Learn what's new at Girl Scouts of Central Illinois. Bookmark this page as your go-to to learn all about the new happenings at GSCI.
International Day of the Girl - October 11. 2023
We know that each girl has the power to exercise her potential. We recognize the importance of amplifying girls’ voices and advocating for their inclusion in changemaking spaces. By supporting and investing in girls, we can make the world a better place. We celebrate IDG not only to give girls a platform to speak out, but to share girls’ achievements, triumphs, and contributions as we build towards a brighter and more equitable future for girls everywhere.
October 11 was declared International Day of the Girl (IDG) by the United Nations in 2012. Ever since, Girl Guides and Girl Scouts around the world have been celebrating IDG every year. It is a key moment for us to come together to raise up girls' voices and show how our Movement empowers girls and young women to shape the world they want to see all year long.
2023 Opportunity: This year’s theme is, “Invest in Girls: Our Leadership! Our Well-being!", we invite all girls/troops to use the easy and downloadable activity guide that has a few suggestions for how you can engage girls in your area to participate and celebrate. We look forward to seeing how your girls partake in the International Day of the Girl! have made small updates to the 2022 guide for girls to engage.
Girl Scout Destinations
Are you ready for the ultimate adventure?
Girl Scout Destinations are the ultimate adventure for individual Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador Girl Scouts. Push past your comfort zone by applying for a trip on your own, and make friends from all over the country as you travel with new Girl Scout friends. There’s a unique, life-changing experience for everyone.
Celebrate World Thinking Day - February 22
Start Thinking, Start Changing!
Join your fellow Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from over 150 countries around the world to celebrate World Thinking Day! The best part is, you don’t need to wait until February to get started. Start learning about World Thinking Day and embracing perspectives outside your own! Think about this year’s focus of "Our World, Our Thriving Future: The Environment and Global Poverty" and explore how these issues are even more challenging for girls and women in your communities and around the world. Think about the issues that contribute to the problems and about the little things you can do to make a big difference!
Lots more information is available by clicking here.
The Rising Star is Green and Gold
Congratulations, Ko’u Amelia Hopkins on being this year’s local council scholarship winner of a $10,000 National Gold Award Scholarship! The Girl Scouts of the USA Gold Award Scholarship recognizes one outstanding Gold Award Girl Scout per council whose project exemplifies the core components of the Gold Award. As a scholarship recipient, Ko’u will receive:
- A $10,000 scholarship for her post-secondary education
- National recognition on the GSUSA 2023 Gold Award Class webpage
- Local promotion that highlights the impact of her Gold Award
Ko’u’s project, “Stopping Asian Hate at the Time of COVID-19,”
demonstrates measurable and sustainable impact and addresses an issue
of national and global significance, proving that Girl Scouts of
courage, confidence, and character truly do make the world a better
place. Ko’u set out to fight the increasing number of anti-Asian and
anti-Black hate crimes. She strove to raise awareness and de-escalate
the growing tensions toward Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)
and other minority groups by conducting educational workshops and
cultural campaigns to discuss how unconscious and/or implicit biases
can occur when judgments about individuals are based on stereotypes.
She held five online workshops that taught participants how to
de-escalate the growing tension in society by understanding the
historical journey of AAPI in the United States and how to navigate
sensitive discussions to help end discriminatory actions and
inflammatory rhetoric that lead to an escalation of violence.
Please join us as we applaud Ko’u and her extraordinary leadership. Her accomplishments will endure for generations to come and serve as a powerful example of Girl Scouting in action.
Learn more about our Girl Scout Gold Award recipents.
Raspberry Rally Cookie Pause for 2024
Thank you for the incredible work you do to
support the Girl Scout Cookie Program! It is hard to believe that
another year is just around the corner and preparations are already
underway. We wanted to share important updates that will shape the
rollout of cookie season next year
Last season, our newest cookie, Raspberry Rally, was offered as part of a pilot online-only sale. This new strategy allowed girls to enhance their digital sales efforts, helping them develop their omni-channel business skills. Raspberry Rally also allowed us to test a new flavor and expand our cookie portfolio to introduce an exciting new flavor profile to the Girl Scout Cookie Program.
The launch of Raspberry Rally exceeded all expectations and customer demand was high. We know this heightened visibility came with its own challenges, and we are grateful for the feedback you shared. We understand the process was frustrating for many and we want you to know we hear you and we value your input – always.
Our top priorities for the upcoming cookie season are minimizing logistical challenges, working with ABC Bakers to ensure there is adequate supply to fulfill orders, and simplifying the program experience for girls and volunteers. That north star, coupled with the feedback you shared, means we will be taking a pause in the production of Raspberry Rally cookies and those cookies will not be available for order next season as we refocus on our established flavors in 2024.
Due to this decision, Raspberry Rally cookies will not be available next season for purchase in-person or via Smart Cookies. We will provide tools to help Girl Scouts explain this to their customers.
We remain confident that offering girls the experience of managing online, direct-ship products is important to helping them enhance their digital and omni-channel selling skills and will continue to provide creative ways for girls to do so.
As always, thank you for all that you do
to make the Girl Scout Cookie Program a pivotal part of any Girl Scout
experience.
Calling for Submissions for Troop Spotlight
Girl Scouts around our council are always active – camping,
traveling, doing serviceprojects, and making the world a better place.
Girl Scouts of tCentral Illinois invitesall Girl Scouts in our council
to share photos of their adventures, achievements,projects, and
more.
Share your story by completing a short form and uploading your pictures. Be sureto complete all the questions with details so we can highlight your troop and theiradventures. We'd love to feature it on our GSCI social media platforms and our website
Troop Leader Planner Printable Pages
Take the stress out of organizing your Girl Scout troop with the
first edition of the GSCI Troop Leader Planner. This planner contains
pages for meeting planning, member contact, cookie planning, badge
activity planning, finance tracking and so much more!! Just print
these pages as needed – or print all of the pages and bind them in a
way that best suits your own organization. Another convenient tool is
our New Leader First Year Membership & Participation
Map.
Need an even easier button? You can also find this ultimate must-have planner printed and bound at your local Girl Scout Trefoil Boutique.
Please Note: This document is 92 pages. However, it contains lots of duplicated pages as your resource. Please view prior to printing and choose to print the entire document or just the pages that are helpful to you.
