plush animals regularly $6.25 now $2.99


Bring a GSSI Mobile Shop to Your Event
Several areas are running Mobile Shops at their events. You can too! If interested in a running a Mobile Shop at your local service unit or regional event, please contact Beth Ross, Business Services Manager at 618.692.0692, ext. 1129 or e-mail: bross@gsofsi.org.


Shop/Service Center Closures

The shop and office will be closed on December 18, 2014 for a staff meeting.
The shop and office will be closed December 24, 2014 and reopen on January 5, 2015 for the holidays.


GSSI Council Shop Contact Information:
Corporate Service Center: Stacey Port: 618-692-0692, ext. 1101 • e-mail: sport@gsofsi.org
Regional Service Center: Brittany Galloway: 618.242.5079, ext. 2103 • e-mail: bgalloway@gsofsi.org


Go to GSSI’s Online Shop

GSSI Program Registration Updates: Fall 2014

Important Information -- The Registration Process Has Changed!

Register online using eBiz

Starting December 1, 2014 the preferred method for registering for council programs and trainings is online. eBiz is a great tool that allows volunteers and parents to purchase memberships online as well as sign up for GSSI programs and trainings!

 

 

Benefits to signing up using eBiz:

You can search for activities by Girl Scout grade level, event focus, date and geographic location.

eBiz listings contain the most up-to-date information on programs and trainings. If there have been any changes regarding date, location, time, etc., those changes will be reflected.

Programs and trainings added throughout the year will be reflected on eBiz.

Capacity information reflects the number of openings left for each event so you see immediately if there are enough spaces to accommodate an individual girl or multiple girls in your troop.

After completing the purchase online, you receive an e-mail confi rmation verifying your purchase.

 No need to complete paper forms!

IMPORTANT!  REGISTER EARLY! Nothing cancels a program quicker than waiting until the last minute to register! At some point, program staff must determine if an event has met the minimum
number of participants. Slow-filling events may be cancelled due to low enrollment.


Registration Policies


Deadline means DEADLINE! eBiz operates on Eastern Time, so the deadline to register for events is 10:59:59 p.m. central time on the deadline date. Once the event cannot be purchased on eBiz, no more registrations will be accepted. Deadlines will be enforced. The time between the deadline and the day of the event is used to provide registrant numbers to collaborators, order and receive supplies and make other necessary preparations for a successful event.

In some cases, deadlines may be extended by GSSI

Events not meeting the minimum number of participants will be cancelled.

 

GSSI cannot accept registrations for participants after the deadline or beyond the capacity.


In case of cancellation or event change, you will be notifi ed as soon as possible.

Refunds will be made up to the deadline date. After the deadline date, money will NOT be refunded unless GSSI cancels the event.

If a registrant cannot attend a program, another registered girl in the same grade level may take her place. Please notify the program registrar at programregistrations@gsofsi.org of the change in advance. Provide the name of the person unable to attend and the name & complete address of the replacement. Only girls may be substituted for girls and adults may be substituted for adults.

Refunds will not be given out for girls who do not attend programs or trainings for which they are registered. GIRLS WHO DO NOT ATTEND A PROGRAM OR TRAINING WILL NOT RECEIVE MATERIALS, INCLUDING PATCHES OR AWARDS.


Register Using Paper Forms

The paper form reflects all the information we need to process each order. Registration staff may return incomplete forms to you for missing information.

 Forms received without payment will not be processed.

 Paper forms will be processed during council’s normal business hours. They are processed in the order they are received and as space allows. A completed online registration immediately holds the spot and may be purchased any time before the deadline.

The paper registration form may be found in the Forms & Library section of www.gsofsi.org. The form is fillable, so you can type directly into it. This section of the website contains all the forms related to membership registration, program registration, financial assistance, training registration, etc. If you are unable to locate the necessary forms, please contact us.

Submit your form along with payment in one of the following ways:

1. E-mail it to programregistrations@gsofsi.org

2. Fax it to 618.692.0685

3. Mail or drop off:

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois

Corporate Service Center
#4 Ginger Creek Parkway
Glen Carbon, IL 62034


NOTE: All program information, plus additional information and necessary forms, can be found on our website: www.gsofsi.org. In addition, as new program opportunities arise, they will be added to our website, so please check it often!