News for Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council supportersFall 2021

Connections

SAVE THE DATE!

Just Desserts 2022Thursday, January 20, 2022 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Go to gssjc.org/donate for more information.

Save the Date

Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council invites you to

Success to Significance2021

A Conversation with Changemakers

Thursday, October 28, 202111 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

The Post Oak Hotel1600 West Loop SouthFounder, Laura Mercier

Cosmetics and Operating Partner, Advent

International

Executive Vice President, Texas Children’s Hospital

United States District Judge

Pan

elis

ts:

Janet Gurwitch

MichelleRiley-Brown

The HonorableVanessa D.

Gilmore

Ellen Chin

Mary Zappone

SVP Human Resources, Harvest Midstream/

JDH Capital

Chief Executive Officer Sundyne

Co-C

hairs:

For ticket and sponsorship information go to gssjc.org/s2s

Mo

derator:

Mary BassPartner, Spencer

Stuart & Associates

Legacy Sponsor Parking Sponsor

Pillar Sponsor-Entrepreneur

Pillar Sponsor-Outdoor

Bayardo/Charlton/DiazFamilies

JOHN P. McGOVERN FOUNDATION

Girl Scout Leadership Sponsor

Pillar Sponsor-STEM

Zorich Family Foundation

What a week at day camp can do!

Girl Scout day camp activities can range from indoor archery, mask fashion shows, working on badges, singing new songs, and making new friends. When Grace, a Brownie, started day camp, she was shy, quiet, ap-peared scared. When the girls were asked to make a sign for the wall where their belongings would be kept throughout the week, she just put her name, while other girls decorated theirs with flowers, animals and more.

Slowly, as camp staff talked with Grace, she started to come out of her shell and even drew a picture of her cat, Mr. Dimples, on her sign. When it came time to choose her camp name, she chose simply, “Girl Scout Grace.” But her favorite Girl Scout tradition was the Friendship Circle. Slowly she started talking to other girls and even found a buddy to hold hands with. They soon became inseparable. Grace became more animated and started participating in activities and even giving her input – she was finding her voice. Staff could clearly see how much Grace’s confidence grew over the course of the week, and at the end of the week, Grace said that she loved making friends, saying “everyone here at camp is my friend now.”

In a world where so much can be intimidating to young girls, Girl Scout experiences like day camp offer countless opportunities to try new things, have fun, and learn skills that will last a lifetime - building girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.

Thank You, Donors!$50,000-$99,999 - BronzeUnited Way of Greater Houston

$25,000-$49,999 - AmbassadorBank of AmericaGirl Scouts of the USAUnited Way of Greater Baytown Area & Chambers CountyUnited Way of Mid & South Jefferson County

$10,000-24,999 SeniorFred and Mabel R. Parks FoundationGeorge and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation

$5,000-$9,999 - Cadette Baker HughesHarriet and Joe Foster FoundationSue Kean and Grady WalkerMary Ryder

Great care has been exercised to ensure the proper recognition of our donors. If an error or omission does occur, we apologize and hope you will bring it to our attention. Contact Ruth Delaunay at rdelaunay@sjgs.org. Contributions made April 1 – June 30, 2021.

Shell Oil CompanyCatherine B. SmithMary and Mike VitekCathy Wining-Thomas and Jim Thomas

$1,000-$4,999 JuniorBKD, LLPAnne V. BlountBXS InsuranceCadence BankBrian and Mary GedelianCorrie B. JenkinsAna M. KopfMichelle A. LewisMary B. McIntire, Ph.D.Microsoft Matching Gifts ProgramPage M. Vogelsang

$250-$999 BrownieErin AbbeyAmazon Smile FoundationKelly G. Barnhart

Chevron Phillips Chemical CompanyConocoPhillips CompanyMarisa CostaYvette DrummondShannon HallClaudia W. HayslipValerie JalufkaMarlene Butcher JonesTerry E. KiteKatherine P. LaveryDoreen LorenzMarathon Oil CorporationMelissa McDonaldMichele McNicholCassandra McZealNorthrop GrummanLauren OstrowskiPepsiCo FoundationAnita M. ShoroskyAimée R. SprolesJennifer StringerTexas Higher Education Coordinating BoardThe Kroger Company

Thomson ReutersLoretta J. TowlesTroop #14050United Way SuncoastGenevieve and John M. WallsDanielle WardCarol and John WarleyMelissa WhiteWoodland Trails Community

MemorialsIn Memory of Colette and Olivia NguyenColony Creek CommunityTroop #157035Troop #157121Troop #19056Troop #19218Troop #19253

In Memory of Penny VieauElizabeth AbrahamsLane HammondJeanice B. Pokorny

Thank you for standing with our girlsAs summer turns to fall and we reflect on the changes we’ve all been through this past year and a half, we are grateful to you, our friends and supporters, for ensuring our girls have what they need to thrive during tough times.

In this extraordinary chapter in history, Girl Scouting is more important than ever. Being a Girl Scout provides girls with a sense of belonging and a safe place to make friends, have fun, and gain critical life skills. In addition to being a touch point with other girls during an uncertain time, our one-of-a-kind leadership development program for girls has proven results. Every activity we offer is based on time-tested methods and research-backed programming that help girls take the lead – in their own lives and in the world.

The experiences girls have in Girl Scouting are proven to cultivate values, social conscience, self-esteem, resiliency and much more. Your support makes this possible.Many families in our community continue to face financial uncertainty. Did you know that GSSJC offers financial assistance? We believe that every girl deserves the opportunity to be a Girl Scout, and we hope you do too. As you start to consider your year-end giving, we hope you will make a gift to Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council. Your investment supports our girls as they develop resilience, perseverance, and strength, while living out their commitment to make the world a better place. Visit gssjc.org/donate or contact Nancy Hall at nhall@sjgs.org or 713-292-0282.

A positive experience as a Girl Scout in elementary school paired with a strong commitment to girl leadership led to many rewarding volunteer experiences and meaningful giving for former Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council (GSSJC) president and chair of the board Stacy Methvin.

“Volunteering has been more rewarding for me than my impact on the Girl Scouts,” says Methvin. “Besides just feeling good to see girls excel and have so much fun, smiling from ear to ear, it’s a great way to fulfill your life.”

When asked what she believes to be the most important skill that Girl Scouting teaches girls Methvin, who is retired from a successful career at Shell, says, “Hands down, confidence. Girls - and women - often struggle with it but in Girl Scouts they get to build that confidence as they’re earning badges, going to camp, talking in front of a big group or standing in front of strangers as they sell cookies, as well as learning to deal with disappointment.”

Another benefit, according to Methvin, is that while they build confidence girls are encouraged to explore career paths where females are traditionally under represented like STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). “Life took me into the energy industry where there weren’t many women. To get more women into the industry we must reach them when they’re younger, in elementary or middle school. Girl Scouting is a great way to do that and learn more about what’s going on with today’s girls so we can support them.”

Methvin, who admits she doesn’t give her volunteer hours easily and is picky about the organizations and projects she chooses, sees Girl Scouts as a great opportunity to develop girls in ways they aren’t always developed in school. “Special qualities and intellect are distributed equally, but opportunities to develop them are not,” says Methvin. “Girl Scouts reaches out across the socioeconomic spectrum and offers that opportunity to girls who are ready for it, regardless of a families’ ability to pay.”

The ability to make a difference and pay it forward is also what motivated Methvin to remain involved in Girl Scouting beyond her years as council president and board chair. Methvin has been involved with various projects and initiatives since she finished her term as council president. Her most recent role was as chair of the Ten Year Property Strategy Committee, which is responsible for developing the council’s investment plan for the camps. This strategy led to Methvin Chairing the Master Plan development for the council’s integrated camp property in Conroe, Texas, often referred to as Treelake. It was this work that led to recent developments at Camp Agnes Arnold, including the new Hamill Welcome

Center, and a recently unveiled Adventure Park which was made possible thanks to the generosity of Methvin and her husband Dee.

The Adventure Park features two 300-foot ziplines with a challenge course comprised of 29 adventurous elements including a swinging bridge, horse ride, catwalk, loop crossing, barrel bridge, DNA bridge, skyak, tube crawl, taco net and more. Complete with two thrilling levels, the challenge course welcomed girls back to in-person resident

camp this summer and has already provided girls with lifelong memories and feelings of accomplishment as they overcame fears, reached new heights and cheered on team members to help them finish the course.

Methvin is excited about being able to offer girls in San Jacinto Council the opportunity to experience a challenge course of this caliber because it will help get girls outdoors.

“When I look back on when I grew most in my life, it was always through outdoor experiences. When I think about where I was shaping my personality and gaining confidence but really just having a great time, it was in the great outdoors. These adventures were so important

to my success and my life, that I want to entice girls to get outdoors as well,” says Methvin.

“I want to make sure troop leaders and families know about it! A lot of times, people don’t think they can come to Girl Scout camp and get something unique, but they can- sailing, horseback riding, and now this Adventure Park! I want people to see Girl Scouts as relevant and something special, not a thing of the past.”

A conversation with Girl Scout great Stacy Methvin

Stacy and Dee take the inaugural zip line from the new Adventure Park at Camp Agnes Arnold.

Stacy and Dee Methvin

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDHOUSTON, TX

PERMIT NO. 67433110 Southwest FreewayHouston, TX 77098-4508Visit us online at www.gssjc.org.

girlscoutssanjacintoGirlScoutsGSSJC Facebook.com/GSSJCGSSJC

Making the most of your support of Girl Scouts There are so many ways to help support girls on their Girl Scout journey. These two easy-to-use tools can maximize the benefit of your gift to girls in our community. Be sure to share this with friends and colleagues.

Amazon When you shop at Amazon, you are helping us fulfill a mission to help girls become women of confidence and character, who make the world a better place. Through the AmazonSmile program 0.5% of all the purchases you make go towards making an impact in the life of a girl at our council. Make sure when you shop on Amazon you use the smile.amazon.com link and search for Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council or go to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/74-6001254 and link your Amazon account to us.

Double the Donation Employee matching gift programs are corporate giving programs in which the company matches donations made by employees to eligible nonprofit organizations. This means you can double your impact at no extra cost to you. Now, you can initiate a match when you donate on our website. Visit gssjc.org/donate, enter your employer’s name, and you’ll then be able to access guidelines, matching forms and more. Thank you for helping us leverage your gift even further.

The magic of summer campWe all have special memories of summers when we were kids – hot days and warm nights, time spent with our best buddies, new adventures everyday – well, Girl Scouts experience all that and more at resident camp.

Since 1912, girls have explored and strengthened their outdoor skills and commitment to environmental stewardship through Girl Scouting. Guided by supportive adults and peers, Girl Scouts discover the wonders of nature, experience the thrill of adventure, and challenge themselves and one another to reach new heights. These experiences hone their outdoor and leadership skills, inspire them to take action to protect the environment, and reinforce friendships to last a lifetime.

This year, with your help, 116 girls are experiencing the joy of Resident camp through our Campership program. Thanks to you, our girls get to face their fears and master challenges at our new Adventure Park. As camper Mackenzie so aptly put it, “Adventure Park challenges you to do more than you think you can accomplish.” Girls may start out unsure, but they learn they can conquer their fears and gain confidence, learning to have fun in the process.

For more than a century, Girl Scouts has prepared girls for a lifetime of leadership, including in the great outdoors. Thanks to your generous support, we will continue to offer, today and always, high-quality outdoor programming built on exploration and adventure, environmental appreciation, and the unique sisterhood—accessible and beneficial to all girls—that is Girl Scouts.

Whether it is corkling, horseback riding, archery, or singing songs around the closing campfire, girls are making new friends, learning new things, supporting one another, and growing their leadership skills. Simply put, camp is magical. Don’t we all need a little bit of magic in our lives?