Council email not working properly

The council's email (@gsle.org) has not been working properly and has been down most of this week. While we are working hard on both a temporary and permanent solution to this email issue, we encourage you in the interim to use the phone versus email when contacting staff, and to verify that emails that were sent this week successfully reached their destination.

Program Power is online!

The 2009-2010 Program Power, Girl Scouts Louisiana East's annual program guide for troops, is now online in PDF format!  It's at the printer and will be mailed to all registered 01s (troop leaders) shortly so make sure you're registered!  The activities & events calendar is also online, so troops can begin planning their year.

Register for upcoming trainings

The training schedule of upcoming classes has been updated on the council's website for fall, so check out  the training course schedule and register online for Leadership Essentials, First Aid/CPR, Troop Camping I, Service Unit Publicity Chair, and Fall Product Sale Training.

For more information about training, please contact Adult Development Director Matthew Chustz at (225) 927-8946, ext. 1224.

Join GSLE's online community on Facebook

Girl Scouts Louisiana East now has a page on Facebook and encourages you to "become a fan" and follow what's going at our council, start a discussion, leave a comment, etc. Recent figures from Nielsen show social networks and blogs have surpassed email in popularity, making "member communities" the front-running online communications tool worldwide. Click here for the council's newly created social media guidelines for volunteers and staff.

Family Campaign Video is online

Check out the council's new Annual Family Giving Campaign Video now online on the council's website at www.gsle.org/fordonors/familygivingvideo.asp. You just might see a Girl Scout you know!

Online Donations now accepted

Girl Scouts Louisiana East is now able to accept online donations through the website. You won't believe how easy it is to give to Girl Scouts Louisiana East. Please spread the word to other volunteers, families, etc. that this is a new option for making a donation.

Fall Product Sale training September 19

Interested in having your troop participate in the Fall Product Sale this year, but don't know much about it? A Fall Product Sale Service Unit Training will be held Saturday, September 19, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in LaPlace. Register online! For more information, please contact Alisha Moore, Product Sales Director, at (504) 733-8220, ext. 2241.

The council's Fall Product Sale of nuts, candies, magazines, and address booklets is a great way to earn start-up money for your troop.  It will be held this fall from October 2-25 and differs from the cookie sale in that all orders are prepaid, and there are no booth sales. The troop earns $1 for every item sold and $2 for every address booklet completed (one per girl) and $2 for every magazine sold. Girls deliver the orders in mid-November, and since the money is pre-collected, the troops receives the proceeds immediately. The sale is for all age levels, but is, as always, entirely voluntary.

Click here to see the fall product line of nuts and candy.

Click here to check out the fall product sale incentives for girls!

FIRST LEGO Girl Scout team applications being accepted now

Applications are currently being accepted through September 18 for Girl Scouts ages 9 to 14 wanting to join the Girl Scout FIRST LEGO® League team. Teams will be advised by members of the Society of Women Engineers to build a robot for competition. 

GSLE is establishing two teams of 15 girls, one based out of Baton Rouge and the other in New Orleans. Each team will have specific meeting times to attend in order to prepare the robot for the tournament competition on Saturday, November 21 at Dominican High School in New Orleans.

Cost is $20 per Girl Scout. To apply, fill out the application form (send no money at this time) and fax or mail to the council headquarters in New Orleans. Contact Kevin Shipp at (504) 733-8220, ext. 2243 for more informaiton. Applicants will be notified after the deadline if they have been selected or not. For more information about the FIRST LEGO League, visit www.usfirst.org.

National Day of Service and Remembrance - United We Serve

Girl Scouts partner with Corporation for National Community Service

United We Serve is a nationwide service initiative that is aimed to help meet the growing social needs resulting from the recent economic downturn. It was launched on June 22 by President Obama and will culminate with a National Day of Service and remembrance on September 11, 2009. It is sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which is the nation's largest grant maker supporting service and volunteering, and a significant Girl Scout funder. For Girl Scouts, this is our opportunity to identify new community partners and gain more visibility in our community and the media.

To be a part of this nationwide initiative, Girl Scout volunteers and staff are urged to register their service projects, particularly those with an environmental theme, at www.serve.gov. Visit this site to post your service opportunities, search for additional service opportunities, connect with others who want to organize around the same issue, download easy-to-use toolkits by issue area and to share stories and best practices.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Early detections and awareness are our best defense against breast cancer for all females. You and your girls can bring awareness by making and wearing pink ribbons throughout the month of October. For Girl Scout Cadettes – Ambassadors they can complete the “In the Pink” online Interest Project at http://www.studio2b.org/lounge/gs_stuff/ip_pink.asp where they will learn more about what they can do to help in prevention and to promote awareness in their local communities.

Sign up for September-October events

Don't miss out on some great council events this September and October! On the website calendar, go to the appropriate month and day, and click on the link for details including registration deadlines, age levels, times, cost, etc.

9/5 - What are Our Girlfriends for? (Daisies), Baton Rouge

9/5 - Bronze Award Workshop (Jrs), Baton Rouge

9/11-13 - New Wrangler/Spur Training Weekend, Camp Marydale

9/12 - Ceramics & Clay (Jrs), Baton Rouge

9/12 - Yoga & Pilates (Cad-Amb), Baton Rouge

9/19 - Lake Pontchartrain Beach Sweep, New Orleans & Northshore

9/19 - Brownies Fitness Fun, Baton Rouge

9/19 - Babysitter Safety (Cad-Amb), Denham Springs

9/19 - Miss Manners (Br), Baton Rouge

9/26 - GSLE Extravaganza (all ages), Westwego

10/2 - Fall Product Sale begins!

10/3 - Daisy Day at Camp Covington

10/3 - Explore Scuba (Cad-Amb), Metairie

10/3 - Colors and Shapes (Br), Baton Rouge

10/3 - Loyola Volleyball Clinic/Game (all ages), New Orleans

10/3 - Night at the Opera Orientation (Cad-Amb), New Orleans

10/4 - Paddle Fest (Cad-Amb), Camp Whispering Pines

10/7 - Tosca, Night at the Opera (Cad-Amb), New Orleans

10/10, 10/11 - Love, Hug & Groom (2nd & 3rd grade Brs), Camp Marydale

10/14 EJGH Healthy You Workshop (Jrs), Metairie

10/16 - Night at LSU Women's Soccer (all ages), Baton Rouge

10/17 - Defend Yourself (Cad-Amb), Baton Rouge

10/17 - Bronze Award Workshop (Jrs), New Orleans

10/17 - Tulane Cheer Clinic/Game (all ages), New Orleans

10/18 - Heritage Trail Day (Br-Amb), New Orleans

10/23-10/24 - Me and My Pal Weekend (Br-Amb), Camp Marydale

10/24 - Daisy Fitness Fun, Baton Rouge

10/24 - All Fired Up (Cad-Amb), Baton Rouge

10/25 - Fall Product Sale ends

10/31 - 11/1 - Council Destination: Myrtles Mystery, St. Francisville

11/7 - Fall Festival Celebrating Juliette Low's Birthday (all ages), Camp Whispering Pines