Girl Scout Exchanges
Would your girls like to get to know other Girl Scouts around the country? There are a number of Girl Scout exchange activities available to help you get acquainted without leaving home. You might even have the opportunity to exchange with some Girl Guides overseas. Step outside the box to share with other Girl Scouts while helping your girls realize that they are part of a much larger organization. Iıve summarized a variety of programs for you below.
JOTI
and JOTA
Both
of the below international scouting events are scheduled for Oct 17-18, 2009:
Jamboree On The
Internet (JOTI) "is an annual event when Scouts and Guides all over
the world make contact with each other by means of the Internet. It is a real
Jamboree during which Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideas are shared,
thus contributing to the world brotherhood of Scouting. JOTI is a world-wide
event mainly for Scouting groups in all youth programme sections, although
members may participate individually".
Jamboree-on-the-Air
(JOTA) "is an annual event in which Scouts and Guides all over
the world speak to each other by means of amateur radio contacts. Scouting
experiences are exchanged and ideas are shared, via the radio waves."
Postcard
Exchange
Fall
is the time to sign up for the International
Thinking Day Postcard Exchange. You will have the opportunity to arrange
trades with other Girl Scout and Girl Guide units after your troop is added to
the database. Register early in the fall so that you can make arrangements
before troops fill their schedules.
Your
girls decide the extent of their participation -- exchange with troops from a
few states or try for all 50! You may also have the opportunity to
request exchanges with some international units. Last year there were close to
3,000 US Troops and just under 1000 International Units from 50 countries
participating in this exchange. (A number of the troops that my girls met
through the postcard exchange later joined us in a mascot exchange - see
below.) A Postcard Exchange patch is
available.
Jan
McKinney founded the Thinking Day Postcard Exchange and continues to provide
this activity, which is 10+ years strong. A recognition plaque
presented during her councilıs 2003 awards luncheon read, ³Because of this Green Angel, Thinking Day has come alive
for thousands of girls world-wide, and the World Association has become more
than just words in a book.²
Mascot
Exchange
A
mascot
exchange is a fun way to open the girlsı eyes to the bigger picture. This is a year-round
project that can be started at any time, however many troops do fill up their
schedules in the fall (or a year ahead!). You may select to just host a
mascot, or jump right in with a mascot of your own and exchange with others.
Exchanges may be arranged by joining the following yahoo groups: GS/GG Mascots, or GS-GG-Exchange
Resource.
Mailing
a package filled with your mascot, journal, swaps, photos, and tourist
information can get expensive, so budget accordingly (estimate $5-$10 postage
per box, with international mail costing triple). Although probably the
most costly of the exchange projects Iıve listed, I feel that it is the most
rewarding for the girls
A
mascot exchange is also a fun way to bring local troops closer together.
Suggest that the girls in your service unit name a Mascot that would then visit
one troop a month. Girls could
make journal entries for the mascot describing what their troop is doing, read
entries from other troops, add something to the mascotıs outfit, enclose a
troop photo, and make swaps for the next troop to be visited. The mascotıs
travels could be expanded to visit neighboring service units or do return
visits with your local troops.
Some mascots have a theme, are dressed in uniform,
or come with accessories. Let your girlsı be creative. Some mini-uniform
options include:
-
GSUSAıs
miniature pins: GS traditional or contemporary membership pins
-
Vest
Kit from Making Friends includes tiny troop numbers. A larger
vest kit and separate troop
numbers are also available.
-
Scout
uniforms from Build-a-Bear
-
Brownie
or Junior
GS uniforms from Noahıs Ark
-
Joycrest
offers Special
Event Mini-patches
Little
Awards (search for ³mascot²) offer mascot fun patches. Or, your troop might
like to write a Troops-Own
Mascot Badge, which is approved through council using the sample format provided by a troop in
Tennessee (this badge is NOT available for purchase).
A
less expensive option is to exchange Flat Stacie or Flat Brownies,
the Girl Scout equivalent to The Flat Stanley Project. Friends Across America
is a similar program. You can download paperdolls or make a
life-sized version by tracing a girl onto butcher paper. Little
Awards (search for ³mascot²) offers a Flat Scout patch.
Join the Flat Stacie
program, or go to the Flat
Girl Scout or GS-GG Exchange
Resource yahoo groups to arrange your exchanges.
If
your girls would like to communicate with other troops through the internet,
they may be interested in a Virtual Mascot. This option has zero postage costs
and requires less effort. Meet Christine
the bear and more virtual mascots from Guides Australia, or adopt a variety
of Cyber Mascots.
Although GSUSA no longer has a pen pal program, the GS Seal of Ohio website shares that ³GSUSA has formed a pen pal network for Brownie through Senior Girl Scout troops in response to the expressed interest among Girl Scouts nationwide. The network began several years ago and provides an opportunity for participating councils to link troops more easily with pen pals around the country.² Check out their Pen Pal Connection patch program and download the application if interested.
Also, your girls might like to mention their interest in establishing a pen pal relationship while participating in one of the above exchanges. You may be able to set up pen pals with those troops you meet.
A few unofficial programs that could be reviewed
include: Round
Robin Girl Scouts yahoo group, GGGS Pen Pal Group, and the Student Letter Exchange.
Patchwork Designs offers an Adopt a Troop ê Sisters
in Scouting patch and a Pen Pal fun patch.
Joycrest also has a Pen
Pal fun patch.
³Swaps, the tradition of Girl Scouts
exchanging keepsakes, started long ago when Girl Scouts and Girl Guides
first gathered for fun, song, and making new friends. Originally, swaps were
exchanged at national Girl Scout Senior Roundups and referred to as Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere. Swaps are still the
perfect way for Girl Scouts to meet each other and promote friendship. Each one
is a memory of a special event or Girl Scout Sister.²
Use
up your excess craft supplies and let the girls get creative making unique
swaps to trade or check one of these websites for ideas:
Making Friends invite girls to Swap With Us, or your
troop could join the GS All State
Swap Exchange yahoo group.
Fun patches and pins are available through Advantage
Emblem., Little Awards, and Patchwork
Designs.
Each
of the 300+ Girl Scout Councils have their own unique patch (some have pins).
Trading council patches can become a fun hobby for your troop and result in
quite a patch collection. Purchase patches directly from the council shops or arrange
trades through the following yahoo groups:
·
Greenblood News (join
this yahoo group then click ³Patch Trading² in the Database to obtain a list of
those interested)
Check
out Lauraıs extensive Patch
Collection and Delilahıs Patch Blanket for
inspiration.
Fun
patches are available through Patch
Corner, Advantage
Emblem. (search for ³collector²), and Little
Awards (search for ³trader²),
Updated
October 2009