Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson Inc

Programs: See schedule o - membership servicesmembership services including volunteer development and public relationsgirl scouts helps girls discover themselves, connect with others, and take action to make the world a better place. During 2014, we were able to serve 31,024 girls (grades k-12) thanks to our dedicated 13,000 adult members. Most girls participated in girl scouts through 3,000 volunteer-led troops and 111 girls earned the gold award, girl scouting's highest honor for high school age girls, which recognizes leadership and community service. 348 cadette girl scouts earned their silver award, and 1100 junior girl scouts earned their bronze award. Volunteers work in close partnership with girl scouts heart of the hudson's membership and volunteer development departments, who support the volunteer structure and have oversight over volunteer-led troops and groups, as well as responsibility to organize troops, recruit volunteer troop leaders, conduct background checks on volunteers working with girls, and deliver mandatory and supportive training to thousands of volunteers.

see schedule o - girl program services: the girl scout leadership experience though pathwaysthe girl scouts leadership experience through pathwaysgirl scout pathways are the ways that girls participate in girl scouting. Girls can choose any one, all, or some of these pathways within a single year; however, different pathways may be geared specifically to different grade levels. Troop pathway offers the same group of girls the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities, usually over the span of nine to twelve months. Girls may join at anytime during the membership year. Events are stand-alone offerings. Girls participate in each event versus a group coming together regularly. Camp pathway features day, weekend and resident experiences that introduce and explore the out-of-doors. A defining characteristic of this pathway is that it is an outdoor, condensed experience. Juliettes are girls who join the girl scout movement, without joining a troop. Juliettes earn badges and awards, take trips, sell cookies and enjoy being girl scouts. Series offerings are a sequence of linked program sessions - offered by the council or community partners - that relate to a specific theme or purpose and feature cumulative, sequential experiential learning. Each girl chooses to participate in the entire series as a complete program package; a series may be short-term or longer-term. Travel pathway offers girls leadership opportunities and cross-cultural understanding through local, regional, national, and international travel. Girls prepare, plan, money-earn and participate through group travel, council-sponsored trips or nationally-sponsored excursions. The "girl scout journeys" are gsusa's theme based curriculums which serve as the foundation for gshh programs delivered to girls in grades k-12. The three "girl scout journeys" are; it's your planet love it a stem journey which teaches girls about the environment and conservation; it's your story tell it, which teaches girls how to develop, create and communicate an effective story about issues in the world they would like to change and; it's your world change it, which teaches girls about advocacy and empowers them to lift up their voices to make a positive change in their world. Some of the contemporary issues that the girl scout programs address are financial literacy, science, technology, engineering & math (stem) programs, self-esteem programs and multi-cultural appreciation. Two major programmatic accomplishments are found in the area of financial literacy and stem. Girl scouts provides girls with many opportunities to gain solid financial literacy skills and a knowledge base that will serve them in their academic endeavors, future career pursuits, and their everyday lives. Financial literacy is woven into many girl scout programs. The most prominent and far reaching is our world renowned girl scout cookie program. The girl scouts cookie program is the largest girl-run business which enables girls to gain valuable life skills such as goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics. Girls earn up to five badges at each level, showing their proficiency in running their own business. In 2014, 28 girl scouts in two troops were able to tour the american southwest. The girls saved their cookie profits for two years to fund their adventure. They are now planning a trip to the girl scout chalet in the swiss alps. Another girl scout troop sold cookies to earn money to sponsor a child abduction workshop at their middle school. They planned the entire workshop and delivered a 2 hour presentation on the topic to 400 classmates. Troops use cookie funds to provide much needed community service projects. Common examples include purchasing supplies for an animal shelter, adopting a family in need for christmas, and gifting supplies to children's homes and shelters. In the area of stem programming, gshh has incorporated stem themed activities throughout its program offerings and across program delivery models including troops, series programs and council sponsored activities. Gshh offered stem programs to approximately 4000 girls from underserved communities throughout our council jurisdiction. Stem programs were funded in part by avon, dutchess & orange county united way, time warner, con edison, and entergy. Additionally, gshh offered programs introducing girls to robotics, environmental studies, movie making, home science, critical thinking, and coding. The council has a successful all-female robotics team that competes throughout the north east region. Gshh has developed new badges including "computer savvy", "i can code", and "food science", to encourage girls to engage with stem fields in new and exciting ways. Girl scouts has a long history of engaging girls in stem activities and encouraging girls to pursue stem interests both in and outside of the classroom. Outdoor experiences in girl scouts provide opportunities for girls to discover, connect, and take action out-of-doors in ways that build courage, confidence, and character. These experiences increase girls understanding of and curiosity about the natural world, as well as shapes girl leaders who are conscientious with regard to the world around them. The outdoors can be experienced in many ways, and gshh offers an array of opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive outdoors. From nature walks to stargazing, fishing to fire building, pond studies to tree planting, and camping to winter survival. In 2014, gshh served over 3,700 girls through individual troops, family, and summer camp opportunities to get them acquainted with and comfortable in the outdoors.

see schedule o - girl program services - flexible deliverygirl program services - flexible delivery:girl scout programs are delivered in a variety of ways; traditional and non-traditional, in schools and at the community level. Today's girl scout often does not live in a community where a volunteer is readily available to run a troop. Many of the girls we serve live in public housing or in transitional housing, where few educational or recreational activities exist outside of the school day. They often cannot afford the costs associated with girl scouting such as transportation, dues, uniforms, and program materials. Volunteers and school administrators assist gshh staff and volunteers to identify girls and locations that would be suitable for the program. Girl scout houses and/or properties are used as locations whenever possible. We also partner with other youth serving agencies on programs that promote leadership development. The costs absorbed by gshh to deliver these programs include hiring community organizers and program field aides to work with the girls in these different settings. Every attempt is made to offer girls a complete and well rounded girl scout experience. The benefits of girl scouting are well known and well documented. Programs offered meet the challenges faced by todays girls by promoting self esteem, leadership skills, financial literacy and collaborative skills. Our outreach programs serve approximately 7,000 girls in underserved areas of the council.

gshh operated five brick and mortar retail shops as well as maintain an online shop. The retail shops function for the sole purpose of supporting our girl scout members, both girl and adult. The shops sell all required girl scout uniforms, both official and casual. Girl members are required to wear their uniforms at all girl scout meetings programs, and trips. The shops also carry resource and program support materials for volunteers, leaders and girls. The shops also sell girl members awards and recognitions to commemorate various levels of achievement throughout the girl scout movement.