VISTA 15:

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Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana

CLUSTER MEETING NOTES – February 2010

 

Membership

(Submitted by Miriam Baker, VP – Membership)

 

Ø      Inviting New Members:

Girl Scouts has many benefitsfor you and your community….building those girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place! Think about the ways you can encourage your troop to welcome new members in 2010. Each region has special plans in place to excite you and your girls to ‘make new friends but keep the old’. Ask your membership specialist to assist you in bringing new membership to your community. 

 

Ø      Cluster Meetings:

The volunteer service delivery task group will be reconvening to determine the next steps in determining what the needs of our volunteers are and how we can continue to meet those needs as we move forward.

 

Ø      Good News

SUVAs will be receiving a SUVA Financial Support Request Form. Our Girl Scout council has allocated funding to assist with certain expenses of your service unit, VISTA or association for fiscal year 2010. Specific ways funds may be used are outlined on the form. This opportunity for financial support is new in some areas and not in others. A SUVA Annual Finance Report Form is also being released; the completed form is due by August 1, 2010. 

Any questions or comments can be answered by your membership specialist or regional membership director.

 

VOLUNTEER SERVICES

(Submitted by Gwen Ferguson, VP – Volunteer Services)

 

Ø      Eighty-six (86) participants attended the Leaders Conference 2010 at Butternut Springs on January 30, 2010.

Ø      Girl Scout Daisy Grade Level Leadership Essentials Online Training is up and running on the council Web site at www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org under Just for Volunteers, Adult Learning Opportunities, Online Training.

Ø      Watch for Girl Scout Brownie Grade Level Leadership Essentials Online Training to be available on the council Web site in February 2010.

Ø      We are in the process of developing the Spring/Summer Training Calendar. If your SUVA or sponsoring group would like to host a training, contact your regional manager of adult development by Friday, February 12, 2010.  The calendar will be in print and online in mid-March.  Each troop will receive one print copy.

Ø      Reminder: submit nominations for the Outstanding Leader, Outstanding Volunteer, New Found Treasure and Hidden Heroine Awards to your SUVA recognitions chair or manager by the deadline established by your SUVA. SUVA approved nominations are due to the council by March 12, 2010.

 

 

Ø      Save the Date! Our four council recognition events are coming soon:

 

Thursday, April 15, 2010                                           Tuesday, April 20, 2010

DiNolfo's Banquets                                                  The Carlisle

9425 W 191st St                                                         435 E Butterfield Road

Mokena, IL                                                                   Lombard, IL

Cost $27.00 - Dinner                                                  Cost: $27.00 - Dinner

 

Thursday, April 22, 2010                                           Saturday, April 24, 2010

Teibel’s Restaurant                                                 White Eagle Banquets

1775 U.S. 41                                                               6839 N Milwaukee Avenue

Schererville, IN                                                            Niles, IL

Cost: $27.00 – Dinner                                                 Cost: $27.00 - Luncheon

 

 

PRODUCT PROGRAM

(Submitted by Chris Carlson, Director of Product Programs)

 

Girl Scout Cookie® Program Goal

Gross: $18,396,878               Per Girl: 83 packages per girl

 

Encourage all troops to sell. It’s not too late for new troops to participate. New troops can easily become familiar with our Girl Scout Cookie® activity by accessing our council Web site at www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org, Just for Volunteers, Adult Learning Opportunities, Online Product Program Training, Product Program Training.

 

Booth Cookie Sales – Feb 13 – March 14

The eBudde system is ready for booth site reservations. Troops may reserve sites in two ways:

 

·         Council Sites

o        Definition: A council site is defined as a site that multiple troops may attend. These sites generally have high traffic and allow us to have sites on multiple days at multiple times. 

o        Examples (but not limited to):

§         Jewel Food Stores

§         Dominick’s Food Stores

§         Wal-Mart

§         Walgreens Pharmacy

§         CVS Pharmacy

§         Video Stores

o        Sites Not allowed:

§         Costco

§         Home Depot

§         Kohl’s

§         Target

§         Lowes

·         My Sites

o        Definition: A site that a troop has a personal connection to that is not conducive for multiple troop participation

A new menu selection has been added to the Web site – SITE SALE INFORMATION FOR TROOPS. This page provides information about how to set up a booth site, rules and procedures and much more. 

 

NEW! A Booth Sale Calculator Form is available for troops to use to calculate how many cases of cookies to order based on the number booth sale hours.

 

New sites are being added to eBudde daily. Troops should continue to check eBudde for exciting new sites, including more than 30 high rise buildings in Chicago and suburbs, hotels and many more. Troops may continue to sign up for site sales through March 12, 2010.

 

Troops may replenish their Girl Scout Cookie® inventory at the Vernon Hills, Lisle, Joliet, Homewood and Merrillville regional service centers during regular business hours, Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Roving trucks will be available on select Saturdays at multiple sites in each region. The roving truck schedule will be posted on the council Web site soon.

 

Girl Scout Cookie® Delivery

Delivery is scheduled for February 13 through February 28, 2010. If a troop Cookie® manager does not know the location of her delivery site, she is to contact her SUVA Cookie Program Manager immediately.

 

 

Communications

(Submitted by Julie Somogyi, Director of Integrated Marketing and Communications)

 

Connect: The Power of One E-newsletter

Volunteers and parents are encouraged to sign up for our council's e-newsletter, Connect: The Power of One, in order to receive up-to-date information about activities, events and Girl Scout news. The council's online newsletter is an important way for Girl Scouts to use its resources wisely and respect the environment. It also enables us to communicate more quickly than ever before by delivering electronic news right to your inbox with links that connect you to the source of the information on our Web site. The newsletter arrives approximately every two weeks. Signing up is easy and necessary since we do not enroll people without their consent.

 Here’s the link to our newsletter sign-up page:

http://www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org/just-for-volunteers/sign-up-for-our-newsletters/

Town Hall Questions Answered
Our council Web site now includes several documents that summarize the questions posed during the fall regional town meetings and the answers prepared by staff. The questions are grouped by related topics.

Please be aware that as our council work evolves and our processes become more streamlined, the answers to these questions may change or need to be updated frequently. The council has been using the information collected in these documents to address questions raised by volunteers and procedures that needed refining.

 

To access the information, and view the list of March 2010 town hall meetings, go to www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org and click on the Just for Volunteers section, following the fly-out navigation bar for Questions and Answers for Volunteers. The complete link is: http://www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org/just-for-volunteers/questions-and-answers/.

 

 

Property

(Submitted by Tim Oglesby, Director of Property)

 

Firewood

Many of our camps/program centers have firewood for sale at $125 per pickup load. Customers are asked to load their own trucks with split hardwood and pay the property manager before leaving. Camps/Program centers that have firewood are: Butternut Springs, Greene Wood, Happy Hollow, Meadowbrook, Morrison, Pokanoka, Palos and Wild Rose. 

 

Volunteers Needed at Camps/Program Centers

All of our camps need volunteers to work outside, especially cutting and splitting firewood. Help is also needed with clearing trails, removing invasive plant species, making minor repairs, cleaning cabins and other projects.   Please share the word and encourage volunteers to help out at our camps/program centers. To volunteer, contact Julie Gilmartin at 630.544.5973, or by e-mail at jgilmartin@girlscoutsgcnwi.org.

 

 

Program Innovation

(Submitted by Theresa Salus, VP – Program Innovation)

 

Girl Leadership – Program Aide Training

Girl Scout program aide (PA) training is the first leadership program for Girl Scouts currently in grades

7 - 12. This program enables girls to identify their leadership potential, develop their skills and share knowledge with younger girls in a troop or event setting.

 

Girls may choose to continue their leadership development by assisting at SUVA or council-wide program events, day camps or in their communities after their training. 

 

New dates have been set and more are to follow:

Date                    Location                                                       Time                              Code

2/20/10                Promise Center, Joliet, IL                           10 a.m. – 2 p.m.             525

2/27/10                Camp Palos, Palos Park, IL                       10 a.m. – 2 p.m.            526

3/6/10                  Oak Terrace Elem - Highwood, IL             10 a.m. – 2 p.m.            527

3/13/10                Morrison Program Center, Lake Villa, IL     10 a.m. – 2 p.m.            528

3/19-21/10           Apple Acres, Chesterton, IN                       Weekend overnight      529

3/27/10                Camp Greene Wood, Naperville, IL            10 a.m. – 2 p.m.            530

4/10/10                Friendship Center, Country Club Hills, IL   10 a.m. – 2 p.m.            531                   

 

Summer Camp Information is Almost Here!

All member families will receive a postcard in the mail alerting them to the arrival of the summer camp information and how to access it. Our primary means of registration will be through our online reservation systems. 

 

This summer, we will be running three resident camps at Butternut Springs (in Valparaiso, IN), Juniper Knoll (just north of Lake Geneva, WI) and Pokanoka (west of Joliet in Ottawa, IL), and two day camps at Greene Wood (in Woodridge, IL) and Palos (near Orland Park, IL). Thirteen groups of volunteers have teamed up to run week-long day camps in their communities. 

 

Summer camp programs are designed for individual girl attendance. Many girls choose to attend with one friend; it is not a troop activity. Parents and volunteers can learn more about our summer camp programs by attending a camp information session; many sessions are being held throughout February, all over the council. Please encourage parents to attend to have their questions answered before registering.

 

Resident camp reservations open Monday, March 1.

 

Day camp reservations open Monday, April 5

 

Attend a Camp Information Session

Join us for a slide show and have your questions answered before you register for camp!

 

Date                            Time                            Location

January 30                  10 a.m. -11:30 a.m.    Howard Mohr Community Center

7640 Jackson Blvd, Forest Park, IL

January 31                  2:00 p.m. - 4 p.m.       Girl Scout Friendship Center

5100 Sunset Lane, Country Club Hills, IL

February 1                   6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.       First Presbyterian Church of DuPage

180 N. Weber Rd, Bolingbrook, IL

February 1                   6 p.m. - 8 p.m.                        Journey World

770 N. Halsted, Chicago, IL

February 3                   6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Porter County Public Library, Hebron Branch

201 W. Sigler Street, Hebron, IN

February 4                   6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Vernon Hills Regional Service Center

                                                                        650 N. Lakeview Parkway, Vernon Hills

February 9                   6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Joliet Regional Service Center

                                                                        1551 Spencer Road, Joliet, IL

February 13                 2:00 p.m. - 4 p.m.       Camp Greene Wood Program Center

8 S 021 Rt. 53, Woodridge, IL

February 17                 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Westchester Library Service Center

100 W. Indiana Ave, Chesterton, IN

February 19                 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.       St. Mary Star of the Sea, Duggan Hall

6435 S. Kilbourn Avenue, Chicago, IL

February 23                 6:30 p.m. -8 p.m.        Murphy Elementary

220 N. Greenwood Dr., Round Lake Park, IL

February 24                 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Cornerstone Center

8635 Calumet Avenue, Munster, IN

February 25                 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Salvation Army

8354 W. Foster, Norridge, IL

 

Camp Open House Tour Guides Needed

The camp open houses will focus primarily on our summer 2010 camp programs. To provide the best support to camp visitors, volunteer guides are to be familiar enough with the property to lead a group, but do not need to be intimately familiar with our summer camp programs. Visitors will hear a presentation about our programs by a staff member before heading out on the walking tour. Adult volunteers and older girls are welcome as guides.

 

Date                            Time                            Location         

May 2                           1:00 p.m. - 4 p.m.       Camp Juniper Knoll, East Troy, WI

May 16             1:00 p.m. - 4 p.m.       Camp Greene Wood, Woodridge, IL

May 16             1:00 p.m. - 4 p.m.       Camp Palos, Palos Park, IL

May 16             1:00 p.m. - 4 p.m.       Camp Pokanoka, Ottawa, IL

May 16             1:00 p.m. - 4 p.m.       Camp River Trails, Sheridan, IL

May 16             1:00 P.M. - 4 p.m.       Von Oven Scout Reservation, Naperville, IL

May 23             1:00 p.m. - 4 p.m.       Camp Butternut Springs, Valparaiso, IN

 

If interested and available, please contact Peggy Brothers at pbrothers@girlscoutsgcnwi.org to volunteer.

 

Volunteers for Outdoor Programs Needed!

The camp pathway team is looking to partner with volunteers and program aides to plan our upcoming spring and fall camping events. Please contact Gretchen Voskuhl at gvoskuhl@girlscoutsgcnwi.org if interested.

 

Girl Scout Gold Award Ceremony (DEADLINE)

We are in the process of planning the council-wide Girl Scout Gold Award ceremony, which will take place in June 2010. For girls who have completed the requirements and would like to be recognized at the June council-wide ceremony, the deadline to submit final reports is April 15, 2010. Please submit all final paper work to your closest regional service center, Attention: Girl Scout Gold Award.

 

Keep a look out in February for more Girl Scout Gold Award ceremony details.

 

Leadership Event for OLDER GIRLS

Girls Take Charge - NEW DATE, TIME, LOCATION

Saturday, April 10, 2010
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Loyola University
$30 per girl
Girls in grades 6-12
Register online using code 75

The Girls Take Charge workshop is a fun and interactive session centered on topics such as positive risk-taking, collaboration, public speaking and self-awareness. This leadership development program inspires and empowers middle and high school-aged girls to become self-confident, courageous and compassionate leaders in their communities. This action packed day starts with a keynote speech by two successful women. Lori Cumming is the keynote speaker from General Motors where she serves as one of the company’s chief engineers; Karen Pinks, the second keynote speaker, is a Talent and Organizational Performance (T&OP) Senior Executive from Accenture. Both women will not only kick off the day, but also share their stories about trials and success. Girls will leave inspired and motivated to take on leadership roles and will grow through positive self awareness!

 

Camp CEO - What is this all about?

Camp CEO is simply not like anything a girl has ever experienced. Girls will discover that the women who run local companies and make important decisions every day were once teens just like them, trying to decide where to go to college and what they wanted to be.

 

This is a chance for girls to ask questions, hear their surprising stories and learn how the choices they made impacted their lives.

 

In addition to powerful, one-on-one sessions with these women, girls will also connect with other teen girls by participating in fun, camp-based activities like geocaching (high-tech scavenger hunting), swimming, team-building games and archery. They will also participate in yoga, self defense, dressing for success and networking workshops and then plan and host a huge dinner party with fancy place-settings, table decorations and party food. The adult campers will participate right along with the Camp CEO attendees in all these activities.

 

Who?                          Girl Scouts ages 14 and up, or at least entering the 9th grade in the fall

When?                                    June 13-18, 2010

Where?                       Camp Butternut Springs, Valparaiso, IN

Cost?                          None for girl participants; participation is funded by scholarships

How to apply?             The application can be found online at http://www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org/just-for-girls/take-the-lead/

 

Application deadline is March 12, 2010.

For more information, contact Aminah Abdullah at 312.416.2500, ext. 237, or e-mail atcampceo@girlscoutsgcnwi.org.

uniquely ME! Program Still Available

Troops can still register online to participate in the uniquely ME! program. To register, visit www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org/registernow and type in program code 212. Once registered, leaders will receive an e-mail with the link to the uniquely ME! Guide for Facilitators and supporting documents.   This guide is a simple to use document that takes leaders step-by-step on how to conduct the program. Each girl, up to the first 2,000, will receive a free patch when the implementation report is returned to Melissa Parker at the Lisle Regional Service Center, mparker@girlscoutsgcnwi.org.

 

Chicago White Sox Game

Girl Scouts can receive a special discount for the Chicago White Sox game on April 24, 2010.   The Girl Scouts Forever Green community action projects will be highlighted during a special event prior to the game. The Girl Scout festivities begin at 1:00 p.m.; the game kicks off at 3:05 p.m. More information on how to order tickets will be coming soon.

 

Start Planning Now for our Family Cruisin’ Event - May 15, 2010

For all Girl Scouts and their families: troops can bring their families out for an afternoon trip on Lake Michigan aboard the Spirit of Chicago. This cruise will provide families with an awesome view of the Chicago while they dine on great food and dance to some of their favorite music.   Participants can begin boarding at 3:30 p.m. on Navy Pier; the boat cruises from 4:00 p.m. - 6 p.m.   Cost is $36 per girl and per adult.   There are only 300 spaces available so register now! Register online at www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org/registernow and type in program code 175.

 

Save the Date with the Chicago Sky

The WNBA’s Chicago Sky is offering two Girl Scout events this season on June 5 and August 14, 2010.   Each night will offer a fantastic Girl Scout program along with the opportunity to see the Chicago Sky in action.   More information is still to come on the specific details of these events.   Girl Scouts can receive discounted tickets to any game this season by visiting http://www.wnba.com/sky/ and clicking on the Girl Scout logo. 

 

Journey World Program Information 

Journey World programs are listed below. The open house is free and adults and all children are welcome to visit! There is also no need to pre-register. The Journey World team will provide group tours of the facility and girls are welcome to do the activities within the spaces at the center.

 

The Journey World address is 770 N Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60642.

 

The entrance to the building is on Chicago Avenue. Free parking is available across the street. The lot is fenced in and marked with a yellow sign that reads, "Free parking for Love's Chicago." If you plan to park in the lot, please prepare a sheet of paper that reads, "Girl Scouts" and display this on your dashboard where the attendant can see it.

 

Date                            Time                            Event                                                               Code

February 1                   6:00 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Open House                                                    ----

February 3                   5:00 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Radio City workshop                                       240

February 5                   5:00 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Extra! Extra! workshop                                   246

February 6                   1:00 p.m. - 3 p.m.       Dance Around the World workshop              062

February 6                  3:00 p.m. - 5 p.m.       Love to Dance workshop                                063

February 11                 10:00 a.m. - 2 p.m.     It's Your Future workshop                               232

February 12                 10:00 a.m. - 2 p.m.     It's Your Planet workshop                               227

February 12-13           8 p.m. - 8 a.m.            It's Your Future overnight                                056

February 15                 10:00 a.m. - 2 p.m.     It's Your Future workshop                               233

February 17                 5:00 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Money Management workshop                       238

February 20                 10:00 a.m. - 3 p.m.     Science Sampler                                            111

February 23                 5:00 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Beyond the Limits! workshop                         221

February 25                 5:00 p.m. - 8 p.m.       Inventing Solutions workshop                         236

February 27                 9:00 a.m. - 12 p.m.     Eco-Challenge workshop                               315

 

In December 2009, 251 girls and 70 adults attended programs at Journey World. The following information outlines our spring break promotion and coupon offers.