Community Service Partner Guide

Community Service Partner Guide

Community Service Partner Guide 1

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We are excited to provide you and your organization the opportunity to work with Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri as a Community Service Partner.

Our Community Service Partners are organizations that are looking to promote their service opportunities to our girls. Our network of Community Service Partners offers our more than 30,000 girl members the opportunity to give back to their community. When you choose to offer service opportunities to Girl Scouts, you have the opportunity to work with the largest organization for girls in the world. These girls will be our future workforce and community change-makers. In this packet, you will find: • The benefits of working with Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri • Safety and logistic information • Community Service Partner Agreement Questions? Please contact Heather Eyster, Program Manager, at 314.592.2312 or heyster@girlscoutsem.org .

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Overview

Community service is an integral part of being a Girl Scout, providing girls with an opportunity to practice teamwork, build critical thinking skills, and empowering them to make changes in their community. What better way for girls to learn cooperation and build friendships than working together to accomplish a single goal. Sharing their time and resources helps girls increase their self-esteem and civic responsibility. By partnering together, we can help Girl Scouts in grades K-12 discover new things about themselves and their communities, connect with those around them and take action to make the world a better place. Community Service Partnerships with Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri run on an annual basis from January 1-December 31. Renewal applications are due by December 1; however, new applications are accepted year-round.

As a Community Service Partner, you can: • Help girls explore their interests, enjoy service opportunities, build lasting memories and feel empowered to make a difference in the world • Promote your organization and the work you do to Girl Scouts and their families across 28 counties through Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri’s website and biannual publications. • Partner with the largest organization in the world dedicated to leadership development for today’s girls and tomorrow’s leaders

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Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri

Our Council

We deliver the Girl Scout experience to members across our eastern Missouri jurisdiction, which includes: St. Louis City and the 28 surrounding Missouri counties of Adair, Audrain (Van Far School District), Clark, Crawford, Franklin, Iron, Jefferson, Knox, Lewis, Lincoln, Linn, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Pike, Putnam, Ralls, Reynolds, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Sullivan, Warren and Washington

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Details

Our girls perform service in a variety of ways. Below are a few examples of how girls can give back to your organization: • Come on-site to perform service such as sorting and organizing donations These service opportunities may be general public opportunities to which you would like to invite Girl Scouts, or opportunities scheduled just for our girls. The service opportunities should be free of charge to our members. A Community Service Partner is an organization working in conjunction with Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri to promote community service opportunities to our members. Your service opportunities will be promoted through various channels including our website and biannual publications.

• Hold a drive for items most needed by your organization • Create and decorate cards for sick or elderly residents

“Community service is important because every person can have a role in making their community better. I am someone who can help, and that means I should help.” Madeline Phillips, Girl Scout Cadette

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Community Service Partner Guide 7

Sign Up

Follow the steps below to become a Community Service Partner with Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri:

1. Schedule a meeting with us: At this meeting we will discuss your service opportunities and how you see our girls helping your organization. To schedule, please contact Heather Eyster, Program Manager, at 314.592.2312 or heyster@girlscoutsem.org . 2. Submit Community Service Partner Agreement annually: Community Service Partner agreements are renewed annually and valid January 1 through December 31. All service opportunities are reviewed by Girl Scout Program staff to ensure quality service, compliance with GSUSA’s Safety Activity Checkpoints and aligns with the mission of Girl Scouts. 3. Girl Scouts start performing service! Once approved, our girls can start performing service for your organization.

Community Service Partner Checklist � Review the information in this guide � Meet with our Program Manager

� Consider how our girls will help your organization � Submit the following documents to the Program Manager ƒ Community Service Partner Agreement ƒ Certificate of Insurance meeting requirements on pg. 10

� Plan and facilitate service opportunities � Complete evaluation on a quarterly basis

Community Service Partner Documents should be sent to: Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri Attn: Heather Eyster 2300 Ball Drive St. Louis, MO 63146 Email: heyster@girlscoutsem.org

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Logistics

Evaluation Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri requires all Community Service Partners to complete an evaluation/data report for the Girl Scout service opportunities your business/organization offers. The information provided in the evaluation will provide feedback about the wonderful impact Girl Scouts are having in their local communities.

Important information on Safety, Media and Insurance

Photography and Video or Audio Recordings If you would like to take photographs or make video or audio recordings of Girl Scouts at your events, you need to have their parents or guardians sign a media release form for your organization. Although parents or guardians sign a media release form when girls are registered with GSUSA, it does NOT include other businesses/organizations that work with Girl Scouts. Plan ahead to provide a media release form to the Girl Scout parent or volunteer prior to the day of the service opportunity and have them bring it with them. Safety All Community Service Partner opportunities must meet or exceed the Girl Scout guidelines for safety as outlined in the Safety Activity Checkpoints and Girl Scout Safety Guidelines. Safety Activity Checkpoints and other Safety Guidelines can be found at girlscoutsem.org/safetyactivitycheckpoints by selecting “Safety” from the categories. Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri has published COVID-19 Response Guidelines. All members and partner organizations are expected to adhere to the current precautions and guidelines. Any relevant updates made to the guidelines will be communicated to all Community Service Partners. Girl Scouts are required to meet an adult-to-girl ratio that varies according to the age level of the girls but always require a minimum of two registered, background checked, unrelated adults. Troops/groups are expected to follow the standards at events they attend. If girls are attending individually, a parent/guardian is required to attend with them. If your organization is offering community clean ups, it is important to read and understand the guidelines on community clean ups in Safety Activity Checkpoints . Activity permission for our different Girl Scout levels is based on the type of project. For example, all levels are permitted to clean up a park, but only Cadettes and older are permitted to do highway cleanup.

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Background Check Policy To ensure the safety of our girl members we require any facilitator who is working directly with our girls to undergo a background check. The facilitator can provide a copy of the organization’s background check policy or undergo a background check through Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. Background checks through Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri are confidential and available online.

Please complete your request by visiting https://app.verifiedvolunteers.com/en/Candidates/ Account/ You will create an account and login. When asked, use good deed code: ddgn5lj. Please indicate on your agreement the facilitators who will be submitting information for their background check. Insurance Organizations and businesses that partner with Girl Scouts must submit a current Certificate of Insurance verifying a minimum total occurrence limit of $1 million in commercial general liability coverage (or a combination of that and umbrella liability). The Certificate of Insurance must identify Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri as the certificate holder and name Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri as an additional insured on the Commercial General Liability policy.

Please see below for the correct listing: Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, Inc. 2300 Ball Drive St. Louis, MO 63146

By carrying adequate liability insurance, the Community Service Partner is able to accept the responsibility for actions of its staff and volunteers.

Please note: It is possible that not all girls attending your programs are registered Girl Scouts. Non-members are not covered under Girl Scout insurance.

Waivers If a waiver needs to be signed by participants and/or a parent/guardian, please provide the waiver to the Girl Scout parent or volunteer prior to the day of the service opportunity and have them bring it with them.

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Service Guidelines

Below are some guidelines that are outlined for our members in relation to service for other organizations.

Earning Money for Other Organizations Girl Scouts are not allowed to solicit money on behalf of another organization when identifying themselves as Girl Scouts by wearing a uniform, sash or vest, official pins, etc. This includes participating in a walk-a-thon or telethon while in uniform. • Adult Girl Scouts may participate in fundraising for organizations which designate the Council as a beneficiary, such as the Christmas Carol Association • Girls in uniform are not allowed to make a direct solicitation for cash • Participation of Girl Scouts in fundraising events for appropriate 501(c)(3) charitable welfare organizations should be limited to Take Action projects or service projects • Girls as individuals can participate in whatever events they choose, as long as they are not wearing anything that officially identifies them as Girl Scouts

Collaborating with Other Organizations When collaborating with any other organization, keep these guidelines in mind:

• Girls who are in any way identifying themselves as Girl Scouts or who are working in an official Girl Scout capacity may not participate, either directly or indirectly, in any political campaign or work on behalf or in opposition to a candidate for public office. They may not conduct letter-writing campaigns, participate in political rallies, circulate petitions, carry political banners or participate in a flag ceremony • Be respectful when collaborating with religious organizations. Girl Scout troops must respect the opinions and practices of religious partners, but no girl should be required to take part in any religious observance or practice of the sponsoring group

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About Girl Scouts

Girl Scouts offers the best leadership development experience for girls in the world.

Girl Scouts’ mission is to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. Since 1912, girls have explored new fields of knowledge, learned valuable skills and developed strong core values through Girl Scouts.

Today, Girl Scouts is, as it always has been, the organization best positioned to help girls develop important leadership skills they need to become successful adults.

At Girl Scouts, guided by supportive adults and peers, girls develop their leadership potential through age-appropriate activities that enable them to discover their values; connect with others in a multicultural environment; and take action to make their world a better place.

All Girl Scout activities are designed to be girl-led, cooperative and hands-on— a process that creates high-quality experiences conducive to learning.

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience Our Girl Scout Leadership Experience is a one-of-a-kind leadership development program for girls, with proven results. It is based on time-tested methods and research-backed programming that help girls take the lead—in their own lives and the world.

The inclusive, all-female environment of a Girl Scout troop creates a safe space where girls can try new things, develop a range of skills, take on leadership roles and just be themselves.

Girl Scouts takes the potential of girls, combines it with robust skill-building programming, and adds caring adult mentors and strong female role models.

Service Learning In addition to traditional community service projects, our girls have the opportunity to dive deeper into a topic or issue that is important to them through one of our service learning opportunities.

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Take Action Projects Girl Scout Journeys take the girl leadership game to new heights. They enable girls to choose how they want to experience and influence the world, while preparing them to address some of society’s most-pressing needs through hands-on learning and real-life problem solving. After girls discover and connect with a new subject they have learned about through the Journey, the final step to earning the award is to complete a Take Action Project. A Take Action project is a chance for girls to partner with others in their community to solve a problem. They learn about getting to the root causes of issues, mobilizing and engaging community members and volunteers, and striving toward creating lasting change in their world. Highest Awards Girls shine brightest when making the world a better place. That’s why they can earn three separate awards—the Girl Scout Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards—as they dream of a better tomorrow and take action in big ways today. • Daisies and Brownies learn the basics of what it means to be a good neighbor and how they can be helpful to others. This gives them the foundation they will need to earn the Bronze Award. • Juniors earn the Bronze Award by teaming up with their troop to make a difference in their town. • Cadettes work in a small group or individually to earn the Silver Award by researching an issue, making a plan to address it, and then taking action to improve their communities. • Seniors and Ambassadors work individually to earn the Gold Award—the highest award in Girl Scouting—by developing and carrying out lasting solutions to issues in their neighborhoods and beyond. Gold Award Girl Scouts truly are the world changers, rock stars, role models, and real-life heroes we all look up to. Girls must come up with project ideas on their own. While you may have lots of great ideas for projects with your organization, we are not able to promote them to our girls. The girls must identify the need in the community and develop a plan to address the issue. If they identify a need that your organization helps meet, they may reach out to collaborate on a project. Girls who are working to earn their Gold Award use project advisors for guidance and expertise as needed, during the planning and execution of their project. On the Community Service Partner Agreement you can express interest in learning more about becoming a project advisor for our girls. As an advisor, you may be a sounding board throughout the project, refer the Girl Scout to colleagues to interview or seek advice, refer her to additional resources for her research or review her final proposal before it is submitted. Note that it’s important that the project and its core ideas be the Girl Scout’s own.

Below is a chart showing the difference between community service that our girls may perform for your organization and the work that is needed for the service learning projects.

Community Service Take Action/Service Learning Addresses an immediate need Addresses a root cause of an issue One time; short term Sustainable/ongoing impact FOR the community (e.g., collecting blankets for a local animal shelter)

WITH the community (e.g., partnering with the animal shelter to create a solution—raising awareness about the importance of spaying/ neutering pets; hosting adoption events—to eliminate the need for short-term fixes altogether)

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Community Service Partner Agreement

Agency

Agency Name

Address

Phone Number

Website

Agency Representative

Contact Person

Contact Person Job Title

Contact Phone Number

Contact Email Address

Background Information

Please describe your agency and include your mission statement.

In general, what kind of service are you looking for from our members?

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Girl Scout Levels that can provide service for your agency:

Daisy (K-1) � Brownie (2-3) � Junior (4-5) � Cadette (6-8) � Senior (9-10) � Ambassador (11-12) �

Does your agency background check staff or volunteers that would be leading the girls? Yes � No �

If no, please list all facilitators who will undergo a background check through Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri.

Do you have more than one location? Yes � No �

If yes, which will be accepting Girl Scout volunteers?

Do you require volunteers to sign a waiver? Yes � No �

Are you or someone in your organization interested in getting more information on being a project advisor for our girls working on their Gold Award (see pg. 13 for more information)? Yes � No � If yes, please provide the names and contact information for those interested

Please submit the following for approval: � Signed Community Service Partner Agreement � Certificate of Insurance meeting requirements stated on pg. 10 of the guide

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Please initial below.

I understand that my agency will need to complete a new Community Service Partner Agreement by December 1 each year that will be valid from January 1 through December 31.

I understand that my agency will need to complete a quarterly evaluation and report on the number of girls and adults that provided service during that quarter, as well as service details. I agree to comply with Girl Scout Safety Activity Checkpoints .

I agree to refrain from using the Girl Scout name and logo on any materials without prior written consent.

I understand the relationship between Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri and Community Service Partners is a voluntary partnership and can be dissolved at any time for non-compliance with our safety and risk management standards, insurance requirements, and actions that do not align with the mission and values of Girl Scouts. If non-compliance is reported or suspected, the partnership will be put on hold allowing GSEM to further investigate. I agree that our agency supports Girl Scouts in its efforts to make Girl Scouting more available to all girls and adults regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, age, national origin, gender, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, or the presence of any physical, sensory or mental disability (provided the participant can still safely undertake the activity).

I have read, understood, and agree to adhere to the current Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri COVID-19 Response Guidelines for all Girl Scout activities.

I and my company hereby agree to hold harmless and waive any claims of liability against Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, and any or all of its staff and volunteers for any and all inci dents, claims, occurrences, accidents and/or omissions caused by my actions or omissions, or any and all actions or omissions of my staff, my company, and/or anyone else under my control or the control of my company. I and my company also agreed to defend, indemnify, and/or make whole Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri for any and all incidents, claims, occurrences, accidents and/or omissions caused by my actions or omissions, or any and all actions or omissions of my staff, my company, and/or anyone else under my control or the control of my company.

Signature of Agency Representative

Position Title

Date

Please send approval materials to: Email: heyster@girlscoutsem.org

Mail: Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri Attn: Heather Eyster 2300 Ball Drive St. Louis, MO 63146

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