Help us help ourselves with the Family Partnership Campaign

by Jo Anna D. Harris and Sandee Williams

One of the highlights for most Girl Scouts is going to camp. At camp, girls have the opportunity to leave the busy city life to learn and experience a new way of living. Life at camp is relaxed, laid-back, creative, and supportive. It is a very well known fact that San Jacinto Council camps are wonderful! From horseback riding, canoeing, swimming, and nature walking to sailing…girls can do nothing but have a good time at Girl Scout camp.

In order to keep our camps as wonderful as they are…we, as Girl Scouts, can give back! We can help our camps acquire additional amenities and support maintenance projects by contributing to the GSSJC Family Partnership Annual Giving Campaign. One hundred percent of the money contributed to Family Partnership stays within our Council! Among other things, the money is used to purchase a variety of camp needs such as tents, tarps, cots, mattresses, sailboats, camp bicycles, and paddleboats.

It is often said that “we have not because we ask not” … so let’s start asking for contributions to Family Partnership! Here are a variety of ideas that troops/groups, service units, or areas can do to participate in the Family Partnership Annual Giving Campaign.

• Promote the Family Partnership Campaign at investiture ceremonies, bridging ceremonies, and other events where parents gather with their Girl Scouts.
• Encourage every service unit and every troop/group to have a Family Partnership donation can/bank. Girls can decorate it with a personal slogan such as “We Love Girl Scouts” or “Our Families Support Girl Scouts.” At troop meetings, each girl could make her own bank to take home, collecting extra pocket change to donate once a month.
• Host an Area picnic at camp, inviting Girl Scout families to see how Family Partnership monies are being used.
• Encourage troops/groups to donate a portion of their dues or product sale revenues to Family Partnership.

It is important that Girl Scouts learn to give back to the community…and…we should also remember that giving starts at home. Making a genuine effort to increase our contributions to the Family Partnership Annual Giving Campaign is a great way to begin!

Camping

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actions. Such an environment, under the consistent attention of trained adult camp counselors, helps young campers strengthen their core values. It also gives them many opportunities to choose to do the hard right over the easy wrong.

In addition to these ACA findings, one other important element must be mentioned when discussing how youth benefit from the camping experience. Girls participating in camping via the Girl Scout program greatly benefit from the an “all-girl environment.” In Girl Scouts, girls discover the fun, friendship, and power of girls together. Through many enriching experiences provided by Girl Scouting, they grow courageous and strong. The all-girl camp setting allows girls to test their abilities without the pressure and competitiveness that frequently characterize co-educational situations. Furthermore, when girls develop abilities in an all-girl setting, they are more likely to use these skills in mixed groups.

Is the camping experience the only venue where children can learn about themselves, try new activities, become less dependent and more self-reliant? Why, of course not. It is however, a time tested, supportive, and nurturing environment for healthy youth development. Without a doubt, opportunities for powerful lessons learned “at camp,” will serve young campers well into their adulthood.

* Youth Development Outcomes of the Camp Experience, A study conducted by Philiber Research Associates and the American Camp Association, copyright 2005