With many long-term living facilities adjusting visiting protocols during the pandemic, Girl Scout Troop 27104 thought creatively about how they could support these members of their community.
As springtime approached—a time of newness and excitement—the girls in Troop 27104 wanted to bring that fun feeling of spring indoors for residents of a local care home. The Girl Scouts crafted floral wreaths to donate to the care home as their spring service project.
We’re so proud of these girls for being considerate and caring of others. Great job, Girl Scouts!
Troop 27104 is a multi-level troop with 10 girl members and 4 troop volunteers in Philipsburg, PA.
For ways to support senior citizens in your community, check out:
April is National Volunteer Month, and I am thrilled to celebrate our amazing volunteers and recognize all that you do for your Girl Scouts. This past year has brought hurdles no one could have imagined. All our staff here at GSWPA are inspired by the ways our volunteers—YOU—have persevered to show girls what it means to be Girl Scout strong.
We see you delivering activity supplies to your girls so they can participate in virtual troop meetings from home.
We see you sorting a mountain of cookie cases because you helped your girls exceed their cookie goals this year.
We see you making in-person gatherings safe for your girls to connect with each other when their world has gone virtual.
We see you building up a girl who is less sure of her abilities and helping her build her confidence.
We see you giving girls space to their ideas, use their voices, and express their feelings about our increasingly complicated world.
We see you opening girls’ eyes to a world of possibility.
Because of your motivation and support, your Girl Scouts find the confidence to set big goals AND achieve them. It’s because of you-your time and commitment—our girls have community and resilience.
Because of you, girls are building life-long friendships.
Because of you, girls are achieving big goals.
Because of you, girls are exploring new interests and developing new skills.
Because of you, girls are learning they can accomplish anything.
Because of you, girls are changing their communities for the better.
Because of you, we have Girl Scouts.
We’re in awe of you. Thank you, from all of us at GSWPA, for all you do as a Girl Scout volunteer. For the hours, the energy, and the heart you put into leading this generation of girls to help them build their voices and prepare for lifetimes of leadership.
You are Girl Scout Strong. You are the heart of Girl Scouting. And we’re grateful for you.
Thank you and happy National Volunteer Month!
from all of us at Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania
When it comes to recognizing the ongoing commitments of GSWPA’s volunteers, we asked our staff who know best—the Volunteer Support Specialists at our council. These staff are in the front row watching our volunteers plan events, offering help whenever it’s needed, and cheering them on. During National Volunteer Month, we will feature highlights from our Volunteer Support Specialists that celebrate volunteers throughout GSWPA.
Service Unit 2630 Glacier’s End
Butler County
Service Unit 2630 Glacier’s End had a virtual troop meeting and conducted a ‘cake-cookie-war’ contest for the girls to kick off the 2021 Girl Scout Cookie Program. Each girl was given a cake mix, frosting, and Girl Scout Cookies to decorate their cakes! The girls could decorate their cakes anyway they liked, and they had a blast making and showing their cakes.
Service Unit 5802 Brentwood
Allegheny County
Mary Ann and the service unit team members of Service Unit 5802 Brentwood held a Virtual Sweetheart Dance for their Girl Scouts. The girls and volunteers were excited to participate. The volunteers coordinated catered meals that were picked up via a drive through service. Included in the meal pick up was a bag with details on connecting to the virtual DJ for the dance , a fun patch, and a small gift.
“I think this is super creative and a great way to continue a tradition in the community,” said Janelle Upole, GSWPA Volunteer Support Specialist. “They have done great things to adapt their service unit events and keep Girl Scouting alive in their community – pandemic or not!”
Troop 17007 – Service Unit 4624 Bellwood Tyrone
Somerset County
Troop leader Allison diligently coordinated gathering her Girl Scouts in February 2021. Since their last in-person meeting in September 2020, the girls were able to stay connected, but Allison had to search for a new meeting location while navigating the ever-changing COVID-19 guidelines and the varying comfort levels of her Girl Scouts and their families. Once Allison secured a new meeting location and everyone was ready to gather, seeing each other again was a small thing with a big meaning to her and the girls.
Service Unit 2642 Freeport Area
Armstrong County
Lori Kibler put together a dog sled event over the winter for the service unit in partnership with local sled dog teams. Girl Scouts learned about sledding, met the dogs, took pictures, explored sleds and carts, and watched live demonstrations.
Troop 28008 – Service Unit 5104 NA East
Allegheny County
“Sarah Mount Elewononi is the biggest champion for Girl Scouts that I have had the pleasure of working with since starting this position in October. She is always forward-thinking about what she can do as a leader and as a service unit manager (a role that she has yet to fully step into) to make each experience for girls the best that it can be. Sarah leads her troop with confidence and with grace, being a fantastic role model for her troop to look up to. She ensures that in her multi-level troop, each girl is challenged and enjoys their Girl Scouting experience.”—Paige Devlin, GSWPA Volunteer Support Specialist
Happy National Volunteer Month!
Check out this video message from the staff at GSWPA.
Spring has sprung for Beaver County Girl Scout Troop 16206! At the end of March, the troop got together to enjoy the warm weather and build birdhouses.
According to audubon.org, birdhouses are an important way to help birds. The structures provide homes to many different kinds of birds that would otherwise have to find tree cavities or other enclosed areas that could still be vulnerable to predators, weather, or other disturbances. The perfect nesting place can be even harder to find for birds in suburbs and cities.
Helping nature, learning new skills, spending time together, and making memories?? Wish we could have been there too! Great work, Girl Scouts!
Troop 16206 is a multi-level troop with 34 girl members and 7 troop volunteers in Rochester, PA.
Ready for more about birds? Check out:
Bird-centered activities on the spring/summer Get Outdoors Challenge checklist (self-paced, spring/summer challenge ends Sept. 15, 2021)
The Girl Scouts Voices Count survey means YOU—your voice—counts. This survey is conducted annually by the Girl Scout Research Institute to find out what’s working and what’s not and to improve the Girl Scout experience for all families and volunteers.
GSWPA receives the anonymous results, reviews them at our highest levels of leadership, and plans strategic changes that will improve the Girl Scout experience for you, your co-volunteers, and your Girl Scout.
We Heard You:
Here are some changes that GSWPA has made based on results from recent Girl Scout Voices Count surveys.
What we heard: New troop leaders feel overwhelmed and unsure in starting up troop activities. How we improved: We created a new staff position to support new troops and focused on creating opportunities for service units to mentor newer leaders.
What we heard: Girl Scout programming feels complicated and hard to navigate. How we improved: We updated our website to improve access to resources and developed webinars to walk volunteers through the new Volunteer Toolkit.
What we heard: Access to and comfort with technology is a barrier to Girl Scout programming. How we improved: We increased access to Zoom licenses and trained troop leaders on leading virtual meetings. While troops were getting used to their virtual setting, GSWPA offered free, live patch programs to continue to support girls.
How to Participate:
The Girl Scouts Voices Count survey will be available to girls, parents or caregivers, and troop leaders beginning on April 5. The survey will close on April 30. (Service unit volunteers will be surveyed in May.) Your feedback lets us know what’s working and what’s not to improve our services and programs.
Check your email for the invitation to participate. As a thank you, everyone who completes the survey will have a chance to win one of 20 $50 gift cards!
The schedule for the day will be posted here once it’s avaiable.
This year’s Girl Scout Day at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is Sunday, Sept. 19. We can bear-ly contain our excitement!
Safety & Timed Entry
Currently, face masks are required at this event, and GSWPA will communicate any updates to this policy. Face masks must be worn in both indoor and outdoor locations. This applies to adults and children 2 years and older.
In order to maintain social distancing there will be no walk in registrations this year. All family members that will be participating in any of the Girl Scout special sessions will need to register in advance.
Families will register for a check-in time: 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m. (link coming soon!), 10:30 a.m., and 11 a.m. Please do not arrive before your allotted time, and send only one person from your group to check in.
How to register for the event with a Pittsburgh Zoo membership:
Girl Scouts who have a Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium membership are welcome to use their zoo membership for admission to Girl Scout Day on September 19, 2021 and will receive a discounted rate of $3 per person.
Use this form to submit your membership information. A confirmation screen will appear with a special promo code and a link to the registration page. The $3 registration fee must be paid in advance of the event.
You will also receive an email including the promo code. Please be sure to only use this promo code for people entering on your Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium membership. The information on this form will be used to verify your membership with the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium before the event in September.
Mia organized and led community workshops to teach others how to make cat toys from recycled common household items. The toys were donated to a local animal shelter to support their efforts and to help others learn how to make cat toys that are fun, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly.
Stephanie Shaw (Allegheny County)
Stephanie created a community garden at her high school as a tool to teach youth about the importance of nutrition and exercise. Crops yielded from the garden will be donated to local senior citizens and a community food bank.
Hannah Sciulli (Allegheny County)
By partnering with a local animal shelter, Hannah educated her community on cat overpopulation. She led a class for young children at the animal shelter, led a donation drive for the shelter, supported their adoption events, and made a map of the feral cats they had found in the community to help reduce the feral cat population.
Sending a #TroopTuesday shout out to Troop 50979 of the Clarion service unit! The girls tackled their cookie goals by persevering and adapting! The troop held booth sales every chance they could and created videos for their Digital Cookie sites. Thanks to their generous cookie customers, the troop will be able to donate 200 packages to military men and women overseas and more than two cases to Clarion Hospital.
Do you have an awesome #TroopTuesday story? Send it to us at socialmedia@gswpa.org to be featured!
UPDATED: June 22
GSWPA 