GSSA Leader Blog: The Virtual Volunteer

 I thought I would take this opportunity to update you on some of what is going on nationally, so that, in case you hear or confront some of this, you will be well equipped to respond and understand the context.

Each year during the cookie program, Karlyn Edmonds, the COO, and I are confronted with numerous calls about the "conspiracy between Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood."  At the commencement of the 2014  cookie program, it was obvious this year was different.   From the first day of the cookie program, it felt like the "Planned Parenthood and Girl Scout conspiracy" comments had been promulgated widely, primarily via social media and quasi-news websites.   We were taken aback with that felt like an orchestrated wave of public relations against Girl Scouts and the cookie program.   In the days that followed, the phone calls and emails continued and were significantly more than anything we had experienced in the past.

Let me remind you once again that GSSA has NO relationship with Planned Parenthood.   We have a clear policy, which has been in place for a number of years, that states we believe issues around sex are best handled in the family and your faith community.   This is not a topic that is part of our curriculum.  
Every day many of the staff read Google alerts, so we can see what else is going on with Girl Scouts around the country.   Most of the time, this is a source of good ideas.   It was clear when the cookie program started that there was a huge surge in the articles that connect "Planned Parenthood with Girl Scouts."   This topic consumed the Google alerts and has during most of the cookie program, not just for us, but for all the Girl Scout councils across the U.S.

When you look at the source of the increase in these articles, most of them are found on blog sites and other media that are not necessarily standard news outlets that check their facts and have substantiation behind what they write and print.   In fact, as I clicked through one of the blog sites I found that they had taken a screen shot from our website of one of our girl members and used that to link GSSA to Planned Parenthood.   The girl in this case and the article had NOTHING to do with Planned Parenthood, but literacy.   It was a violation of this girl's privacy and a misuse of our website.   As we started to complain to this blog, we discovered there is no place to contact them.   This is not a credible source, and what was done with this girl's article is not journalism.

This more heavily orchestrated move to discredit Girl Scouts has been pervasive and unending throughout the cookie program.   Anna Maria Chavez, GSUSA CEO, has made a video to again repeat GSUSA does not have a relationship with Planned Parenthood.  We have posted it on our website to reinforce our continued position that we do not have a relationship with this organization either.   But what we are experiencing is that in today's world of the blogosphere, where you can say whatever you want with impunity, and if you say it enough times then it becomes true, whether it is factually accurate or not.   A crazed person called me last week to rant and rave about Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood.   She didn't want to listen to anything I had to say in our girls' defense.   She didn't want to hear about the policy that has been in place for a number of years.   She ranted about not buying cookies.   Clearly, she is not alone in the subtle and overt intention to boycott Girl Scouts by not purchasing Girl Scout cookies.   The cookie program is down in most councils, with our's being down considerably.   This is a serious cause for concern since 80 percent of our income is derived from the cookie program.

We have a number of troop leaders on the front lines of these confrontations in their church communities.   One last week said  a friend was asked to post a biased article connecting "Girl Scouts with Planned Parenthood" on her facebook site.   I suspect this is a fairly pervasive way to exploit the situation.   I also suspect this posting of information that is not fact based is seen as acceptable, but to what good end?   It simply hurts the girls of the community.

You spend a lot of time and energy working to "make the world a better place through Girl Scouts."   You know what goes on within your troop and at council events.   We do not have a relationship with Planned Parenthood, yet there is a movement afoot to damage the reputation of Girl Scouts and impact the girls you serve.   This organization isn't perfect, as is no such entity, but I have spent lots of time watching you create contributing girls of courage, confidence, and character, who will change the world.   This type of pervasive attack that misconstrues the facts and at this point is going to assert that Anna Marie Chavez is lying is an affront to all you do with your girls.   As you see and hear these kinds of attacks, please be familiar with the facts and know we are not involved with Planned Parenthood.

Girl Scouts of the USA does support WAGGGS, the international Girl Scout organization.   That group discusses topics that affect girls all over the world.   Some of those issues, thankfully, are not ones we have to deal with in the United States;but there are things that happen to girls in the rest of the world that are offensive and should be discussed.   Another piece of purported evidence is that GSUSA supports Planned Parenthood financially.   GSUSA recently had to lay off a very large percentage of their staff members because of financial shortfalls, and I have found no evidence that GSUSA supports Planned Parenthood, and Anna Maria Chavez says as much in her video.   The link that keeps being discussed surrounds some comments Kathy Cloninger, the previous GSUSA CEO, made at least seven years ago.   We are happy to discuss or refute any specific allegations you hear or are confronted with.   Please feel free to send them to communications@girlscoutssa.org.   Do understand that, at this point, this continual allegation is beginning to damage the very organization you work so hard to support.   Thank you for all you do to make a difference in the lives of the girls you work with.

We have been working during the cookie program on summer camp planning and are making some changes as a result of the camper comments and suggestions made at the end of last summer.  In order to ensure every girl can experience what camp has to offer, there was a need to dramatically cut the number of programs offered.  This suggestion was heard repeatedly last year from both camps.   For example, not everyone got to run the zip lines or ride the banana boat, so this year we will be certain if the boat that tows the banana boat is working, everyone that wants to ride the banana boat will.

Focus will be continued on Girl Scout badge work in every program offered but we are going with a few broad themes so camp planning is less complex.  As a parent it will be easier to select a camp.   Don't worry, there will be plenty of new and fun things to do!  We are offering a distinct, skill-building badge program for each age based on each week's theme.  The theme for the first week of Scoutshire Woods and the first week of Kamp Kiwanis will be "Kamp Katniss", based on the popular movie The Hunger Games, which focuses on outdoor skills, adventure games and archery.   The second week of Scoutshire Woods is "Pioneer Girl" which goes nicely with building traditional camp skills.  For the last week of Kamp Kiwanis, we have "Experimental Explorers", a week full of scientific exploration and experimentation.   And as always at Camp Scoutshire Woods, we will offering the horse program.

This year our council is adding a very convenient and exciting day camp option.   As we discuss camp with parents, many don't want their girl away from home at night or camp competes with soccer and softball.   In an effort to provide a great camp experience there will be day camp options at Camp Scoutshire Woods and Kamp Kiwanis.   Planning with transportation companies to transport girls to both properties daily is in the works.   Campers need to be dropped off at the Mobile Service Center between 7-8 a.m. and will return between 5-6 p.m. for the Camp Scoutshire Woods session.   The same will be the case for Kamp Kiwanis, as we are working on transportation from the Montgomery Service Center. If there is sufficient interest from Auburn then a location will be determined. The day camp option will be $250 per week or 785 boxes of cookies with a cash deposit of $50 to attend.

Since day campers will be on the property, rather than turtle time after lunch, we are working to bring in local experts on a variety of topics.   Hopefully, there will be some herps come to camp during that time, as well as some raptors and other great fun, learning experiences.

Still in the planning stages, is a great opportunity for an older girls' camp at the Wehle Conservation Center.   This will be a resident camp that we can take full advantage of the resources available there.  In addition to the wonderful resources, they also have an air-conditioned dormitory.   The plan is to work with those older girls interested in this opportunity to shape the program they desire with a focus on leadership skills.

Sailing camp is still part of the mix and we are in the process of setting the dates.   There has been interest in sailing 1 camp and sailing 2 camp, but we will need enough girls to make that work, otherwise we will continue with the mixed skill levels.

If you have questions or a specific interest in summer resident camps or day camps, please contact Amy Farrar, at afarrar@girlscoutssa.org

The #1 reason the general public has for not purchasing cookies is that no one asked them.   I was at my local Walmart this weekend, and there were no girls there selling cookies.   Last year, this particular location was a hot spot because the leaders working it told me they had done very well there, so I was puzzled to see no girls there this year.

I know most of you are working hard to reach your goals and ergo the council cookie goal for the sale, which we certainly appreciate.   The sale has been down some this year, and we are working hard as a council to meet our goals, as well.

We have been confronted almost weekly with this allegation that Girl Scouts is connected with Planned Parenthood, and this is all a conspiracy.   Well, we are NOT connected with Planned Parenthood or any similar organization, and we teach girls to be courageous girls who have confidence and character.   We don't want this vicious allegation to hurt the girls of this council.  

GSSA girls have always been top cookie program sellers compared to other councils across the nation.   We don't see any reason why this can't be the case this year.   Please let folks know this supports their local girls and the funds for the cookie program don't leave the area.

We have been working on some end of sale tips, since sometimes you might feel like you are out of gas.   Here's some good ideas.

Each year, I delight in some of the stories I hear from parents and volunteers about the cookie program.   One family decided their daughter needed to be a Girl Scout to 'change her attitude.'   Not only has it changed her attitude, her father relayed to me this Daisy is a fantastic cookie seller, and she loves it. I also have loved seeing the fun pictures posted on Facebook for the Walkabout Weekend photo contest.  Looks like the girls had a great time!

Remember, sometimes it is simply a matter of asking.   We hope that your girls meet their goals, so we can meet the council goals.   In the meantime, thank you for the wonderful work you do to teach girls the many valuable lessons from the cookie program.

We scoured the internet for tips on selling cookies! Here's a roundup, including a link to our Pinterest boards, which covers many more.

Sell in underserved areas

There are areas in our council that don't have many troops -- this means lots of cookie buyers are just waiting for YOU! You don't have to be from a town to have a booth sale there. Booths are needed in Greenville, Selma, Monroeville, Tuskegee, Clio and Rehobeth. Sign up in SNAP today!

Sell at college dorms

What do college kids love more than anything? Sweet treats. And most college campuses are remote from choices. Show up at the dorm with Girl Scout Cookies, you'll be flooded with sales!

Churches and other public places

Go to church? Ask your minister if you may set up a booth in front. The parishioners may be hungry after the service and would love to have some Thin Mints for the trip home.

Sell to grandma, and all her friends and neighbors

Remember to wear your full uniform.  Perhaps the lady across the hall or street from Grandma used to be a troop leader and can share her favorite Girl Scout memories.

Offer a sample
Open one box (you'll have to pay for that one) and break cookies into small samples on a nice plate. No one can resist!

Remind customers to stock up
Ask people to buy a whole case so they have enough for the whole year.  Give away a large zip-top freezer bag with large purchases. Cookies freeze great!

Call on last year's customers
Save your order card for next year so you can return to your customers and ask them again.

Ask, ask, and ask again
When you deliver cookies, ask customers if they would like to buy more than they ordered.

Create a Gift of Caring program
Customers buy cookies that you deliver to a charity or community group. Make booth signs that tell customers about this choice. Create a drop box so customers can see the donated cookies stacking up.  Ask if they would like use their change to help purchase Gift of Caring cookies.

Upsell with "Buy 5" contest
Would your customers like to win 72 boxes of delicious cookies?  YES! They need only buy five boxes and fill out  the "Buy 5" entry form to be entered into a contest.

Bundle up the cookie goodness!
With pretty ribbon, tie up three packages to create bundles such as "Chocolate Lovers Pack" or "Classic Bundle." It's fun to give away free handmade gift cards, too.

Print out recipes and offer one free when they buy more than one package. 

Check out our Pinterest Boards for more great tips!

During the cookie program, we are looking at the various ways we connect with you.   We want to communicate with you, and likewise, we want you to communicate with us.   Just recently, we had a service unit mess because we didn't know there were issues within those working there, so communication is a critical issue for us - particularly at this busy time of year.

We have the GSSA Weekly e-newletter that comes out each Thursday.   It includes information on cookies, programs, camps, rule changes, a blog entry, and other information about happenings around the council.   We plan on continuing that initiative because we have metrics from Constant Contact we use to see what is being opened and clicked on.   We track that, so we can shape the GSSA Weekly to items we know you are interested in.

We also are looking at social media, since some of you use that rather than an e-mail account.   We thought we would do a quick survey of what you are using and what you find the most useful.   We are also looking at some of the new media opportunities to assess whether to up any time into these or not.

We are starting to work with Instagram, which is good for us because of the visual nature of it and so much of what we do is well communicated visually.   We have talked about using Vine, as well, which does brief videos.   How useful that is for us isn't as clear as Instagram.

We do know that, during the cookie program, the e-mails that go from the ABC SNAP program tend to work fairly well.   As we continue to get the modules of E-Council to work, we will have that capacity.   We want to know what works best for you, and when you are spending time on-line, what programs you use.

I hope cookies are going well so far.  Please click here or on the image below to take the short survey. Thanks for your feedback.

LINK TO SURVEY

Technology can be the best thing that happens in your day, and then suddenly it turns on you and ruins a perfectly nice day.   When I first came to Girl Scouts, we did all our work with the cookie program by hand.   We had elaborate spreadsheets with troops and service units, booth schedules, and receipts books and receipts everywhere. That was just how the cookie program worked.   Over time, there has been a slow evolution to putting all things related to the cookie program on-line.

Now, the good part of having it on-line is there are great tools for girls, since technology and the use of technology is their world.   So a girl can go on COCO, set her goals, watch as she achieves her goals and learns.   She discovers how to plan.   This is a wonderful thing if you are young.   The on-line materials our cookie baker, ABC, provides are excellent and add to the cookie program.   Girls are better able to connect the cookie program with the five business tools they are learning through the program, so I recommend that your daughter, troop, and service unit use COCO, as it is a great resource for them.

On Tuesday, we also discovered the downside of technology when the Montgomery portion of the booth scheduler managed to have your troop only be able to sign up for a booth sale all day long.   This is probably your worst nightmare, an all-day booth sale at Walmart.   It certainly quickly became our worst nightmare when 17 pages of volunteers had tried to sign up and wound up with the all-day booth sale.   We're sorry about that. It was a great case of human error.   Our apologies, as we know this created some serious havoc.   We did have a discussion that next year instead of the 6 a.m. booth scheduler opening up, we will have it at noon when folks can possibly do it from work, home or their cell phones, and we will be in the office to deal with the issues.   We welcome your thoughts on that change at communications@girlscoutssa.org.

If you were one of the troops tied up in this technology faux pas, please know that we are working to fix it immediately.   We also are working to get in touch with you so we can honor what you intended.   If we have not e-mailed or spoken to you yet, please contact Cheryl Miller at cmiller@girlscoutssa.org.   She is working to address this with those conscientious volunteers, who got caught in our mess.

Thanks for your perseverance and patience. We appreciate all you do to make the world a better place.

We've spent the week working on delivery schedules, packing in cookies at the cookie cupboards and pantries, and cleaning up issues with swipe devices, so clearly the cookie chaos is about to commence.

The council goal for cookies this year is 913,488 packages or boxes of cookies.   Now, that is a lot of cookies.   This amount is what we sold last year, so we know it is achievable.   Our girls are some of the most prolific cookie sellers in the nation, with our per girl average at 200 for last year.   We hope to exceed that and the number of boxes sold.   We believe we are well positioned to make that happen.

Each year at this time, we always start planning for resident camp in earnest.   One of the goals is provide some new opportunities for the girls if we achieve the council goal.   In the past, you may recall we have purchased stand up paddleboards when we made our goal.  Another year, we installed zip lines at two of the camps because we exceeded our council cookie goal.   This year, I'm in search of what would motivate girls to work hard to sell cookies.   One item on my list is to purchase more Jon boats (flat bottomed), so girls who cannot use the canoes are able to get out on the lake in a boat.   Jon boats are much more stable, hold more girls, and you row rather than paddle, ergo the famous camp song "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat."   Purchasing more stand up paddleboards is another possibility.   We are open to suggestions on this, please give us your thoughts at communications@girlscoutssa.org.

I always feel compelled to remind troop leaders and parents that ABC Bakers, our cookie baker, has some great apps that make the cookie program a learning experience for the girls from every angle.   The app for girls to use during the cookie program is called COCO.  Click here for instructions on downloading and using the app.   I believe girls not only learn while selling cookies; when they are at home they can set goals, and establish them in a visible way they can track via the app.   The cookie program presents a great opportunity for girls to learn about the work of commerce.

I hope the cookie delivery went well and your sales are looking great.

Thank you for all you do this time of year to create girls who are young entrepreneurs and business women.

Girl Scout Troop 8454 is a troop combined of 4 schools in the Mobile area, mostly St Lukes Episcopal School.  We feel our success stems from a multi-level approach of opening many doors for girls in order for them to explore the avenues of personal and academic growth outside of the boundaries of school. 

This year we adopted water as our theme.  Friday, Nov 1, 2013 was our first venture to navigate these waters (pun intended!) of how what we drink gets from the atmosphere to our homes, via pumping stations.  With the help of MAWSS (Mobile Area Water & Sewer System) we were able to get a private tour of S. Palmer Gaillard Pumping Station and accompanying Converse Reservoir (Big Creek Lake).

We learned that this pumping station was created in order to serve the growing population of greater Mobile from the 1950's.   The 3600-acre storage lake has 26 miles of shoreline, is fed by 5 creeks and is connected to the pumping station. 

We learned that when the lake fills with too much water, the nearby spillway gates open and release the extra water.  We also learned that after water is pumped into the station, it leaves through 60-inch pipes and goes to one of two treatment facilities to make the water drinkable.  Last, we learned by modeling how different forms of pollution affect watersheds and the area in which we live and play.

This event was a wonderful STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) opportunity because we learned that gravity assists moving water to the treatment facilities (science), the importance of pumps in generating the initial movement to the facilities (technology), the use of dams and spillways to allow or refrain water movement (engineering) and math because we calculated that the 26 miles of lakeshore to be over 450 football fields.

A great big thanks to Mr. Benny White and Mrs. Lucinda Sully at MAWSS for taking their time to teach us about water!

Girl Scout Troop 8454 pictured from left to right:

Back row:  Tristan, Brenna, Abigail, Maggie, Della, Aleah, Mallory, Devan, Haley

Front row:  Vina, Olivia, Virginia Grace, Claire, Anya, Lilli, and Maggie (not pictured are troop leaders Michele Johnson, Shea Sadler and Julia Winnen).