Girl Scouts During WW2 Facts

Hello everybody!  :)

As you know, I am very interested in Girl Scout History! This week, I decided to gather some information about the Girl Scouts of America and the role that they played in World War Two. All the websites that I found this info on are listed at the bottom of this post-so click any one of them for more information if you're interested! The Girl Scout Website has tons more facts from GSA history @ http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/history/ ! Check it out! Have a great week!

• Girl Scout Cookies were sold annually by local councils around the country until World War II, when sugar, flour, and butter shortages led Girl Scouts to begin selling Girl Scout calendars to raise money for their activities.

• During World War II, 1943–1945, many young Japanese-American girls were confined in internment camps with their families. Girl Scout troops were organized, even in these camps. 

• When World War II began the Girl Scouts aided their communities and war-torn Europe. The group began a new publication-Senior Girl Scouting in Wartime. This program educated older girls on projects like Hospital, Child Care and Emergency Outdoor Aide. The Girl Scouts also collected clothes to send to victims of war.

Girl Scouts Collecting Scrap Metal for the War Effort
Picture From:
http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/history/timeline/1940s.asp
 

• During the war, Girl Scouts operated bicycle courier services, invested more than 48,000 hours in Farm Aide projects, collected fat and scrap metal, and grew Victory Gardens.
  
• Girl Scouts sponsored Defense Institutes, which taught 10,000 women survival skills and techniques for comforting children during blackouts and air raids.
  
• Girls collected 1.5 million articles of clothing that were then shipped overseas to children and adult victims of war.

This Intermediate Girl Scout uniform (ages 10-14) is the style worn from 1939-1948. Due to wartime shortages, a button down front replaced the metal zipper of previous years. The many badges earned by this scout include First Aid, Hostess, Handywoman and Child Care.
Picture and info from: http://www.nww2m.com/2012/03/girls-scouts-and-wwii/

• The Liberty ship USS Juliette Low, named after the founder of the Girl Scouts, was launched on May 12, 1944.

Information from/For More Information:

• http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/cookie_history/1940s.asp
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_Scouts_of_the_USA
• http://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/girl-scouts/
• http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/history/timeline/1940s.asp
• http://sarahsundin.blogspot.com/2012/03/girl-scouts-in-world-war-ii.html

Radio Show :)

Hey All!

Last year I was given an amazing opportunity-I was asked to speak on the radio about Girl Scouting and my experiences with the organization!

Along with several other Girl Scouts, I was featured on WRHU's award winning women's issues program A League Of Our Own, hosted by Fran Spencer.
The executive producer has never had Girl Scouts on the show before.

You can listen to the show @:
http://franspencer.com

Click radio show and it is the second show "the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts."

It was an awesome experience! The radio studio was really cool and we got to use the special microphones and equipment when recording the show. We spoke all about the benefits of Girl Scouting and all of the great experiences that the Scouts and I had had over the years.
Please take a listen!

This just goes to show you...Girl Scouts holds so many opportunities and opens so many doors!
As my Gold Award counselor says..."You never know where the Gold Award Journey will take you!"

To all of you Gold Girls-I know that the deadline is soon! (I myself in in the midst of filling out my final paperwork)
Good luck ladies! Stick with it-we're almost there!

~Gold Girl Allie :D

I had an awesome time Tuesday at a Daisy Event that my new friend and fellow Gold Girl Kristen threw on Tuesday! She's been working hard to help out those girls who are currently Independent Girl Scouts.

She decided to hold a meeting for these girls to hang out, make Holiday crafts, and learn the importance of Fairness.

It was a lot of fun and the crafts were adorable! Thank you so much for the fun party Kristen!

Independent Girl Scouts. I remember briefly writing about the issue a few months ago. In my area, there are about 80 girls who are not a part of troops due to the huge shortage of Girl Scout Leaders. All of these girls are in first grade and younger.

It is relatively simple to become a leader, and the GSA national website lists the steps and makes it an easy process. Many areas need leaders desperately, and Girl Scouts of America is such a great organization to join!

By becoming a Girl Scout Leader, you would teach girls the importance of character traits like honesty and tolerance, setting a basis for future learning. You would help to spread the Girl Scouting Mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. You would be teaching girls that every person has the power to change the world.

For more info about becoming a Leader click the Link below:
http://www.gscnc.org/be_troop_leader.html

Fun Holiday Crafts I made with the Daisys :)

Happy Thanksgiving! :D

Hope that everyone had an AWESOME Thanksgiving! :D
I know I did!
We all have so much to be Thankful for-good family, friends, 100 years of Girl Scouting...

Last Friday, my Girl Scout troop got together and decorated brown paper shopping bags. The shopping bags were filled with Thanksgiving meals for the needy on Thursday :) It felt so good to help others and brightened someones day with a few drawings and decorations! This is a running tradition within my troop-we all get together for a meeting and we decorate bags with markers, eat pizza and talk a lot. My troop rocks! Love you girls! <3

Here's a pic of one of my bags:



Yes, one of my pilgrims has bell-bottom jeans...that was unintentional. :D

Another craft that I did with some friends for fun over the break-making hand turkeys!
We didn't go with the usual hand-traced turkeys. No, we painted all over our hands and then slapped them down against a piece of paper! :)
It was alot of fun and I recommend that you use this craft with your troop next year before Thanksgiving! It may be a bit messy, but the results are worth it! I'll post a picture of our turkeys below:




All you need is a little paint, paper, some paint brushes, and plenty of paper towels! :)
Hope you like them!

Once again, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, love, and plenty of food! Have a great rest of the break!

~Gold Girl Allie :)

Christmas Caroling :) My Fave Holiday Activity

Christmas Caroling-a classic holiday activity that's sure "to make spirits bright!"

  As a young Girl Scout, my troop went on several Christmas Caroling Adventures. They were so fun that in Middle School, I decided to host my own Christmas Caroling party for my friends! The idea caught on so quickly and proved to be such a huge success that, 5 or 6 years later, my friends and I still go out every holiday for some good-old-fashioned-singing-fun! Our group grows larger each year-and everyone always has tons of fun!

I recommend that you include this activity in your Girl Scout Holiday party or just for fun! When I go with my friends, we usually go to the houses of those we know-you shouldn't go to a stranger's house (this is the same rule that we tell girls with cookie sales-avoid going the door's of strangers!).
Make sure everyone dresses warmly if it's cold out, and make sure the streets are cleared. Walk on sidewalks whenever possible, and choose a residential street. It is usually best to limit your group to one street, as kids get tired easily (my teenage friends and I included). Bring hot cocoa in a hot-drink dispenser for later. Oh, and be sure to bring copies of the lyrics just in case!

If you don't feel safe Christmas Caroling in the neighborhood-go and carol at a Nursing Home! All of those living at Homes love getting visits and are usually very interested in Girl Scouts and Girl Scout badges! Spread the cheer and happiness of the season wherever you go!

Classic Holiday Songs my friends and I recommend:

• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Frosty the Snowman
• Oh Hanukkah
• Santa Claus is Coming To Town
• Jingle Bells
• Silver Bells

*Choose short, easy songs that are easy to remember/girls already know

If you have one, bring an I-Pod doc for background music!

Other fun ideas for GS Holiday Parties:

• Gift Exchanges/Grab-Bag
• Christmas Craft-like cutting out paper snow flakes :)
• Holiday Cookie Party-everyone bakes a tray of special holiday cookies and trades with other Scouts

**Please Note: It is important to plan in advance and get permission from parents


Photo From: http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ADRA_enUS365US366&biw=956&bih=652&tbm=isch&tbnid=rnrxIUJ6C5EXsM:&imgrefurl=http://troop1023.wordpress.com/&docid=h76yOBt4YOpPFM&imgurl=http://troop1023.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/caroling1.jpg&w=305&h=217&ei=c_eqUO2VM5CB0AGusoD4DQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=2&vpy=299&dur=85&hovh=173&hovw=244&tx=128&ty=56&sig=109449470522959253728&page=5&tbnh=142&tbnw=192&start=71&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:71,s:0,i:292

Taylor Swift-a Girl Scout! :D

    

Recently Taylor Swift's new album-RED was released in stores and online. The young Country/Pop singer-songwriter/actress has already had an amazing career-she's released 4 albums, earned 6 Grammies, stared in several movies and toured around the world-all by the age of 22! But there's one thing that people don't tend to know about Taylor Swift...

TAYLOR SWIFT WAS A GIRL SCOUT! :D
Yes, It's true!
Girl Scouts has many famous alumni, but Swift is especially special because she is seen as an inspiration to so many young girls today. She comes across as a sweet and friendly person, and has written songs that are easy to relate to. She has written empowering pop anthems as well as slow break-up ad love songs. Her career is certainly impressive, but not so impressive as her continuing devotion to helping others!

Swift's Philanthropy :)

• The singer is involved with a number of charities which provide services to sick children. In 2008, she donated a pink Chevy pick-up truck to the Victory Junction Gang Camp; the truck is used to transport sick children from the airport to the camp.
• In 2012, Swift participated in the Stand Up to Cancer telethon, performing Ronan, a song she wrote in memory of a four-year-old boy who died of neuroblastoma. The song was made available for digital download, with all proceeds donated to cancer-related charities.
•  Swift has met with many sick fans through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
•  She has also made private visits to hospitals such as St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Ronald McDonald House.
• Swift opposes LGBT discrimination. Following the 2008 murder of Larry King, she recorded a Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network PSA to combat hate crimes. On the first anniversary of King's death, Swift told Seventeen that her parents taught her "never to judge others based on whom they love, what color their skin is, or their religion".
• Swift promotes children's literacy. In 2009, she donated money to various schools around the country that she had either attended or had other associations with to buy books, fund educational programs and help pay teachers' salaries.
• In 2010, she took part in a live webcast, Read Now! with Taylor Swift, broadcast exclusively in US schools to celebrate Scholastic's Read Every Day campaign.
•  In 2011, Swift donated 6,000 Scholastic books to Reading Public Library, Pennsylvania^. Most of the books were placed in circulation; the rest were gifted to children from low-income families, preschools and daycare centers.
•  In 2012, she co-chaired the National Education Association's Read Across America campaign and recorded a PSA encouraging children to read. In October 2012, Swift promoted the "power of reading" in a second live Scholastic webcast, broadcast directly to US classrooms.

Information from/for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Swift#Philanthropy

 

 Taken in 1999,  Young Taylor Swift (9) at a Girl Scout meeting with her grandmother, Marjorie Finlay.

Swift's favorite Girl Scout cookies were Caramel deLites. She references the cookies in a joke rap called "Thug Story."

Photo From: http://raretaylorswift.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=167577865

 

Swift's new album-RED.

Girl Scouts History: The Wing Scout Program

What exactly is a Wing Scout ?


The Wing Scout program was a Senior Girl Scout program for girls interested in flying and wanting to serve their country.

It began in the early 1940s end ended in the 1970s.

In July 1942, 29 troop leaders from fifteen states met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to take Wing Scout leadership training.

In 1959, Girl Scout Council in North San Mateo County, California was presented with an offer from United Airlines San Francisco Management Club President J. L. Burnside to start an aviation program for Senior Girl Scouts.

The Wing Scout Program took on a new importance once the United States entered World War II and Girl Scouts focused on civic duty as part of their war efforts.

 In August 1945, William T. Piper donated the first of three Piper Cub training aircraft to the Girl Scouts making them “the first national youth organization to own an airplane,” according to Mrs. Thomas H. Beck, Chairman of the National Wing Scout Advisory Committee.

The Wing Scout Program included a courtesy flight provided to Senior Girl Scouts using United Airlines' jets. For many of the girls, this was the first time they had been on a plane.

Senior Girl Scouts who had spent three years in the program were given the opportunity to take over the controls during flight in a small aircraft. The program was discontinued after United Airlines experienced financial setbacks in the 1970s.

Info from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_Scouts_of_the_USA#Wing_Scouts
 http://blog.nasm.si.edu/2012/06/07/birds-of-a-feather/


Over the years, the Girl Scout Organization has offered such a diverse range of awesome opprotunities for Girls.

It is important for girls to know what a special organization they are part of.

A fun way to end a GS meeting or spend a few extra minutes at a campsite-teach younger Scouts about Girl Scout history. Tell them about all of the cool things that happened in Girl Scout past. Then, make a Wing Scout craft! A cute craft to do after teaching a short history lesson-pre-fold paper planes and have the Girls decorate them!
You can teach a bit about how planes work as well. Who knows, maybe some of the girls wil aspire to be pilots as a result!