Only about 10 percent of Girl Scouts nationwide receive the Silver Award.
On February 20th, our Girl Scout Council honored the outstanding work of 82 Cadettes who earned the Girl Scout Silver Award in 2020. The event was hosted at the Palm Beach Convention Center and sponsored by The Gina Rose Montalto Memorial Foundation. The Girl Scout Silver Award is a national recognition established by GSUSA that gives girls in grades 6-8 the space to focus on an issue they really care about, research the root cause, find others who care about it too – and ultimately take action to make a difference. To these middle school age visionaries, “make a difference” are not just nice words.
These Silver Award Girl Scouts work through demanding prerequisites and a rigorous application process so they can discover something, talk about something, connect with others and authentically do something that makes the world a better place.
Throughout the Girl Scout Silver Award process, our girls gain the confidence and skills that will catapult them to lifelong success. Earning this award means they reached way beyond what the world knows as “community service.”
As we took a proud moment to reflect on this contribution we knew that if we took just the minimum required contribution of hours for each the Class of 2020 Silver Award Girl Scouts poured 4,000 hours back into our communities.
Our Council’s 82 honorees embody courage, confidence, and character representing more than a century of leadership and Girl Scout sisterhood that came before them. Now, by achieving this recognition, they contribute to our legacy of leadership that inspires us today.
I hope you enjoy learning more about their commitment to our communities in this special Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida Silver Edition Newsletter.
- Lori Sullivan, GSSEF Chief Operating Officer
Sharkz 4 Lyfe
By Sophia D. of Troop 10811
For my Silver Award, I made a YouTube channel, Sharkz4lyfe, and made 3 bilingual (English and Spanish) educational videos for young children. The 3 topics I chose for each pair of videos (6 videos in total) were: sharks (an introduction to these wonderful animals), finning (a global problem sharks are facing and how kids can help), and sea turtles (an introduction to sea turtles, the species of sea turtles, what problems they are facing, and how kids can help).
I am passionate about this issue because I was fortunate to be born in the United States of America and speak English. However, many kids in Spanish speaking countries don’t have my advantages. Most marine educational videos are for adults and are in English. So, I wanted to make these videos so that more people could enjoy and learn about the ocean and the creatures that live within it.
So far, my videos have a total of 1,258 views. The videos have become more or less viral between the marine biology community in Venezuela, up to the point that I was invited to form part of an online group of marine biologist professors, teachers, and environmentalists from Venezuela.
I think that my leadership skills grew because I had to be quite creative to write a script that was easy enough for kids to understand. At the same time, I learned to overcome, at least up to a point, my panic to be on camera. I also had a purpose to fulfill - making Spanish educational videos for kids.
Jewish Connection Collection
By Hayden L. and Brooke M. of Troop 10685
Our Silver Award, "Jewish Connection Collection," focused on collecting items like Shabbat candles and kippahs, which are head coverings, for the Jewish holidays and providing them to disadvantaged Jewish families. We partnered with the Dorit and Ben J. Genet Cupboard in Davie, FL, a food pantry for Jewish people who don't have access to everyday essentials. When we gathered our items, we helped families easily access our donations by creating an area at the cupboard that displayed them.
To complete our project, we developed a lot of new skills, including taking initiative to connect with members of our community on a local and global level. As Jews, we are able to understand the importance of celebrating the holidays and how we can help people in our community obtain the proper materials for doing so. Most importantly, we improved our teamwork skills, by communicating with each other and coordinating with the Cupboard and finding what worked for them to best help the community.
Happy Passover, may your Pesach overflow with happiness.
Chag sameach!
Eagle Ridge Elementary Code Red Bags
By Rayne W. of Troop 10269
For my Silver Award I made Code Red Comfort Bags for Eagle Ridge Elementary, in Coral Springs. Code Reds are lockdowns that schools have whenever there is police activity nearby, or at the school, and it can be a very dangerous situation. The Code Red Comfort Bags that I put together are red backpacks filled with various things to help aid teachers when trying to keep kids calm in the event of a real Code Red. Code Reds can last a long time depending on the situation. In the bags I put: first aid kits, glow bracelets, coloring books and crayons, whiteboards with markers for communication, flashlights, Play-Doh, and other comfort items.
I know that kids can get anxious and antsy during these lockdowns because they can last hours and even after the school day ends. This is something I am passionate about because I know firsthand how scary it can be sitting in the dark corner of a classroom not knowing what is going on in the outside world. I think these bags can help ease that anxiousness for the students and really help the teachers during this time. I learned more than I thought I would, like leadership skills, time management, money managing, and a LOT of communication skills!
Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida Annual Meeting
Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida held its 2019-2020 Annual Meeting on Saturday, February 20th at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. At the meeting, Council Delegates elected Officers, Members-at-Large, and Girl Advisory Members onto the Board of Directors.
We welcomed seven new dynamic women to the Board who will bring an amazing array of expertise and experience to the organization.
Individual Donor Highlight
Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida is grateful for the many donors who have made the commitment to support us with a recurring monthly donation through our Daisy’s Circle Monthly Giving program. Some of our Daisy’s Circle Members choose to designate their gifts to a specific program or purpose. Two of our Daisy’s Circle Members, Lori Grahn and Debbie Hanley, have chosen to put their monthly donations to a cause close to their hearts – the restoration of our camps. Outdoor education and returning to camp in all its forms is one of the four pillars of Girl Scouts and a priority of our mission.
Lori Grahn
I have been a Girl Scout for 37 years. The first 12 years as a girl, including earning my First Class Award (now known as the Gold Award) and 25 as an adult in many different volunteer and council staff positions.
In all of that time, my fondest memories are of spending time at camp. The many adventures that I had as a girl at camp made me so excited to share camping experiences with my daughters and all of the local Girl Scouts. I fell in love with Camp Telogia the first time we stayed there, as it reminded me of the Girl Scout camps of my childhood. This camp was the perfect place to introduce younger girls to camp for the first time – in a place that was small and, for most girls, close to home.
Debbie Hanley
One of my favorite Girl Scout memories is of a troop of elementary and middle school girls that went camping for the first time and had their first experience making S'mores around a campfire. They didn't even know what a S'more was before that and I was so happy to be able to share that experience with them!
I love the laughter and squeals of Girl Scouts as they experience new outdoor adventures, discover camp favorites like campfires and S'mores for the first time, or encounter nature in ways they never have before – spiders and other critters in their cabins, tents or the bath house – and remind them that we are visiting nature and the critters live there all the time.
Lori and Debbie’s dedication to our mission is deeply appreciated and we are grateful for their continued support of our camp program, our girls, and our mission!
10th Annual Thin Mint Sprint 5K and Tagalong Trot
Thank you to everyone who supported the Thin Mint Sprint 5K! The races were held on Saturday, March 6th at Okeeheelee Park in West Palm Beach and Sunday, March 7th at Halpatiokee Park in Stuart. Additionally, runners participated virtually on their own throughout South Florida and around the country all weekend long. We had 350+ runners participated in the races!
Emerald Awards 2021
IN PERSON AND VIRTUAL LUNCHEON
Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida is now accepting nominations of honorees for our eighth annual Emerald Awards: Unleash Your Inner G.I.R.L. luncheon at The Four Seasons in Palm Beach on June 4, 2021. The celebration honors women in Palm Beach County who exemplify leadership and serve as role models for young women in our community. Four awards will be given to women who embody the characteristics of today’s G.I.R.L. (Go-Getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, and Leader). In addition, a Lifetime Achievement Award for Philanthropy will be given to one woman who demonstrates outstanding civic and charitable support.
All nominees must have lived or worked in Palm Beach County for at least three years, need to have made a major contribution or significant difference in their communities, cannot be a current Board Member of Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida and do not need to have prior experience as a Girl Scout or working with Girl Scouts.
SPONSOR HIGHLIGHT
Thank you to our new partner, State Farm, for supporting Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida as an Annual Champion for Girls. Their generous $5,000 sponsorship will help us ensure impactful programs are delivered to nearly 10,000 girls each year, helping instill a lifetime of leadership for each girl.
In addition to their generous sponsorship, GSSEF is the beneficiary of their Quotes for Good Program that is running now through May. For every household we send their way and who completes an auto, fire, or life quote, State Farm will make a $5 donation to GSSEF. For the quote to qualify, the individual cannot be a current State Farm customer. When calling/stopping by for a quote be sure to mention Quotes for Good and Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida for the quote to qualify. Participating State Farm Agents include:
• Nancy Wolfe-Smith, Broward County, 954-358-2886
• Kathleen Van Wieringen, South Palm Beach, 561-434-5699
• Cristina Mills, North Palm Beach/Martin County, 561-935-9263
• Janine Tillman, St Lucie County, 772-380-0408
• Kathy Modesitt, Indian River County, 772-299-3333