Girl Scouts in the News

GIRL SCOUTS WORK WITH LEGISLATORS TO
STRENGTHEN, UPDATE ANTI-BULLYING LAW

CONCORD, NH – On June 15, Governor John Lynch signed House Bill 1523, to strengthen the Granite State’s anti-bullying statute by ensuring schools have clear policies against bullying, and to address cyber bullying.

“As Governor, I have made the safety of our children a priority, and today, we are continuing our efforts to protect our most important resource – our children,” Gov. Lynch said.

“We need to send a clear message of zero tolerance for bullying.” On hand for the live signing at the State House were schoolchildren and Girl Scouts.

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains’ Director of Advocacy, Carmel Quinn, helped facilitate the rewriting and passage of the bill by working closely with sponsors Reps. Donna Schlachman, Nancy Stiles, Judy Day, and a coalition of educators and school administrators, and others.

New Hampshire first enacted an anti-bullying law in 2000. This new law requires school districts to have a written policy against bullying, and adds bullying through electronic means – cell phones, social networking sites and e-mail – to the statute.

THANK YOU, COMMON MAN!

MANCHESTER, NH – Almost 1,000 people enjoyed a scrumptious ice cream sundae at The Common Man family of restaurants, and Girl Scouts are reaping the benefits. This was the third year Common Man chefs created a luscious dessert with a popular Girl Scout Cookie and their homemade ice cream, and donated a portion of the proceeds.

Tagalongs Peanut Butter Swirl Sundae, made with the Tagalongs Girl Scout Cookies, homemade Common Man chocolate ice cream and a peanut butter swirl, topped with homemade whipped cream and a cherry, was served with a Tagalongs cookie in March at 17 Common Man family restaurants. One dollar from every sundae ordered was donated to Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, for a total of $995.

Ten Girl Scouts accepted the check on behalf of the Council at the Common Man’s Airport Diner on Brown Avenue in Manchester in June. Community service has been a hallmark of The Common Man since its inception in 1971. The Common Man family and owner Alex Ray have been recognized seven times on a state level with the Restaurant Neighbor Award, and on a national level in 2004 and 2009 by the National Restaurant Association, for the good deeds it does.

BREAKFASTS HONOR CHAMPIONS FOR GIRLS

CONCORD, NH and MONTPELIER, VT – Six women who are leaders and champions for girls in their communities and state were honored as positive role models and examples of Girl Scout values in action in May at two breakfasts in the state capitals.

The Montpelier breakfast featured attorney Beth Robinson of Langrock Sperry & Wool, LLP in Burlington as keynote speaker and honoree, who spoke about the value of leadership. “That’s why the Girl Scouts are so important. The organization is helping mold today’s girls into tomorrow’s leaders – the women we’ll all depend on to tackle the challenges facing our world.”

Also honored were attorney and Have Justice Will Travel and Kids Place founder Wynona Ward, and Marcia Merrill, CPA of the Vermont Council on the Status of Women, and the Business and Professional Women organization.

Girl Scouts, including two girl board members, did the introductions and a flag ceremony at each event.

In Concord, New Hampshire Commissioner of Education Virginia Barry, PhD spoke and was honored. She talked about the important role Girl Scouting played in her own leadership development. Girl Scouts learn to work collaboratively, listen to others, think creatively, and accomplish change. All of these skills are closely related to success as adults, she said.

Engineer Kim Vecchione of NH Ball Bearings in Peterborough, and Executive Director of the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance Sarah Chaisson Warner, who founded Athena Magazine for Girls, were also chosen as champions for their mentoring and leadership of programs for girls.

Sponsors included: Ben Franklin Printers, Liberty Mutual, RiverStone, Café Services, MorganStanley Smith Barney, Landmark Benefits, The Courville Communities, QSP and Ashdon Farms, Manchester Monarchs, American Income Life, Merchants Bank, Nathan Wechslet & Company, and BJ’s.com. Harris Trophy sponsored the awards and Body Covers contributed as a friend of Girl Scouts.

GIRL SCOUTS GO GREEN TO CELEBRATE EARTH DAY, SISTERHOOD

THETFORD, VT -- About 150 Girl Scouts gathered at Camp Farnsworth on Saturday, May 1 for the second annual Sister2Sister celebration and Earth Day Festival.

“Green Teams” introduced their Girl Scouts Forever Green projects. Girls measured water quality, recycled trash to make handbags and other cool items, crafted recycling bins, learned about alternative forms of energy, and more.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Operation Cookie Brings a ‘Taste of Home’ to U.S. Military

BEDFORD, NH – Thanks to donations from our customers, veterans’ groups, businesses, and Girl Scout troops, Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains loaded more than 3,000 cases of Girl Scout Cookies at the Bedford Service Center onto a moving van bound for Pease Air National Guard Base.

On April 23, through the Family Readiness Program at Pease ANGB, cookies were delivered, to be distributed to servicemen and women here and abroad.

Every year since the Persian Gulf War, the New Hampshire Air National Guard’s family support program has made it possible to deliver a “taste of home” to our military forces. The delivery by Able Moving and Storage of Amherst, NH, which donates its truck, fuel and a crew each year, is about 36,048 individual boxes of Girl Scout Cookies.

Many donors including Girl Scouts wrote cards and letters and sent them with the boxes.

Four airmen unloading cases of cookies (12 packages of cookies to a case) had all been on the receiving end when they were deployed in the Middle East.

Commander Paul Hutchinson of the NH Air National Guard thanked everyone who made Operation Cookie possible. As another transport plane took off in the background, he said that in the next two weeks some of the Girl Scout Cookies would likely accompany another wave of troops to Afghanistan.

“Everyone is so excited to get Girl Scout Cookies,” said SSgt Genobaga-Gray, “and there’s usually enough to share.”

“They really are a taste of home,” said Chief Taatjes.

GIRL SCOUTS PRESENT AT THE UNITED NATIONS

NEW YORK, NY – Girl Scouts from Vermont and New Hampshire presented a summary report to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March. The report was from the New England Conference on Women held in 2009 in Exeter, New Hampshire, which some of the girls attended.

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains represented five of only seven Girl Scouts participating in this international, weeklong event highlighting issues affecting women and girls.

GIRL SCOUTS CLEAN UP CAPE COD SEASHORE

CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS -- Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains became the first Girl Scouts to earn the National Parks Service Stewardship Patch for their work on the Cape Cod National Seashore. Thirteen Girl Scouts from Vermont spent five days there this winter helping to restore and preserve the area’s natural beauty.

As part of Girl Scouts Forever Green, girls cleaned First Encounter and Herring Cove beaches, removing trawl webbing, lobster bands, balloons, polystyrene cups, lumber, a beach umbrella and much more. They learned that 85% of marine debris is plastics.

To prevent forest fires, they worked with Cape Cod National Seashore Fire Management Crews to clear and burn brush on more than 1 acre of park land. They learned about the ecosystem of the national seashore and are creating a wayside exhibit for the park to make people aware of the hazards of human and marine debris on our nation’s beaches.

GIRL SCOUTS VISIT SENATORS, CONGRESSMAN, WHITE HOUSE
Girls in Nation’s Capital to Present Report from Women’s Forum

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains were invited to join a delegation traveling to Washington, D.C. to present findings from a report from the New England Women and Girls Summit.

Four Girl Scouts and another student met with Congressman Peter Welch, Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.

“I loved being where so much of my country’s history was made,” said Mary Gauthier of Westford. “I could feel the power (of) being able to speak my mind and be heard.”

“Senator Sanders talked to us about education equality and listened, and talked about getting more women involved in politics and in mathematics and the sciences,” Katie Hango of South Burlington said.

Congressman Welch discussed the report with the girls and said he was interested in seeing the results of a survey about how girls in middle and high school feel about education and career opportunities in their future. The report will be presented to Legislators this spring by Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains.

The Girl Scouts also presented the forum findings to a representative of President Obama’s Commission on Women and Girls at the White House.

Gauthier, Hango, Keighty Tallman of Essex Junction, and Amanda Greene of Franklin represented the Girl Scouts. Emma Broderick of Charlotte, Vermont also attended.

The New England Women and Girls Summit was part of Beijing + 15 – a follow-up to the first World Women’s Conference held in China 15 years ago. It was held at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire in December 2009. The Girl Scouts went to Washington, D.C. in January.

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains Sponsors Educator
Expert on ‘Mean Girls’ and Bullying Reaches Hundreds

Author and educator Rosalind Wiseman spoke to more than 650 people in her January appearances in New Hampshire and Vermont, sponsored by Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains and other organizations.

Wiseman spoke about cliques, “frenemies,” cyber bullying and gossip in the Internet age, and how to teach strategies for helping children navigate conflict ethically.

In Essex, Vermont, Wiseman spoke to educators at the Center for Technology. Later that evening she presented before an audience of 400 at the McCarthy Arts Center at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester. The next day she was the featured speaker at Southern New Hampshire University’s Robert Frost Hall in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Other sponsors of Wiseman’s talk on communication between girls and boys in the cyberspace age include: Center for Women and Gender at Saint Michael’s College, Regional Office on Women’s Health, Heritage United Way, YWCA, Girls Move Mountains and 4-H.

Wiseman is an internationally recognized expert on children, teens, parenting, bullying, social justice, and ethical leadership. She wrote Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and The New Realities of Girl World, the best-seller that was the basis for the movie Mean Girls.

Additional publications include Queen Bee Moms and Kingpin Dads, and the Owning Up Curriculum, a comprehensive social justice program for grades 6-12. She also writes the monthly “Ask Rosalind” column in Family Circle magazine. For more on Wiseman, go to www.rosalindwiseman.com.

February 27, 2009 GSUSA and Microsoft Windows partner to keep girls safe in cyberspace

LMK (text-speak for “let me know”) is an online safety campaign created by Girl Scouts of the USA and Microsoft Windows. The campaign includes an interactive website for girls (http://lmk.girlscouts.org) to help them stay safe online, and an e-newsletter and website for adults (http://letmeknow.girlscouts.org) to help families navigate the dangers of cyberspace.

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains is one of 10 councils across the U.S. involved in the pilot LMK program, which is for everyone, not just Girl Scouts. Michelle I., 14, of NH was selected for the girl editorial board, and visited Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. You can see the board’s profiles on the site, which is updated regularly.

“A lot of girls don’t realize that what they post on Facebook or MySpace is permanent,” Michelle warned sister Girl Scouts attending the Women in Technology program in February.

“Even if you think they can’t, or after you’ve changed it, someone can always find it. You should never post anything you wouldn’t want your parents or grandparents to see.” Colleges and employers check social networking sites before accepting students or hiring, she added.

Beyond revealing “TMI” (too much information), teens may experience “cyber bullying” online. The LMK sites give advice on how to handle messages or activity that turns creepy or could be dangerous. The LMK program is a good place for girls and adults to examine the wonderful potential and possible perils of the worldwide web, and is a natural lead-in to the online safety pledge on page 130 of Safety-Wise. Fun features for girls are forums, Q&A, games, polls, and the first-ever downloadable patch.

Watch for our laptops at Girl Scout events. Girls and adults can sign in to the websites there. Or click on the sites at home – and tell your friends and family to check them out, too.

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains
One Commerce Drive • Bedford, NH 03110
Mailing address:
PO Box 10832 • Bedford, NH 03110-0832
Phone: 603.627.4158 • Fax: 603.627.4169

E-mail: info@girlscoutsgwm.org

Privacy Policy

© 2009 Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains
© 2009 Girl Scouts of the USA
All rights reserved
The Girl Scouts name, mark, and all associated trademarks
and logotypes including the Trefoil Design, are owned by GSUSA.

Site designed by SvenGrafik