Girl Scouts: Building Leaders

Habitat for Humanity Collaboration – Girl Scouts: Building Leaders

Build Day 1

GSNWGL staff, volunteers, Girl Scouts, and community partners have joined together to help the Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat for Humanity build a home in Menasha, Wisconsin. Together staff, volunteers and girls are swinging hammers, raising walls, nailing siding, painting walls and much more. “This build is a great opportunity for our girls to get involved in a major, life-changing service project. It also puts our older girls in the leadership limelight as role models for our younger Girl Scouts. It’s so important for girls to have positive role models to look up to, who are making an impact in our community,” said Gail McNutt, CEO of Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes. “GSNWGL is so pleased to partner with Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat for Humanity, and couldn’t thank the John J. & Ethel D. Keller Fund enough for their generous support of the build.”

The full house sponsorship is made possible by The John J. and Ethel D. Keller Fund at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley, with additional support from Associated Bank. The build will run from June 19 through September 8, 2012. We need your help – a family needs your help. Girl Scouts that are 16 years** or older may participate in the build, and younger girls can participate in special off-site programming associated with the build as well. Whether you can swing a hammer, cut a straight line, cook, paint, or landscape, there are many ways you can get involved! Visit our online form to register today!

How Do I Volunteer?

1.) Visit the online calendar to check available dates
2.) Visit the online form to sign up today!

Build Schedule

Below is a schedule of GSNWGL crews needed. Please check the online calendar to confirm your choice of dates is available. No experience is necessary. Crew will be on site from 7:45 a.m. until 4 p.m. unless otherwise noted. These crews will work with Habitat for Humanity supervisors, crew leaders, and support volunteers on each of the following volunteer days below. The stricken dates have already been filled:

DATE VOLUNTEER/ACTIVITYBuilding Leaders
Thursday, August 2 Crew of 6- Install ceiling rock
Saturday, August 4 Crew of 7- Install wall rock
Tuesday, August 7 Crew of 5- Wall rock and plastering
Saturday, August 25* Crew of 6- Landscaping
Saturday, August 25 Crew of 6- Painting
Tuesday, August 28 Crew of 3- Underlayment and finish stairs
Thursday, August 30 Crew of 4- Install cabinets, doors, and trim
Tuesday, September 4 Crew of 3- Install cabinets, doors, trim, and storm doorsJJ Keller Foundation
Wednesday, September 5 Crew of 1- Install cabinets, doors, trim, and storm doors
Saturday, September 8* Crew of 2- Install appliances and clean house (total is 4 – 2 signed up)

*Half-day only.

**Girls under the age of 16 are not eligible for the above tasks, but can get involved in other ways through the Habitat for Humanity program, Girls Build. The Girls Build program provides a fun learning environment that builds girls’ confidence, gets them involved in Habitat for Humanity early-on, and shows girls the reality of poverty housing and how they can make a tangible difference in their communities. For the GSNWGL build, girls can get involved in various ways, including preparing and delivering meals to the build crews. More information on alternative ways to participate will be available in April.

Participation opportunities for all ages!

You don’t need to be able to swing a hammer to help the Girl Scouts and Habitat for Humanity make a difference. Here are more ways to participate:

Donate items for site support:

We aren’t able to donate items directly to the families receiving the house but there are still ways to contribute.

Many items are needed onsite for volunteers to keep the build running smoothly. Site support donations such as:

Providing meals on a work day:

Your troop or group can plan the menu, shop, make them food, then deliver it to the workers on site. Meal providers can make anything you would like from sandwiches to pizza to burgers but anything is welcome. Food should be served at noon and the provider should bring utensils…whatever is needed for volunteers to enjoy your meal. Habitat provides 3 beverages onsite: coffee, water & lemonade, so other beverages are not necessary.

Possible lunch dates are:

8.2 Lunch for 6 – St. Margaret Mary School
8.4 Lunch for 11 – St. Mary’s Church
8.7 Lunch for 11 – Little Chute Troops 2061/2070
8.25 Lunch for 10
8.28 Lunch for 9
8.30 Lunch for 13
9.4 Lunch for 11
9.5 Lunch for 6

To sign up to provide a meal, check the online calendar for available dates. Email thackbart@gsnwgl.org for more information and to sign up your group.

Girls Build Event

Saturday, September 8th, 1-3:30pm
Butte des Morts Elementary School Commons, Menasha
$2/Girl; all ages
GSNWGL has been working hard all summer to build a Habitat for Humanity house as part of the Girl Scouts: Building Leaders project. On September 8th the house will be finished and to celebrate girls can attend a special event where they will:

After all of the fun activities, girls and adults will walk to the dedication ceremony at the house at 3:00 p.m. There will be a special Habitat led ceremony outside the front door including thank you’s, a ribbon cutting and more. Then a special first look tour of the house! Get the registration form here and be part of this special event!

Attend the dedication on Saturday September 8 at 3 p.m.

When the house is finished, we will have a dedication ceremony and all will be invited to that. A Habitat led ceremony outside the front door includes thanks to everyone, prayers, a gift of a Bible and the new house keys to the new homeowners and then ends with a ribbon cutting. We also have a chance to tour the house afterward. Troops are invited to prepare a song or poem or something for this ceremony. If your troop is interested contact thackbart@gsnwgl.org.

Additional opportunities:

  1. Design a power point or other presentation for a community presentation to spotlight the issues of homeless and poverty housing in our community.
  2. Purchase & decorate with well wishes 2 x 4’s to be used to build a Habitat home.
  3. Build items to be auctioned at our annual Silent Auction.
  4. Organize a tool drive to collect donations of tools needed at Habitat worksites.
  5. Help to keep a Habitat empty lot maintained
    (grass mowed & snow shoveled).
  6. Gather housewarming items to be given to a local Habitat for Humanity partner family
    (Please note: gifts cannot exceed $30 in value/family).
  7. Write letters to Habitat partner families wishing them well in their new homes.
  8. Make thank you gifts for Habitat volunteers
    (Treats, cards, other).
  9. Organize a group to sing or do a reading at a Habitat house dedication ceremony.
  10. Design & create signs to place at Habitat worksites.
  11. Invite a Habitat representative to your troop meeting for an awareness presentation.
  12. Proudly announce through signage your partnership with Habitat for Humanity in your community
    (marquees, electric signs, regular signs, etc.).
  13. Learn about another country where Habitat builds and coordinate a fundraiser to help sponsor a house there.
  14. Design & sew a quilt for a Habitat partner family.
  15. Host a “week of awareness” with various events that spotlight the problems of homelessness & poverty housing in our community.
  16. Set up a display table at your school with information about Habitat for Humanity.
  17. BE CREATIVE!!
    If you have an idea other than those listed on this sheet OR you want to expand on something you see here ~ just let us know! We are always open to new ideas!!

Visit our online form to register today.