Sunny Palms Community
April 2016 Update
Hello Sunny Palms Troop Leaders
- Meeting Schedule--next meeting is April 4th
- Dance Thank you!
- April is Volunteer Month
- Speaking of Volunteers..Nominate Someone
- Summer Camp Scholarship Application--Please Forward
- Stop Summer Hunger Campaign
- Early Bird Renewal
- Bridging and Award Ceremonies
- GSWCF Town Hall Forums
- Pictures
- Upcoming Events in our Area
- Contacts and Resources
- Contributing to Future Updates
- Past Updates
-Liz
Sunny Palms Community Leader Meeting Schedule and Key Dates
Mark your calendars! Our leader meetings are held on the first Monday of each month at St. John's Episcopal Church Parish Hall at 902 S Orleans, Tampa, FL 33606 from 7-8pm.
April 4thMay 2nd
June 6th
Key Dates (see below for more details):
5/22/16 - Sunny Palms Bridging, 3:00 - 4:30p at Hyde Park United Methodist Church
Council Events:
4/16/16 - 2016 GSWCF Annual Meeting 9a-12p at MOSI: All registered girls age 14 and up and all registered adults invited, and elected Delegates/Alternates need to attend. Information here: Call to Annual Meeting
Dance Thank You!
April is Volunteer Appreciation Month
Every day, our amazing, dedicated and generous volunteers make all of the fun, friendship, leadership, and awesome new experiences that make up what it means to be a Girl Scout come to life for girls across the country. And on April 22, the party is especially big, as we celebrate National Girl Scout Leader’s Day. What can we say? We love Girl Scout volunteers the most!
Thank you Girl Scout volunteers for giving of your time and hearts to support girls as they discover the world around them and the spark inside of them!
Celebrate with Us on Social Media!
Be a part of the celebration. All month long, share your favorite Girl Scout volunteer photos, stories, and moments on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages, and tell us:
“I’m a Girl Scout volunteer because..."
“I appreciate my Girl Scout volunteer because...”
“Because of Girl Scout volunteers, I...”
Pick one or two—or share on all three! And don’t forget to use #NVW2016!
http://www.gswcf.org/en/our-council/news/2016/9_1459535388675.html
Nominate Outstanding Volunteers
Ways to Recognize Volunteers
Showing love and appreciation for volunteers is a must. After all, our volunteers are Ah-mazing! They/you do it all for the girls and often work extra hours on top of busy schedules and hectic lives. We love them for it and, well, Girl Scouting wouldn’t be the same without them. Let’s be sure to shout it from the Girl Scout rooftops!
Volunteers can be recognized in the following ways:
- Everyday little things go a super-long way. A card from the girls, handmade gift, planters, photo keepsakes – these are all ways the girls can say thank you and often times mean the most.
- Nominate a special adult for an Adult Award. It’s a big deal and there is a ceremony for most awards. Check out our Adult Awards Webinar for an overview of each award. Then see below for the breakdown of the best fit.
Nominate for outstanding service while working directly with girls
Application form -https://gswcf.wufoo.com/forms/zu8nw2t0ijeria/
Camp Scholarship Application--Leaders, please forward scholarship link
Stop Summer Hunger Campaign
One-in-six people in west central Florida live with daily hunger and there are people in our community who won't eat enough over the weekend, during school vacations, or the summer months. These students might be sitting right next to you in class every day without you ever knowing. Find out more about how you can help: click here.
Sunny Palms is partnering with Metropolitan Ministries to provide volunteer opportunities for our troops. Metropolitan Ministries’ minimum age to volunteer is 8, soour younger troops are encouraged to hold a food drive (themed or otherwise) to benefit any food pantry or participate in Channel 10’s summer cereal collection. Saturday, May 7th is a media day at Feeding Tampa Bay to collect the cereal donations.
Metropolitan Ministries dates: Saturday April 16th and April 23rd
Shift times: 8:30 – 11:30 and 12:30 – 3:30 both days
Volunteer spots: Kitchen (age 12+, 15 spots), Food sorting (age 8+, 15-20 spots), clothing sorting (age 8+, 15 spots), environmental services (age 12+, 6-10 spots), special projects (age 8+)
Volunteers needed: approximately 40 per shift
Here are the remaining open spots (email Liz at landmand3@aol.com):
Saturday April 16 8:30 - 11:30 Food sorting - 12 spots
Saturday April 23 12:30 - 3:30 Food sorting - 5 spots
Saturday April 16 8:30 - 11:30 Kitchen age 12 & up - 15 spots
Saturday April 16 12:30 - 3:30 Kitchen age 12 & up - 15 spots
Saturday April 23 8:30 - 11:30 Kitchen age 12 & up - 15 spots
Saturday April 16 8:30 - 11:30 Thrift Store & Warehouse age 8 & up - 15 spots
Saturday April 16 12:30 - 3:30 Thrift Store & Warehouse age 8 & up -15 spots
Saturday April 23 8:30 - 11:30 Thrift Store & Warehouse age 8 & up - 15 spots
Saturday April 23 12:30 - 3:30 Thrift Store & Warehouse age 8 & up - 5 spots
Early Bird Renewal
Mark your calendars...April 15 is the start of Early Bird Registration and renewal for the 2016-2017 membership year! Early Bird (April 15 through June 30) registration gives current Girl Scouts and troops the opportunity to register early for the upcoming Girl Scout year (October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2017) before the fall rush! We will be offering some fantastic incentives to reward our troops' Early Bird efforts. Get in on the excitement and re-register your troop during Early Bird!
Contact: For more information about Early Bird contact your Community Membership Manager, Layne Gregory.
Bridging and Award Ceremonies
Bridging is an important transition in a Girl Scout's life. It's a defining moment when a girl and her peers become aware of her achievements and is ready for new adventures and responsibilities. Celebrating this change should be fun, personalized, and memorable for everyone involved and most of all, it should be designed by the girls in true partnership with adults. Bridging ceremonies can take place in the spring or the fall and should involve as many area troops as possible for impact and recognition of each girl.
Whether the ceremony includes an actual bridge or a symbolic one, or if it includes props like candles, flowers, or flags, it should always focus on paying tribute to the girls as they move forward and support each girl in their transition.
In addition to the ceremony itself, there are other ways you can help your Girl Scouts move on to the next level. Troop leaders should be involved in the bridging activities and ceremonies whether seeing girls off to their next troop and/or welcoming new girls to their current troop.
Use the Ceremony Planning Worksheet to help communities plan ceremonies and learn about the future of troops in your community.
Please note that the Sunny Palms Bridging ceremony is: 5/22/16, 3:00 - 4:30pm at Hyde Park United Methodist church.
GSWCF Town Hall Forums
GSWCF is hosting four Town Hall Forums in order to gather input from our membership on the future of programming and the experience at camp properties. During the meetings, an overview of our properties and the work done by the Long Range Program and Properties Task Force will be presented. They encourage girls, families and volunteers to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more and to share feedback with committee members. Please bring your Girl Scouts, they really want the girls' voice to be part of the process.
Please let them know if you plan to attend one of the following meetings by registering here (registration is strongly encouraged, but not mandatory to attend).
April 6, Lakeland
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Family Fundamentals, 1021 Lakeland Hills Blvd., Lakeland, FL
April 7, Ocala
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Belleview United Methodist Church, 5640 SE Brown Rd., Belleview, FL
April 8, Riverview
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Camp Dorothy Thomas Lodge, 16119 Boyette Rd., Riverview, FL
April 9, Palm Harbor
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Camp Wai Lani, 500 W. Wai Lani Rd., Palm Harbor, FL
Your voice is critical in this process. We are eager to share our progress with you and hear your feedback. We look forward to see you at one of the upcoming Town Hall Forums!
Pictures from our Troops!
Troop 2217 at Wag
Upcoming Events in Our Area
Event Program Guide: http://www.gswcf.org/en/events/event-program-guides.html
Contacts and Resources
Robin Roup – External Recruitment Manager-- 813.262.1692 / RRoup@gswcf.org
Tiffany Wingard – Internal Recruitment Specialist-- 813.262.1809 / TWingard@gswcf.org
Layne Gregory – Community Membership Manager-- 813.262.1599 / lgregory@gswcf.org
Troop Support -
K-5th Contacts are Erin Hollen Ehollen@gswcf.org and Lisa Ranon LRanon@gswcf.org
6-12th/STEM Contacts are Alison Wenickie awernickie@gswcf.org and Alice Benefiel abenefiel@gswcf.org
Customer Connections – customerconnections@gswcf.org
Camp Reservations - camp info / 813-262-1770 / campreservations@gswcf.org
2015-2016 Volunteer Essentials: Volunteer Essentials
Sunny Palms Check Reimbursement - here
Guidelines for Troop Travel: here.