Troop 1061 Earns Silver Award

Troop 1061 members Rebecca, Carmen and Kimmi of Helena decided to turn an empty field at the Shelby County Humane Society into a playground for dogs to earn their silver awards. The girls held a fundraiser at a local restaurant to help collect funds for supplies and dog obstacles. Through their efforts the girls were able to repair the fence, add a dog tunnel, a small pool, a dog run and a tetherball.

The Girl Scout Silver Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn. This award symbolizes a Girl Scout Cadette’s accomplishments in Girl Scouting and community activities as she matures and works to better her life and the lives of others.

Troop 364 Earns Silver Award

Troop 364 members Gabrielle and Kaleigh of Oak Mountain decided they wanted to help children in the Kids First Awareness afterschool program prepare for the new school year by collecting school supplies and building backpack racks. The girls were responsible for determining what supplies were needed based on monies available and donations received. With help from Asbury United Methodist Church members, the girls were able to donate 50 backpacks. The girls then installed racks sturdy enough to support the weight of heavy backpacks.

The Girl Scout Silver Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn. This award symbolizes a Girl Scout Cadette’s accomplishments in Girl Scouting and community activities as she matures and works to better her life and the lives of others.

Help Girl Scouts Reduce Plastic Waste

The Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama (GSNCA) will launch its year-long campaign to Reduce Plastic Waste on October 1. This campaign is in conjunction with the Girl Scouts of the USA’s (GSUSA) Forever Green Take Action Project.

GSNCA invites the community to participate in the project by reducing the number of single-use water bottles and replacing them with reusable water bottles. You may register, track and share your monthly impact by logging on to www.girlscoutsnca.org/forevergreen.

Break the bottled water habit: Facts

• Every second of every day in the United States, 1,000 people buy a plastic bottle of water, and every second of every day, 1,000 more throw one of those bottles away. That adds up to more than 30 billion bottles and tens of billions of dollars a year.
• Plastic bottles are produced from fossil fuels, typically natural gas and petroleum. More than 1.5 million tons of plastic are used to just bottle water.
• Most plastic bottles are not recycled, and plastic bottles and caps often end up in the ocean.
• Cleaning up plastic trash is expensive for our communities, but reusable bottles save money and protect our planet and our health.
• If half a million Girl Scouts each recycled five plastic containers, they could save enough energy to power a compact fluorescent light bulb for 6,849 years.

You can also help reduce plastic waste by replacing plastic bags with reusable bags.

Bag the plastic bag habit: Facts

• It is estimated that Americans go through about 100 billion plastic bags a year, or 360 bags per year per every man, woman, and child in the country.
• If everyone in the United States tied their annual consumption of plastic bags together in a giant chain, the chain would reach around the Earth's equator 776 times!
• Every reusable bag used takes the place of 600 single-use plastic bags.
• Once used, plastic bags may last for up to 1,000 years; every single piece of plastic ever manufactured is still on the planet: in use, in landfills, as wind-blown litter on land, or as toxic contaminants in water like global river systems and oceans.
• Paper bags are not a good alternative to single-use plastic bags. Stores typically pay more for paper bags than plastic, anywhere from 5 to 23 cents per bag; these costs are then embedded in food prices, which are eventually passed on to consumers.
• Plastic pollution is found floating in all the world's oceans, everywhere from the polar region to the equator. It can take hundreds of years or more to break down, and some types never truly biodegrade at sea.
• An estimated 100,000 marine mammals and as many as 1 million sea birds die every year after ingesting or being tangled in plastic litter. At least 267 different species are known to have suffered from entanglement or ingestion of plastic marine debris.
• In the environment, plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller particles that attract toxic chemicals. These particles are ingested by wildlife on land and in the ocean, and can contaminate our food chain.
• Plastic affects human health: Harmful chemicals leached by plastics are already present in the bloodstream and tissues of nearly all of us, including newborns.

Girl Scouts Awarded NASA Grant

The Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama was awarded a $2,500 NASA Summer of Innovation Grant for GSNCA’s Robotics Series that took place this summer and will continue through Fall 2011. This series introduces girls to STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Math) using LEGO MINDSTORMS® and interactive NASA curriculum-based activities. The girls will gain hands-on STEM experience while learning the basics of how to design, build and program a robot and participate in a robotics challenge competition. They will engage in activities which test technical skill and creative thinking with design and programming activities while also exposing them to leadership skills through team challenges. Girls will be asked to explore how similar products and designs would be applicable to the real-world, promoting awareness of current issues and industries.

About GSNCA STEM Advocacy
GSNCA was recently selected as a STEM Advocacy Champion by Girl Scouts of the USA. This new national initiate equips and empowers Girl Scout councils to lead efforts at the local and state level to increase girls’ involvement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by addressing and ultimately changing an issue that impacts the lives of girls in our area.

Postal Service to Salute Girl Scouts in 2012

The Postal Service recently announced that it will salute the Girl Scouts in 2012 by commemorating the 100th anniversary of an organization credited with helping girls build character and leadership skills. The Celebrate Scouting Forever Stamp can be seen on social media and will be issued next year as part of the centennial celebration.

Using social media to reach broader, more diverse audiences is an initiative that began this month to engage more interest in stamp collecting. Select stamps from the 2012 commemorative program will be previewed one at a time throughout the summer.

"Celebrate Scouting, the 'sister' stamp to the 2010 Scouting stamp, pays tribute to scouting organizations for the opportunities and pleasures they have provided millions of youths worldwide," said Stephen Kearney, manager, Stamp Services.

The stamp art was created by Craig Frazier of Mill Valley, CA; under the guidance of art director Derry Noyes of Washington, D.C. Customers may preview the stamps on Facebook, through Twitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf.

Republished with permission from Jamil Green, Marketing Assistant, GSUSA.

Girls Only! STEM Survey

In October the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) will release the results from its national STEM report. Please take a moment to fill in this survey, so we can better understand the girls we serve.

Erecycling & Shredding Event

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011 9 A.M. to 1 P.M.

WHERE: Exchange Field at Wald Park in Vestavia

The City of Vestavia is holding a erecycling & shredding day on Saturday, September 17, at Wald Park. See the list below for items they are accepting.

Computers, monitors, desktop CPUs, LCD display laptops, notebook computers, CD & DVD players, scanners, printers, fax machines, adding machines, cell phones, corded phones, cordless phones, answering machines, pagers, pocket PCs, digital cameras, routers, remotes, PDAs, stereos, discmans, walkmans, VCRs, radios, tape players, keyboards, cables, mice, game hardware, modems, external drives, small kitchen appliances, including can openers and blenders, large white goods, including refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves, washers, dryers and microwaves.

Call 205.978.0100 or 205.823.5011 for more information.

Molly Earns Gold Award

Molly of Troop 371 earned her Gold Award after she realized the dire need for a food pantry in Wylam, Alabama. Molly worked with Acknowledge Outreach Ministries (AOM) to build a pantry on its campus. After educating students at her high school about the community’s needs, she organized a food drive to stock the new space. Molly also worked with a local church to make sure the pantry continues to stay full.

Molly graduated from Hoover High School in May 2011 and is currently a freshman at Harding University. Molly’s parents are Danny and Melanie.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is highest level of Girl Scout achievement. This award recognizes the Girl Scout Senior's or Ambassador's commitment to herself, her community, and her future. The girl who goes for the Gold embraces challenges, achieves excellence, and works diligently to make the world a better place, in her own unique way. Her leadership, vision and boundless energy is an inspiration to all Girl Scouts. Each girl earning her Gold Award demonstrates excellence through a leadership project totaling more than 65 hours. Girls who earn their Gold Award are also recognized by the President of the United States, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Armed Services, state legislatures, colleges and universities for admission and scholarship opportunities, and the American Legion.

September 11 - Week of Service

In the days and months that followed September 11, 2001, our country came together in a magnificent way. As we move into a week of remembrance, GSNCA encourages all of you to honor the victims of 9/11 through service. Hands on Birmingham is just one organization with several planned events beginning Tuesday, September 5 through Saturday, September 10. For service opportunities in your area please visit one of the following websites:

• Volunteer Center of Morgan County
• RSVP – Athens
• 911day.org

If you know of additional opportunities and would like them posted here, please email Meredith Foster at mfoster@girlscoutsnca.org.