The Lowdown 2017 G.I.R.L. Convention Thousands of girls and those who support them came together from around the world in early October to attend G.I.R.L. 2017 in Columbus, Ohio. Hosted by Girl Scouts of the USA, the mega event provided attendees with unforgettable experiences as they gained inspiration, tools to empower themselves, and the know-how to lead change in their communities, connecting with some of the most influential women in the world along the way. GSNYPENN had the opportunity to send five girl delegates, in addition to our CEO, Board President and a few members of Council staff to convention. Accomplished public figures Chelsea Clinton, Gabby Douglas, Barbara Pierce Bush, Mae Jemison, and others led panels and breakout sessions on pressing issues facing girls today. Many sessions featured female leaders from organizations and companies such as Facebook, Instagram, the Department of Homeland Security, NASA and AT&T.
Alumnae Newsletter // Winter 2017-Spring 2018
Dear Friends of Girl Scouting, I am thrilled to be entering my sixth month as Development Director for Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways. I’ve had a warm welcome from our amazing Council staff and the many wonderful members, alumnae, funders and community partners I’ve met making my way across our 26-county territory. It’s been a wonderful journey and I’ve been fortunate to see many parts of New York and Pennsylvania for the very first time during my travels. I came to GSNYPENN from Community Action Partnership (CAP) of Madison County, where I spent 17 years wearing many hats in support of youth and their families. During my time at CAP, I was deeply involved in the mentoring program, mission delivery, programming, fundraising and events. I also hold a long professional history of working with youth, both boys and girls. I look forward to focusing my efforts specifically in support of girls and helping elevate our work to expand leadership opportunities for girls in our community as they grow to become tomorrow’s leaders. During my short time with the Council, I’ve attended the 2017 Girl Scout Convention and National Council Session in Columbus, Ohio, and helped plan and organize our inaugural Carrying the Torch: Girl Scout Convention on Women’s Rights in Seneca Falls, N.Y. I also had the great pleasure of hosting the first of four “Torchbearers” Girl Scout alumnae gatherings during our weekend in Seneca Falls. (Stay tuned for details on the next three!) I look forward to more travel throughout our Council region during 2018, and hope to meet as many of you as I can. Please feel free to reach out if you have anything you would like to share. Thank you for being the “Torchbearers” of the Girl Scout Movement within your communities.
2017 Gold Award Girl Scout Scholarship - Laura Soroka Meet Laura Soroka, the 2017 recipient of GSNYPENN’s Gold Award Girl Scout Scholarship. Laura is from Freeville, N.Y. Her Take Action Project is “A State of Mind - Mental Health Matters.” Laura addressed the stigma of mental illness in teens through various media, including an art exhibit and creation of a peer mental health crisis team at her school. One of her favorite Girl Scouts memories is attending the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting in Washington, D.C. Laura is a graduate of Dryden High School. She is currently a student at Nazareth College, where she is studying psychology. Congratulations, Laura!
Left to right: GSNYPENN Board Chair Karen Hegemen and CEO Julie Dale with Laura.
Camping Then and Now GSNYPENN has four amazing Adventure Centers: Amahami, Trefoil, Comstock and Hoover. The Council has dedicated time and funding to make needed upgrades and improvements to all our camps. Camp has always been a beloved aspect of the Girl Scout Experience, both then and now! We often offer alumnae opportunities to visit our camps. Stay tuned to our social media channels for updates.
Yours in Girl Scouting,
JoAnne Morak Development Director, GSNYPENN 315.698.9400 ext. 2052 jmorak@gsnypenn.org
Would you like to help a girl have a great camp experience this summer? You can sponsor a campership for the 2018 camp season. Contact Angela Smith at 315.698.9400 ext. 2020 or asmith@gsnypenn.org for further information.
Calling All Alumnae: Become a Torchbearer Once a Girl Scout. Always a Girl Scout. Were you a Daisy? Brownie? If you shared in the Girl Scout movement and experience for any length of time, then you are a Girl Scout alumna. We’re planning a handful of alumnae gatherings across our 26 counties to share and celebrate Girl Scouts of all ages, and discuss what we can all do to support the mission of Girl Scouts today and into the future. And we want YOU to be there. Contact JoAnne Morak at 315.698.9400 ext. 2052 or jmorak@gsnypenn.org.
Juliette Gordon Low Society Have you made a planned gift to Girl Scouts? Through your planned giving, you are part of the Juliette Gordon Low National Society. Please let us know, so that we can honor you with this beautiful Juliette Gordon Low Society pin. If you haven’t made a planned gift yet, it’s so easy. Did you know you can leave any amount or percent of your life insurance or estate to Girl Scouts? A small bequest can make a huge difference in the future of our girls and young women. Contact JoAnne Morak at 315.698.9400 ext. 2052 or jmorak@gsnypenn.org to discuss your options. Region I
Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways is chartered by Girl Scouts of the USA to administer the Girl Scout program in 24 counties of New York and two in Pennsylvania. We’re the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. We offer every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success. We are dedicated to serving our council membership. Your support stays local and gives girls across our region the opportunity to experience the magic of Girl Scouting.
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Torchbearer Profile: Mary Coykendall Mary Coykendall has been a Troop Leader for 35 years and is still just as dedicated as ever—maybe more! What keeps her connected and passionate about the movement? “I was a Girl Scout in the mid- to late1960s for about four years (Brownie-Junior). My leaders at the time were just learning, but they were great and became role models for scouting. We camped, hiked, cooked, sewed, did crafts, sang songs, had ceremonies, sleepovers, and attended day camp at Havana Glen. It was wonderful, and I thought, very magical. Mary Coykendall, pictured on the left
I became a leader in 1984, when Council was looking for someone to start what was then a brand- new level, Daisies. My youngest daughter was in kindergarten and needed a leader. My oldest was already in a troop and I helped on occasion. So, I thought...how hard could this be?! Oh, foolish lady! I think that’s how they get us all – ‘Your daughter needs a leader.’
I led Daisies for 15 years and finally ‘flew up’ with an awesome bunch of Brownies, Troop 170. We saw them through to Seniors and added girls as we went along. Some left, more came on, and we’ve been leading an older girl troop ever since. And we’re still Troop 170. We’ve had some great adventures with the girls. Many years spent in competition at Rainbow World Jamboree; great memories and many friends made. Two trips to Washington, D.C.; Niagara Falls and nights on USS Little Rock; camporee at Hershey Park; an amazing bus trip to New York City, Ground Zero, Ellis Island; horseback riding and tower climbing at Paz Ranch; Corning Glass Fun Studio; and I’m sure I’ve forgotten some. We’ve had girls receive Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. I love to see their ideas and how they just fly with them; proud of their accomplishments. Such sweet, kind and loving hearts they all have. I stay for the girls... simply put. As long as they come, I’m here. What’s important to me? Are they helpful in their communities, schools, churches? I love being a leader. I’ve been privileged and honored to be a small part of so many lives. I get to share just a little bit of their lives with them, getting a little glimpse into what they do. The girls are nothing short of truly terrific. They are involved, play all kinds of
Carrying the Torch 2017 More than 1,000 Girl Scouts, troops, families and the public visited Seneca Falls the weekend of October 13-14 for our inaugural Carrying the Torch: Girl Scout Convention on Women’s Rights. This first-ever collaboration between GSNYPENN, Women’s Rights National Historical Park and the National Women’s Hall of Fame commemorated the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in New York State while celebrating how girls of today carry the torch of equal rights through civic engagement.
organizers and NYS Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Chair of the NYS Women’s Suffrage Commission, and an interactive reenactment of the Declaration of Sentiments with an actress portraying Elizabeth Cady Stanton took place in the Chapel.
Highlights included tours of the Park and Hall, and historic sites Elizabeth Cady Stanton House, Wesleyan Chapel, 1844 Seneca Knitting Mill and M’Clintock House. A press conference celebrating the inaugural convention with event
The Council is working with its partners, the Park and the Hall, to host the convention annually through 2020—the nationwide centennial of women’s suffrage.
The “convention” portion of the weekend featured a panel discussion on the issues and civic engagement at Seneca Falls Community Center. Girls and women leaders discussed how the past influences the present and future. The panel was moderated by Democrat & Chronicle Senior Engagement Editor Julie Philipp with GSNYPENN CEO Julie Dale, Women’s Rights National Historical Park Superintendent Noemi “Ami” Ghazala, National Women’s Hall of Fame Co-President Betty Bayer, 2007 Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee Dr. Judith L. Pipher and GSNYPENN Ambassador Girl Scout and Girls Advisory Board Member Serafina Sortino. An evening “Torchbearers” alumnae reception took place at the Gould Hotel.
History and Archives Corner sports, are in local plays and dance studios. They are all great students, most being in honor societies. They laugh, they cry, they support and encourage each other. Yes, I am proud. I am amazed by them at every meeting. I am happy for them as they instill the promise and law into their lives. I am proud to call them all, past and present, ‘my girls’ because they are. They all stay in touch, even now. Some call, many on Facebook, some in person...just stopping in to a Monday night meeting to say hi and catch up with college life or talk babies and married life. I love this huge ‘family’ that we created so long ago. My daughters went up through the ranks...Daisy to Senior, earning Silver and Gold as they went along. My daughter, Jen, had been my co-leader since high school, and is still by my side. Now, we enjoy the sweetness of granddaughters joining. Doing all the same wonderful and amazing things right along with us. Beginning in Daisy and now at Cadette and Senior. Bronze, Silver and Gold in the works, summits as they do their Journeys. All the more reason to be so very proud. Three generations.” Want to be profiled in a future issue? Contact JoAnne Morak at 315.698.9400 ext. 2052 or jmorak@gsnypenn.org.
New York State Senator Fred Akshar (52nd Senate District) with Girl Scout Troop 30001
In 1913, a statewide convention of those pushing the issue of suffrage for women was held in Binghamton, New York. During that convention, a parade was staged to denote the importance of the issue. Hundreds of participants—including the convention’s female delegates, local women and girls, elected officials and police escorts—filled the streets. On October 7, 2017, Girl Scouts from Binghamton Troop 30001 (wearing original 1914 Girl Scout uniforms) marched in the reenactment of this historic event. The parade was held as part of the New York State Path Through History initiative, celebrating the 2017 centennial of women’s suffrage in NYS. Girl Scouts, like the women of the suffrage movement, lead to make the world a better place. As Troop 30001 learned in preparing for their role in the parade reenactment, the world cannot become a better place without all men, women, boys and girls being able to equally participate. Throughout time, Girl Scouting has supported girls in their pursuits of learning and engaging in the world around them—friend to friend, within their troop, and reaching out into the community and global world beyond. The NYPENN Pathways History and Archives Committee is a volunteer group comprised of Girl Scout alumnae committed to supporting girls and women using the rich history of the Girl Scout movement and its ideals as the foundation for the work. In the words of Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low, “The work of today is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers.” As Girl Scout alumnae, we made friends and Silver and Gold. Earned our badges, Tenderfoot, and First Class ranks. And grew through our Girl Scout experience to be able to make our own history. Now, we support the next Girl Scouts in making theirs.
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G.I.R.L. Agenda: Civic Engagement Girl Scouts are civically engaged, and have been so since the beginning. The Girl Scout movement is made up of individuals who hold beliefs as varied as our nation itself. And because all girls have a home at Girl Scouts, we encourage each and every one in our movement to form her own ideas, opinions, beliefs and political ideology. At our core, Girl Scouts aims to inspire girls to be leaders in their own lives by building the courage, confidence and character to raise their voices and be advocates for the issues and ideas important to them. Girl Scouts use their determination to lead every day in the fight for a clean environment, racial and gender equality, safety issues, local concerns, and so much more. And leadership is why the effect of Girl Scouts remains so long after a girl leaves her troop meetings behind and moves on in the world. To celebrate more than a century of Girl Scout civic engagement, GSUSA has launched the G.I.R.L. Agenda, a nonpartisan initiative to inspire, prepare and mobilize girls and those who care about them to lead positive change through civic action. Our time is now. This is our moment to come together, lift our voices, and take action on issues that matter to girls. Today is the day we unite to build an even brighter future for all of us. Be a catalyst for change in your community—and the world. Champion your views, influence leadership, and advance the G.I.R.L. Agenda to make the world a better place. Visit girlscouts.org/girlagenda to learn more.