Think safety with publicity

We love to see stories and pictures of our Girl Scouts in the local papers, but there are certain bits of information that should not go into a press release. To protect the safety of our girls, it is advised that we never list the places where girls will be meeting. That would include service unit events, troop activities, and Council camps. While you can put that the service unit is having a skating party to benefit the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund, you cannot put the exact location of the party. If your troop is going camping, you can say that the girls are excited about their upcoming camping trip, but you do not list the camp’s address. All of this is because we do not ever want to jeopardize the safety of our girls by telling the general public where they will be. It may be beneficial to list a contact person to call for more information.
Once an event has happened and you want to share the fun of the Daisy Day with the neighborhood, leaders should submit stories and pictures to their service unit press corps representative. This is a good way to get troop or service unit items into the local newspaper. Community papers and newsletters like to receive positive stories and pictures. Pictures sell papers, so they appreciate your Girl Scout pictures.
Council press corps members have received training on how to write press releases and how to submit them to the papers. All information about your troops and service unit should go through the press corps person and he/she will submit those items to the papers. Press corps members do not submit news to the major media outlets of the Council, that is handled by GSSJC, but they do work with community papers.
So, if your troop is going on a cool field trip, wait until you get back and send the story and pictures to the press corps. The girls and their parents will enjoy seeing

their pictures in the paper, and you won’t have divulged information that the general public should not have. It’s all about safety.

92 and still going strong

Do you and your girls know what happened on March 12, 1912? If not, get out your Girl Scout handbooks and study about the beginnings of Girl Scouting in the United States.
On March 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low returned to Savannah, Georgia from a trip to England where she worked with Lord Robert Baden Powell and his sister Agnes with the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. She was so enthralled by the organization that she could not wait to begin troops in her hometown. What began in her home that day in 1912 has grown to the largest organization for girls in the world.
Girl Scouts celebrate each year with troop parties, service unit events, and quite often with Council events. To learn more about the beginnings of Girl Scouting, there are books to check out of the GSSJC library and books you can purchase from the GSSJC Shops such as Lady from Savannah, Octvaia’s Girl Scout Journey, Savannah 1916, and From Young Patriot Series-Juliette Low Girl Scout Founder. There is history information at www.girlscouts.org and in articles written by the History Committee and published in The Golden Link. Leaders can also schedule a history tour of the Girl Scout Center. Adults and girls are guided on a historical tour of the Council library and museum, as well as other interesting areas of the building. There are two different history “Treasure Chests” that leaders can check out from the Program Department. “Treasures from Daisy” and

“Treasures of Camping” deal with Girl Scouting of the past.
When your girls are old enough to take extended trips, consider taking a heritage visit to the Juliette Low Birthplace in Savannah, Georgia. Girls can take part in activities that girls enjoyed in the time of Daisy Low. There are tea parties, art sessions of the day, and dress-up sessions where girls get to put on period replica dresses and the ever favorite corsets. Going to Savannah is a great trip.
Teach your girls about the history of their organization. They need to know where we came from before they can see where we are going.

Asking for a few good volunteers

It is that time of year when service units are planning for next fall by putting together service unit administrations and service teams. Every service unit has different needs, traditions, and programs, but what they have in common is the need for adults to volunteer to lead these activities. Service unit administrators know it is very difficult to plan a year without volunteers and always hoping someone will jump in and do it at the last minute. An administrative team simply cannot run every activity in addition to the tasks that go along with running a service unit.
Sometime in the next few weeks, your service unit administrators will be asking for people to volunteer to take on a short term job or one activity for the next year, such as organizing a Brownie Day or being Fall Product Sales manager. When that list comes around, do not just pass it on to the next person. Put your name down. Perhaps you will find something you really enjoy, and I know you will make new friends.