02.2015 VINE In This Issue: Spring Forward Food Drive Important Information about Me2 Magazine sale New Events and Activities for our girls! New items at Juliette’s Closet p.2 p.3 p.4 p.5 Harvest for the Hungry Submitted by: Violet M. Apple, Chief Executive Officer GSCM will partner with AARP, Safeway, USPS, WBAL and the Maryland Food Bank for this critical food collection initiative, the Spring Forward Food Drive, beginningFebruary 28. I know that many troops collect food for local food pantries all year long. I, and the thousands of families who receive your donations, are very grateful for your support. Last year the Council donated 9,500 lbs. of food to the Maryland Food Bank because of your efforts! We thank all that participated last year and invite everyone to participate again this year. We want to collect at least 10,000 lbs. of food this year and I know that our caring Girl Scouts’ efforts make this goal possible. Food insecurity is something that affects families and individuals in every zip code in Maryland. I am asking everyone in the GSCM community to support this effort and make a positive impact in our communities. The food you collect will help families throughout central Maryland. To learn more about food insecurity in Maryland, check out the Harvest for the Hungry Patch packet ( see p.2 for more food drive information). Thank you for being a part of this annual food donation effort. Yours in Girl Scouting, Me2 Magazine Sale Begins February 18 Submitted by: Terry Mercer, GSCM Staff New this year: A magazine product sale with the opportunity to earn a personalized patch! Starting February 18, girls will be able to go online, create Me2– an avatar that looks like them–and send emails to friends and family asking them to support their troop and GSCM by purchasing magazines. It’s easy, fun, and your troop will earn 15% of sales. Girls can earn patches too: the “Be Extraordinary” patch for sending 12 emails, the “Mags” patch for sending 15 emails and the “Mags Super Seller” Patch for sending 20 emails. Continued...p.3 1 VINE: Volunteer Information & News Electronically Upcoming Programs Harvest for the Hungry...continued from p.1 February 28 thru March 1, 2015 Submitted by Kelly Rhodes, GSCM Staff Harvest for the Hungry is GSCM’s Council-wide service project, and it’s going on all the time! Every March, GSCM partners with AARP, Safeway, USPS, and the Maryland Food Bank for a week long effort that has come to be called the Spring Forward Food Drive. You can get involved! It’s as easy as dropping off non-perishable food right here at the office. There will be a collection bin in the front lobby for all of February and into March. All donations will go to the Maryland Food Bank and will count towards our total donations for the year. In 2014, our Council collected over 9,500 pounds of food! There are lots of great GSCM programs coming up over the next few months. Use the events calendar links below to discover available program opportunities. Please note: New programs and events are added all the time, so be sure to visit the events calendar often! Click for February Programs/Events Click for March Programs/Events Click for April Programs/Events How you can get involved... Staff Donation Tables: troops can work with AARP in Safeway stores during the week to encourage people to donate food. You and your troop can sign up here. Come to the Spring Forward kick-off on Friday, February 27 at 4:30 am. Join us at the Canton Safeway store at 2610 Boston Street in Baltimore and be a part of the WBAL morning news kick-off encouraging everyone to be a part of this important food drive. RSVP to: [email protected]. Earn the patch! GSCM’s Harvest for the Hungry patch is available all year, but now is a great time to work on it! Once you’ve completed your activities, return the report form to receive the patches for free! The packet can be found online or in the Volunteer Resource Center. Questions? Email: harvestforthe [email protected], or call Kelly Rhodes, Program Specialist, at 410.358.9711, ext. 243. Click for May Programs/Events Event Planning Workshop Submitted by: Valerie Brooks, GSCM Staff Learn the ins and outs of coordinating a multi-troop or Service Unit event by participating in this adult workshop. Topics include forming a team, budgeting, safety and evaluation. Register for this workshop via online registration; go to Enrichment under the Learning and Training category. Questions? Contact Valerie Brooks, Adult Learning Specialist at [email protected] or call 410.358.9711 ext 220. 2 VINE: Volunteer Information & News Electronically Girl Scouts of Central Maryland 4806 Seton Dr. Baltimore, MD 21215 P: 410.358.9711 F: 410.358.9918 New Magazine Sale Begins February 18...continued from p.1 Plus, if you sell 5 magazine subscriptions you will earn a personalized patch with your name and Me2 avatar on it. Parents, as well as Service Unit and troop level volunteers are encouraged to learn more about the magazine sale and how girls can earn the patches. Please register for one of following webinars: •February 16, 2015 at 6pm •February 18, 2015 at 6pm •February 21, 2015 at 10am Please note: the site for girls to create their storefronts opens on February 18, 2015. Important Information about the Me2 Magazine Opportunity Why should girls participate? It’s FUN and it’s easy! Girls send emails to family and friends and all sales are conducted online via the girls secure web page that she develops. Girls learn and build SKILLS – such as marketing and web page development as well as social media skills. Troops will earn 15% of girl sales. The percentage earned will be paid directly to the troop via a GSCM check in April 2015. Girls will earn patches based on the number of emails they send: Be Extraordinary – send 12 emails to family and friends. Mags Patch – send 15 emails to family and friends. Mags Super Seller Patch – send 20 emails to family and friends. PLUS girls who sell 5 magazine subscriptions earn a personalized Me2 Avatar patch. Troops who have girls participating with a total of $150.00 or more in sales will be eligible to be entered into a weekly drawing to have the chance to win: Week 1: Drawing held on 2/23/15 – A free GS411 program of your choice for your troop. *subject to availability Week 2: Drawing held on 3/2/15 – Pizza and Ice Cream party for your troop. Week 3: Drawing held on 3/9/15 – Free troop camping weekend at a property of your choice for your troop. *Subject to availability Week 4:Drawing held on 3/16/15 – Lunch with GSCM Chief Executive Officer, Violet M. Apple. Week 5: Drawing held on 3/23/15 – Free tickets to the Baltimore National Aquarium for your troop. Week 6:Drawing held on 3/30/15 – an IPAD for your troop. Note: Troops can join the weekly drawings at any time upon reaching the $150.00 or more in sales. Once troops are in the drawing they continue to be eligible for the duration of the drawings. What types of magazines are available? There are nearly 600 GSUSA approved magazine subscriptions available, all popular magazines that many people enjoy every day! Customers can renew current subscriptions or purchase new ones. How many magazine subscriptions can a girl expect to sell? That’s up to her creativity in marketing and promoting the opportunity. On average our vendor shared that three to four subscriptions is typical but the sky is the limit! Does the entire troop need to participate? No, one girl, two girls or your entire troop can participate. This is a very user-friendly, safe and easy online system for girls to use. Troop Leaders can access the system to see the progress of girls but there is NO work for the Troop Leader other than to encourage girls and families to participate. ATTN: All girls who sold 175+ boxes of Girl Scout Cookies...you’re invited to the 1st Annual Cookie Jam! You should be receiving a postcard invitation in the mail very soon with more information and your special participation code. In the meantime, Save the Date -- March 22, 2015, 4-7 pm, for this exciting new event created just for you! 3 VINE: Volunteer Information & News Electronically Girl Scouts of Central Maryland 4806 Seton Dr. Baltimore, MD 21215 P: 410.358.9711 F: 410.358.9918 Just Added --New Events and Activities for our Girls Submitted by: Kelly Rhodes, GSCM Staff Some new events have been created that aren’t in the GS411! Check ‘em out! Design Day with Ayers Saint Gross Who: Seniors, Ambassadors $25 (max 50) Adults $10 When: Saturday, May 2 9am-4pm. Location: Ayers Saint Gross. 1040 Hull Street, Ste. 100, Baltimore, MD 21230 Girl Scouts in grades 8th–10th and their parents are invited to a day of handson activities with local architects and designers to explore how buildings are made by making models, designing homes and rooms, and learning more about the education of an architect. SPACE IS LIMITED. BE SURE TO SIGN UP FOR THIS EVENT SOON! For more information and to register, click here. Bowie Baysox 9th Annual Girl Scout Sleepover! Who: All Girl Scouts When: May 29, 5:45pm - May 30, 7:15am Location:Bowie Baysox Stadium, 4101 NE Crain Highway, Bowie, MD 20716 Gates open at 5:30pm Parade begins at 5:45 pm First pitch is at 6:35pm Join in all of the fun: a pre-game parade on the field, followed by a great baseball game featuring the Bowie Baysox (Class AA Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles) as they take on the Harrisburg Senators (Class AA Affiliate of the Washington Nationals). Following the game, leaders, parents and girls, who have pre-registered, will grab their gear and head back into the stadium for a sleepover on the field that will include dancing, arts and crafts, a movie, and more! For more information and to register click here. Garden Day at the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House Who: Girl Scouts of all levels and their adults When: Sunday, June 7, 10am-4pm Location: Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, 844 East Pratt Street $10 per girl, $5 per adult Help the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House prepare for Flag Day! In the morning, you’ll explore the flag house and museum, learn about the history of the flag that inspired our national anthem, try on costumes from the time period, and then join us for a special flag ceremony. After lunch, we’ll go to work on the garden. There will be something for everyone to do: plant flowers, add mulch, and get the garden ready for the summer. All girls who participate in this fun, service project day will receive a special patch (and maybe even a piece of the garden to take home!) **Bring a bagged lunch, we will provide drinks. To register or for more information click here. If you have questions about any of these events, contact Kelly Rhodes at 410.358.9711, ext. 243 or email : [email protected] 4 VINE: Volunteer Information & News Electronically Early Bird Snapshot Plans are already in place to make the 2016 Early Bird process easier for everyone! New for this year is the troop SNAPSHOT. This “picture” of your troop roster will help in the verification process for troops earning the fall product sale incentives. More details about Early Bird 2016 will follow in March, but Troop leaders can begin getting their troops ready by: 1. Logging into the registration data base; 2. Checking your troop roster to confirm that all girls participating in the troop are registered; and, 3. informing your Membership Specialist of any girls who have not been active so they can be removed from the troop roster. This should be completed by March 26 so inactive girls can be transferred out of the troop roster. Questions? Check in with your Membership Specialist. Adult Recognitions Due February 28, 2015 Submitted by: Valerie Brooks, GSCM Staff Reminder - nominations for Adult Recognitions are due February 28, 2015. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to recognize the outstanding volunteers you work with. For more information, visit the Adult Recognitions page on our website. Girl Scouts of Central Maryland 4806 Seton Dr. Baltimore, MD 21215 P: 410.358.9711 F: 410.358.9918 Brownie Quest Project Brings Smiles to Kennedy Krieger Submitted by Shiree Southerland,Troop Leader For their Brownie Quest Take Action Project, Brownie Troop 945 decided they wanted to work with sick children in the hospital. They designed and created get-well cards for pediatric patients as well as decorated gift bags for them. There were 19 items on the hospital’s wish list and through generous donations from parents, the Brownies were able to provide all items on the list. The Brownies implemented their project at Kennedy Krieger Institute by delivering the gift bags, assisting with decorating the playroom, and visiting with some of the children. Want more Journey ideas? Click here or check out our webinar. Juliette’s Closet Submitted by: Jennifer Moumane, GSCM Staff S’mores & More, the GSCM alumnae advisory committee, will be hosting a networking event on Thursday, May 14, 2015 at the GSCM Urban Program and STEM Center! Bring your business cards or SWAPS -- Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere. Bring a friend and be ready to network and mingle with former Girl Scouts just like you! The next advisory committee meeting is March 26. If you are looking for some fun and would like to join the advisory committee, please contact Jennifer Moumane, Director of Annual Giving, [email protected] or call 410-358-9711. Submitted by: Katie Pedersen, GSCM Staff Looking for something warm to wear around the house or on quick errand runs? We just might have the answer. Both stores are now stocked with these cozy comfy pajama bottoms, available in sizes XS to 3X, in pink, purple, blue and, of course, green. Now just $20 each! They make great gifts for your favorite Girl Scout or volunteer. Be sure to check out these new "There's no place like camp" t-shirts as well, just $12! We look forward to seeing you soon, or you can shop online. Juliette’s Closet GSCM’s Urban Program & STEM Center 4806 Seton Drive Baltimore, MD 21215 410.358.9711 ext.202 Hours of Operation: TUE: 10am - 7pm W-TH: 9am-5pm FRI: 9am-3pm SAT: 9am-3pm SUN-MON: CLOSED Juliette’s Closet Clementine Peterson Activity Center 5042 Ilchester Road Ellicott City, MD 21043 410.455.0542 New Hours of Operation: Click to see what’s being offered this summer! 5 VINE: Volunteer Information & News Electronically TUE& THU: 9am-4pm WED: 10am - 7pm FRI: 9am-3pm SAT: 9am-3pm SUN-MON: CLOSED Girl Scouts of Central Maryland 4806 Seton Dr. Baltimore, MD 21215 P: 410.358.9711 F: 410.358.9918
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