Congrats to Troop 561!

Three Cadettes from Troop 561 were featured in the Long Valley Patch for their successful Book It To The Beach project, which collected more than 4,000 children's books to replenish libraries in Monmouth County that sustained damage during Superstorm Sandy last fall.  Congrats to them on a job well done!

Choosing Our Brownie Badges

In the next day or two, each girl should be receiving a letter from Cassie and Kelly.  We are trying to plan out the next year of Brownies, and in order to do so we need input from the girls about what they want to do.  There are 22 badges we can earn as Brownies (plus four Financial Literacy badges related to cookie sales, but we will deal with that later), and we would like each girl to tell us which badges they would most like to do.  We should have time to do four or five, and each girl's vote counts!  Please help your girl complete her ranking and return it to us in the SASE enclosed with her letter.  Thanks in advance for your help!

2013 Memorial Day Parade

From Anna Maria Chavez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA

I stand with all Girl Scouts across the country and around the world in offering my thoughts and prayers to all of those who have been affected by the massive and devastating tornado that tore through the Oklahoma City area on Monday. As Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said, it was a tragic day for the people of her state and, indeed, for all of us, as the death toll now stands at 24 and includes a Girl Scout, who was a member of the Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma Council.

All staff members of the Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma Council, which is based in Oklahoma City, are accounted for and safe. The council appreciates all of the good wishes, but is unable to handle all of the calls and emails at this time. We ask that you not call or email the council, but instead check its website or Facebook and Twitter feeds for the latest information. The council also cannot accommodate material donations, such as blankets and other goods. Instead, the council has created the Girl Scouts Western Oklahoma Tornado Relief Fund that will help get troops back up and running, provide scholarships for program and camp participation, and offer other support to Girl Scouts in the affected areas. You can text the word GIRLS to 20222 to make a $10 donation. In addition, the council is encouraging girls to send messages or art in the shape of the Girl Scout trefoil that it will present this summer to Girl Scouts affected by the storm. Click here to download the trefoil artwork.

I want to thank everyone for their thoughtful messages of caring and concern for our sisters at the Girl Scouts-Western Oklahoma Council. Even as we grieve for our sister Girl Scout and all those who lost their lives, we are sustained by the resilience of the human spirit and the knowledge that the people of Oklahoma will, in time, recover and rebuild. We have endured in the past year a number of terrible and tragic events, and throughout it all, Girl Scouts have shown remarkable courage, commitment, and leadership. I know that our girls and adult volunteers will do so again in the wake of this tragedy.

Sincerely,
Anna Maria Chávez
Chief Executive Officer
Girl Scouts of the USA

Parade update

Updated information for those who will be marching in the Memorial Day Parade on Monday:  We will meet on Valentine Street no later than 9:15 a.m.  Look for the red wagon & the green Girl Scout parade banner.  Patches will be given to each registered girl scout.

Looking for an occasion to wear your new Brownie vest?

Here are two!

1.  This Saturday, May 25 from 12 noon - 1 pm at Rock Spring Park, we are being asked to help honor Cpl Jamie Smith, U. S. Army Ranger and West Morris Central High School graduate (and classmate of Cassie's). His father, James Sr; brother, Matt, U. S. Army Ranger currently serving in Afghanistan; and sister, Stephanie will be in attendance. Please join Jamie's family, the Washington Township American Veterans Association Post 1776 and local officials for the dedication of a road at the park to his memory.

2.  This Monday, May 27 at 9 am we are invited to march in the Hackettstown Memorial Day Parade.  We don't have details yet as to where we should meet, but according to this article the parade will begin near the post office on the corner of Washington Street and Grand Ave.

Let me know if you plan to attend!

Getting ready for next year!

Hello, Brownie moms!  :)

Since we have the summer to prepare for next year's activities here are some advance planning items we wanted to share:

• If you haven't already done so, please register your girl on the GSNNJ website.  If you don't remember from last year, you need to register her under her own user name, which is separate from yours if you have registered yourself as a volunteer.  The website isn't the easiest to navigate, so let me know if you need some help, or you can contact their help desk.
• In order to be permitted to drive girls other than your own to events (which we all do at some point or another) you need to register as a volunteer and do a background check.  You can register yourself here (same link as the girl registration, but different user name), and you can do your background check, which will include questions about your auto insurance and driving record, here.
• There are two self-study courses that are available to volunteers who want to work with the girls in general, but particularly for camping and water activities:  Overnight Orientation and Water Watcher.  The more moms who have completed these courses, which are pretty self-explanatory and common-sense, the more flexibility we have when scheduling activities for the girls.  Therefore, we encourage you all to do them!  I have printed out all the materials and made copies of the self-study tests that need to be sent to the council for "certification", so please let me know if you are interested in helping us out with this.

Thanks for all your help and support, and we look forward to a fantastic year!!!

Bridging Ceremony

I hope other people got good pictures and are willing to share them, because I was too busy to get very many!  Here are the ones I have though....thanks to everyone for making this a really special ceremony that our girls will always remember!

Where to put Brownie patches

In case I'm not the only one working on this today....