Month: March 2016

We’ve Got You Covered: A Guide to Girl Scout Insurance

Girl Scout Activity Insurance

Every registered Girl Scout is covered by a basic accident insurance plan. The plan is designed to help pay medical expenses if an accident occurs during a supervised Girl Scout activity. Additional insurance options are available for travel, events lasting more than 2 nights, and activities where non-members will be present.

Here’s a breakdown of the different insurance plans and when you may need them!

Additional Insurance Options

To purchase additional insurance, download the enrollment form for the plan you need for your activity or trip.

The form must be submitted with a check payable to “United of Omaha Life Insurance Company” to any Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa Leadership Center, or mailed to: Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa, 10715 Hickman Road, Des Moines, IA 50325.

The minimum payment for additional insurance is $5. You may submit multiple events and/or enrollment forms with one payment.

How to File a Claim

If an injury occurs during a troop or service unit trip or activity, the volunteer should complete the Leader Statement portion (lower half) of Girl Scouts of the USA Insurance Claim Form and give the entire form to the Girl Scout parent.

Treatment must occur within 30 days of the accident date. The parent completes the Claimant Information portion (top half) of the Girl Scouts of the USA Insurance Claim Form, attaches copies of the attending physicians treatment form, and submits the entire form to the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa, Attention: Finance Department, to complete the Council Use section. Once a claim has been validated it will be forwarded to Mutual of Omaha for processing. Claims will not be processed without council validation.

Completed claim form MUST be submitted to the council office as soon as possible or within 30 days. Claims submitted after 30 days may not be eligible for processing. Additional bills received after the initial treatment should be forwarded to your nearest leadership center as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@gsiowa.org, or (800) 342-8389.

Need a Certificate of Liability Insurance?

When you are arranging activities for your troop or service unit, facilities or organizations may request liability insurance coverage (or a Certificate of Insurance) to show proof that you have coverage through GSGI. We will provide a certificate of insurance to facilities being used for Girl Scout purposes upon request.

To request a certificate of insurance, email us at info@gsiowa.org, including the facility name and address, and facility contact person. Please allow 5 business days for us to address your request.

Have any questions about all things insurance? Give us a call at 800-342-8389 — we have you covered!

Four Camp Properties, Unlimited Possibilities!

Did you know that all four of GSGI’s camp properties are available for rent when summer camp isn’t in session? From troop and service unit camps, to weddings, to family reunions — the sky is the limit for the adventures girls AND adults can have at our camps! Not only that, but we’ve made the registration process easier with online reservations.

What camp properties are available?

We have four camp properties located across the council:

  • Camp Sacajawea near Boone
  • Camp Tanglefoot in Clear Lake
  • Camp Joy Hollow near Westfield
  • Camp Juliette in Marshalltown

Each of these camps has something unique to offer, from the lake at Camp Tanglefoot, to hiking in the Loess Hills at Camp Joy Hollow. You can find more info on each camp on our website. 

How do I reserve a camp (or a specific building or two at camp)?

It’s easy!

  1. Visit our Camp Rentals page and check out the rental guides for the camp you’re interested in — just click on the camp name and you’ll be taken to a document with more information on the available facilities and pricing.
  2. After you have an idea of what facilities you’d like to rent, head back to the Camp Rentals page and click “Book Now!” next to the camp property you would like to rent. Then, select whether you’d like to rent camp for day use or overnight use.
  3. Choose which building you are interested in renting (or select “Entire Camp” if you want to rent the entire camp facility)!
  4. Use the arrows along the top of the calendar to find available dates (which are in grey), and select your arrival and departure dates (if staying overnight).
  5. Click on the “RESERVE” button that appears after you’ve selected your dates, and then click “Check Out,” which appears to the right of the calendar.
  6. Our online checkout system will walk you through check-out based on your group’s pricing (Girl Scout groups get a discount compared to outside groups)!
  7. You’re all set! Get ready to enjoy the beauty of camp.

Whether you’re coming out for the fresh-fallen snow, early birds of spring, or crisp fall air, our four beautiful camp properties offer year-round opportunities for fun and adventure for Girl Scouts and the community.

Have any questions about camp facility rentals? Give us a call at 800-342-8389 or email us at info@gsiowa.org!

April 2016: Your Checklist for Success

Need a refresher from last month? Check out the March Checklist, which features an awesome winter membership incentive.

Need a printable version of the April Checklist? Download one April 2016 Checklist!

Upcoming Events 

Council Events

Awesome Training Opportunities

Circle of Excellence

We come together during Circle of Excellence to recognize and celebrate our dedicated volunteers, graduating seniors, and girls who have earned their Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards.

Virtual Volunteer Roundtables 

These virtual roundtables give you the opportunity to learn and share ideas with volunteers across the council – all from the comfort of your home!

Outdoor Adventures

Cookie Program Wrap-up

Thank you for all of your hard work to help girls dream big, set goals, and learn essential business skills! The 2016 Cookie Program was a great one — here are a few last things to help you wrap up the program.

  • April 3 – Girl Shortage Forms must be submitted by 5 p.m. if needed.
  • April 5 – Final ACH sweep of balance due for cookies. Troop proceeds are left in troop account.
  • Late April – Recognitions
    • Leaders will receive recognition items from your Service Unit Product Chair (SUPC). Always get a receipt and keep a copy. Report missing or damaged items to your SUPC.
    • Recognitions for girls with an outstanding balance or a missing Product Program Permission Form should be sent back to a council leadership center.
    • Arrangements for girls who earned technology items to receive those items will be made directly with a council leadership center.
    • Cookie Dough will be sent directly to girls with family email addresses on file. Those without will have a hard copy mailed to them. Please call or email us to update email addresses and other contact details.

Camp & Summer Activities

Have you talked to the girls in your troop about summer camp? Girl Scout summer camp is full of friendship, activities, and adventures!

Spotlight on: Camp Joy Hollow

This summer, we are excited to be offering day camp, resident camp, and travel opportunities at Camp Joy Hollow this summer! View the events calendar for details and registration links.

  • Day Camps: June 13-15 & July 6-8
  • Resident Camp: July 10-12
  • South Dakota Adventure trip: July 14-19

Volunteers are needed for all of these events – please contact us at info@gsiowa.org if you are interested!

Spotlight on: Camp Juliette

We are offering day camps at Camp Juliette in Marshalltown this summer!

  • Day camps: June 20-22 & July 23-25

Volunteers are needed for these events – please contact us at info@gsiowa.org if you are interested!

To-Dos

  • If your school has a Kindergarten Round-Up that we can be part of, contact us at info@gsiowa.org with the date, time and school. We’d love to get girls excited about becoming Daisy Girl Scouts!
  • Plan to celebrate with your troop or service unit! Check out the Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting for Bridging requirements. Search online for ideas on holding your Court of Awards ceremony for girls and their families.
  • Stay tuned! We have fun plans in store for the summer with a Summer of Service project for troops to put Girl Scout values into action in your local community.

 

Girl Scout Rosters: Who’s Who in Your Troop or Service Unit

Want to see an up-to-date view of the contact information of everyone in your troop or service unit? Check out our handy roster guide!

For Troops

Troop leaders can access rosters and contact information for troop members through your MyGS login. To access your Troop Roster, click the MyGS link on the home page, and select Volunteer Toolkit. Once you’re logged into the Volunteer Toolkit, select the “My Troop” tab (on the left, next to “Year Plan”).

From there, you’ll see a green bar with “Troop ##### Info.” On this bar, you’ll see an option to email all contacts within the troop. This is a great option for troop announcements!

For more specific information about each troop member, click on the white arrow next to “Troop ##### Info.” Once this arrow is pointing down, you’ll see the list of all girls in the troop. You’ll see each girl’s name, their guardian’s name, email address, and phone number. If you click on the green arrow next to the girl’s name, you’ll find her date of birth, age, and address.

Coming soon: details about how to renew your Troop members for the 2016-17 Girl Scout Year!

For Service Units

Service Unit Managers receive a weekly email with an updated roster of service unit members attached as an Excel spreadsheet. This list is designed to help service unit teams coordinate Girl Scouting in your area. You can check what troop an individual is registered in, whether a troop has enough volunteer help, or if a new member has been registered. Use this list to let us know of any changes that need to be made to the information provided.

Service Unit Managers may distribute to other members of the service unit team as needed. Because it contains personal troop and member information, please do not re-distribute this roster to third parties.

What does “Welcome” Mean?

When reviewing your rosters, you may see that some adult members are listed with a status of “Welcome.” This means that an adult volunteer has not yet logged into MyGS to watch the 2 minute welcome video and answer the related questions. If an adult has not yet completed this step, the first thing they will see when logging into MyGS is the video.

welcome

The welcome video is a short and helpful introduction to Girl Scouting and is part of our official volunteer onboarding process. Even our long-time volunteers are asked to complete this step once, to make sure you’re getting the same updated Girl Scout messages as our newest adult members. This also helps us to know how we can best prepare volunteers to work with girls.

If you have any technical difficulties with the video, please let us know. The entire Welcome step will take you less than 10 minutes to complete.

What if Someone is Missing from the Roster?

There are a few reasons an individual may not show up on a troop or service unit roster. Girls and adults will only be listed with your troop or service unit if they have a Girl Scout membership for the current year. If a person is not showing up, he/she may not have a current membership.

Adults will only be listed with your troop or service unit if they have selected a volunteer role and completed a background check. Any adult may join as a Girl Scout member to support the organization, but if an adult is choosing to volunteer in your troop or service unit, they should select a role such as “Troop Support Volunteer” or “Service Unit Support Volunteer.”

If you believe someone is missing from your roster, please let us know, so we can double-check the reason and update records accordingly.

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Not sure how to log into MyGS? Click here for directions.

Questions? Email us at info@gsiowa.org.

You’re Invited! Upcoming Spring Events

The weather is getting warmer, the school year is headed towards winding down, and we want to celebrate all of the dedication, hard work, and accomplishments of all Girl Scouts — volunteers, parents, and girls alike. Here are some great events coming up over the next few months. We hope we’ll see you there!

Circle of Excellence

Each year, we hold Circle of Excellence events across the council to recognize and celebrate our dedicated volunteers, graduating seniors, and girls who have earned their Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards this year.

Volunteers are the key to our success, and we want to show you our appreciation for all you do.  This year, we will be adding an inspirational time at the close of the event for volunteers to learn, share, and grow together. You may even meet our new CEO Beth Shelton!

Psst…Have you nominated a volunteer for a Volunteer Award yet? Be sure to submit your nominations by March 8!

Register for the Circle of Excellence near you today:

Annual Meeting

Do you want to learn more about how the council is run? Would you like to have the chance to vote on council business for the upcoming year? Every year, Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa holds an Annual Meeting to bring together delegates from across the council, board members, and staff to do just that!

The 2016 Annual Meeting will be held on April 5, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. via a teleconference.

All members are welcome to join in on the call (only delegates are allowed to vote). Find out more info on our website.

Interested in becoming a delegate? Learn more in our “Let Your Voice Be Heard” post!

Gold Award Breakfast

Join us on April 12, 2016 at 7:30 a.m. at the Renaissance Des Moines Savery Hotel for a new and exciting event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the highest achievement in Girl Scouting, the Gold Award (formerly the Golden Eaglet, Golden Eagle of Merit, First Class and Curved Bar)!

This fundraising event will celebrate the wonderful impact that Iowa Girl Scouts, past and present, have made in their communities.

Reserve your spot today!