Students in the United States have a pretty cool opportunity to get their artwork noticed right now. Google, in partnership with Crayola and the New York Public Library, has launched its fifth annual Doodle 4 Google competition for kids enrolled in K-12.

This year’s theme is “If I could travel in time, I’d visit…”  According to the official Google blog, “That could mean visiting a past, present or future setting—whether it’s traveling back in time to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, to the future to witness everyday space travel, or to just a few moments ago to relive a poignant experience.”

Doodle submissions are being accepted from January 18 to March 23, 2012. Be picked as the national winner and Google will showcase your artwork on its homepage for 24 hours. That’s not all: Crayola will also print it on a limited edition version of its 64 box. There are lots of other cool prizes for other winning entries as well.

And did we mention that singer Katy Perry and author Holly Black are two of the guest judges? Pretty amazing to think of the superstars who will see your work!

Last year there were 107,000 entries!  Last year's winning entry is pictured. Start your doodling today! Click here to get the complete contest rules and entry forms.

All GSCI Service Centers
Monday - 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday - Thursday - 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Friday - 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

GSCI Trefoil Boutiques

Bloomington and Champaign
Monday - 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday - Thursday 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Friday - 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

The Bloomington and Champaign Trefoil Boutiques will be closed Monday - Thursday from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. for lunch.

The Bloomington and Champaign Trefoil Boutiques will be open the first Saturday of the month from 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. If the first Saturday falls on a holiday weekend, boutiques will be on the second Saturday.

Decatur, Peru, and Quincy
Monday - 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday - 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Friday - 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

The Decatur, Peru, and Quincy Trefoil Boutiques are not open on Tuesday and Thursday.

The Decatur, Peru and Quincy Trefoil Boutiques will be closed Monday and Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. for lunch.

The Decatur, Peru, and Quincy Trefoil Boutiques will be open the first Saturday of the month from 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. If the first Saturday falls on a holiday weekend, boutiques will be on the second Saturday.

Peoria
Monday - Thursday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Friday - 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Saturday - 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Closed on Saturdays that fall during a holiday weekend.

Springfield
Monday - 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday - 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Friday - 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

The Springfield Trefoil Boutique will be open the first Saturday of the month from 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. If the first Saturday falls on a holiday weekend, boutiques will be on the second Saturday.

Do you know someone who’s always working to make a difference? A young leader who doesn’t rest until he or she has made a positive impact on a class, club or community? A social entrepreneur who puts others before him or herself? If so, nominate them for the 2012 Build-A-Bear Workshop Huggable Heroes program! This program recognizes kids – ages eight to 18 – who provide extraordinary service to their communities or the world.

This year, ten Huggable Heroes will be selected to receive $7,500 in the form of an educational scholarship and a $2,500 donation to the 501 (c)(3)  charity of his or her choice. Each Huggable Hero will also receive a celebration trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop World Bearquarters in St. Louis.

Entry forms are available online at buildabear.com/huggableheroes or at any participating Build-A-Bear Workshop store. You can also nominate yourself!

The Linda S. Culver scholarship for registered girl members of Girl Scouts of Central Illinois is now available. This scholarship is named in memory of Linda S. Culver, a prominent Girl Scout leader and area business leader for many years.

The requirements for this scholarship are:

1. Be registered as a Girl Scout with the Girl Scouts of Central Illinois.
2. Be a nationally affiliated registered Girl Scout for a minimum of three years in one of the following Illinois Counties: Mason, Menard, Sangamon, Logan, Christian, Montgomery, or Macoupin (preference will be given for Girl Scout tenure).
3. Have a GPA of 3.0 or higher on a non-weighted 4.0 scale.
4.  Attend school as a full-time JUNIOR, SENIOR or GRADUATE STUDENT in the coming fall at an accredited college or university. Graduating high school seniors and current college freshmen may NOT apply.
5. Special consideration may be given to any applicant who has received the Girl Scout Gold Award.
6. Financial need may be considered.
7. Past recipients are eligible to reapply.

One scholarship in the amount of $1000. Click here for more information. Deadline for entry is March 1, 2012.
   
 

First Lady Michelle Obama Sends Message to Girl Scouts

View Anna Maria Chavez, CEO of GSUSA, speech from the 52nd National Convention held in Houston, Texas.

Speech 1 of 2

Speech 2 of 2

Go behind the scenes with your favorite writers and illustrators to find out how they work – and to get a few tips to make your own work shine!

GSUSA's The Studio is a showcase for inspiring storytellers of all kinds, who offer an inside look at how they do what they do. New authors will be added every month, so keep checking back! GSUSA plans to expand the site to include other artists, as well as the ability for girls to upload their own work. Their goal is to create a community of girls who can share their creative work with others and learn from professionals working in a variety of creative careers.

For more information on The Studio click here.

Girl Scouts of Central Illinois is pleased to announce the Verizon Foundation has awarded a $10,000 grant to fund the Girl Scout STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) program. Funding will support STEM-related programs and camps for girls ages 5 to 17 throughout 38 counties across central Illinois during the 2011-2012 school year.

Through service centers in Bloomington, Champaign, Decatur, Peoria, Peru, Quincy, and Springfield, support from the Verizon foundation will help fund STEM-related programs in topics such as entomology, zoology, chemistry, physics, meteorology, environmental science, robotics, and more. Funds will also be used provide financial assistance for Girl Scout membership and camp fees for STEM-related sessions, so that any girl within our jurisdiction may join us STEM is a key program focus of Girl Scouts of Central Illinois. Research tells us that girls begin leaving science to boys as early as grade 7, and by the time they reach adulthood, women hold only 5% of the top positions in the medical sciences.

“We are committed to closing the achievement gap and ensuring that the voice of girls and women informs the world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and we are grateful for the community support that helps make that possible,” states Pam Kovacevich, CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Illinois.
Program offerings will include council-sponsored day-long events, series that take place on the same subject across the span of the school year, camp sessions, field trips, and more. For more information about the Girl Scouts of Central Illinois STEM program visit www.girlscouts-gsci.org or call 877-231-1446.

Yahoo Shine reports that Lip Smacker knows the way to our hearts. The Girl Scout Cookie lip balm collection represents five of our favorite tasty treats: Thin Mints, Shortbread, Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Peanut Butter Patties, and Caramel deLites.

These lip balms taste and smell just as scrumptious as the cookies, and you won't put on any extra pounds by wearing them-though you may develop a habit of licking your lips. Thankfully they're hydrating too. Buy them individually or get all five in a set for $5 at Wal-Mart and Claire's stores. Come 2012 they'll be available in the liquid lip gloss version too. We can't wait to enjoy our Trefoils all year round!

The GSCI Teen Leadership Board is spearheading an exciting new project for the council: the creation of the first-ever GSCI teen newsletter, written by and for girls. The newsletter will be published in the spring of 2012, and the Teen Board welcomes your participation!

Girl Scout members at large are invited to submit articles of approximately 250 words on any of the following topics: current projects or activities in your Girl Scout troop; your personal experience with Girl Scout product sales; your personal experience of Girl Scout camp; cooking experiences and favorite recipes; your favorite crafts or art projects; your accomplishments in Girl Scouting; your experiences with bullying in general and cyber safety; and teen safety, including but not limited to safe driving. You may also submit a question or concern to the "Dear Juliette" advice column. If you are at least 13 years old and would like to share your thoughts on one of the above topics, please submit articles to Robin Howard, Teen Leadership Board facilitator, at rhoward@girlscouts-gsci.org.

In order to be considered for publication, articles must be submitted no later than January 30. The Teen Board will review all submissions and select those that will be included for publication (please note that due to space limitations, the Teen Board will not be able to include all submissions in the final publication). When the teen newsletter is published in the spring it will be made available on the GSCI website for all girls to read. Here's your chance to let your voice be heard!

Are you one of the nation’s top game designers? Our nation’s leaders want to know. Why? Because the process of making video games isn’t just fun, it can help you develop valuable skills our country needs. Skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and creative design.

Girl Scouts of Central Illinois and Girl Scouts of the USA encourages girls to log onto www.stemchallenge.org to learn more on how you can become a part of the challenge. Middle school students and older are eligible.

Illinois Residents! Let’s get Girl Scouts License Plates!
Show your Girl Scouts pride wherever you go when displaying specialty license plates honoring the Girl Scouts! But first, 850 residents have to request that Girl Scouts plates be made! That’s easy to do – just complete the form below and FAX it to the state. No money is needed – once enough requests have been made, you’ll receive notification and official ordering and payment instructions. So far, about 100 requests have been sent, so pass this along to friends, family and sister Girl Scouts.

Click here for more information.

The GSUSA 100th Anniversary Take Action project will literally make the world a better place. In early 2012, over two million Girl Scouts will launch environmental action projects in their homes, schools and communities nationwide.

Girl Scouts Forever Green is a series of month-long initiatives with lasting effects:

Plastic waste reduction. Girls Scouts will be working to promote the use of reusable shopping bags and water bottles – to replace the 22 billion plastic water bottles and 100 billion plastic shopping bags America uses every year and the 60 million plastic water bottles we throw away ever day. When: February, March or April.

Rain garden construction. Girl Scouts across the US will create rain gardens to increase green space and wildlife habitat, and help prevent pollutants from leaching into streams. When: February, March or April.

Saving energy. In March, Girl Scouts, friends, family and community affiliates will lead the switch to ENERGY STAR® lighting from incandescent bulbs. And on March 31st, Girl Scouts will join people in 135 countries in switching off all electric lights from 8:30 to 9:30 pm in a symbolic Earth Hour stand against climate change.

It starts in Houston. You’ll find opportunities to make a difference at the convention in November, where we hope you’ll also take the Girl Scouts Forever Green pledge.

Click here to learn more about Girl Scouts Forever Green.

Congrats to Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana for developing the "World's Strongest Girl" site. They are a sister Girl Scout council and we wanted to share this with you. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

World's Strongest Girl

The Girl Scout Advocacy Network provides a tool for you to become a voice for girls and to make a difference in your community and across the nation.  Together, we can educate policymakers and community leaders on issues that directly affect girls and the Girl Scouts.  By being an advocate, you will have an impact on girl policy issues moving through Congress and the state legislatures.

To join the Girl Scouts Advocacy Network and be a voice for girls, log on to www.girlscouts4girls.org.

LMK (Let Me Know) is an online safety campaign created in partnership with Girl Scouts of the USA and Microsoft.  The campaign includes an interactive website for girls as well as an e-newsletter and website for adults.  The website shows girls how to stay safe online, while their parents can subscribe to a newsletter, written by girls.  The newsletter will help parents gather tips and tools to help keep their families safer online.