The Friendship Circle from Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois

Hear from one of GSNI's Americorps Members, Shante Jones! Shante shares her story about how she joined GSNI and the fun she has with the Girl Scouts in her troop. She also tells us about her involvement on GSNI's Belonging Team and the Engagement Black Families group. Shante tells us a story about being welcomed back after a break. Here's a link to the photo she references: https://www...

Explore the summer camp options that GSNI offers! Hear about how GSNI's incredible service units run their own volunteer-led day camp offerings. Learn about all the fun coming this summer at GSNI's council-sponsored summer camps. Special thanks to Beth Metzler (bmetzler@girlscoutsni.org), Angela "No Name" Musial (amusial@girlscoutsni.org), and Lynda "Lady D" Harrison (l...

With the cookie season quickly approaching we wanted to sit down with GSNI Product Program Team to discuss the importance of the cookie season and important details for the 2024 season!

Since November is Native American Heritage Month, listen as our GSNI Podcasters welcome Louise Glon, Girl Scout Alum and Ship 361 Leader to give us some insight on Native American Heritage

In this episode, Brookelyn and Ann-Marie get all of the insight on Rallyhood and how it can be used by Girl Scout Troops from Maredith Feldshau, Fox Tales Service Unit Manager and Troop 2386 Leader

In this episode, we introduce our new Market Specialist at GSNI, Brookelyn Sears. Listen as Brookelyn and Ann-Marie get all of the insight on Girl Scouts from two of our own Recruiting Specialists, Marybeth Markwell and Grace Shapiro!

In this special episode, we share the amazing work done by three of GSNI's Girl Scouts. We are so proud of our GSNI ⁠Gold Award Girl Scouts ⁠ . We are thrilled to hear from 3 of our 2023 award recipients explain their Gold Award projects, how they came up with the idea, the work they did, what they gained, and how they're moving forward to growing into their adult lives and impact Girl Sco...

On this June 2023 Episode of the GSNI - Friendship Circle, you'll hear news updates, voices from friends around the council, and our feature stories on Amazing Girl Scouts! As our Girl Scouts grow older, it becomes a bit more challenging to know how to fit Girl Scouts into your schedule, especially from Middle School to High School. If you faced this dilemma or your Girl Scout has, then our in...

The GSNI Friendship Circle is on the Air! This episode updates you with the news and events around GSNI for May 2023. Here are a few highlights: Girl Scouts of the USA’s National Council Session, give your input on proposals and discussion topics.  Thin Mint Sprint early registration. Summer hours for GSNI Staff Spring Renew your registration patch We also have a series of extraordinary interviews...

This month's episode presents the Podcasting Girls of GSNI! Brought to us by Catching on with Cadettes. Our Girl Scouts are Juniors, and some are bridging to Cadettes. We thought giving them a chance to be podcast stars would be fun! They take turns reading our news items (some are a little late to air, so bear with us). Here are a few links we referenced in the show. Enjoy! Ice Hogs April 15t...

In this episode, we talk to Kathleen Baylis from our Programs Department, who helps coordinate travel for some of our Overseas adventures! Kathleen explains the exciting adventures that await Girl Scouts as they progress from Daisy through Ambassador. Girl Scouts provides a unique stepped introduction to travel. Girl Scouts learn first how to go places with people other than their immediate family...

This special GSNI Friendship Circle episode is a "Mini-Pod" focusing on Black History Month . Joining us are special friends Emma Eschenfeldt - Director of Community Programs, and  Chastity Hoarde - Community Specialist with GSNI, who work on such initiatives as Black Women Take the Lead and other special projects focused on GSNI partnering with the Black Community that uniquely meet the need...

Summer camp is a blast, and one of our most popular camps is Camp McCormick , located in Stillman Valley, Illinois. This camp has a long history for our council, and we thought it would be fun to sit down and chat with one of our GSNI historians Betty Moore. Cozy up with a hot cup of tea (and maybe a cookie or two!) as we get in our way-back machine and learn how Camp McCormick came to be. Plus, w...

In this episode, you will hear our December 2022 announcements. Emily does a quick catch-up with a GSNI Cadette, Lucy, from one of the celebration events; also, in this episode, we sit down to chat with our GSNI CEO, Dr. Kari Rockwell! Kari shared how she came to her new position and her ideas for expanding and developing our council in our interview.   Visit us at our website: www.girls...

Welcome back, listeners, to Episode 7! This episode brings our announcements and a new feature focusing on languages and culture as we chat with friends from around GSNI6's area. First up is Katelyn, a Junior Girl Scout from the Lake Zurich area , and she shares her story of learning the Chinese language Mandarin. Also, we revisit with our friend  Vanessa Mendoza, Hispanic Engagement Manager....

We are thrilled to bring you our first "mini-pod" featuring our GSNI staff members Vanessa Mendoza, Emma Eschenfeldt, and Kris Trusk discussing Hispanic Heritage Month's events . This is part 1 in our series, and we give a brief history behind Hispanic Heritage Month, talk about the GSNI events, fun activities, and yummy cultural treats available to attendees. We'll also hear more about the Hispan...

As we wind down our summer activities, we catch up with some friends we made throughout the summer. Emily has a delightful interview with our friend Louise Glon. Louise has helped manage the Girl Scout Mariner troop for over 20 years. This is a high adventure troop for older girls; they have had plenty of exciting trips over the years; she'll share a few stories with us. We also have a few short i...

Episode 5 In this episode, our Emily Lanore interviews local leaders and celebrities at our final Over The Edge fundraiser. Emily speaks to the Rockford, IL Mayor and Chief of Police along with GSUA Board members who were kind enough to stop in at our event. 

Episode 4 has great interviews with award winners and Girl Scouts throughout the council, as well as June 2022 announcements. We say a brief “Hello!” to our new CEO and an emotional “Goodbye” to our retiring CEO. Since our podcast is only once a month, our timing might be a little wonky. Please check our website or social media to verify dates, times, offers etc. Happy listening! From your hosts J...

In episode 3, Emily and Jill talk with the leadership team for GSNI Summer Camp . We find out all that goes into making this Summer tradition a memorable, fun, and eventful experience for our GSNI campers. Caregivers will especially take comfort in hearing the detailed safety measures to ensure the best possible time for your camper. We'll also hear about the other events at our campsites all year...

In this episode, Emily and Jill will be adding a new feature to the program - Monthly Announcements! Listen for the new highlights of activities and events going on at GSNI for the month of April 2022. We will also be chatting with Chief Property and Program Officer Charlie Qualls. Charlie has been with Girl Scouts for 38 years and has been instrumental in the exciting transformations our council...

Welcome to Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois (GSNI) Friendship Circle! Our Podcast is created especially for and by the members, troops, girls, staff, and communities of the GSNI region . We're excited to hear from all our friends around the GSNI community. We hope to listen to your stories, ideas, breaking news, celebrations, interviews, and updates! Please connect with us at stories@girlscoutsni....