Marina's member updates

Member Update, May 18, 2012: 100th Anniversary, Membership, Camp and other program news, Volunteer Survey!

May 18, 2012

Dear Members and Friends of Girl Scouts,

At this point in May, I should be writing to you about the Girl Scout year winding down, but not this year! I have lots of exciting news to report:

• One Hundred, Fun Hundred
• Forever Green Fundraisers
• Membership and Early Bird Renewal
• Camp News
• Bothin Organic Garden, Robots, and Movie-Making
• Volunteer Survey
• Got Choices - Solano

One Hundred, Fun Hundred.  
Wow! On May 5, 20,000 Girl Scouts, from 38 states, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea and Spain, celebrated Girl Scouts’ 100th Anniversary at One Hundred, Fun Hundred under perfect sunny skies and a super moon, at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.  As one member wrote:

"What an amazing event the 100 Fun Hundred was. Thank you to everyone who helped plan and run it. My girls took gun safety and shot bb guns, scuba dove, rock climbed, sang and danced with Melinda Caroll, made a blanket for the homeless, held a giant snake and other critters, bridged across a wonderful version of the Golden Gate bridge, visited the llamas, traded a zillion swaps, made wonderful new friends, ate more junk food than any stomach should handle in one day, danced in the flash mob and sang their little hearts out at the firework show. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. We only wish it could have been more than one day."

I stand in awe of the incredible team of volunteers and staff who dreamed big, and worked so hard to plan, raise funds and bring to life this once in a lifetime event for Girl Scouts. I also appreciate the hundreds of vendors who participated in One Hundred, Fun Hundred. I saw only a small percentage of all that was going on at One Hundred, Fun Hundred, but had fun writing about and filming some of the parts I did see. Here are a few links you might enjoy:

• My SFGate blog post about One Hundred, Fun Hundred: 20,000 plus Girl Scouts Celebrate 100 Years!

• An 8 minute, 30 second home made video that I narrated real time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (I admit, my voice does sound tired on Sunday!). Needless to say, it’s an incomplete view of all that was going on, but, hopefully, captures some of the amazing OHFH energy. If you have OHFH video, upload it to YouTube and send to it webmaster@girlscoutsnorcal.org – we are looking for videos for our Girl Scouts Speak Out YouTube Channel!
• A charming video that captures girls’ voices singing along to the fireworks display.

100th Anniversary, OHFH and Bridging Souvenirs. We apologize that the lines were so long at the One Hundred, Fun Hundred store. If we ever again hold an event for 20,000 plus people, we’ll find a way to make it easier to shop! Meanwhile, the wonderful One Hundred, Fun Hundred and 100th Anniversary Golden Gate Bridging items are now available online.
 
GSNorCal Facebook Page. Our Facebook page includes links to some wonderful photo albums and memories of the day. You can post yours too!
                    
Thank you so much to the 2,000 plus volunteers who made One Hundred, Fun Hundred possible, and to all of the parents and troop leaders who brought your girls and helped them sell cookies to raise funds so they could be part of this special celebration of Girl Scouts. Thank you, also, to all the participants who donated everything from pennies to dollars when you registered and at various sites around One Hundred, Fun Hundred. We raised $2,909.20! Your generosity will help us provide financial aid for camp and support Girl Scout programs for girls. 

Forever Green Fundraisers. 
As part of our 100^th Anniversary year, we are raising funds for Girl Scouts and honoring, with the Forever Green Award, 100 women who are “greening” the future of Northern California, through their contributions to education, health, economic stability, social justice, the arts and philanthropy.

Alamo Mother’s Day Weekend Lunch. This past weekend in Alamo we held the second of our seven Forever Green events. We had 88 guests attend the event, and 6 girl ambassadors hosted tables, including three girls who spoke. Maggie, a high school sophomore, led 5 distinguished Forever Green honorees in a panel discussion; Erin, a high school senior, described the impact of her 13 years in Girl Scouts including summers at Diablo Day Camp as a camper and “Elf” (counselor in training); and Uma, a high school freshman, closed the lunch with inspiring comments about how Girl Scouts has helped her set goals and aim high. 

Next up . . . Rutherford! Our next Forever Green event will be on June 14 at the beautiful Beaulieu Gardens in Rutherford. Award-winning chef, cookbook author, restaurateur and Forever Green Honorary Committee member, Cindy Pawlcyn, will attend, together with 7 confirmed Forever Green Award recipients. When Girl Scouts honored Cindy as a “Woman of Distinction” in 2011, we loved hearing her stories about how selling cookies as a Girl Scout helped prepare her for a career in the restaurant business. She launched Mustards Grill in 1983 and since then has been at the forefront of the “farm to table” food movement, operating successful restaurants in Napa and San Francisco. In 2010, the Monterey Bay Aquarium selected Cindy to bring sustainable, fresh food experiences to the Aquarium. Information about tickets and sponsorships is available at GirlScoutsNorCal.org/100 – or, please contact Clara Hah with any questions at chah@girlscoutsnorcal.org. 

We appreciate your support as we raise funds to keep Girl Scouts “forever green” for our girls – today and tomorrow.

Membership and Early Bird Renewal. 

• 2012 Membership.  I have some good news – after 4 years of declining to flat girl membership, we’ve turned the corner. Daisy membership is ahead of our goal, and we are on track to grow overall membership in 2012! Most of this growth is due to our focus on growing volunteer-led troops, which is very important for making sure that we can sustain membership and reach as many girls as possible. Thank you to all of our troop leaders and service unit volunteers – girls become members and stay in Girl Scouting because of you!

• Early Bird Membership Renewal. This is our third year offering online membership renewal, and, so far, over 4,500 members have renewed their membership online. Thank you! If you haven’t renewed your/your daughter’s membership yet, I encourage you to do so by June 15, so you can receive this commemorative Forever Green patch for registering for the first year of Girl Scouting's second century online and on time. If you are new to online membership renewal or need a refresher, click here for step-by-step instructions you can print and follow.

And while you are renewing your Girl Scout membership, I hope you will consider making a donation to support GSNorCal as a Family Partner. You can register and donate with a single transaction. All donations help! A $60 donation helps close the gap between the $300 cost and the $240 we raise each year (through product sales, program fees, camp fees, and property rentals) to deliver Girl Scouts to girls in volunteer-led troops in Northern California. Click here to view an inspirational video about all of the good your donation can do.

Camp News! 
Camp registration is open and camps are filling! Bay Area Parent Magazine readers have voted GSNorCal camps “Best Sleep Away Camps” two years in a row! Remember, you can use cookie rewards to pay for camp, and financial aid also is available. We still have a few spots left at our first-ever family camp at Deer Lake (in the High Sierra, near Truckee, over Labor Day weekend), at the Bothin, Deer Lake, Skylark Ranch, and Sugar Pine sleep-away camps and at Camp Metro Day Camp (at the Rainbow’s End Outdoor Program Center, in the northeast area of Santa Clara County). Sugar Pine family camp and Bothin Mom & Me programs are now full!

• For information about all GSNorCal camps, visit camprocks.org. 
• For help finding the best camp program for your daughter, send an email to our camp registration team at happycamper@girlscoutsnorcal.org.   

Bothin Organic Garden, Robots and Movie-Making!

Bothin Organic Garden. This weekend, 2-5 p.m., Sunday, May 20, it is time to plant the Bothin Organic Garden, and our garden team could use more volunteers. On the docket:

• Add a soil amendment to readied beds
• Build up beds 1-4 with new “stuff”
• Turn compost and add new manure
• PLANT:
  • Peppers (sweet and hot)
  • Tomatillo
  • Eggplant
  • Watermelon
  • Spinach
  • Cucumber
  • Beets
  • Radish

NASA-Ames. Breaking news ... we just got the go-ahead to run an amazing three-day program at NASA-Ames in Mountain View (June 11-13), where Juniors and Cadettes will work on the Amuse and MEdia journeys. Girls will discuss stereotypes, learn how to build and program Lego robots, interview female STEM professionals, tour NASA facilities, and create movies to tell their stories about breaking stereotypes. This will be a day program (not a resident camp). Our Girls Go Tech program staff is working out the details now, but I wanted to make sure you “save the date” if this is something that would be of interest to girls you know in grades 4-8. If you receive the Monday Mailing, look for information there.  If you do not receive Monday Mailing, please feel free to send an email to jclark@girlscoutsnorcal.org for more information. 

Volunteer Survey.
Are you an active volunteers working with girls? If so, you should have received an email last Friday, May 11, with a link to a volunteer survey. I hope you will take the time to complete it! As we celebrate Girl Scouts' last 100 years and look forward to the next 100, we want to hear from you. Girl Scouts of Northern California is continually taking steps to make Girl Scouts a great place to volunteer. The survey provides you the opportunity to share with us your thoughts and feelings about your volunteer experiences in Girl Scouting. Remember that your participation can make a difference for the future of Girl Scouting and for girls and adults throughout our council. To thank you for your participation, those who complete the survey by June 1 will be eligible to win one of five $100 Visa Gift Cards. If you have any questions about this survey or didn’t receive a link to the survey, please send an e-mail to survey@girlscoutsnorcal.org or contact Heather Vilhauer at 1-800-447-4475, ext. 8010. 

Got Choices - Solano. 
With all the big news around GSNorCal, it is important to also celebrate programs that are changing lives one girl at a time. I was privileged to attend the Soroptimist of Central Solano County awards luncheon in late March, where they recognized GSNorCal staff member, Shalon Marol, with the Soroptimist Ruby Award: For Women Helping Women, for the “extraordinary ways” Shalon benefits girls through her work in Solano County juvenile detention centers. Soroptimist of Central Solano County donated $1,000 to the charity of Shalon’s choice – Girl Scouts’ Got Choices program in Solano County! Got Choices reaches about 600 girls each year in Santa Clara, Sonoma, Solano, Alameda, and Napa Counties – empowering these girls with the skills they need to make better decisions in their lives. I’ve heard the girls in Shalon’s programs describe Shalon as an “angel” in their lives, and the head of the probation program in Solano County attended the Soroptimist lunch to show his appreciation for all that Shalon does for girls. Thank you to the Soroptimists and to our members and donors who help us keep Girl Scouting strong for all girls!

Yours in Girl Scouting,



Marina H. Park, CEO
Girl Scouts of Northern California

Member Update, April 6, 2012: Camp, 100th Anniversary News, Annual Meeting and Space Cookies!

April 6, 2012

Dear Members and Friends of Girl Scouts,

Spring is here and that means camp! This update includes news about:

• Camp registration is in full swing
• One Hundred, Fun Hundred is one month away – May 5
• Our next Forever Green event is in Alamo on May 12
• Our March 31 Annual Meeting was stormy outside, and productive inside
• Space Cookies robotics team is headed to the National Championships

Camp Registration is in Full Swing  
Some programs have filled at our resident camps, but there are still plenty of openings.  April is always the busiest month for registrations, so make sure you sign up soon to get your first choice. The new Adventure Course at Bothin is a popular addition to our camp offerings, and I am excited to share the news that our first ever Labor Day Weekend family camp at Deer Lake (in the High Sierra near Truckee), is over 50% full, which is great for a new camp. With Alpine lakes, majestic mountains, and a variety of adventure activities, it will be fun for the whole family and a great way to end your summer together. Remember, Girl Scouts of Northern California offers quality, affordable summer adventures for girls and families. For camp registration and information, visit camprocks.org.

One Hundred, Fun Hundred is One Month Away – May 5!   
One Hundred, Fun Hundred is now the biggest West Coast Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary Celebration. We now have almost 17,000 registered participants from 38 states and 4 countries (U.S., Canada, South Korea, and China)! And we are getting close to our maximum capacity of 4,000 campers. So, if you plan to attend, but haven’t purchased your tickets, the time is now! It’s hard to keep up with all the late breaking news and additions form the One Hundred, Fun Hundred Team, but here are some of the most recent updates:

• Fast Passes: Fast Passes for Disney Channel's Caroline Sunshine, rock climbing, zip line, and scuba will be available on April 16 at noon. Fast Passes are free! Links will be sent to registered participants through Eventbrite prior to the April 16 opening. Fast Passes are limited, and our One Hundred, Fun Hundred planning team expects they will sell out quickly. We will take limited numbers of participants from lines on the day of the event for everything but Caroline Sunshine, but will keep this to a minimum so everyone can enjoy other great activities. 

• GSUSA:  Girl Scouts of the USA’s Chief Operating Officer, Jan Verhage, will join us at One Hundred, Fun Hundred.   

Our Next Forever Green Award Event is in Alamo on May 12
During 2012, we are honoring 100 Northern California women in celebration of Girl Scouts’ 100th Anniversary, at seven Forever Green Award fundraiser events around our council.  Our first Forever Green event on March 12 in San Francisco – shown in this photo – was energizing and inspiring. The girl table ambassadors and speakers, as always, stole the show. One of our honorees – the founder of Mozilla Foundation, responsible for the FireFox browser – wrote this blog about her experience at the event.
 
Our next Forever Green event is a luncheon at the Round Hill Country Club in Alamo on May 12, the Saturday before Mother’s Day – a great time to gather with grandmothers, mothers, and daughters. As of today, five Forever Green Award recipients are attending the Alamo event, including author Ginger Wadsworth, whose most recent book, First Girl Scout: The Life of Juliette Gordon Low, will bring Juliette’s story into libraries around the country. We are looking forward to a discussion with the five Forever Green Award recipients and also will hear from an Ambassador Girl Scout about her Girl Scout leadership experience from camper to “elf” at Diablo Day Camp. I hope to see you there! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are still available for Alamo and our other five remaining Forever Green events. For more information visit girlscoutsnorcal.org/100 or email Clara Hah chah@girlscoutsnorcal.org. 
 
Our March 31 Annual Meeting: Stormy Outside, Productive Inside
Last Saturday, we held our council’s fifth Annual Meeting at Camp Bothin. Our delegates braved the storm and we had a great turn out, including quite a few delegates who traveled and spent the night at Bothin on Friday night. 

Inform: We heard updates from the council’s Treasurer, Property Task Group Chair, and the Chair of our 100th Anniversary Campaign. We also heard from three girl members:   Annastasia Wong (San Francisco) and Marie Carr (Anderson), who described their Girl Scout experiences, and Kelsey Daugherty (Vacaville), a girl National Delegate who attended the Houston Convention in November 2011 and summarized the National Council discussions about the proposal to allow councils to charge a council service fee to support council operations. 

Elect: The Chair of our Board Development Committee presented, and voting members elected, an outstanding slate of 6 officers, 12 Directors-at-Large, and 6 members of the Board Development Committee. Our new Board President, Dianne Lamendola, shown in the photo at right, has served on the Board of Girl Scouts of Northern California since our October 2007 merger and during that time has chaired the council’s Information Technology Task Group. She is a former Group Vice President at Safeway Inc. where she most recently led the Information Technology Office of Optimization, Planning, and Strategy. She also is an avid road and mountain biker and is a member of the Diablo Multi Sport Connection, a local women’s multi-sport team. You can read about all of our Board and Board Development Committee members online here.
 
Discuss: The main topic for discussion at this year’s Annual Meeting was whether and how Girl Scouts of Northern California should charge a “council service fee” to girl members to help cover the costs of council operations. GSUSA now permits councils to charge Council Service Fees, provided that: 1) the fee only applies to girl members; 2) it is no greater than GSUSA annual dues; and 3) it is charged at the time of membership registration. Regional delegates led discussions with service units in advance of the Annual Meeting and arrived prepared to share ideas and input. We are in the process of typing up many pages of input generated during the discussion. After the meeting, the Board met and reviewed what they heard from members. As next steps, the Board asked staff to review and share with delegates the input from the meeting, developing recommendations on next steps based on that input for further Board review at the June 23 Board meeting. So, stay tuned for more discussions on this important topic. 
 
Appreciate:  We said a fond thank you and farewell to 5 departing Board members. We recognized the following departing Board Members with the Honor Pin:

• Sally Biggin
• Henry Gusman
• Dora Mao
• Katherine Punteney

And we recognized Woody Shackleton, our Board President during the past two years, with the Thanks Badge. Woody, pictured here, has served on the Boards of Girl Scouts of Northern California and Girl Scouts of San Francisco Bay Area for 10 years. Under his leadership, we made steady progress towards our strategic goals. He will be missed on the Board.  We are fortunate that Woody has agreed to continue to serve our council as a member of the Finance Committee and appreciate so much the many ways in which he has contributed to Girl Scouts of Northern California.
 
Celebrate:  We ended the meeting with a celebration of Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary – a candle lighting ceremony with candles lit by the candle, lit by the candle ... that Juliette Gordon Low lit. 
 
Tour:  After the meeting, those who didn’t mind the cold wind and wet ground toured the Bothin Organic Garden, Museum, and Adventure Course, and the Board resumed its meeting in Stone House.
 
Bothin feels like our council’s gathering place, now. While the Annual Meeting was underway in the dining hall, girls were gathered elsewhere for Program Aide training. We are fortunate to have such a unique space that serves so many different purposes. 
 
Space Cookies Robotics Team Headed to Nationals! 
Congratulations to the Space Cookies FIRST robotics team. On the heels of strong showings at the Sacramento Regionals and Silicon Valley Regionals, this team of 38 Girl Scouts from 12 Bay Area high schools, as far north as Santa Rosa, is headed to the FIRST National Championships in St. Louis April 25-28. At the Sacramento Regionals, the Space Cookies won the event’s highest honor – “Chairman’s Award” – for consistent excellence in robotics, team work, and community outreach. The Space Cookies’ outreach includes robot demonstrations at a number of community events, and they mentor a Lego Robotics team in East Palo Alto. You can read about my visit with the team at last week’s Silicon Valley Regionals on my sfgate blog. And learn more about the Space Cookies at their team website. You can also meet the Space Cookies at One Hundred, Fun Hundred and see them demonstrate their very cool basketball shooting robot! 
 
I hope you all enjoy a wonderful holiday weekend.

Yours in Girl Scouting,



Marina H. Park, CEO
Girl Scouts of Northern California

Member Update, March 1, 2012: Girl Scouts and Sempervirens Fund team up to save redwoods and camps!

March 1, 2012

Dear Members and Friends of Girl Scouts,

I am delighted to share the news that on March 1st, 2012, Girl Scouts of Northern California and Sempervirens Fund closed a deal that protects 412 acres of redwood forest (including 1,420 old-growth redwoods) on two of our Santa Cruz Mountain camps – Camp Butano Creek and Skylark Ranch. Sempervirens Fund paid Girl Scouts of Northern California $2,860,000 for the conservation easements. What a wonderful way to launch Girl Scouts' 100th Anniversary Month!

Sempervirens Fund is a nonprofit land conservation organization with a 111-year history of preserving and protecting redwood forests, wildlife habitat and watersheds in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Girl Scouts has a 100 year history of being “green,” connecting girls with the outdoors and “using resources wisely,” one of the tenets of the Girl Scout Law. This transaction is a wonderful melding of our missions.  

We began our discussions almost two years ago, and our Property Task Group and Board of Directors were involved each step of the way. Although Sempervirens Fund has worked on other conservation easements, Butano Creek and Skylark Ranch are the first with active camp operations. Girl Scouts also needed time to develop sustainable plans for both camps, get input from our members, and get comfortable that this transaction would be the best decision for future generations of Girl Scouts in Northern California. 

What is a Conservation Easement?  
A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that establishes permanent limits on use of the land in order to protect conservation values. The Skylark Ranch and Camp Butano Creek conservation easements prohibit commercial harvesting of trees, subdivision, and development of the properties for purposes other than outdoor recreation and camp. The easement remains in place even if the owner of the land changes; thus Girl Scouts retains the right to sell the camps, subject to the easement restrictions. The purchase price paid for the conservation easements on Butano and Skylark was determined by a third party appraiser (jointly selected by Sempervirens and Girl Scouts) and is based on the difference in the value of the land before and after imposing the easement restrictions. 

Building Generations of Environmental Stewards.
Last July, representatives of Sempervirens Fund and Girl Scouts of Northern California toured both camps, discussing, as we walked, the opportunities and challenges of structuring conservation easements that protect conservation values while also giving Girl Scouts the flexibility needed to develop and improve the camps. At Camp Butano Creek, we had lunch in a grove of old-growth redwoods and met with Clover and Sunshine, the leaders of our wonderful volunteer-run summer resident camp. We next traveled down Highway One to Skylark Ranch, where summer resident camp was in full swing – 200 girls per session.

We walked down the steep trail to Fern Grove, named for the ferns that grow along a small creek in the shade of towering redwoods. Campers spend long, magical afternoons in Fern Grove. All around us, in every nook and cranny of every tree, were tiny fairy houses made of sticks and leaves and pebbles. In that moment, I think we all realized that in addition to preserving spectacular forests and raising funds to help sustain Girl Scouts camps, a deal done right would plant the seeds for future generations of environmental stewards. 

Reed Holderman, the Executive Director of Sempervirens Fund, stated this as follows:  “Both Sempervirens and Girl Scouts are firm believers that outdoor experiences are important for youth and crucial for building stewards of the environment. Sempervirens, which is part of the Latin name for the coast redwoods, Sequoia sempervirens, means ‘always living.’ That’s what these conservation easements will do: permanently protect the magnificent coast redwoods today while allowing young people to learn an appreciation for nature for generations to come.”

How Conservation Easements Support GSNorCal’s Property Plan. 
Keeping our most-used camps open and well-maintained, with a reserve fund for future major repairs, has been an important motivator for Girl Scouts of Northern California in completing this transaction. Our goal is to reduce camp property losses by $500,000 per year (about 25% of the $2 million per year we now lose on camp property operations) through a combination of revenue growth and expense reduction. We have our work cut out, but the conservation easements and the $1 million grant that we received last December for camp improvements at Camp Butano Creek are a great start.    

Property Reserve Fund.
Sempervirens Fund paid $2,860,000 for the conservation easements, and our Board has authorized us to invest the proceeds in a newly established “property reserve portfolio” and use the income generated from the reserve to help offset maintenance and repair costs. Assuming a 4% return, the property reserve portfolio will generate about $114,000 a year – just about enough to pay for required repairs on Camp Butano Creek and Skylark Ranch. Our goal, of course, will be to increase the property reserve portfolio, over time, through investment growth and donations!

“Big Camp Improvement Plans.”  
As part of our 100^th Anniversary Campaign, we will be launching a $4 million capital campaign to improve our three most-used and most expensive resident camps: Camp Butano Creek, Skylark Ranch, and Bothin/Arequipa in Marin County – with a goal of improving the program experience, reducing the operating costs, and making the camps work better for weekday rentals to other non-profits interested in providing outdoor experiences.  

Because our camp “viability” strategy requires improvements to the camps to reduce repair costs and increase weekday rentals, a key part of the conservation easements was our work with a camp architect to develop a long-term master plan for each camp. The conservation easements define a “camp activity area” and within this area, we have flexibility to improve the camps according to the master plans. This past December, we received our first major grant in support of our camp improvement campaign – $1 million from the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation to help fund the Camp Butano Creek Improvement Plan.

We also are working with members on plans to get both Twin Canyon (Lafayette) and Two Sentinels (High Sierra near Kirkwood) to break-even operations. 

Butano: Click here for past posts on the Camp Butano Creek improvement plan.

Bothin/Arequipa: We have been working with volunteers from the Heritage Committee and Arequipa Day Camp on the Bothin/Arequipa Master Plan, and look forward to sharing a “first look” at that plan with members who attend the Annual Meeting at Bothin on March 31.  

Skylark Ranch: The Skylark plan is a “refresh” of the master site plan for the camp and includes plans to upgrade some of the tents and teepees to reduce repair and maintenance costs. 

See 3 Big Camp Improvement Plans at One Hundred, Fun Hundred.
We will have plans on display for each of the three camps at One Hundred, Fun Hundred in the “Camp S’More” area – look for the “Big Camp Improvement Plan” banner. Girls will have an opportunity to share their ideas for the trail from Bothin to Arequipa – both the name and fun activities along the way. 

One Hundred, Fun Hundred reminder:  We have over 12,700 registered participants, from 26 states, South Korea, and Canada. I can’t wait! At the current rate of daily registrations, the event will sell out with 20,000 participants by March 31 (and the price goes up April 1). So, if you haven’t registered yet, make sure you do so soon!

And – Don’t Forget – Camp Registration!
Speaking of camp, registration is open for summer day, resident and family camps at camprocks.org. We have more sessions than ever, including a new family adventure camp at Deer Lake, near Truckee, over Labor Day weekend. Registration for the five council camps (Bothin, Deer Lake, Skylark Ranch, Sugar Pine and Camp Metro day camp) is about 18% ahead of last year at the same time – so register soon to make sure you get the session you want!   

Yours in Girl Scouting,  Marina

Member Update, February 2, 2012: Cookies, camp, 100th anniversary and more!

Feb. 2, 2012

Dear Members and Friends of Girl Scouts,

January has gone by in a blur! We’ve all had lots going on – and lots more to come!

• Cookies are Coming
• Sign Up for Summer Camp
• Forever Green Celebrations
• One Hundred, Fun Hundred
• Discoveree
• Delegate Elections and Annual Meeting
• Property Update
• Girl Membership Update

Cookies are Coming. 
This year’s cookie sale runs Feb. 13-March 18. Look out for this year’s new 100th Anniversary lemon cookie – Savannah Smiles. I am so appreciative of the time and energy volunteers, parents and girls put into the cookie sale. Thank you! A great sale helps all of us – it is a great learning experience for the girls, helps girls earn cookie rewards to pay  for camp and other programs and funds about 60% of Girl Scouts of Northern California’s annual budget.    
 
Each year we add new technology to support girls and volunteers participating in the cookie program. This year’s highlights include:

• Smart phone credit card sales. Something new this year – volunteers with smart phones can sign up to use technology that allows them to use their phones to accept payment by credit card. Click here for FAQs and online training about how Intuit's GoPayment technology can benefit troops!
• Booth sale app. Volunteers can use a smart phone app to keep track of sales and inventory – the app links directly to the online cookie inventory system found online here. 
• iLoveCookies.org. Cookie lovers can visit this popular website to find cookie booth sales. It’s important that volunteers keep their booth information on this site current – last year over 212,000 members of the public visited this site during cookie season!
• Smart phone cookie app. Another way to help members of the public locate booth sales: Download our Cookie Locator Mobile App for your Smartphone by clicking here or calling **GSCOOKIES and sign up for email alerts to be notified when cookies will be near you! 

We have tons of resources to help you promote cookies in your community, at your booth, and in your local media on our website – click here for marketing, media, and toolkits.

Sign Up Now for Summer Camp! 
Registration for council run camps opened yesterday, and registration for many volunteer-run camps is also open. To see all the exciting programs, for links to volunteer-run Community Camps and to register online for Council Run camps visit camprocks.org. A few new camp options to consider:

• Deer Lake – We are offering, for the first time, a family camp over Labor Day weekend (Aug. 31-Sept. 3) at this beautiful mountain camp (located off Highway 80 near Donner Summit and Truckee).
• Bothin – The new Adventure Course has allowed us to add some exciting new programs to this camp. And, of course, our popular mom and me program - “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” – is returning with two sessions.

Forever Green Events.    
Tickets are on sale now for the seven Forever Green events we are holding this year – to celebrate our 100th Anniversary, honor 100 amazing women who are “greening” the future of Northern California, and raise funds for Girl Scouts of Northern California. The first event is on our Anniversary – March 12 – at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We also are holding events in Alamo, Rutherford, Eureka, Redding, Palo Alto, and Santa Rosa.

I had the pleasure of working closely with our council’s 100th Anniversary Campaign Committee and Nominating Committee to nominate and invite the 100 women our council is honoring with the Forever Green Award. It was inspiring to learn about so many women who are contributing to a better future for Northern California, women like:

• Sylvia McLaughlin who founded Save the Bay 50 years ago.
• Radha Basu who was a Silicon Valley tech company executive and CEO and who today serves as the CEO of Anudip Foundation (dedicated to creating livelihoods in impoverished areas of India by providing IT training) and teaches social entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University.
• Jennifer Seibel Newsom, whose documentary, Miss Representation, is empowering girls to speak out and challenge the media’s limiting portrayal of girls and women in the media;
• Jessica Lundberg, the board chair of Lundberg Family Farms – a family business that has used sustainable farming methods since its founding in 1937 and today is the nation’s leading producer of organic rice and rice products.
• Brandi Chastain, who inspired a generation of girls to play soccer and today, in addition to coaching, continues to encourage girls to get outside and play hard.
• Barbara Banke and Peggy Furth, wine industry executives who recently launched a new company – Whole Vine Products – to research and develop commercial products, including gluten-free baked goods, using  grape skins and seeds “left over” from the production of premium wines.
• Eva Patterson, President of the Equal Justice Society and, for more than three decades, an empassioned advocate of equal justice under the law.
• Sarie Toste, who we are honoring posthumously. Sarie, who accepted the Forever Green Award before her death this fall, was a retired school superintendent, school board member and educator in Humboldt County who pioneered the “Learn to Earn” financial literacy program that has taught thousands of elementary school students the basics of savings and personal finance.
• Vanessa Robledo, the President of Black Coyote wines, Vanessa worked in the vineyards as a young girl and ran her family’s winery, the first Hispanic-owned U.S. winery, for ten years. 
• Suze Orman, a personal finance expert and best-selling author, dedicated to improving financial literacy and financial health.

I hope the 100 Forever Green Award recipients will serve as inspiration to our  girls, to our volunteers and to our communities. They certainly have inspired me – a powerful reminder of our important mission – building girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. 
 
One Hundred, Fun Hundred.    
With just about four months to go until our big 100th Anniversary festival on May 5, 2012, at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, we have over 11,000 registered participants from 3 countries and 26 states. This is going to be Girl Scouts of Northern Calfornia’s biggest event ever! I think it’s pretty neat that Eureka and Chico are among the top 25 hometowns of registered participants! The event will be sold out when we hit 20,000 participants. If ticket sales continue at the current daily rate, we estimate the event will sell out March 31 – so, don’t wait and be disappointed (plus, prices go up on April 1).  You can find out everything you need to know – how to register, where to stay, how to get there, etc., in our expanded One Hundred, Fun Hundred webpages online here. 
 
Discoveree.   
Discoveree, our largest volunteer learning fair, is this weekend, Feb. 4, at Cesar Chavez Middle School in Union City (very near the eastern end of the San Mateo Bridge). Online registration is closed, but you can register on-site – we still have room in most workshops. Click here to learn more. 
 
Delegate Elections and Annual Meeting. 
Congratulations to our council’s newly elected Regional Delegates. You can click here for a list of Delegates by region. All members are invited to attend the March 31 Annual Meeting, which will be held at Camp Bothin. Our council’s voting members include Regional Delegates, National Delegates, Girl Board Participants, Board Members, and Board Development Committee members. Annual Meeting registration will open on March 1. We will be reviewing the proposed meeting agenda with our Board of Directors at this weekend’s board meeting and let you know ASAP the topics that will be on the agenda. 
 
Property Update.   
Here are highlights of a few of the camp  properties that have been most active since my last update:

• Butano Creek and Skylark Ranch: We are in the process of selecting the architect to work with us on the camp improvement plan for Butano Creek. As I announced in my December update, found online here, the S.D. Bechtel, Jr., Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to our council – the largest in our history – to support this improvement plan. The full plan will cost about $2.2  million, so we will manage the improvement project in phases as we succeed in raising additional funds. We also are continuing to work on possible conservation easements on both of these properties, the proceeds of which will be used to generate income to help pay for capital repairs on camp properties.
•  Bothin/Arequipa: Volunteers involved in programs, day camp and the Heritage Committee museum at Bothin and Arequipa are working with council staff and Domokur Architects to develop  a master plan for Bothin/Arequipa – an essential step before we raise funds to improve this camp. Bothin is our most expensive camp property, so we are focusing on improvements that will improve the program experience, while also helping us increase rentals. 
• Twin Canyon: Staff from our property, membership, program, and finance departments and I have met with interested volunteers and community members to start work on a plan to get this Lafayette camp to a break-even operation. Our goal is to complete work on the plan by the end of September 2012. If you missed the Jan. 18 Town Hall, but are interested in being an active participant in this effort, please send me an email.

Girl Membership Update. 
While it’s too early to predict with certainty, it is looking like 2012 will be the first year since our Oct. 1, 2007, merger that girl membership will grow! That will, of course, be a great way to launch the next 100 years of Girl Scouting in Northern California! Thank you to the troops that added girls this year – 198 troops earned the “Each One, Add One” button. And thank you to all of our volunteers, for helping us reach more girls than ever. 

Yours in Girl Scouting,

Marina

Marina H. Park, CEO
Girl Scouts of Northern California

E-mail: mpark@girlscoutsnorcal.org
Phone: (510) 562-8470, ext. 1106 · Fax: (510) 633-7925
Oakland Office: 7700 Edgewater Drive, Suite 340 · Oakland, CA 94621-0149

Member Update, December 9, 2011: $1 Million grant to improve Camp Butano!

Dec. 9, 2011

Dear Members and Friends of Girl Scouts,
 
It's an exciting time at Girl Scouts NorCal! This update includes information about:

• S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation Awards GSNorCal $1 Million Grant
• Early Bird Discount for Discoveree 2012!

$1 Million S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation Grant for Butano!

I am delighted to announce that the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation has awarded Girl Scouts of Northern California the largest grant in our council’s history – $1 million to support our camp improvement plan for Camp Butano Creek in the Santa Cruz Mountains! 
 
Camp Butano Creek is our most-used property for troop and Service Unit camping and also is home to a wonderful volunteer-run summer resident camp. It is a beautiful site – nestled in the redwoods, with old growth redwood trees and easy access to the coast.  During 2010, Butano Creek hosted over 5,000 campers, for 16,410 camper days. 
 
The Camp Butano Creek improvements are designed to improve girls’ program experiences and also to reduce our losses by increasing the camp’s capacity, making the camp more suitable for week-day rentals to other youth groups during the school year and by reducing capital repairs.  Our work and commitment to improve the financial viability of our camps was an important part of the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation’s evaluation of our grant proposal.

Tent Platforms at Butano: Improvement plan includes an additional tent platform unit and restroom upgrades so the units are “stand alone” and no longer share showers with other units.

It has been very exciting to work with one of the nation’s leading camp architecture firms – Domokur Architects – and with the volunteer leaders of the summer resident camp (who also have extensive troop camping experience at Camp Butano Creek) to develop a Master Plan for Camp Butano Creek. 
 
We know that the Master Plan will evolve as we begin work and permitting, but I wanted to share with you the vision that the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation’s grant will support.  You can click here to see a map of the Master Plan. Note that the Master Plan site plan drawing includes three elements that we have not included in the current improvement plan – a covered pavilion at the south end of camp, an activity building at the north end, and additional cabins/tree houses at mid-camp. We will return to the possibility of these improvements at a later time when we have raised funds and completed priorities at other camps. 
 

The Penny Royal cabin in the “South Commons:” Improvement plan includes modifications to accommodate up to two troops and co-ed youth groups for mid-week rentals, with adjoining, accessible restrooms and outdoor cooking.

Butano improvement plan. The improvement plan calls for a 3-phase development. The total cost ($2,149,000) includes site improvements, architecture fees and a 20% contingency for each Phase. We will, of course, embark on each phase, only as we are able to raise the required funds. These improvements will increase year-round capacity by 88 campers increasing current year-round daily capacity from 128 to 216 and will also add infrastructure to support service unit camping, summer camp and week day rentals to other nonprofits and school groups.
 
Phase 1:  Increase year round capacity by 48:  replace Laurel cabin, add staff tent platforms to support use by large groups ($603,000):  During Phase I, we will build a new flexible activity center that replaces 24 of the 36 beds lost during winter and spring because the bridge to Laurel Cabin is no longer safe to use.  Estimates are that it would cost at least $250,000 to replace the bridge, and we concluded this would not be the best use of limited resources. Laurel Cabin, which requires extensive maintenance, does provide sleeping quarters during summer (when it is reached by a foot bridge). We will also add tent platforms that sleep up to 24. The total cost includes site improvements and project costs (including design fees and a 20% contingency).

• North Commons Lodge:  Flexible structure for school year troop camping (sleeps 24) and activities and summer camp infirmary, office, and staff gathering spot. ($248,000)
• North Commons Amphitheater:  Add a gathering spot outside the dining hall to enhance the camp experiences for large rental groups. ($39,000)
• North Commons Platform Tent/Yurt Village:  4 tent platforms (each sleeps 6) near the Dining Hall and North Commons Lodge for administrative and food service support at camp and service unit gatherings. The Tent Unit would also support rentals to other large non profit user groups, particularly during the school year when Laurel Cabin is not available. ($50,000)

Phase 2:  Expand number of troops and opportunities for co-ed groups ($1,177,000). The total cost includes site improvements and project costs (including design fees and a 20% contingency).

• Renovate 2 existing cabins (Penny Royal and Sequoia):  Expand use from 2 to 4 troops (current cabins sleep 24, but many troops are smaller than this and would like the option of a smaller/lower cost rental), increase beds by 16 (8 per unit) replace current uni-sex bathroom and shower house, which are located in the center of a field, with adjoining co-ed accessible bathrooms and replace separate outdoor cooking shelters with adjoining outdoor cooking shelters to free up additional open field space as well as room for the new South Commons Cabin. ($188,000  per cabin)
• Renovate bathroom (and add showers) for two tent units:  This will make these units more “self-contained” than they currently are, since they currently share showers with other units and will make them more rentable on a stand-alone basis. (Toyon: $73,000; Huckleberry: $49,000)
• Add South Commons Cabin:  This new cabin will add 24 beds.  It will  be a flexible space, to be used both for camping and for indoor program activities.  Unlike Penny Royal and Sequoia, the South Commons cabin will include a kitchenette – a very popular feature in Laurel Cabin for winter camping. ($224,000)
• Improve program experience:
  • Improve signage and materials for existing 9 mile trail system ($10,000)

Phase 3:  Improve infrastructure for year round use ($369,000). The total cost includes site improvements and project costs (including design fees and a 20% contingency). During Phase 3 we will renovate the “Saw Mill cabin” used for crafts, upgrade the camp maintenance facility and improve parking and circulation.

Butano Creek directory and redwoods.

Rental opportunities.  We generate less than $43,000 a year in rental income from Butano. It costs over $196,000 a year to operate and repair this property, so reducing this gap is a top priority for our camp sustainability program. The Butano improvement plan will help us achieve this goal by increasing utilization and rentals by two main target groups:

• Girl Scout users for weekend and summer rentals.  Increase year round capacity by 88 beds (a 68% increase). This would generate an additional $51,352 in annual rental income.
• Other non profits and school groups for week day rentals. Based on a conservative estimate of 10 rental days per fall and spring season months (Aug. 15-Nov. 1 and April 1-June 15) during the school year – the additional 50 rental days would generate $70,000. Outdoor school program season runs during fall and spring months.

The S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation’s $1 million grant will be a cornerstone of our efforts to improve program experiences and the economic viability of our camps. In addition to Butano Creek, we are working on improvement plans for our other two largest residential camps, Bothin and Skylark Ranch, and for our high Sierra resident camp, Deer Lake, and also are working with members on plans to achieve break even operations for Sugar Pine, Twin Canyon, and Two Sentinels. 
 
On behalf of all our girls – today and tomorrow – thank you to the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation for this transformational grant, which will help us build a sustainable foundation for the next 100 years of wonderful outdoor experiences for girls!

DISCOVEREE 2012 registration is now open!

Our largest training event for adults and older girls, Discoveree, will be Saturday, Feb. 4, from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Middle School in Union City. This is a full day of trainings for only $30 if you register before Jan. 15 (the price goes up to $35 after that. which is still quite a deal!).
 
Whether it’s learning a new craft like “Glass Etchings,” gaining a new skill such as outdoor cooking, or expanding your awareness about girls’ self-esteem through workshops like “Self-Esteem: Beauty and the Media,” there’s something for everyone at Discoveree. You can relax with yoga, visit the Girl Scout shop, pick up new troop ideas, or learn all about Girl Scout traditions. There are over 100 workshops to choose from! Bring a friend and make some new ones!

Click here to visit our website for a full description of classes and registration information. Hope to see you there!

Member Update, November 18, 2011: National Convention, Property and Jewel Reunion in Santa Rosa

Nov. 18, 2011

Dear Members and Friends of Girl Scouts,
 
Happy Thanksgiving to each of you, and thank you for all that you do to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. This update includes information about:

• 2011 National Council Session/52^nd Convention
• Property Update
• 2011 Jewel of a Woman

2011 National Council Session/52^nd Convention. 
 
At last week’s national Girl Scout convention in Houston, we heard from amazing girls and women who reminded us why it is so important to invest our time and dollars to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. GSUSA has named 2012, our 100th Anniversary Year, “The Year of The Girl.” We want to make sure that everyone knows what Girl Scouts does for girls and how building strong girls builds strong communities.

We learned, listened and launched the Year of the Girl – and, as you can see from this picture – we had fun!

Girl Scouts of Northern California was well-represented at the Convention – we had 25 delegates (including 7 girls), 10 girls who participated in the Girl Scout Leadership Institute and another 35 or so adult visitors. It was a wonderful opportunity for the 17 Northern California girls who attended. A parent wrote about his daughter, who attended the Leadership Institute:

“[She] had a great time and grew tremendously while there. She already has plans to: create a PowerPoint presentation to present at the local SU meetings and to other troops, nominate herself for GSNorCal regional delegate and has marked her calendar for three years so she can attempt to be nominated as a delegate to the National Convention in 2014!! She further said that if only other girls understood all of the opportunities available to older girls they would not drop out of Girl Scouts."

We heard from inspiring speakers, like Katie Couric (who spoke in vintage Girl Scout uniform!), Soledad O’Brien, Maya Angelou, and Robin Roberts. A favorite for many of us, were the presentations by the 10 Young Women of Distinction, who were honored for their outstanding Gold Award projects. I shared a brief summary on my SFGate blog, found online here. On Sunday morning, I asked our girls what they liked most about the Convention. Sara Bareilles’ live performance was at the top of their list – but next on their list were the Young Women of Distinction. All of the girls were inspired to hear from girls just a few years older than them, who made such a positive impact through their Gold Award projects. And the Young Women of Distinction spoke with such poise about the lessons they had learned and about their hopes for their futures. I was glad that the delegate seated next to me had Kleenex, because I needed it! 

Our 25 Delegates also conducted the business of the National Council. We voted on 3 proposals. Before the National Council session began, two of our girl delegates led a discussion about the proposals and our delegates shared input they had gathered from Service Units and at the nine town hall meetings conducted at our Council during September.

The votes were as follows:

Proposal 1:  Authorization for Annual General Program Fee for Girl Members (amendment to Blue Book).
The National Delegates voted to amend this proposal to refer, instead to “Authorization for Annual Council Service Fee for Girl Members.” With this amendment, the proposal passed. The proposal allows councils, in their sole discretion, to charge an annual service fee, not to exceed the amount charged by GSUSA for annual membership dues. The proposal passed: 837 “yes” votes and 418 “no” votes. There was quite a bit of debate, but, ultimately, the consensus seemed to be that each council should be able to decide whether and how to use this authorization to support council services while ensuring that all girls are able to participate in Girl Scouts. We will work with our National Delegates and Board to determine when and out how best to engage our members in a discussion about a council service fee for Girl Scouts of Northern California girl members. 

Proposal 2:  Constitutional Amendment: Timing for the Election of National Council Delegates in Councils. This proposal did not pass – constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote, and this proposal did not receive a majority vote. There were 605 “yes” votes and 656 “no” votes. This amendment would have required that delegates be elected as of Sept. 30 two years preceding the National Council Session. The idea was to allow more time to prepare delegates and to enable delegates to be more engaged in developing proposals. However, many girls, in particular, spoke out against the proposal, pointing out that the two year lead time would make it very difficult for girls to plan and participate. 

Proposal 3:  Annual Membership (amendment to Blue Book). This proposal would have changed the membership year from the current Oct. 1-Sept. 30, to a membership year that “commences on the date of registration of the member.” This proposal did not pass. The delegates voiced concern about implementation and voted to refer the proposal to the GSUSA task group that is working on membership registration.

The Convention also marked the retirement of Kathy Cloninger, the GSUSA CEO who led Girl Scouts through the past 8 years of remarkable change – realignment and the new program model. Kathy passed the torch to GSUSA’s new CEO, Anna Maria Chavez, who is the former CEO of Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. Anna Maria - shown at right with GSNorCal's own Traveling Girl Scout! - joined Girl Scouts about two and a half years ago. She is an attorney and has worked in both state and federal government, most recently as a Deputy Chief of Staff to then Arizona Governor and current U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. I thought Anna Maria did a wonderful job addressing the Convention in her first speech as CEO – she spoke from the heart and with a clear vision about why girls and Girl Scouts matter. But don’t take my word for it. You can see Anna Maria’s speech online here.

Property Update.

At its Nov. 5 Board meeting, the Board discussed the Property Task Group’s recommendations, and voiced support for our continued efforts to reduce our losses on camp properties through a combination of rental increases, a capital campaign to raise funds for our three largest, most used camps (Bothin/ Arequipa; Butano Creek and Skylark Ranch), conservation easements on two of our largest most used camps (Butano Creek and Skylark Ranch), and ongoing work with the communities and volunteer groups that use Twin Canyon and Two Sentinels to transition these camp properties to break even operations.

As next steps, the Board has authorized me to continue to work towards completing conservation easements on two of our Santa Cruz Mountain properties. I also will be continuing to meet with members to develop solutions to improve the economics of Twin Canyon – the next Town Hall meeting is scheduled for Jan. 18, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Grace Presbyterian Church, 2100 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek. I will be meeting with both Contra Costa County service unit leaders and with Diablo Day Camp leaders in advance of the Town Hall, to help ensure that information we share and the topics we discuss will move us closer to a solution.

  Jewel Reunion in Santa Rosa.    
Last night, 75 community members joined us for a lovely reunion of eight remarkable women who Girl Scouts has honored as "Jewels" at the annual Jewel of a Woman event, held since 1992, to recognize women who have made a significant difference in their communities. Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts interviewed and introduced each of the Jewels, sharing a few pearls of wisdom and advice that they learned from their conversation with the Jewel. Click here for a photo gallery that ran in today's Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

We also recognized two outstanding graduating Girl Scouts with the "Gem of a Girl" recognition: Grace Hamman and Victoria Leiva, and we heard from Natalie, who shared her journey over the past two years, from, as she put it, a girl who had a serious drug problem and was headed towards prison or death to a girl who wants a lot more out of life.  She has been participating in Girl Scouts since she was sentenced to a juvenile detention facility in Sonoma County 18 months ago and described Shalon, the Girl Scout staff member who leads her troop each week, as an "angel" in her life. Natalie joined us at Camp CEO this past summer, and a new Natalie emerged.  She is smart, funny, and headed in a positive direction. I loved hearing from Natalie that she hopes to attend our Lead the Way program for older girls this winter and return to Camp CEO as a girl mentor to help other girls redirect their lives in a more positive direction. That is the power of girls and of Girl Scouts! We're all pulling for you, Natalie!

And thank you, so much for our sponsors of this year's Jewel event. Their support of Girl Scouts makes it possible for us to provide programs like Camp CEO, Got Choices troops in detention centers, and older girl leadership programs like Lead the Way. 

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you. And thank you, again, for all that you do for girls and for Girl Scouts.

Yours in Girl Scouting,



Marina H. Park, CEO
Girl Scouts of Northern California

E-mail: mpark@girlscoutsnorcal.org
Phone: (510) 562-8470, ext. 1106 · Fax: (510) 633-7925
Oakland Office: 7700 Edgewater Drive, Suite 340 · Oakland, CA 94621-0149
www.GirlScoutsNorCal.org

Members Update Blog: www.marinasmemberupdates.com
SF Gate/City Brights Blog: www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mpark/index?blogid=164 

Member Update, November 4, 2011: Program, Membership, Governance and Property

Nov. 4, 2011

Dear Members and Friends of Girl Scouts,
 
Our 2012 – 100^th membership year – is off to a wonderful start. This update includes information about program, membership, governance and property.

• Program and Membership
  • One Hundred Fun Hundred Update and AT&T Employee Matching Gift Initiative for Girl Scouts
  • Fall Festival in Whiskeytown – and, Next Up, Discoveree
  • Bothin Harvest Festival and the Rachel “Scooter” Kwong Adventure Course
  • Fall Product Sale
  • 2011 Membership Year
• Governance & Property
  • September “Road Trip” and Town Hall Meetings and Property Update
  • Regional Delegate Nominations Now Open – they must be received by Nov. 30, 2011
  • National Convention
• In a Girl’s Words: “My Girl Scout Culture”

One Hundred Fun Hundred Update! 
 
Registration opened Nov. 1 for our 100^th Anniversary celebration May 5 – a fun festival for 20,000 Girl Scouts. The first 2,500 tickets (which came with reserved seating for the grand finale), sold in 10 minutes!  As of Nov. 3, more than 4,700 Girl Scouts from 17 states have registered online for One Hundred Fun Hundred. Register now – or learn more about volunteering, by clicking here.

AT&T Employee Matching Gift Initiative for Girl Scouts' Centennial!

AT&T has announced a special matching gift initiative just for AT&T employees in honor of Girl Scouts' centennial. If AT&T employees make a gift to Girl Scouts of Northern California between now and Dec. 31, 2011, AT&T will match their gifts dollar for dollar -- AT&T is matching gifts to Girl Scouts nation-wide up to a total of $500,000. Employee gifts made to Girl Scouts of Northern California through the 2012 United Way/Employee Giving campaign will also be matched. AT&T Employees can visit the company intranet, AT&T Insider, or tSpace to learn more (search Girl Scouts Centennial) for details.  
 
Fall Festival in Whiskeytown and, Next Up, Discoveree.   
 
135 volunteers gathered Oct. 15-16 for this year’s “sold out” fall training retreat. Volunteers attended workshops on everything from Journeys to outdoor cooking. The next big volunteer development event is Discoveree: Feb. 4. Discoveree registration is now open for girls in grades 10-12 and adults – click here to register and for details. The brochure lists an amazing 130 workshops!
 
Bothin Harvest Festival and New Adventure Course.  
 
This past Sunday, 200 girls and volunteers celebrated our first ever harvest at the new Bothin Organic Garden (affectionately known as “the B.O.G”). Girls chose from a wide range of activities, including pumpkin target archery, planting and harvesting, and art with nature. Girls in 4th grade and up, who completed 6 or more Harvest Festival activities, had the opportunity to experience the new Rachel “Scooter” Kwong Adventure Course. We held the dedication of the new Adventure Course Oct. 30, with Rachel’s husband, Bob Kwong, and family in attendance. Rachel’s granddaughter, Tai, was the first girl to climb every element of the adventure course, and a lot of Rachel’s friends from the Heritage Committee also joined in the fun and tried out the “lower course” – which weaves back and forth among the trees, about 25 feet above the creek in some places.  Clearly – they are all women of courage and confidence!  At its high point, the climbing structure is 55 feet off the ground – the highest climbing structure we have at any of our camps. The Adventure Course was made possible by a generous donation from Bob in Rachel’s memory. He was delighted on Sunday to see all the girls enjoying the course!
 
Our Program and Outdoor Program departments are working out the details for program and rental opportunities for the B.O.G. and the Adventure Course. Both the B.O.G. and the new Adventure Course will also be important parts of the summer camp program at Bothin (camp registration will open Feb. 1). 
 
Fall Product Sale – Go Nuts for Girl Scouts! 
 
The fall sale is happening now!  Oct. 1-Nov. 20. The public sale takes place starting today – Friday, Nov. 4 through Sunday, Nov. 20. The fall sale is an important learning opportunity for girls and an important fundraiser for troops and for our council – an average of 50% of each product sold goes to Girl Scouts, 19% to the troop, and 30% to Girl Scouts of Northern California (the balance pays for the cost of the goods sold). Click here to learn about all our 2011 varieties and how you can find yours. Thank you for your support of the girls and of Girl Scouts. 
 
2011 Membership Year. 
 
We ended our membership year on Sept. 30, 2011, with 47,071 girl members – that is a slight (0.6%) decline in girl members, compared to 2010, when we ended the year with 47,431 girl members. The great news is that we added 182 volunteer-led troops, increasing from 3,970 troops in 2010 to 4,152 in 2011. Volunteer support is a big focus of the strategic plan the Board will review and adopt at the Nov. 5 Board meeting. I’ve included at the end of this Update, a paper we recently received from a Contra Costa County Gold Award Girl Scout about “My Girl Scout Culture” and how important Girl Scout volunteers have been in shaping who she is. Thank you to all of our volunteers for making such an incredible difference in the lives of the girls you work with.
 
September “Road Trip,” Town Hall Meetings and Property Update. 
 
During the last two weeks of September, Michelle McCormick (Chief Program and Membership Officer) and I toured our council – and held 9 Town Hall meetings to discuss with members the draft strategic plan, preliminary recommendations from the Property Task Group, proposals for the National Council Session and our council’s upcoming regional delegate elections. While in Eureka, we enjoyed attending the Mortgage Burning Celebration – a gathering of 45 community members to honor the volunteers who led the capital campaign to raise funds for the Barbara Phelps Eureka Program Center (Byrd Lochtie, Sally Biggin, Cheryl Bear, Ina Harris, and Marge Custis) and to burn the mortgage, which we paid off during 2011. Two girls spoke about the importance of the Program Center in their lives, one of them about the Silver Award project she completed to construct a fire circle at the Program Center. We, of course, saved the ashes from the mortgage, to add to the fire.
 
The best attended Town Hall meeting was in Walnut Creek where about 60 members (girls and adults) gathered to ask questions and voice concern about the Property Task Group’s preliminary recommendations. The primary concern in Walnut Creek was the Twin Canyon camp, located in Lafayette. The Property Task Group also has received many emails from members, asking questions about the camps, offering to help raise funds and/or sharing their fond memories of particular camps. 
 
Property next steps: 
At the Nov. 5 Board meeting, the focus is on improving the economics of the council’s three largest and most expensive camps:  Bothin/Arequipa, Butano Creek and Skylark Ranch. The Board will not be making any decisions about possible sales or mothballing of camps at the November meeting. The more we can focus on improving the economics of our three most expensive camps, the more flexibility and time we will have to work to improve the economics of the other ten camp and outdoor program center properties. Meanwhile, the Task Group will be working with the volunteer leadership teams for Two Sentinels and Twin Canyon, and we’ve scheduled another Town Hall meeting for members interested in Twin Canyon to share information, ideas and solutions:  Jan. 18, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Grace Presbyterian Church, 2100 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek.
 
Regional Delegate Nominations Now Open.
They must be received by Nov. 30, 2011
 
Attention all Girl Scouts of Northern California girl and adult members, age 14 and over:

• It is time to nominate yourself to serve as a Regional Delegate for Girl Scouts of Northern California. Becoming a delegate is one way for the Board and management team to hear your voice! 
• Adult members and girl members, age 14 and older, are eligible to elect and/or become Regional Delegates to Girl Scouts of Northern California. All nominations must be received by Nov. 30.  Click here for more information and the nomination form.

Regional Delegates have the opportunity to attend the council’s annual meeting, have input on important issues such as the Property Plan and other important issues facing our council. At our 2011 annual meeting, many very substantive changes were incorporated into the council’s strategic plan based on input from the delegates.   
 
The deadline for submission of forms is Nov. 30, and no write-in candidates are allowed.  Please don’t let YOUR region go unrepresented, or underrepresented! 

Please talk with people in your Region that you think would make effective delegates to encourage them to nominate themselves, and consider running yourself.  As you can see, we have room for many more nominations ... Each of the 14 Regions is entitled to elect 8 delegates, at least one of whom must be a girl. As of today, we have received just 10 nominations (from the Regions noted below): 

• Region I: North Coast (Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, West Trinity Counties (1 Nomination)
• Region II North Central I (Siskiyou, Shasta, East Trinity Counties) (3 Nominations)
• Region III Sonoma (Sonoma County) (2 Nominations)
• Region IV Napa/Solano (Napa, Solano Counties) (1 Nomination)
• Region V North Bay (San Francisco, Marin Counties) (1 Nomination)
• Region VI Peninsula (San Mateo County)
• Region VII East Bay Corridor (Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond, Alameda, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, El Cerrito, West Contra Costa)
• Region VIII Southern Alameda (Livermore, Hayward, Castro Valley, Fremont, Newark, Union City, Dublin, Pleasanton)
• Region IX Contra Costa I (San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga)
• Region X Contra Costa II (Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Concord, Clayton, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Byron, Oakley, Bay Point, Knightsen, Delta, Discovery Bay, Pacheco, West Pittsburg, Bethel Island)
• Region XI Santa Clara I (Northwest—Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale)
• Region XII Santa Clara II (Southwest—Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Santa Clara, Willow Glen, Branham and Almaden Valley, Central Downtown San Jose, West San Jose) (1 Nomination)
• Region XIII Santa Clara III (East—South San Jose, Milpitas, Evergreen, Gilroy, Alum Rock, Berryessa, Morgan Hill, San Martin, Monterey Highway/IBM)
• Region XIV North Central II (Tehama, Glenn, Butte Counties)

National Convention. 

Next week, I will be joining our delegation in Houston for the National Council Session and National Convention.  Our delegation includes 18 adult National Delegates, 7 girl National Delegates, 10 girls attending the Girl Scout Leadership Institute and at least 32 visitors. I am guessing that, as in 2008, Girl Scouts of Northern California will have one of the largest girl contingents. Two of our girl delegates, Kelsey Daugherty and Maddie Hartrich, will lead the Board meeting discussion of the 3 proposals that will be presented at the National Council Session – adding to our preparation to attend the national meeting “informed, but not instructed.”  I look forward to reporting back to you on this amazing gathering of 9,000+ Girl Scouts! If you'd like to keep up with GSNorCal at National Convention, sign up to get GSNorCal Tweets by clicking here.

In a Girl’s Words. 

The following school paper, written this fall by a Contra Costa County Gold Award Girl Scout, is an inspiring reminder of why we all do what we do!
 

My Girl Scout Culture

When first presented with this paper I was clueless to what my ‘culture’ was. Of course everyone HAS a culture, but mine did not seem to have anything unique or special about it that would give me 1-3 pages of things to talk about. I am a combination of English and Swedish, but have not studied, celebrated, or learned anything about my heritage that would make me feel like I am a part of that culture. My view was expanded when I learned that ‘culture’ does not strictly mean the race or heritage that you come from, but simply the background that you come from. At this point my answer was obvious of what my culture was. I come from a Girl Scout culture.

I started Girl Scouts in Kindergarten as a Daisy and continued all the way through to the present day where I am an Adult Lifetime Member. That is 15 years and counting, which makes up for 75% of my life. I would have to say it is a pretty important part of who I am. The morals and expectations of Girl Scouts have influenced every aspect of how I grew up and developed as a person. The easiest way to explain what these morals and goals are is to share with you the Girl Scout Promise and Law:

On my honor I will try,
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.
 
I will do my best to be
Honest and fair,
Friendly and helpful,
Considerate and caring,
Courageous and strong, and
Responsible for the things I say and do.
And to respect myself and others,
Respect authority,
Use resources wisely,
Make the world a better place,
And be a sister to every Girl Scout.

The first thing people think of when you say ‘Girl Scouts’ is, of course, cookies. Crafts are probably a close second. But to say that that is all Girl Scouts is good for would be a HUGE understatement. Girl Scouts promotes the power of one girl to make a difference in a world that is, still for the most part, run by men. It shows girls the accomplishments they can achieve if they stay true to who they are and do not give up on their goals.

One of the most wonderful aspects of Girl Scouts is how the older members help out and inspire the younger ones. For me, some of my biggest heroes and role models did not come out of movies or TV shows, but from the older scouts that helped me at camps and events. Not only did they inspire me to continue with Girl Scouts so that I can one day make a difference in younger girls lives, like they made in mine. But it also showed me how much power and influence one person can have on the world. And not simply one person in general, but one GIRL.

Girl Scouts taught me not to be afraid to stand up for what I believe in and to never change myself for someone else. I learned that helping others is always the right choice and that little by little, my actions can make a great impact on the world and the lives of those around me. When I see injustice or unfairness in the world I think to myself, “They have obviously never been a Scout.” When you grow up in the scouting community, Boy Scouts included, you cannot help but have your whole life affected. 

Girl Scouts has been, and always will be, a part of my culture and a part of who I am. There is not a doubt in my mind that my world would be drastically different had I not had scouting in my life. I definitely wouldn’t be able to write this paper right now, and I might not even have continued onto college. Thankfully it was and I am, and I will forever do everything I can to make sure that Girl Scouts has the opportunity to change girl’s lives like it changed mine.

To all our Girl Scout volunteers, donors and families – thank you to for all that you do to change girl’s lives. 

Yours in Girl Scouting,



Marina H. Park, CEO
Girl Scouts of Northern California

Member Update, September 1, 2011: Strategic Plan, Property, 100th Anniversary, Delegate Town Hall Meetings

Sept. 1, 2011

Dear Members and Friends of Girl Scouts,

 
I hope you each are enjoying the final days of summer. At Girl Scouts summer is all about camp and getting ready for the next membership year. Click here for my August 18 Member Update on our wonderful 2011 camp season, in case you missed it.

School is back in session for most of our members, and we are heading into Girl Scouts’ 100th year! We look forward to celebrating this milestone with each of you, while also building a strong foundation for the next 100 years of Girl Scouting in Northern California.

This update includes information about:

• 100th Anniversary celebrations and events – mark your calendar!
• August 27th meeting with council-wide service unit leaders
• Strategic Plan -- update and opportunities for member input
• Property Task Group Update -- preliminary recommendations and opportunities for member input
• September town hall meetings with Regional Delegates, National Delegates and other interested members, to discuss GSNorCal’s draft strategic plan and the Property Task Group’s preliminary recommendations

100th Anniversary Celebrations and Events!

Mark your calendar for lots of fun events. The Forever Green celebrations will raise funds for outreach, reflect the unique character of our communities and honor, with the “Forever Green Award,” 100 women who are greening the future of Northern California through their contributions to health, education, the arts, economic development and the environment. Forever Green honorees will be invited to attend events in or near their communities: Chico, Eureka, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, St. Helena and Walnut Creek.

• September 27, 2011: Eureka Mortgage Burning Celebration and luncheon, to celebrate the final payment on the Barbara Phelps Program Center in Eureka. Net proceeds benefit outreach. Click for more.
  
• November 1, 2011: Registration opens for One Hundred, Fun Hundred (May 5, 2011). Click for more.
  
• November 17, 2011: Santa Rosa Jewel of a Woman – honor this year’s recipients of the Gem of a Girl Award and enjoy a reunion of past Jewel honorees – an opportunity to look back and get ready for 2012! Click for more.
  
• March 12, 2012: San Francisco Forever Green Gala -- Kick-off Forever Green Celebration – an evening gala!
  
  
• March 31, 2012: Annual Meeting at Camp Bothin
  
  
• May 5, 2012: One Hundred Fun Hundred – Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton -- imagine 20,000 Girl Scouts and a full day of fun! Click for more.
  
• Dates Pending (April – November): Forever Green Celebrations in Chico, Eureka, Palo Alto, Santa Rosa, St. Helena, Walnut Creek

August 27 Meeting with Council-Wide Service Unit Leaders.

Thanks to a generous donation, all Service Unit leaders met in one place for the first time since our fall 2007 merger. Leaders from 80 of our 97 Service Units were able to attend. This was a wonderful opportunity to share ideas about our goals and how best to work together to achieve them. Among the topics, we discussed:

• The National Program Portfolio and how to use the program to achieve our mission: to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place;
• Updates on the draft strategic plan (2012-2014) -- delivered as a musical medley;
• The Property Task Group’s update and preliminary recommendations; and
• The 100th Anniversary Celebrations and Campaign.

Strategic Plan Update and Opportunities for Member Input.

We are nearing the end of GSNorCal’s first three year Strategic Plan (2008-2011). Thank you, to each of you, for all that you have done to help us make our council stronger today than it was three years ago! Our accomplishments include:

• More volunteer-led troops and community camps.
• Increased attendance at GSNorCal summer resident camps.
• Over 117,000 participants in Choices program events.
• Transition to the new National Program Portfolio.
• We achieved our grants funding goals for both 2010 and 2011 – to help us bring Girl Scout experiences to girls in underserved communities.
• Integration of our 5-way merger through all areas of council operations, including troop banking, adult screening, on line registration for membership, programs and camp, and on line property reservations.
• Improved finances through a combination of revenue growth (improvements in both the fall sale and cookie sale) and expense reductions – we expect 2011 to the first year since our merger that we will end the year with a surplus instead of a deficit.

GSNorCal’s Next Three Year Strategic Plan (2012-2014)

The 2012 -2104 Strategic Plan that the Board adopts at its Nov. 5 meeting, will be our collective plan to build a strong foundation for Girl Scouts’ next 100 years in Northern California. You can click here for more a detailed “August 2011 Strategic Plan Update.”

My May 20, 2011 Member Update describes the process GSNorCal is using to develop our next 3 year strategic plan, which the Board will adopt at its Nov. 5 meeting. Our Strategic Learning Team and Board, with input from members at the 2011 Annual Meeting, established five key priorities for GSNorCal’s next 3 years: Mission Delivery; Volunteerism; Diversity and Inclusion; Alumnae Engagement and Financial Health. We are working now on the plan to achieve these five priorities. We need to shift resources to membership growth, volunteer support and programs that attract and retain girls. Membership has declined during the past decade, and we are seeing a trend of girls leaving Girl Scouting at grade 4, earlier than in the past, when grade 6 tended to be the main drop out point. We also have seen a decline in Latina girl membership during a time when the Hispanic population has been growing and is forecast to continue to be the fastest growing demographic group in Northern California. For the long-term health of our programs and camps, and to achieve our mission for as many girls as possible, we need to reverse these trends.

Recommended actions and investments:

The Strategic Learning Team has recommended that GSNorCal shift more resources to support volunteer troop leaders, increase bi-lingual staff and bi-lingual materials to increase Girl Scouting among Latina girls and their families; offer engaging short-term “series” for girls in grades 4 and above and improve and simplify the volunteer experience. Investing more resources in these important areas means we need to spend less in other areas. The Board and Finance Committee both believe that we need to reduce spending on property by about 25% (or $500,000). We will achieve this $500,000 in savings through a combination of revenue growth through rental income and program fees and cost reductions.

Next steps and opportunities for member input on the Strategic Plan:

We will discuss the draft plans with Delegates and other interested members at the town hall meetings described below. The Board will adopt the final 2012-2014 Strategic Plan at its next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 5, 2011.

Property Plan: Preliminary Recommendations and Opportunities for Member Input.

GSNorCal’s Board and Property Task Group have been evaluating GSNorCal’s 29 properties since spring 2008 and are nearing some recommendations. Member input is important at this stage.

• You may click here for the Property Task Group August 2011 Update which explains in greater detail the guidelines, process, criteria and data the Property Task Group has used to develop these preliminary recommendations.
  
  
• You may click here for links to charts that show information about GSNorCal revenue trends and property usage, revenue, operating expenses and annual minimal capital repairs for health and safety.
  
  
• You may click here for past updates and video links to camp property tours.

GSNorCal is fortunate to have magnificent properties, but we cannot afford to operate and maintain all of these properties, unless we make significant cuts in other service areas. Under the Financial Health goals of the Strategic Plan:

• Establish a 6 month reserve. GSNorCal needs to raise at least $4.7 million from our properties to establish a 6 month emergency operating reserve (the minimum GSUSA charter requirement); and

• End deficit spending. To avoid unsustainable deficit spending GSNorCal needs to reduce by about 25% the $2.1 million/year that GSNorCal spends on property operations and repairs.

The Property Task Group is continuing to evaluate information and develop recommendations for the Board of Directors to consider at its Nov. 5, 2011, meeting. Member input is an important part of this process, and the Task Group is seeking member input during September on the following preliminary recommendations and proposed next steps:

• Keep open each of GSNorCal’s 16 offices, service centers and program centers and add 2 sites in 2013:
  
  • 6 offices (staff, meeting space & retail shop): Chico, Eureka, Oakland, Redding, San Jose, Santa Rosa
  • 2 service centers (staff & meeting space): Red Bluff, Ukiah
  • 8 program centers (meeting space): A Girl’s Place (Fairfield), Benicia Scout House, Carlton Corner (San Bruno), Hayward Cabin, Livermore Cabin, Lou Henry Hoover Program Center (Palo Alto), Rohnert Park Scout Hut, St. Helena Scout House
  • 2013 additions: In 2013 (when the current Oakland Office lease expires) for approximately the same amount of money that GSNorCal spends on the Oakland lease:
    
    • maintain a headquarters office along the 880 corridor;
    • add a small office/shop in Contra Costa County along the 680 corridor;
    • expand use of the Ida Smith Outdoor Program Center in San Francisco to include space for one staff member providing volunteer support and, if possible, a small shop.
      
      
• Select a portfolio of four “Tier 1” camp properties that, taken as a whole, best meet GSNorCal’s outdoor program goals. These Tier 1 camps will have top priority for council resources, and capital improvements to these four properties will be part of the 100th Anniversary Campaign for Girls. The Task Group is in the process of evaluating these Tier 1 camp properties for opportunities to increase revenue, reduce expenses and, where prudent and possible, establish conservation easements, the proceeds of which would fund a property reserve that generates income to support the Tier 1 camp properties. The four recommended Tier 1 camps are:
  
  • Bothin and Arequipa
  • Butano Creek
  • Skylark Ranch
  • TBD: Either Deer Lake or Sugar Pine
    
    
• Tier 2 Camp Properties: The Task Group has identified 2 “Tier 2” properties that it thinks with volunteer support, and resident camp fees, it may be realistic to move to a break-even operation, and one Tier 2 outdoor program center (Ida Smith in San Francisco) that would be converted to a Service Center. If the two camps cannot achieve a break even operation, then they will shift into the “Remaining Camp Properties” category. The Tier 2 properties are:
  
  • Either Sugar Pine or Deer Lake
  • Two Sentinels
  • Ida Smith Outdoor Program Center in San Francisco -- convert to Service Center upon return of “office” building by city in 2013)
    
    
• Remaining Camp Properties: Once the Task Group has determined the resources required to operate and maintain the four Tier 1 camps as well as whether conservation easements are prudent and possible on the 3 properties that GSNorCal owns (Butano Creek, Skylark Ranch and either Deer Lake or Sugar Pine), the Task Group will determine which of the following remaining camp and outdoor program center properties GSNorCal can afford to operate and which it may be necessary to sell and/or mothball. If the Task Group and Board conclude it will be necessary to sell or mothball a property that is used for a volunteer-run summer community camp (e.g., Cordelia, Twin Canyon, Two Sentinels), no action would be taken prior to completion of the 2012 summer camp season:
  
  • Remaining Outdoor program centers (near urban/suburban areas; support weekday meetings; also suitable for day camp and troop overnights): Cordelia, Rainbows End, Twin Canyon
  • Remaining Camps (most suitable for weekend and/or summer camping): Hidden Falls, The Cove, and TBD, if not able to develop a plan to achieve break-even operations: Sugar Pine or Deer Lake and/or Two Sentinels.

You can click here for the Property Task Group August 2011 Update which explains the process, criteria and data the Property Task Group has used to develop these preliminary recommendations for member input.

Next steps: Member input is an important part of the property plan, and the Property Task Group welcomes member reaction to the Update. Members may send emails to propertytaskgroup@girlscoutsnorcal.org and/or attend the Town Hall meetings described below.

September town hall meetings with Regional Delegates, National Delegates and other interested members, to discuss GSNorCal’s draft strategic plan and preliminary property plan recommendations.

As mentioned above, we discussed the draft strategic plan and property approach with Service Unit leaders at our August 27th meeting and will be discussing them at nine Town Hall meetings during September -- click here for a link to the Town Hall meeting locations, dates and times. The Town Hall meetings are directed primarily to the Council’s Regional and National Delegates, but all members are welcome to attend. I also will be posting this update on my blog, and members are welcome to post comments and questions on the blog, found online here.

Delegate Town hall topics:

• Strategic Plan
• Property Task Group Update
• Proposals for the National Council Session
• Upcoming GSNorCal Regional Delegate elections
• 100th Anniversary and the Campaign for Girls

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Yours in Scouting,

Marina

 

Member Update, August 18, 2011: Camp Two Sentinels, the 2011 Camp Season and Girl's Guides to Girl Scouting

August 18, 2011

Dear Members and Friends of Girl Scouts,

The summer camp season is winding down. It’s been a busy one, with over 10,000 girls experiencing Girl Scout camp this summer.

Thank you to all the amazing volunteers and Girl Scouts of Northern California staff who made camp possible for girls throughout Northern California.

This update includes information about:

• The 75th Anniversary of Camp Two Sentinels!
• Camp for All Girls: 2011 Camperships, UniverseQuest, and Camp CEO
• A Wrap-up of the 2011 Camp Season
• Girl’s Guides to Girl Scouting and Journey Badge Activity Sets. Coming soon!

The 75th Anniversary of Camp Two Sentinels.

Congratulations to Camp Two Sentinels which celebrated its Diamond Anniversary on Friday, August 12, with a lovely gathering for campers, volunteers, and alumni. Camp Two Sentinels has operated as a volunteer-run Girl Scout camp since 1936. Two Sentinels generates its own electricity (in small amounts) and all supplies (including propane) must arrive at camp by row boat. When new laws passed in the 1990s that prevented the camp from using lake water, volunteers dug a ditch – through granite – and laid the water pipe line so camp could remain open. This summer, a team of 60 volunteers arrived to help dig paths through the snow (including digging out the biffies which were in 12 feet of snow), so summer camp could open on time. Two Sentinels offers a wonderful progressive backpacking program. It also offers units for girls who prefer to say closer to camp and for girls who want spend their time on the lake.

I enjoyed attending Friday’s event and meeting campers, volunteers, and alumni. “Lark” (her camp name), at 85 years, was the oldest alumna in attendance – she was a camper at Camp Two Sentinels in 1939 and returned each summer for 10 years. She said Camp Two Sentinels was the most significant influence in her life.

At Friday’s closing ceremony, against the backdrop of a floating bonfire with a backlit “75,” each unit launched its wish boat, shared the unit’s wish with the full camp, and chose a song for everyone to sing. It was a beautiful ceremony and celebration, with a common theme – the wish that campers will return to Camp Two Sentinels and “live and love the adventure” for many anniversaries to come. Click here for the Two Sentinels 75th Anniversary Photo Gallery on GSNorCal's Facebook page (and click "Like" while you're there!).

Camp for All Girls: 2011 Camperships, UniverseQuest and Camp CEO

2011 Camperships: Camperships provide financial aid for camp. This summer thanks to generous donations we were able to award over $86,000 in campership aid to 386 girls. Camp Champion families donated $6,140 when they registered their daughters for camp. We were able to provide $38,875 from donations made to the general opportunity and campership funds and foundations also provided $41,260 in support for 2011 camperships. Every dollar makes a difference – click here to learn more! Thank you to each of you who helped send a girl to camp this summer!

UniverseQuest: UniverseQuest is an after school science and technology program for girls in underserved middle schools. The girls learn about astronomy and the design and programming of computer games. During camp set-up, 15 girls from the UniverseQuest program travelled to Camp Sugar Pine to help with a summer astronomy program. The UniverseQuest girls set up the telescopes and trained the camp counselors in games they thought would be fun for girl campers. And, the counselors introduced the UniverseQuest girls to camp fun! A great trade off all the way around. Here’s a blog post I wrote for SFGate about this program: 15 Girls Aiming for the Stars.

Camp CEO: In early August, 52 high school girls from underserved communities and 25 women business executives traveled to Camp Sugar Pine for Camp CEO – a program that helps each girl discover a positive future for herself – through reflection, new experiences and work with mentors. A member of our staff, who drove girls from Orland to Sonoma so they could catch the camp bus to Sugar Pine, wrote this about the “before and after” drives:

"The Orland girls were so excited. On the car ride down to Sonoma, all the girls were quiet. On the ride home, oh my gosh, they couldn’t stop talking about how great it was and what they liked best. Surprising to me, many girls said the part they liked best was talking with and playing games with the mentors. It meant so much to them that these important, busy women would take time out of their life and talk to them and play with them just like a “regular person.” Who would have thought!"

As with camperships, Camp CEO is made possible by generous donors and corporate sponsors. You can learn more about Camp CEO at my SFGate blog post, Helping Girls Thrive at Camp CEO, or by clicking here.

A Wrap-up of the 2011 Camp Season.

• 24 volunteer-run community day camps 
• 4 volunteer-run resident camps 
• 4 council-run resident camps
• 1 council-run day camp
• Lots and lots of snow to shovel: 
  • We had to cancel the first two sessions at Deer Lake – check out this picture taken in late June!
  • 60 volunteers converged on Two Sentinels the week before its open date to shovel paths and dig out the biffies.
  • During June camp set up at Sugar Pine (at just 5,000 feet), for the first time anyone could recall, we had to plow a path to our shadiest tent unit.
• Over $86,000 in campership financial aid awarded to 386 girls!
• Over 10,000 happy campers!

A huge effort goes into getting all these camps up and running each summer – a true partnership of staff and volunteers – setting the camp program schedule, registering girls, getting seasonal staff hired, trained and paid, walking horses up the long road to Skylark Ranch (the trailer can’t make it up that road), recruiting volunteers and campers, loading and unloading buses, and dealing with all the inevitable emergencies that arise when 33 mini towns spring up for summer. Camp is incredibly rewarding and exhausting for the volunteers and staff who make it happen for the girls. Thank you so much for all the love and care you put into making sure that Camp Rocks!

Girl’s Guides to Girl Scouting and Journey Badge Activity Sets.

In case you’ve missed the news, the new Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting and the Journey Badge Activity Sets for each age level should be available in our GSNorCal Retail Shops by September 15. We've received a few preview sets of the Guides and Badge Activity Sets at the council offices, and council staff are busy incorporating them into programs and volunteer training. Both the Guides and the Activity Sets look great and help bring the Girl Scout Leadership Experience into focus, making it easier for girls and leaders to understand how the Journeys, badges and skill-building activities work together and build a foundation for the next level of Girl Scouting as well as for life-long skills and leadership qualities. Click here for videos and a sneak peek at these new resources on the GSNorCal website!

Yours in Scouting,

Marina H. Park, CEO
Girl Scouts of Northern California

E-mail: mpark@girlscoutsnorcal.org
Phone: (510) 562-8470, ext. 139 · Fax: (510) 633-0369
Oakland Office: 7700 Edgewater Drive, Suite 340 · Oakland, CA 94621-0149
San Jose Office: 1310 South Bascom Avenue · San Jose, CA 95128
www.GirlScoutsNorCal.org

Members Update Blog: www.marinasmemberupdates.com
SF Gate/City Brights Blog: www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mpark/index?blogid=164 

Member Update, June 17, 2011: Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting and a troop leader's journey

June 17, 2011

Dear Members and Friends of Girl Scouts,

Thank you to all the leaders who just wrapped up another year of Girl Scouting and to all the camp volunteers launching camp season.  We expect over 10,000 girls to go camping this summer - at 4 council run resident camps, 1 council run day camp, 24 volunteer-run day camps and 4 volunteer-run resident camps.     This update includes: Program update - Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting, badges and change  A troop leader's thoughts on her 12 year journey as a troop leader

Program Update: Girls Guide to Girl Scouting, Badges, and Change.

We've heard from a lot of members the past few weeks who were surprised and disappointed to learn that GSUSA discontinued, as of June 1, 2011, all of the badges, IPs and Try-its they know and love.  GSUSA will be releasing new badges this fall with the new Girls Guide to Girl Scouting.  You can click this link to access a lot of information about how the new National Program Portfolio will work.    I know it has been a frustrating several years for many of our troop volunteers as the National Program Portfolio has rolled out in bits and pieces.  The great news is that just in time for our 100th Anniversary we will have all that leaders need to work with girls to create the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.  Yes!  Girl still have fun, learn new skills, go camping, sell cookies and make life-long friends.  Along the way, they also develop key leadership skills - the ability to discover, connect and take action and make the world a better place.   GSUSA began building the new Girl Scout Leadership Experience in 2004 - a kindergarten Daisy in fall 2004 is starting 7th grade this fall.  I'm guessing at least some of you might be wondering:  What's taken so long?  Here's a brief summary of all that's happened from 2004 to the present and into 2012.         As you can see, a lot has gone into getting to where we are now with lots of new program changes introduced, especially since our October 2007 merger.  At the same time as volunteers have been trying to keep up with program changes, you've all also been dealing with lots of other changes, including merger-related changes as we evolve from 5 ways of doing things to 1, changes to volunteer training and screening mandated by GSUSA policy changes, and technology changes - most notably, the change to Personify for online registration.      The big program changes are behind us, but we all need to be prepared - with as many big changes as Girl Scouts just made -- for continued tweaks and improvements. For example, next up, GSUSA is combining their Orientation and Leadership Essentials courses into one course called GS101.  We will continue to do our best to give troop and Service Unit leaders as much advance notice as possible via the Monday Mailing.  If you would like to receive the Monday Mailing, and don't currently, you can click here to sign up.      Thank you for helping us through this challenging and exciting time of change.  It's a good thing we have an amazing party planned for 2012: One Hundred, Fun Hundred!  I look forward to taking some time to celebrate with all of you the foundation we've built and the journey ahead.

A Troop Leader's Thoughts on her 12-Year Journey as a Troop Leader.

Congratulations to the 682 Ambassador Girl Scouts who are members of the high school class of 2011!   I have great faith that these girls are, indeed, going to make the world a better place.  Thank you, also, to the many troop leaders and other volunteers who guided these graduating Ambassadors on their Girl Scout journeys.    Last week Lois, a troop leader for 12 years, sent me the following reflection on her experience and gave me permission to share it with all of you.  For many troop leaders, summer is a time of reflection and of getting ready for the coming year.  And, necessarily, that reflection includes the question - is it all worth it? Here are Lois' thoughts on that question:   June 4, 2011   I am retiring as a GS leader, and today was my last service project with my troop.   When I first started this troop, the girls chose the bluebird as their crest because it meant "at home in the city or in the wild, singing and happiness."   That fit our troop perfectly, but in all my years as a leader, my troop has never seen a real bluebird.   Today we spent four hours planting trees, much of it in the rain.  At the end we were soaking wet and exhausted.  One girl said, "This is the worst thing I've ever done as a Girl Scout" (Later, this feeling was much assuaged by peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks!)   Suddenly, two bluebirds alighted on the fence by us.  At first we thought they were a male and a female.  Then we noticed the brightly colored one was finding food for the other and feeding it.  They were an adult bluebird and its baby.  They stayed for a long time, fearlessly fluttering and hovering near us.     Isn't this just what we do as Girl Scout leaders?  We teach our girls to stretch their own wings and fly, yet we still give them what they need as they grow until they are ready to be independent adults themselves.   Sometimes as a Girl Scout leader I have doubted myself, wondering if I were doing a good job, wondering if I were serving the girls well.  Sometimes I have felt unappreciated by my girls and their families, and I wondered if I were making a difference or wasting my time.  I felt this bluebird was sent today to give me the message that yes, it has all been worth it.    When I think back on my years of volunteering with Girl Scouts, I will always remember the bluebird that arrived just in time to bestow a final benediction on my years of service as a leader.     So, to Lois and to all of this year's troop leaders, service unit volunteers, learning facilitators, product sales volunteers and community camp volunteers, a special thank you for all that you do to "teach our girls to stretch their own wings and fly."