Teaching Camping Hazards with GIANTmicrobes

Teaching Camping Hazards with GIANTmicrobes

giantmicrobesdisclosureCamping Girl Scouts Vintage PatchIt’s almost time for Summer Camp!  Which means there’s no time like the present to start teaching younger girls about the importance of insect repellent to keep their mosquito bites to a minimum and the dangers of watching for ticks.  A great way to make this fun is with the use of the plush mosquito, tick, and Lyme Disease organisms from GIANTmicrobes!

These fun plush toys are a million times larger than the actual organisms and cells that they represent.  They are a tactile way to teach kids about health, their bodies, and their environment without complicated technical drawings.  GIANTmicrobes was good enough to provide Girl Scout Guide with a plush mosquito, tick, and Lyme Disease in their original 5″ size complimentary to spread the message!

Mosquitoes!

GIANTmicrobes MosquitoAs I mentioned, these plush pests are 5″.  They’re are 3,000 species of mosquito, but the most common are Culex pipiens.  Only the females bite, sucking your blood like tiny vampires!  Girls going off to camp need to know that they can get some nasty infections and viruses from mosquitoes, so regularly applying a good insect repellent is very important, for more than just avoiding itchy bites!

Mosquitoes can carry malaria, yellow fever, and West Nile Virus.  Insect repellents with diethyltoluamide (DEET), lemon eucalyptus, or picaridin are the most effective to keep mosquitoes away while your girl is having fun on the lake with her new camp friends!

Ticks!

GIANTmicrobes TickThese slightly larger little vampires can be found in deep woods and grassy plains.  Ticks can be as large as grapes or as small as a pinpoint, but all can carry diseases.  Ixodes scapularis, their scientific name, are actually not insects, but arachnids more closely related to spiders.  These little buggers can carry tularemia, Rocky-Mountain Spotted Fever, and most famously Lyme Disease.

Girls should always check for ticks after prolonged time in the woods, like camping in deep woods or a hike through.  There is ample time to remove ticks before they can transmit these diseases.  While there are many remedies floating around that involve heated pins, matches, or gasoline, all of these should be avoided as they can drive the tick further into the skin.  The best method of removal is to grasp the tick with tweezers, as close to the skin as possible, flip it onto it’s back slowly (you don’t want to dislodge the “head”, or mouthparts, from the skin) and pull gently until it’s removed.  Washing the area with alcohol and maybe a clove of garlic should make it safe to remove.

Lyme Disease!

GIANTmicrobes Lyme DiseaseOne of many diseases that can be transmitted by ticks, Lyme Disease is the most commonly reported tick-borne illness.  This disease is initially identified with aches, fever, fatigue, and the signature bulls-eye shaped rash at the site of the tick bite.  Antibiotics can help, however Lyme Disease is sometimes hard diagnose quickly as it can be misdiagnosed.  This disease can lead to more problems later in life like arthritis, facial paralysis, meningitis, and more.  Some victims of Lyme Disease can also develop cognitive issues like memory loss and mood changes.

Lyme Disease is diagnosed in approximately 300,000 people in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  LymeDisease.org has published a Lyme Disease symptom checklist that all campers should be familiar with.  All leaders and camp counselors should also be diligent with checking for ticks after extended periods of time outdoors and should know what to do if they find a tick to avoid this disease.

Each GIANTmicrobes toy comes with some facts about the microbe in the tag and their website has lots of information about the organism as well.  All of these facts will help with teaching your girls about not just how important insect repellent or checking for ticks can be, but with their wide selection you can use these plushy germs to teach them all kinds of lessons!

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Girl Scouts is #ForEVERYGirl

Girl Scouts is #ForEVERYGirl
1996-CampDeerLakeI’m sharing this IndieGOGO campaign from Girl Scouts of Western Washington. I’m not sharing it because Girl Scouts of Western Washington hasn’t met their goal to raise back the $100,000 donation a narrow-minded person asked for returned after learning that Girl Scouts is #ForEVERYGirl and supports transgender girls.
 
Quite the opposite – I’m so proud of what they have raised instead – $337,892! That allows more than 1600 girls from low-income families to participate in Girl Scouts. This touches me very personally, even though this is a council I’ve never had any interaction with before this campaign
 
I was one of those girls that needed this kind of help. I had to have “camperships” to go to Girl Scout camp nearly every year, and I’m sure there were years that I couldn’t have gone had my aunt not worked for the council & pulled strings to fit me into whatever session had a cancellation. There were years that my leader paid the $8 registration fee so I could stay in the troop. When I was having problems with my step-mom and grounded, I was still thankfully allowed to go to my weekly Girl Scout meetings. I was taught skills I’d never have learned at home or school.
 
ShirleyI had the same leader from my first Brownie meeting in 1st grade to my last Senior meeting in 12th grade. I wish I’d done better to keep in touch with her when I went to college because she’ll never know how immensely grateful I am for her to have given me one of the few normal, positive, stable things in my life growing up (though I’m sure she had an inkling).
 
I have a… different… relationship with my mom than most women. But I have to say that one of the best things she ever did for me was get me involved with Girl Scouts, even though she hadn’t had a great experience in Scouts herself. She let me try.
 
And I found a place where I could be myself. It didn’t matter if I wore 2nd hand clothes, or had a weird haircut, or couldn’t bring snack sometimes. I never had to worry about fitting in. Or being popular. I just had to be friendly, and open, and thoughtful, and strive to serve others who needed more than I did, and be the best person I could be. Girl Scouts was always a safe place where no one judged anyone and we accepted everyone for who they were, no matter where they came from, what challenges they faced, what special needs they had, or what went on in their lives outside of our time together.
 
Girl Scouts HAS to be #ForEVERYGirl. Every girl needs some of that kind of positivity. Some don’t always get it from family or school or friends. They need it from somewhere. And I’m so happy to have contributed to this campaign to help hopefully change the lives of 1,689 girls for the better and return the favor that Girl Scouts did for me to themGirlScoutUniform-SashBack.
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Review: Quick Stitch Sewing Kit

Review: Quick Stitch Sewing Kit

quickstitchdisclosureWe don’t have to tell you that the Girl Scout motto is “Be Prepared”.  The motto, as explained in the 1947 Girl Scout Handbook, means “A Girl Scout is ready to help out wherever she is needed. Willingness to serve is not enough; you must know how to do the job well, even in an emergency.”  One of the things we can often forget in our quest to be prepared are that rips and tears can happen, and sometimes a safety pin is not enough!

Here at Girl Scout Guide we were given a Quick Stitch Sewing Kit complimentary to review.  Having a sewing kit on hand is very important in all activities and travel – from troop camping trips to day trips, weekly meetings to awards ceremonies.  You never know when a badge might come loose or an inconvenient hole may need a few quick stitches on the trail.

Product Specs

Quick Stitch Sewing KitThe Quick Stitch Sewing Kit is compact for sure – measuring at 4.5 x 0.8 x 4.8 inches it weighs just 3.7 ounces according to my package scale.  It’s easily slim enough to fit unobtrusively in any duffle bag, backpack, or suitcase.  It contains 24 stainless steel needles in 8 sizes contained in a plastic case, 12 spools of thread in assorted colors, stainless steel scissors, a seem ripper with plastic cover, 2 aluminum needle threaders, a tape measure, 2 straight pins, 3 white opalescent buttons, a safety pin, and a thimble.  It retails on Amazon for $11.95.

The kit we received was actually missing it’s thimble, which isn’t a big deal to us because none of us use one, but it might be a big deal to you if yours comes up missing.

Usage

For all that’s contained within this kit, it’s remarkably lightweight.  It doesn’t add any bulk to a day pack or even a larger purse, though it might be somewhat cumbersome for a fanny pack or smaller purse if you travel light on troop outings.  It is relatively thin, so it can easily tuck into some pockets out of the way within those larger bags.

Quick Stitch Sewing KitA distinct downside is that there’s only one lonely safety pin.  Being the all-stars of any travel emergency, safety pins are invaluable when on the go, so we recommend tossing a few extra into your kit before heading out.  While small, there’s still plenty of room within the zippered walls of this kit to hold some extras.

The stainless steel scissors are a HUGE bonus and very easily justify the price.  Yes, you can get less expensive travel sewing kits, but those flimsy scissors won’t work if some serious repairs are needed while out with your troop on a hike, day trip, or other situation where you may not have a real pair of scissors around otherwise.  The seem ripper is also handy to clean up a mending job and not necessarily have to do more serious repairs once you get back home.  It’ll be like it never happened!

Quick Stitch Sewing KitThe variety of threads is nice, though they are rather small spools.  They include your basic primary colors, the required black and white, and even some pastels and browns to cover your bases.  There’s no orange or purple, but if you find yourself using more oranges and purples and less of the other colors, you could probably substitute some spools from cheaper travel kits or throw in a wound bobbin from home.

The zipper is secure, so even if you include some other odds and ends like we’ve recommended, they won’t end up falling out all over your bag waiting to stab you or get tangled up in a zipper.  The kit has hard sides, so you don’t have to worry about those pointy scissors poking through either.

Verdict

Quick Stitch Sewing KitWhether you’re going out for the day with your troop on an adventure, or spending a few days reconnecting with nature on a camping trip, we highly recommend having this Quick Stitch Sewing Kit on hand.  If the size is a little big for the type of bags you like to travel with, it’s also a handy item to have with your regular meeting supplies or “backstage” for an awards ceremony to fix up your uniform and patches in a pinch.  The price might be a little high for you, but it’s actually on the less expensive spectrum of kits with comparable items inside that are on the market, so it is the best value for your troop budget dollars.

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Cricut Halloween Craft Contest!

Cricut Halloween Craft Contest!

afflinksincludedHalloween inspires so many delightfully devilish crafting projects that it is no wonder there should be a celebration! Enter to win the Cricut Halloween Giveaway, where you could win a Cricut gift card for $50, $75 or even $100! Winning designs will be posted on the Cricut Facebook page!

Here are some designs that I found on the Cricut site to get your creative juices flowing. If you need to stock up on your Cricut supplies in order to give your designs that extra bit of spook, great news—Cricut offers free shipping on all orders of $31 or more through 10/31!

Cricut Halloween Treat Bags

Cricut Halloween Treat Bags

Cricut 3D Pumpkins

Cricut 3D Pumpkins

Cricut October Birthday Card

Cricut October Birthday Card

Cricut Crash Landing Cupcakes

Cricut Crash Landing Cupcakes

Cricut Halloween Klok

Cricut Halloween Klok

Good luck, and may the best ghost or goblin win! Submit your Entry to Cricut’s Halloween Contest here!

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Beau-coup Pinterest Contest

Create a Pinterest Board and enter to win a Gift Certificate to Beau-coup. If you love planning every detail of the perfect party, this is your chance to express your personal creativity. They are giving away three gift certificates for the most creative themed birthday party boards on Pinterest. Show your themed birthday party ideas for a chance to win up to $250 so you can throw the ultimate themed birthday party! Just click on the image below to find out all the details.

Enter to Win!

While you are there, check out their graduation party favors and summer wedding favors, Beau-coup has party favors for all occasions, helping you celebrate life, one event at a time. Good luck!


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Anna Maria Chávez Selected Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA

Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) announced August 24th that Anna Maria Chávez, who grew up in a small town in southern Arizona and rose to become deputy chief of staff to that state’s then-Gov. Janet Napolitano, has been appointed to the top post at the iconic organization. Chávez is set to officially assume her new role at the Girl Scouts National Council Session/52nd Convention in November.

Chávez’s appointment as the 19th chief executive of Girl Scouts, among the largest and most widely recognized nonprofits in the country, comes as the organization readies to launch a national celebration as part of its 100th anniversary designed to honor its legacy and create urgency around girls’ issues. She will replace Kathy Cloninger, who is retiring after leading the organization for eight years.

“Girl Scouts is the premier leadership organization for girls with a trailblazing legacy that stretches nearly 100 years,” said Chávez, who currently serves as chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas. “The country has never needed Girl Scouts more than it does today. What girls are accomplishing in Girl Scouting is inspiring. I have seen it firsthand in Texas, and I intend to tell that story far and wide. I’m eager to work with our partners across the country as the organization embarks on a new century of empowering girls to take the lead in their own lives and make a difference in their communities and across the world.”

Connie Lindsey, National President of Girl Scouts of the USA, said: “Anna Maria is the right person at the right time for our organization. She has a tremendous track record, and her visionary leadership is going to be invaluable as we work to fulfill our mission to be the premier leadership experience for girls in ways that are relevant, engaging and meaningful.”

Chávez was appointed chief executive of the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas in 2009 after serving as deputy chief of staff for urban relations and community development for former Arizona governor and current U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. As deputy chief of staff, she promoted the governor’s policies, programs and initiatives through coordination and partnership with city, county, and tribal governments, federal agencies and community organizations. In addition, she served as the governor’s policy advisor to the Arizona Department of Housing and advised Napolitano on strategies for coordinating housing and economic development. Prior to being appointed as deputy chief of staff, Chávez served as Napolitano’s director of intergovernmental affairs from 2003 to 2007. She also served as in-house counsel and assistant director for the Division of Aging & Community Services (DACS) at the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Chávez entered state government after serving as senior policy advisor to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater. Previously, she had been chief of staff to the deputy administrator at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in Washington, D.C. Chávez also served as chief of staff for SBA’s Office of Government Contracting and Minority Enterprise Development.

Chávez will take over as chief executive after a dramatic period of change for the organization. Cloninger has led Girl Scouts through a historic transformation designed to ensure that the organization delivers the best leadership experience for a new generation of girls whose lives—and the opportunities they face—are ever changing. The wide-ranging effort has included consolidating councils from 312 to 112, as well as developing a nationally consistent program portfolio for girls that includes a series of leadership journeys, or coordinated series of activities grouped around a theme, and a revamped system of badges and awards that align with the leadership program.

In addition, Girl Scouts in 2010 launched a national brand campaign, known by the tagline What Did You Do Today?, which is designed to inspire girls and adults to join Girl Scouts in making a difference in the world. Girl Scouts is set to launch in 2012 its first-ever nationwide fundraising campaign that will extend over five years.

“What a testament to the kind of leadership we have within the Girl Scout Movement that we were able to select one of our own to lead our organization into its second century,” said Cloninger, who acceded to the top post after nearly three decades of executive roles in Girl Scouting, including as chief executive officer of the Girl Scout Council of Cumberland Valley in Tennessee. “Anna Maria exemplifies the leadership qualities that we strive to teach all of our girls and she is going to be an inspiration to all girls and a strong advocate on their behalf.”

Chávez grew up in a Mexican-American family in the small town of Eloy, Arizona, and later in Phoenix. She holds a law degree from the University of Arizona College of Law and a bachelor’s degree in American history from Yale University. Bar admissions include the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Arizona Supreme Court, and U.S. Supreme Court. Her husband Robert is a financial industry executive and they have a son, Michael.

Over the past 99 years, there have been 18 national CEOs. The first three were known as national secretaries and the next four as national directors. From 1935 until 2002, the title was national executive director. Since then, GSUSA’s top post has been termed chief executive officer.

CONTACTS:
Girl Scouts of the USA
Josh Ackley 212.852.8038
jackley@girlscouts.org

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