I Can’t Wait to Claim a Spot for Another Year of Girl Scout FUN!

It’s the last day of June and the end of a very special time, our spring re-registration period. Thank you for being a Girl Scout. We are so excited for another awesome year ahead and hope you will take a few moments to complete your re-registration before the end of the day. Here are our Top 7 reasons to claim a spot for the new GS Year.

7. FREE Patch – There is always room for a new patch on that tunic, vest or sash. Every girl registered by June 30 will receive a free patch to commemorate her spring re-registration.

6. Outdoor Experiences – Whether it is climbing to the top of the tower, zipping through the trees, camping under the stars or riding that horse for the first time, Girl Scouts is the place to try new things and overcome a challenge or two in the outdoors.

5. STEM – Where else can you get connected to incredible role models and try hands on activities in science, technology, engineering and math? Why Girl Scouts, of course where she can build a structure from GS Cookie boxes, learn to code or geocache all in the course of a year.

4. Travel – Oh the places you can go through Girl Scouts! Maybe it is to your local park or zoo but then with planning, support and goal-setting it is off to bigger places like to the GS birthplace in Savannah or to a GS destination as far away as Kenya. It is all possible!

3. Community Partner Programs – Because of all the amazing girls and adult volunteers we serve, there are many cool partners who want to work with us. Did you know that we have 150+ partners across our 47 counties? There is most definitely something for every girl’s interests – sports, arts, health & fitness, STEM and fun. You name it, and we have most likely have it or soon will.

2. Troop Leaders – Did you know that Girl Scout alumnae still connect with their troop leader? Troop leaders ROCK and for sure this is a top reason to re-register. Just think about all those great plans you want to do in the next year or grade level.

1. We want YOU! We want to continue to be a part of your leadership journey. Girl Scouts do such incredible things for others giving thousands of hours each year to make a difference in their communities and beyond. Thank you for being a Girl Scout and for all you do!

Claim that spot for another year of friendship, skill-building and fun!

We kicked off our Girl Scout Starlight season on Friday night at the opening performance of Annie!

It was no hard-knock life for three of our Girl Scouts who took the stage with Starlight’s President & CEO Rich Baker! Daisy Girl Scout Allie from Grain Valley, Mo., Brownie Lucy from Parkville, Mo. and Junior Helen from Kansas City, Mo helped open the show and introduce the night’s give-away, Girl Scout Cookies!

The opening performance of Annie was a hit – more than 600 Girl Scouts, friends and family members attended the show!

Girl Scouts and Starlight have been partnering for nearly 10 years to bring live theatre opportunities to girls in our region.

Up next is Cinderella and we have two Girl Scout nights for this contemporary take on the beloved tale – July 8 and July 11! When you purchase tickets through our link for Cinderella, your Girl Scout will receive a new Starlight patch designed for their 65^th season!

In conjunction with Cinderella, Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts are needed to help out with pre-show family festivals before each production! If you can lend a hand at any of the shows (July 7 – 12) contact Staci Shute at groups@kcstarlight.com!

On July 29, Starlight is bringing Girl Scouts backstage for an intimate workshop on the Disney classic, Mary Poppins! The workshop will include a sneak-peek backstage tour, music and movement class, costume design lesson and a Q&A with the actors who play Mary Poppins and Jane Banks! The workshop is optional, but to participate you must purchase tickets through the Girl Scout code!

We will round out our summer season at Starlight with a new Cirque show called Cirque Eloize iD on September 9! Girl Scouts, family and friends can save up to 30% when you purchase tickets through our link. Make it a night and dine in the Applause club then take a back-stage tour!

“Starlight Theatre is an iconic KC landmark that is fun outdoo   r experience for Girl Scouts and their families,” said Anne Johnston, Community Program Manager. “It’s a great way to bring together troop families and give girls the opportunity to experience fine arts in an environment that is comfortable to them.”

What are you waiting for?! Get your tickets today!

Happy Father’s Day to all our Girl Scout Dads!

For the past few months we have brought you inspiring stories of Girl Scout Dads who have proclaimed that they are “Man Enough to be a Girl Scout.” These gentlemen have made Girl Scouting a priority for their family and have eagerly joined in to help grow our future leaders.
So what better way to celebrate today then by bringing their stories all together for you to see how they are making an impact in their Girl Scouts lives?!

Kerry Baker

Scott Brandt

Dylan Edeman

Matt Filing

Dwight Fowler

David Ordonio

Mark Quintana

Mark Webster

 Do you know a guy who is “Man Enough to be a Girl Scout”?! If so, we want to hear his story! Contact using the form below or email us at prdept@gsksmo.org.

Yesterday we ditched our cubicles, grabbed our cameras, donned our Keen shoes and headed out to Camp Daisy Hindman to see exactly what 105 Girl Scouts were up to at resident camp!

If you missed our Social Media Day posts on Facebook or Instagram, don’t worry – we have selected a handful to share with you below!

We got a new Trading Post during the off season! Now Girl Scouts can shop in style! Even cooler, Girl Scouts take turns helping to run the shop. That is certainly financial literacy skill-building in action!

All Girl Scouts get the opportunity to participate in horse activities at the barn. The horses are a favorite activity for many campers since they only get to experience them at Girl Scout Camp.

New this camp season are excursion sessions – an activity that Senior & Ambassador Girl Scouts can participate in on camp property, then head off site to put their skills to the test. The excursion this session is Bike It and these campers and staff member will hit some area trails on Thursday!

These Girl Scouts played some water games on Lake Odonata yesterday while practicing their kayak skills!

There are 13 CIT’s (Counselors in Training) at Camp Daisy this session. They will work with experienced camp staffers learning all about what it takes to be a counselor at Girl Scout camp. Here you see them learning how to build a campfire and role playing as campers. CIT’s will stay through next session gaining more experience and shadowing all the different staff positions and staying in unit houses with our campers!

Of course Girl Scout camp includes singing those favorite new and traditional camp songs. These girls will come home with an entirely new music repertoire! “This is a repeat after me song…”

These Girl Scouts are giving our barn staff a helping hand by taking apples and carrots and mixing them with oats to make treats for the horses!

There are lots of great STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities that take place at camp. Girls yesterday learned about crystal formations!

BULLS EYE! Our CIT 2 staff member helped lead this group of girls in an archery lesson!

Girl Scout camp builds friendships with Girl Scout sisters they’ve never met before. These two had a blast singing songs while their campfire was being built.

These excellent camp experiences you’ve seen wouldn’t be possible without these smiling faces: Camp Director, Laura Jernigan; Ranger, Keith and summer Rangers Ryan and John. Baby Grace also does her part to make sure things are running smoothly!

It’s not too late to sign your Girl Scout up for Resident Camp! We also have spots open in a newly added You & Me session for Daisy and Brownie Girl Scouts to bring a female caregiver and experience all that camp has to offer!

We’ll be doing another Social Media Day at Camp Daisy later this summer, so stay tuned!

Happy National Get Outdoors Day!

Are you reading this outside? NO?! Don’t you know that it’s National Get Outdoors Day?! Get outside and keep reading for 10 fun and easy ways to experience the great outdoors today as a family or by yourself!

1. Play in a sprinkler.

Whatever happened to the great childhood past time of playing in a sprinkler?!

2. Outdoor Twister.

Do you have kids (or kids at heart) who just enjoy getting a little dirty? Embrace the messy with a simple game of twister outside using condiments – ketchup, mustard, relish, mayonnaise with blue food coloring!

3. Grill.

Skip the oven and stove and cook dinner outside! It’ll keep your house cool and will get you outside!

4. Shop at the farmers market.

Many farmers markets have the most vendors on Saturdays. Buy some farm fresh eggs, locally sourced honey or treat yourself to a locally grown floral arrangement!

5. Color with chalk!

Turn the sidewalk into a work of art! Feeling extra creative? Try making your own chalk!

6. Go to the dog park.

Your four-legged friend wants to be outside today, too! Grab some tennis balls and take advantage of the oversized space for your dog to play fetch!

7. Take a hike.

Our area has some hidden gems when it comes to hiking trails. Use this website to find trails in your area and put your tennis shoes on and hit the dirt (or paved paths)!

8. Play disc golf.

Frisbee meets golf. This sport/recreational activity is becoming quite popular! There are many disc golf courses around or you can make your own right in your backyard! Check out the rules and try your hand at it!

9. Use a Little Free Library.

Little Free Libraries are popping up in neighborhoods across the country. One of our Girl Scouts even started her own in Johnson County! Use this website to find one near you, pick a book and then read outside!

10. Stargaze.

If the summer heat is already getting to you, wait until the sun sets tonight to get outside! On a clear night, you can see 2.5 billion light years away with just your eyes! Use this map to tell you what exactly you’re seeing!

Tell us how you’re celebrating National Get Outdoors Day in the comments below or get social! We would love to feature your activities on our social media! Use #gsksmo and #getoutdoors. You can also email us pictures at prdept@gsksmo.org.

Don’t wait, Re-Register Today and Enjoy All the Benefits!

Summer is here, and we know your schedule is busier than ever! You probably aren’t thinking about the start of another school year quite yet, but it is coming and with that another exciting Girl Scout year!

Now is the time to re-register your entire troop or your girl for the new year. If you re-register by June 30, every girl will receive the free patch and be eligible to purchase the special on-time t-shirt.

Troop Leaders – if you re-register at least 80% of your current troop membership by June 30, you will be entered into a drawing to receive a community partner activity (up to $10 per girl) (one troop per region will be selected).

It’s easy! And you can miss the hectic back to school season! Heather Miranda, Leader for Brownie Troop 7105 in Topeka, Kansas re-registered her troop last year and was drawn for a special STEM program facilitated at their troop meeting by STEM Program Manager Kate Hood.

So, Heather didn’t have to plan one meeting and the girls had a blast trying out the interactive activities. Win, win, right? Well, even better than having all the re-registering out of the way and being drawn for the special STEM program was how the re-registrations were paid.

As girls worked with each other, their troop leaders and parents / caregivers in setting their Cookie Program goals, they decided that if their per girl average was a certain amount some of the proceeds would be used for re-registration. Well, the girls blew the goal out of the water – meeting a per girl average of 250 boxes!

Heather believed that this goal kept the girls and parents / caregivers motivated. Of course, they did other things with their proceeds but being committed to the next year was a real benefit. And guess what? Every girl came back this year! And …yep Troop 7105 met their goal again this year so they will be re-registered using troop proceeds for the new membership year.

So whether you use troop proceeds to re-register girls or you encourage parents / caregivers to re-register individually, we want all our Girl Scouts back for another AWESOME year!

Don’t wait, get re-registered by June 30!

The camp season has officially begun! This past weekend 147 campers descended upon Camp Daisy Hindman to kick off the summer camp season! These 147 individuals weren’t just your traditional campers – we welcomed Girl Scouts, Moms, Dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents and everyone in between!

The great thing about family camp is that it gives Girl Scouts a chance to experience the great outdoors with those who are closest to them!

This family camp session was extra special for three Girl Scouts, Allie, Brianna and Ella! Last year, Ella and her family moved and Ella moved troops. Knowing that their girls loved camping, their mothers teamed up and reserved a cabin as their own Girl Scout “family” so they could all reconnect! The girls were thrilled to be together and they stayed up “way past 10:00 pm” having their own dance party in Ipesi the first night. By lunch on Saturday, they each had their own camp names: Ella – Cinnamon (because she LOVES cinnamon, and coincidently the first horse that she ever rode at camp); Brianna – Magic (because she loves the outdoors and finds it just ‘magical’) and Allie – Arrow (her favorite activity is archery).

Not only were the girls excited, but the moms were as well!

“It’s fun for them too!” said the girls!

“They’re right, it is fun for us too,” Kelly Curtis, (Ella’s mom) said. “It’s an opportunity to experience the outdoors with your child and everything is planned and set up for you. The food was really good this year, too!”

Family camp is self-directed, each cabin or “family” decides when they want to do activities at their leisure. Families could canoe/kayak, do archery, ride horses, participate in STEM activities, do arts and crafts as well as experience your traditional camp shenanigans such as songs and campfires (complete with s’mores, obviously).

“Family camp lets us make amazing memories with our daughters before they outgrow us,” said Kim Williams (Allie’s mom).

Thank you to all the “families” who joined us this past weekend at Camp Daisy! We hope you made lasting memories with your brothers, sisters, grandparents, moms, dads, and fellow Girl Scout sisters!

There are still camp sessions open for Girl Scouts of all age levels, and because of overwhelming popularity another You & Me session has been added!

What kind of memories will your Girl Scout make this summer?

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The research is in – getting adventurous in the outdoors is what girls want and need! Thankfully, our Outreach Program helps girls grades K-5 in the urban core have the awesome outdoor experiences they are craving but aren’t always easily available to them in the neighborhoods where they live.

This past week,  Girl Scouts in our Outreach Program  got to experience the great outdoors and to stretch themselves with new experiences at Camp Prairie Schooner!  For some of the girls, this was the first time they’ve ever hiked a trail, cooked over an open camp fire or stayed the night away from home.

With friends by their side, each girl defied gravity by climbing the rock wall and rappelling down, zip lining among the tree tops and developing team building and problem solving skills with everybody’s favorite game, the human “Hungry Hippo” game!

Beyond the activities, Girl Scouts from about 20 elementary schools enjoyed getting to know their fellow Girl Scout sisters. “I can’t believe how close you can get to people after just one night at camp,” said one camper.

Don’t just take our word for it – check out the photo slideshow below!

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Want to get involved with our Outreach Program? We’re always looking for volunteers! Contact Julia Lloyd today!