The Color Run Returns to Boise on August 24, 2013

 

 

 

 

The 2012 Color Run in Boise was a blast for runners and volunteers from the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage. We were chosen as the charity partner again for the 2013 event on August 24th. All Girl Scout members, families and friends get a $5 discount off the registration price and the Silver Sage Council gets a portion of the funds raised from the event. How cool is that? No wonder The Color Run is the Happiest 5K on the Planet! Visit our web page at www.girlscouts-ssc.org for information.

With no winners or official times, The Color Run celebrates healthiness, happiness, and individuality. It brings the Boise community together to create a 5K canvas of colorful FUN in which thousands of participants are doused from head to toe in different colors at each kilometer. Visit their website at www.thecolorun.com and be sure to like them on Facebook and follow them on You Tube too. Then, sign up as an individual or team runner or event volunteer. You'll be glad you did!

Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Donates Cookies to Area Nonprofits

Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Donates Cookies to Area Nonprofits

Girl Scouts of Silver Sage cookie manager Clint Kofoed and
Idaho Foodbank driver Terry Kindall load 250 cases of donated cookies.

The Girl Scout Cookie season wrapped up in May and now the Silver Sage Council is busy delivering remaining cookies to area churches, schools, and nonprofit organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of Ada County and of Nampa, Ronald McDonald House, Interfaith Sanctuary, Life’s Kitchen, and The Arc. Altogether, 1,023 cases (12,276 boxes) will be donated to 20 organizations by the end of this week.

The Idaho Foodbank and American Red Cross will receive 250 cases and 200 cases respectively. The Girl Scouts of Silver Sage also partnered with the American Red Cross during the spring cookie season to offer “Cookies from the Heart.” Through the program, Girl Scout cookie buyers can donate cookies they purchase to the American Red Cross of Boise and Treasure Valley. These donations benefit disaster victims, military members and their families, blood donors, and domestic disaster relief efforts. 

Each year, the Silver Sage Council orders about 700,000 boxes of cookies from Little Brownie Bakers. Girls and troops take orders from friends and family in February, then fulfill those orders in March. In April, troops blanket the community to sell cookies to the general public. They set up education and sales booths outside high traffic stores, such as Albertsons, Walgreens, Paul’s Market, Walmart and Fred Meyer.

The annual Girl Scout Cookie season usually lasts only three months, but was extended through May this year due to poor weather in April. Most years end with some excess inventory, and these delicious boxes of Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Do-Si-Dos, Trefoils and Savannah Smiles are donated to local organizations that help families and communities in need.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is designed to help girls grow into leaders of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.  The five skills the girls learn through cookies sales – goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, business ethics - are a key ingredient in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.

Girl Scouts of Silver Sage serves more than 5,000 girl members, 2,300 adult volunteers, and 400 troops in southern Idaho and parts of eastern Oregon and northern Nevada. The Girl Scout Leadership Experience includes several pathways for participation, including summer camps, series programs, travel opportunities, and troop activities for girl members and adult volunteers. To learn more, visit www.girlscouts-ssc.org.

Girl Scouts Honored with Two AEP Awards

Girl Scouts Honored with Two AEP Awards

Maureen O’Toole Named CEO of Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Council



Maureen O’Toole Named CEO of Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Council

The Girl Scouts of Silver Sage has selected Maureen O’Toole to serve as the Council’s new Chief Executive Officer. She brings expertise in team building, training, strategic planning, business systems, public speaking, and organizational mission, vision and values alignment.

“We are excited to welcome Maureen to this important leadership position,” said Icon Credit Union CEO Connie Miller, who is chair of the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Board of Directors. “She brings tremendous drive and a passion for helping youth identify and develop their potential.”

A retired military intelligence officer and public school teacher, O’Toole created and taught teen leadership classes and partnered with Idaho youth organizations to provide training. “Girl Scout programs are designed to help develop girls as leaders and build confidence by learning critical skills for success in the real world,” she said. “I can’t imagine a better place to be.”

O’Toole earned a BA in Anthropology from The College of William and Mary in Virginia, a BA in Bilingual Elementary Education from Boise State University, Idaho, and a Master’s of Organizational Leadership from George Fox University, Idaho campus. She is also certified as a Franklin-Covey facilitator.

She served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserves for 25 years, holding two command positions and earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. While in the military, she studied organizations and systems in depth in order to predict behavior.

Maureen’s 17 years as a teacher included private tutoring, private music instruction, K-8 curriculum and Spanish instruction. Leveraging off civilian and military teaching experiences, she created a leadership curriculum and instruction program to teach individual and group leadership and soft business skills.

Specifically, her program helped youth:  Identify gifts, talents and potential; set specific goals to creating powerful, positive lives; and participate in small group problem-solving and teamwork. She partnered with local youth-centric organizations to build leadership boot camps and, over the course of four years, these programs impacted over 700 Boise youth.

In her role as CEO of the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage, O’Toole will provide strategic and tactical direction to achieve the organization’s critical goals, which include outreach and collaboration with community partners, increased visibility and financial sustainability, membership recruitment and retention, and constituent engagement.

Maureen started at the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage on April 29, 2013. “I see this position as a perfect intersection of my professional background and passion for helping youth reach their potential with the Girl Scout mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place,” she said.

Girl Scouts of Silver Sage serves more than 5,000 girl members, 2,300 adult volunteers, and 400 troops in southern Idaho and parts of eastern Oregon and northern Nevada. The Girl Scout Leadership Experience includes several pathways for participation, including summer camps, series programs, travel opportunities, and troop activities for girl members and adult volunteers. To learn more, visit www.girlscouts-ssc.org.

Having it All: Girls & Financial Literacy

While lack of financial literacy is a growing concern for everyone today, relatively little research has been done on how young people think about and experience money and finances, with even fewer studies focusing on girls specifically. To address this gap, the Girl Scout Research Institute conducted a nationwide survey with over 1,000 girls ages 8−17 and their parents to better understand girls' level of financial literacy and their confidence about, attitudes towards, and experiences with money. Having It All: Girls and Financial Literacy reveals that girls need and want financial literacy skills to help them achieve their dreams, with 90 percent saying it is important for them to learn how to manage money. However, just 12 percent of girls surveyed feel "very confident" making financial decisions. Learn more about the financial literacy study. You'll find the summary and full report, along with the Girl Scouts Financial Empowerment Program materials here: http://www.girlscouts.org/research/publications/financial_literacy/



Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Donation Page is Active on Idaho Gives Campaign Website. Schedule Your Donation for May 2, 2013 Today!

On May 2nd, Idahoans will come together for a day of giving to support the nonprofits in communities across our state. From midnight -11:59pm a share of every dollar raised by Idaho nonprofits will be matched with funds from the Idaho Gives award pool. In addition, the top five organizations with the most unique donors (nonprofits are divided by size) will receive bonus grants of $3,000, $1,000, $500, $250, and $250 respectively.

Please help the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage raise $10,000 for our programs!

What can you do to spread the word about Idaho Gives?

•Like and follow Idaho Gives on Facebook and Twitter. Share the posts with friends.
•Promote Girl Scouts of Silver Sage participation in your emails, website, newsletters, groups and forums.
•Post flyers and hand out post cards with our donation page QR code at your workplace, school, church or club meetings (find these at the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage website: www.girlscouts-ssc.org on the Idaho Gives web page)
•Like the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage Facebook fan page. Follow our Blogger posts.
•Subscribe to our Girl Scouts of Silver Sage You Tube Channel. Follow us on Twitter.
•Tell your friends and family about Idaho Gives, even if they don't live in Idaho. They can schedule a donation for May 2nd so they don't forget about the incredible day of giving.
• Visit the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage donation page at www.idahogives.razoo.com and search for Girl Scouts.

If your company would like to offer a matching gift to the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage to encourage more donations on May 2, please contact Mary Ann at mreuter@girlscouts-ssc.org for details.

Silver Sage Council Girl Scout Cookie Booth Sales Begin Friday, April 5

Cookie Manager Clint Kofoed (aka the "Cookie Man") and Jeannie Pattan, program manager, staff the Silver Sage Council "cookie cupboard" in Boise. They will help troops load up their cookie supplies for booth sales, April 5 through April 21. Only a few short weeks to buy Girl Scout Cookies in southern Idaho!

BOISE – There’s more to Girl Scout Cookies than what’s in the box. That’s the message on every package of cookies sold by over than 400 Silver Sage Council troops this season. Some 3,500 girls will be selling Girl Scout cookies from community booths in southern Idaho beginning Friday, April 5.



Visit www.girlscoutcookies.org and enter your zip code in the “cookie finder” to locate a booth near you. The cookie finder is also available as a downloadable Smartphone app from the site. Booth sales end on April 21.



The Girl Scouts of Silver Sage is also sponsoring a 5 for 5 Cookie Contest this year. Customers who buy five boxes of cookies are entered into a contest with a chance to win five cases premium favorites, including Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Do-Si-Dos, Trefoils and Savannah Smiles. Look for details on the Silver Sage website: www.girlscouts-ssc.org. Freeze the extra cookies to serve for the holidays!



The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led business in the world. The new cookie box describes the five financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills the program teaches. These critical skills - goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics - will last girls a lifetime. Did you know that 80% of women business owners in the U.S. are former Girl Scouts?



To learn more about the local Girl Scout Cookie Program and the 5 Skills and Girl Scout Leadership Outcomes, visit the Girl Scout Cookie page on the Silver Sage website.