The GSSEM Chess Team has had a remarkable time since starting up in the fall. The girls have been learning the sport through in-person and virtual trainings, and recently had the chance to show off their new skills.  The team went to the Cincinnati Queen City Chess Classic and took to it like a boss!  The girls played a grueling 5-match tournament against the best scholastic players in the Midwest/South area.  GSSEM Girl Scout Juliette Windsor Polk tied for 7th place out of 59 players in her section, grades 4 – 6, while Onika Ryan, Troop 77284, helped her assigned team take 1s ..read more

A lifelong Girl Scout continues the family tradition. As long as she can remember, Kathy Swan has been involved with Girls Scouts.   “Since I was born, service was instilled in us from childhood. We have always been a scouting family,” she recalls.   Kathy has the special privilege of keeping that family tradition going as she serves as a troop leader for both her granddaughters—a Cadette and a Daisy.  Kathy has held many volunteer positions for Troops 76144 and 77977, including Community Event Coordinator, Service Unit Communication Liaison, Troop Support Volunteer, a ..read more

Even with a math degree and tutoring for more than 15 years on the subject, Brittany Rhodes still sometimes struggles with math. Yes, math can be confusing and challenging, the former Girl Scout acknowledged, but it is also necessary to succeed in life. Some people, like herself, can even make a living out of mad math skills. Brittany is the visionary and founder of Black Girl MATHgic (BGM) box. This is the first and only monthly subscription box designed to increase math confidence and decrease math anxiety in 3rd-8th grade girls. The local Detroiter shared details about her adventures as a b ..read more

Girl Scouts get a lesson on following a dream as well as how to use a palm screwdriver. While at Reclaimed Michigan in Waterford, 26 Girl Scouts learned about starting a business out of passion, slight history about barn wood and how to build a bird house. Reclaimed Michigan’s Bill McDonald and Matt Halcrow, neighbors and co-owners, have been running the salvaged barn wood business for nearly 10 years. What started as a hobby between friends evolved into the largest barn wood and reclaimed lumber business in the region. And, this is the first time they’ve hosted Scouts of any kind, starting wi ..read more

Spring temperatures are right for maple trees to be flush with their sugary sap. Used to cure meats, as an anesthetic and a breakfast table staple, maple sap has been collected and used by hundreds of generations. The process of collecting during the Sugar Moon season remains basic and timeless: Tap a tree – Most maple trees produce clear “sweet water” sap, but sugar maples have a higher sugar content. Traditionally, the spout called a spile was wooden, but modern, metal spiles are available. The size of the tree will determine the number of taps. Be a bucket filler – The weather determines ..read more

Volunteering helped Heather Shields do more than spend time with her daughters—it allowed her to fulfill a childhood dream of being a Girl Scout. In recognition of her work with Waterford Troop 76996, Heather was honored with a Volunteer of Excellence Award in 2023.   “What an amazing accomplishment and feeling knowing I’ve made a good lasting impression on someone enough to nominate me,” Heather said. “I’m just a mom who wanted to be part of her two daughters’ experience with Girl Scouts,” she said. “When my eldest daughter joined Girl Scouts, I helped where I was needed.” That included ..read more

More than 200 Girl Scouts, their leaders, and families came together for an interfaith service designed to showcase the part of the Girl Scout Law that states, “Respect Myself and Others.”  The interactive event has been an annual favorite for Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan (GSSEM) for going on ten years.  Girls from 30 different troops, as well as a number of Juliettes, were in attendance. The 2024 Interfaith Service was held at First Baptist Institutional Church in Detroit on January 21, and was organized by the volunteer Religious Relationships Committee of GSSEM in coo ..read more

Kathy Smith, a long-time volunteer, has more to offer. While she may be the focus of the first Volunteer Spotlight of the new year, it is not Kathy Smith’s first year volunteering for Girl Scouts. Or her second … or tenth. Kathy began her journey with the Girl Scouts as a volunteer with her daughter’s troop, nearly 50 years ago! Over those years, she has participated on dozens of committees including Highest Awards, Volunteer National Awards. “FORE! the Girls” Golf Classic, and Senior Planning Board. She found time to be a Troop Leader, Treasurer, and Program Manager. Kathy proudly represented ..read more

Creating bonds through Girl Scouting It didn’t take long for Jamie Stengel to become deeply involved in her daughter’s Girl Scout troop in Shelby Township. After volunteering for several troop positions including treasurer, product program and service unit manager, Jamie has thoroughly embraced her role as Troop Leader, leading the troop through a variety of unique and adventurous programs, sometimes literally by the hand.   On a trip to Reptarium in Utica, she held the hand of one Girl Scout who was not too sure about getting up close to various reptiles. By the end of the trip, the ..read more

Julie Parsons-Hall is proud to be guiding the next generation of leaders. Like many GSSEM volunteers, Julie got involved to spend quality time with her daughters. Her goal was to give them the chance to make wonderful memories, much like she has, of Girl Scouting. Of all the different ways Julie has volunteered for the Girl Scouts over the years—including as the community event coordinator, troop product program manager, and troop treasurer—being a troop leader is her favorite role. She has watched Troop 77280 grow from three first graders from Flushing to an Ambassador troop with members from ..read more