Raising Change Fall Magazine

Message

Dear Changemakers, Alumni and Donors:

Welcome to our new publication! As you can tell by now, we’ve made some slight adjustments. GSWNY has taken some time during the pandemic to reimagine the experience of our support ers. You may be wondering what is “Raising Change” and what is it all about. Well, I will tell you we have transitioned from our previous “Girl Talk” newsletter to bring you more engaging stories about our council and how your direct support really helps make our community and world a better place.

“Raising Change” will be GSWNY’s new quarterly publication, just for you! Our goal is to enhance your experience and provide you with important and useful information. You will find this fall issue there is a focus around fun outdoor summer memories, activities and rejuvenation. We have all had a challenging three years. So, I’m hoping you, like GSWNY and I, have taken the time to pause, extend grace to yourself and others, and allow for newness to begin.

GSWNY has done that not only as organization, but with our girls and our facilities. So, THANK YOU, for your continued support in making that possible. Take the time this fall to Get Outdoors!

We also want to hear from you. If there any stories you loved or would love to see more of, please contact our Communications team at communications@gswny.org

Yours in Girl Scouting, Alison Wilcox CEO of Girl Scouts of Western New York

Donor Spotlight: Erica Tener

“My involvement with GSWNY began in 1968 (at 7 years old), when I spent the summer (six weeks) at Camp Timbercrest. My grandmother (Virgin ia Booth Tener) served as an executive with the Chautauqua Area Girl Scout Council and was a part of the committee that planned, designed and built Camp Timbercrest. She and my grandfather (Albert James Tener) lived in Jamestown, so it was only natural that I attend the camp in the summers. I lived in the greater metropolitan area at the time, so my parents dropped me off at my grandparents for the summer and I’d stay with them in between camp sessions. I continued going to Timbercrest every summer until I was 15 at which point, I had to attend a different camp for CIT training. I returned to Timbercrest the following summer (1979) as a camp counselor. My grandmother remained active with GSWNY until they moved away from the area in 1997.

“My time at Timbercrest taught me valuable skills I continue to enjoy using today. I have a deep love of the outdoors and am comfortable hiking, iden tifying flora and fauna, swimming and boating, all skills I acquired as a young Girl Scout at camp. “In 2017 I had the good fortune to stumble on a blog post where I learned of the 50th anniversary of the camp. I quickly signed up and was elated to recon nect with my old friends. Since then, I have been an active member of the Friends of Timbercrest (FOT), and I have attended most of their work weekends.”

1977 – Erica “Ricki” Tener building the original lean-to

Erica and her grandmother Virginia Booth Tener. 2001.

Part of the FOT work crew (Spring 2021 work weekend)

Standing: Kathy Pascatore-Moller, Ro Woodard, Erica Tener, Donna Dolce. Seated – Diane “Didi” Powell

Friends of Timbercrest is a Girl Scout Alumni group who is dedicated to preserving, enhancing, and promoting Camp Timbercrest. These incredible volunteers meet at least twice a year for work weekends where they focus on major projects around the camp property. They also run programming for girls throughout the year to ensure our local area Girl Scouts continue to have engaging adventurous experiences at Camp Timbercrest.

“In the summer of 1975, I was a part of a unit called the Hammers and Hard Hats. Joanne (Jo) Nelson was the camp director at the time; Rose Anne (Ro) Woodard and Diane (Didi) Powell were the counselors, and I was one of six campers who built a lean-to in the woods. It was hard work but very satisfying. At the Fall 2020 Friends of Timbercrest work weekend I helped to dismantle that same lean-to and during the Spring 2021 FOT Work Weekend we started build ing two brand new lean-tos, now known as the Mary’s. A real full circle moment.

“In 2022, I became a part of the Juliette Gordon Low Society and added GSWNY to my estate planning.” The Juliette Gordon Low Society is made up of individuals who have decided to leave a legacy with Girl Scouts of Western New York by making a bequest to the council. These meaningful planned gifts ensure that the next generation of girls will have the opportunity to enjoy Girl Scouting well into the future.

“In 2022, my family set up the Virginia Booth Tener Timbercrest Campership Fund to provide camperships to assist young girls wanting to attend Timbercrest and to also provide financial assistance to area Girl Scout troops who wish to use facilities at the camp. We hope the camp ers accessing these funds will love their experiences at Timbercrest as much as I did. Every time I return to Camp Timbercrest, I feel like I am going home.”

The Marys’ Lean-to site at Camp Timbercrest

forGoing the

Gold:

The journey of a Changemaker

The stories and projects are countless, and the impact is extraordinary. Every year, dozens of GSWNY girls celebrate their great work and journey to becoming Gold Award Girl Scouts and scholarship recipients. However, it is the hours of service and the support from our alums and donors which fosters an opportunity for each girl to leave their mark on their community and create change.

This year on June 3, 2022, GSWNY welcomed 36 new Gold Award Girl Scouts and awarded an other 34 GSWNY scholarships totaling $47,000. The projects tackled and provided solutions for a variety of community needs including mental health awareness, supporting or establishing community safe havens and assisting women and children in transition, just to name a few.

It is clear that GSWNY Gold Award Girl Scouts and our 2022 scholarship recipients are dynamic and energetic leaders who have courage, confidence and character to carry them to the next level of their journey. For many, that next chapter includes higher education whose costs increase every year. It’s evident that without GSWNY’s support those increasing costs could poten tially put the goal of gaining an education out of reach financially for many of our girls.

However, due to the unyielding support of GSWNY’s alumni and donor community, that goal is more at tainable for our next generation of leaders. Since 2001, GSWNY has awarded scholarships totaling $211,101. So many of our GSWNY scholarship recipients go on to accomplish great change in making our world a better place. We all can agree the voices of our girls are needed now more than ever before to help shape and make our world a better place.

GSWNY can’t wait to see what is ahead for our commu nity and country as our girls, because of your support, prepare to continue to create and be the change we all need to see.

We’d love for you all to stay connected to follow our girls and our councils’ journey as well. Make sure you visit www.gswny.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Gold Award Ceremony June 2022

Written by: Jerilyn J. Hickey, CFRE, GSWNY Chief Development Officer

What’s your favorite Girl Scout Camp memory? I’ve got two. My first is winter camping with my Cadette troop at Camp Green Lake and climbing up into the lifeguard chair while we were stargazing. I remember thinking to myself, “Someday I’m going to sit in this chair as a lifeguard.” And I did! I will never forget the sense of pride and accomplishment I felt when I climbed up into that very same chair with my rescue tube and whistle, ready to welcome the first group of campers for swimming lessons. My second favorite memory, well, I’ll save that for another time. It may or may not have involved sabotaging A.M. Aerobics with Vegalene Spray.

Girl Scouts, and particularly my camp experiences, have given me so much. Being at summer camp taught me leadership and communication skills, built my confidence, and allowed me to step out of my comfort zone. Best of all, I joined a lifelong sisterhood I cherish. The skills and experience I gained at Girl Scout Camp led directly my first full time job, and continue to serve me every day as a staff member here at council.

& Camping with Purpose

The benefits are clear. Camp provides a safe environment that encourages leadership, imagination, and acceptance as well as a community where our girls feel a sense of belonging. By focusing on our three keys to leadership, girls are able to discover new skills within themselves, connect with others through team building and problem solving, and take action by making things better at camp and their communities. Along the way, the camp experience develops and cultivates girls’ self-identity, self-worth, self-esteem, and self-respect.

I know camp had the same impact for many of you, and rest assured it continues to provide a tremendous experience for our girls, especially this year. Thanks to our incredible property and outdoor team (shout out to Karen, Scott, Allison, Vicki, Erin, Bill, Cory, Joe, Evan and Larry, scores of girls and volunteers, and our wonderful Friends Groups) the properties are rejuvenated, refreshed and ready to welcome girls this summer and all year long.

Girls working at the Windy Meadows Work Day in May 2022

Let me tell you a little bit about what we’ve all been up to!

At Camp Piperwood, we were delighted to partner with the Rochester Orienteering Club to build a new orienteering course. This new course was funded by the Ralph C.Wilson, Jr. Legacy Fund for Youth Sports and includes new signage and pro fessional grade maps for girls to use for years to come. Exciting new upgrades were made to both Anne and Jennifer Lodges and the water system has been fully upgraded to ensure girls are cool and refreshed at the splash pad all summer long.

We were thrilled to have TWO volun teer-led Day Camps this past summer: three sessions at Camp Windy Meadows, and a 4-day pilot program at our Horton Hill Service Center. Preparing the properties for the season started last winter with the complete refurbishment of Vandeburgh Lodge at Windy Meadows –just imagine gathering around that blazing fireplace after a snowy hike! The Friends of Windy Meadows hosted their first work weekend in May and did an incredible job. They collected fallen limbs; cut overgrown brush and cleared downed trees; raked the perimeters of every cabin in Wood Chuck and Woodhaven, chipped brush piles; and split many cords of wood.

To the south, the Friends of Horton Hill were also hard at work during multiple “Do It Days”, resurrecting the trail system at our Jamestown Service Center, reclaiming units, removing poison ivy, and enthusiastically planning to bring a day camp back after many years. They accomplished their goal – the property looks amazing and 15 volunteers welcomed 25 girls the second week of July. A great time was had by all! The Friends also secured grant funding from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation for needed supplies and equipment, including brand new picnic tables.

Just as much love and care went into our Resident (Sleep Away) Camps. Many girls arriving at Camp Seven Hills this summer will got to stay in the brand new Tally Ho Unit! Designed by architect Roxanne Button – who won the Pro Bono Publico Award presented by the Buffalo Archi tecture Foundation for her phenomenal design – Tally Ho features cabins with broad porches for gathering and skylights that allow natural light to stream in; one cabin is wheel chair accessible. Continuing our work to ensure Seven Hills is open to all, 50+ girls, volunteers, and our staff team made tremendous progress on an accessible nature trail.

With funding from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Fund for Design and Access, the trail floor was cleared, gravel installed to ensure wheelchair access, and a bridge constructed. Once complete, the trail will feature full wheelchair accessibility, new signage, and sensory friendly elements. In June, the Friends of Seven Hills gathered for their first work weekend to prep and re-stain the pool house; Friends members also attended the camp open house and are excitedly planning their next work weekend.

Last, but certainly not least, the Friends Group that started it all: Friends of Timbercrest! The group finished recon struction of two beautiful new lean-tos to provide a primitive camping experience at Camp Timbercrest. [See Erica Tener article on p. 3 for more details]. In July, several friends had a blast training our summer camp staff on the trails, nature, and hiking that abound at Timbercrest, and this October they will host a 5/55 weekend to celebrate their 5th year anniversary and the 55th anniversary of Camp Timbercrest residence camp.

Are YOU excited?! We all certainly are! Great progress has been made at camp and with a new Master Plan being finalized, there is much more to come. In the coming year, be on the lookout for op portunities to come tour your favorite camp and learn more about the exciting plans we have in store. In the meantime, please connect with one of our wonderful Friends Groups.

We can’t wait to welcome you back to camp! Together we will ensure the legacy, traditions and impact of camp for our girls today, and for generations to come.

Friends of Seven Hills hard at work on pool house updates summer 2022

Camper enjoying Splash pad at Camp Piperwood summer 2019

Brownies at Volunteer-led Day Camp at Horton Hill summer 2022