July Monthly Newsletter
Issue 7 | The Power of Girl Scouts
Girl Scout Mission Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.
The Girl Scout Program Grounded in the Girl Scout Promise and Law, Girl Scouting is an experiential, cooperative education program that promotes girls’ personal growth and leadership development. Partnering with caring adults, girls design fun and challenging activities that empower them and raise their voices within a local, national, and global sisterhood.
Girl Scout Promise On my honor, I will try: to serve God and my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law.
July Monthly Newsletter
In This Edition Girl Scout Mission, Promise, and Law...... 2 Contact Us................................................... 3 Upcoming Events....................................... 4 2023 Girl Scout National Convention..... 5-6 Product Manager Agreements.................. 6 Girls In Action.......................................... 7-8
Girl Scout Law
GSMW Shop................................................ 9
I will do my best to be
Annual Financial Report............................ 10
honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.
Thank you to Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes for sharing their beautiful design with us!
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Contact Us! Phone: 406-252-0488 Email: customercare@gsmw.org Mail: 2303 Grand Ave | Bilings, MT 59102
facebook.com/GSMWcouncil
@girlscoutsmtwy
@GSMWcouncil
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ gsmw
Regional Facebook Pages GSMW - Billings & Eastern Montana GSMW - Northcentral Montana GSMW - Northeast Wyoming GSMW - Northwest Montana GSMW - Southcentral Montana GSMW - Southeast & Southcentral Wyoming GSMW - Southwest Montana GSMW - Southwest Wyoming
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Upcoming Events 110th Celebration–Cheyenne–August 13th-14th Put on your party hat, pack up your troop camping supplies, and join GSMW as we enjoy a weekend celebrating 110 years of Girl Scouting! This birthday weekend will include a variety of activities focused on the outdoors, arts and crafts, STEM, life skills, and more! Festivities will begin on Saturday and families and troops will get to participate in dozens of activities and stations that will include archery, treasure hunting, orienteering, STEM, Leave No Trace, crafting, community service, star gazing, and much more! Participants will tent camp, so please bring your own camping equipment. Lunch and dinner is included Saturday. All registered participants will receive a commemorative 110th anniversary patch. Registration Deadline is July 22 at 12:00pm and the cost per girl is $35/$25 per adult. If you’re traveling to Cheyenne and need free overnight camping accommodations for Friday evening, please complete this interest form. All campers will be responsible for their own dinner on Friday and breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.
Girl Scout Alumna and Lifetime Member Open House All Girl Scout Alumna and Lifetime Members are invited to celebrate 110 years of Girl Scouting with GSMW at Camp Carefree in Cheyenne for an open house on Friday, August 12th.
Carmel Johnston Water & Wastewater Operator Glacier National Park
Click Here to Read Carmel's Full Story!
Stop by Camp Carefree between the hours of 5:00pm - 9:00pm to visit with sister Girl Scouts, enjoy tasty hors d’oeuvres, sing songs by the campfire, and s’mores! All Lifetime Members will receive a special gift for stopping by! There is no cost for this event, but please RSVP by completing this form so that we can plan food and supplies. We can’t wait to see you then! If you have any questions, please contact Briana Rickman at brianar@gsmw.org or by calling 406-252-0488.
CEOs. Scientists. Athletes. Doctors. Mothers. Leaders. Two-thirds of the most successful women were Girl Scouts. It’s no coincidence that most our nation’s female leaders and business owners were once Girl Scouts. GSMW wants to share stories of our own alumna with the world! Send an email to marcomm@gsmw.org and let us know you’re interested in sharing your story too. Check out a few of our first features here: GSMW Alumna
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2023 Girl Scout National Convention
Girl Scout National Convention 2023: Orlando, Florida Thousands of Girl Scouts and their supporters will come together from around the world at the Girl Scouts National Convention, occurring July 18th through July 20th in conjunction with the girl program, Phenom by Girl Scouts, July 20th through 22nd, in Orlando, Florida. Hosted by Girl Scouts of the USA, the mega event will provide attendees with unforgettable experiences as they gain 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. Don’t miss out on this amazing experience for your Girl Scout/Troop!
Planning With Your Troop Talk to your troop about the exciting prospect of attending the convention together to enjoy unforgettable experiences that will inspire and empower every Girl Scout to lead change in the world. They will meet incredible role models and work together to implement positive outcomes in their communities as well as their own lives. During this troop meeting, you’ll want to share the Girl Scout Guide to US Travel with your girls and co-leaders. This resource will give you a step-by-step guide to planning travel within the United States. GSMW recommends taking the quizzes on pages four and five to assess your troop’s readiness for travel to Orlando.
Travel Progression Recommendations With your troop and their families, discuss the necessity of money-earning and planning travel arrangements including flights, hotels, transportation, and a trip to Disney World. GSMW encourages all travelers to follow the Girl Scout Travel Progression recommendations, so if your Girl Scout will be a Cadette or older by convention 2023, they will be ready for this epic Girl Scout trip. This type of trip is not recommended for Daisy, Brownie, or Junior troops—unless they are traveling with their family.
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2023 Girl Scout National Convention
ineg c i r PMor ls i DIentfao
Here’s the Basics:
Pricing Details
Registration is through GSUSA and below are milestones and key dates leading up to the 2023 Girl Scout Convention:
Milestones
Key Dates
Early Bird Registration
July 20th - September 30th
Full Price Registration
October 3rd - June 30th
National Council Session
July 18th - July 20th
Phenom by Girl Scouts
July 20th - July 22nd
Once your troop expresses interest in attending the 2023 National Convention, fill out this National Convention Troop Interest Form to have your troop leader’s name and contact information added to a list of interested travelers. With this information, GSMW will send you useful planning tools including a travel toolkit and invitations to travel planning webinars that will keep you up-to-date on deadlines and help your troop reach their goal.
Product Manager Agreements Totally in summer mode? Don't forget to fill out your Troop Product Agreement. They are due August 5th. The Troop Product Manager is responsible for being the contact person for all things related with the Fall and Cookie Programs and they help place the troop order and distribute product. Each troop needs to have a completed agreement, as it is a requirement for leaders to be added to the Fall and Cookie Online Systems. Plus we need to know where to send important information when we get back to Girl Scouts in the Fall. Click here to complete the form today! If you are assisting as the Service Unit Product Manager (helping as the main contact and receiving person for the group of troops in your town), please click here and fill out your SU Product Manager Agreement by July 15th. 6 | The Power of Girl Scouts - Annual Report
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Girls in Action Summer Outdoor Challenge
Brought to you this year by GSUSA, there will be an exciting new patch and activity page. Find the outdoor activities that speak to you and go find some adventure this summer! The activity page is available on our website.
Check out our fun and interactive GSMW Challenges! Do them with your troop, with your family or even by yourself. 1. Download the challenge document 2. Track your progress 3. Come back here to submit the form below to earn your fun patch 4. Don’t forget to share the fun by posting photos of you completing the activities on social media and tag GSMW! You can also share with us on our brand new page: Ready. Set. Action!
Girl Scouts Love State Parks 2022: September 10 & 11 Every year, Girl Scouts explore the natural wonders found across our country during the Girl Scouts Love State Parks weekend. Girl Scouts nationwide, along with their troops, friends, and families celebrate our shared love of the outdoors. Girl Scouts Love State Parks weekend is on September 10 and 11 this year. Grab your backpack and head out to your local state parks for self-guided tours, family hikes, watersports, stargazing, special events, and more! Check out www.gsmw.org/events in the coming weeks to register for GSLSP events occurring all across council! In the meantime, print and start filling out your Girl Scouts Love State Parks Passport downloadable HERE.
Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador Program Survey Coming in January of 2023, GSMW will host council-wide programs, both in-person and virtually, just for our older Girl Scouts. To start the program planning on a Girl-Led trajectory, we would like to ask our Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors to complete a simple survey. The survey is meant to gauge interest in a variety of program topics. Girls will also get a chance to voice their personal interests. Choose from art, design, community service, college readiness, STEM career topics, or VOICE your own choice. Older girls, take the CSA Program Survey HERE!
Ready. Set. Action! We love hearing what Girl Scouts and volunteers are doing in their communities and want to feature YOU! We now have a dedicated page on our website where you can submit your stories and photos. Your story could be featured in our newsletter, social media, and various marketing assets including the camp guide, fundraising campaigns, our website, and more!
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Girls in Action
GSMW Robotics We are looking for interested troops, coaches/mentors, volunteers, and individual girls to form FIRST LEGO League teams to represent Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming in this wonderful educational program. Learn more!
Are You Interested? Highest Award Spotlight Megan M. of Great Falls, MT earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by working with an elementary school in her community with a low income student population to establish a closet of dress clothes that can be checked out by students for school concerts. Megan spread the word in her community about the need of concert dress attire donations. She collected the clothes, cleaned, organized, and cataloged them in a space at the school so they can be easily accessed when needed. She established a check in and check out system so that in the future, the closet can be run by school staff.
Megan M.
Megan was the recipient of the $2,500 Herb Waltermire Scholarship!
The Concert Closet Gold Award Girl Scout
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GSMW Shop
Order Your Camp Kit Today! Get your Camp Kit now!
$25
The Camp Kit is now available for everyone at a discounted price! Your girl will receive a color changing water bottle to stay hydrated on adventures, vanilla lip balm to protect against the sun, and a GSWM fleece blanket. This all includes a drawstring bag with this year’s camp theme, “Camp, Eat, Sleep, Repeat”.
How to Order Email shop@gsmw.org or call Carol at 406-252-0488 to reserve your kit today! Items come in assorted colors. All colors will be chosen at random and special requests cannot be considered. Design and color may vary. Cash, credit, check, and GSMW Gift cards are accepted. Don’t forget to use those gift cards!! cards
New Items in the GSMW Shop Email shop@gsmw.org or call Carol at 406-252-0488 to place your order!
Hoodies Mini Journals Trucker Hats Stuffed Animals Camp Kits
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Annual Financial Reports Annual Financial Reports Thank you! Thank you, to the following troops and service units for turning in complete Annual Finance reports by the June 30th deadline!
Troops 1007 1258 1932 3011 3574 1012 1267 1948 3065 3594 1022 1306 1975 3084 3647 1031
1362 2005 3152 3683 1046 1391 2026 3180 3711 1049 1395 2027 3185 3719 1082 1433
2039 3209 3723 1139 1609 2064 3264 3757 1146 1610 2092 3327 3760 1177 1644 2099
Service Units 3363 3761 1217 1671 2105 3508 3816 1222 1756 2145 3514 3941 1246 1808 2153 3528
3528 1247 1839 2338 3539 1250 1912 2358 3557
Kalispell - 179 Cut Bank - 087 Shields Valley - 073 Green River - 146
074 Cody 194 Laurel 210 Lyman 324 Whitefish
197 - Libby 201 - Livingston 55 - Butte
Thank you!
Troop not on the list? There are several to be recognized next month that submitted their report, but the finance department needs more information or documentation from you. Most of the missing items for these submissions were bank statements and receipts, please send them to accounting@gsmw.org. *REMEMBER: Bank accounts are subject to closure if we cannot ensure they are in compliance with GSMW and GSUSA’S financial policies, which includes submitting your year end financial report and appropriate documents.
Quilt Pins Have Arrived! We will be sending those out this week to those of you who had signed up to receive a pin. The patches will be here mid-to-late July. For those of you who chose the patches, we will get those out to you as soon as we receive them.
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