Every time Kappa Deltas get together with Girl Scouts there is sure to be lots of fun, laughter and learning on both sides. If you are planning an event, whether you are a KD or a Girl Scout leader, you can use the following ideas as a springboard to develop an activity that works for your group.
Please let us know what you are doing so we can add your ideas to the list. Just send your ideas to KD National Headquarters.
Some ideas include:
Host a Girl Scout uniquely ME! event at the chapter house or another suitable location. Invite several troops in the area to come and learn about positive body image and self-acceptable. Use the materials provided in the uniquely ME! facilitator’s guide.
Plan a campus tour for older Girl Scouts. Include a Q&A about college life, including what they need to be doing now to get into college, ideas for choosing a college, how to apply for scholarships and loans, etc. You can use the College 101 Focus Book for activities and discussion ideas. This is a great way to make college life “accessible” to those who would otherwise not consider that route. Girls can earn the College 101 megaphone charm for completing the focus book. Visit the online Girl Scout Shop at www.girlscouts.org to order books and charms, or visit your local Girl Scout council.
Hold a Kappa Delta/Girl Scout event featuring chapter members who are campus leaders. These leaders can explain what they do and how they got involved on the campus. They can offer tips and motivation for Girl Scouts to run for school elections, try out for school plays, etc. Chapter members and troop members can discuss qualities that make a good leader. Offer suggestions you would give them to become leaders in their school, in other groups and in life.
Plan an anti-bullying event. Use the Stop the Bullying workshop guide developed by American Girl, available on the Kappa Delta Web site at www.kappadelta.org. Girl Scouts of the USA also has several resources that address bullying, including: Jasmine and the Bus Bullies; My Friends, My School, My World, My Scrapbook; Sister to Sister – The Darker Side of Friendship; The Catalyst Channel; and We Blog – Relationship Matrix. Facilitator’s guides are available on the Kappa Delta Web site’s 24/7 filing cabinet in the VP-community service folder. You can also visit www.girlscouts.org for more information.
Organize a session on scholarship led by the chapter’s academic excellence chairman. Invite the CAB academic excellence advisor, if possible. Encourage a chapter member who has struggled with grades and has made a significant improvement to offer advice. Discuss the importance of developing good study habits and teach study skills. Provide supplies for the Girl Scouts to make posters that list study skills to hang in their bedrooms. At a later date, hold an awards ceremony for Girl Scouts with all A’s, those most improved, etc.
Organize a Kappa Delta/Girl Scout celebration of National Women’s Friendship Month in September. Talk about what it means to be a good friend. Provide materials for girls to make friendship bracelets or journals.
Plan a holiday party – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas – that includes an educational or community service element. For example, carve pumpkins then talk about how everyone is unique in their own way, just like the pumpkins are unique. Plan a Thanksgiving meal and table etiquette lesson and/or ask girls to bring cans for the local food pantry.
Plan an outing with Girl Scouts and your chapter as one of your “Setting the PACE” activities. Go to the local theater, visit a museum, or attend a women’s sporting event.
As part of a “Setting the PACE” activity, host an etiquette tea or luncheon. Teach the girls about proper table etiquette and enjoy some healthy foods. Consider inviting mothers of the girls. Put on a “concert” of Girl Scout songs and KD songs. Talk about self-esteem and how mothers influence the way girls feel about themselves.
Take Kappa Delta’s support of orthopaedic research and bone health to the next level. Talk about calcium-rich food, developing strong bones through physical activity, and more. Check out the Best Bones Forever campaign sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health. Visit www.girlshealth.gov for more information.