January 2021
A Note From the Founder: Its a Brand New Year!
Have you ever been so glad to see a new year? 2020 was a little rough as lockdowns and stay at home orders made meeting as a troop quite difficult. While we lost quite a few troops, at least in the short term, there are plenty who got creative and found ways to meet during the pandemic. My thanks and admiration to all the leaders who stuck it out and found ways to motivate your girls.
The new year brings new opportunities. With so many families now homeschooling and the on-going war between the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, there has never been a better time to spread the word about Frontier Girls. I am asking for help from all our members. Help us grow. Show yourselves in your community. Volunteer in any way you can. Be role models for those around you and show other girls just how much fun Frontier Girls is.
Send me pictures and tell me stories of your adventures. What are you doing to serve your community? What fun badge projects are you working on? What awards have you earned? Let me tell your story so that it may inspire others to follow in your footsteps.
Thank you to each and every one of you for making Frontier Girls the fabulous organization it has grown to be.
Annual Badge Sale
Every year for the month of January we put our badges on sale. All pin badges will be $.99 each and magnets will be $1.25 each from January 1-31, 2020. Now is the time to stock up! Just keep in mind that we do not accept returns on badges since they are made to order so only order badges you know you will complete.
Name the Hound Contest
Our badge hound has been named! Meet Badger!
Melissa, Rosemarie, and Vera DeSantis of Frontier Girls Troop 144 out of Pennsburg, PA came up with the winning name. They came up with “Badger Buff”, but they would call him “Badggie” for short, “his real name would be Badger Buff, because he’s a strong, smart badge sniffing hound!” Thank you girls for a very fitting name for our mascot.
2021 SWAPS Event
Every year Frontier Girls troops and Quest Clubs from around the country get to know each other by trading SWAPS. SWAPS are small craft items that can be pinned for display somewhere on a jacket, a backpack, a sash, or a scarf and is a perfect way for kids to meet each other and promote friendship. Each SWAP item is a memory of a special event or person and stands for “Souvenir With A Purpose”. Each swap should have a safety pin on the item to attach to your display. To participate in our annual SWAPS event, fill out the form below and we will assign you a partner to swap with.
Rules for participating:
- Fill out the registration form below and submit no later than January 31, 2021
- SWAPS partners will be assigned by February 7, 2021
- Make enough SWAPS for each member of your partner Troop/Club/Pioneer to receive one
- Write a letter to include with your SWAPS introducing your group and explaining why the SWAP represents you.
- Ship your SWAPS no later than March 1, 2021
- To receive an official Frontier Girls 2020 SWAP for each participant, ship one of your SWAPS by Mar. 1, 2021 to:
Frontier Girls
20845 Gregory Lane
Redding, CA 96003
You can also work on your S.W.A.P.S. badge while you participate!
To register, visit the 2021 SWAPS Event Page.
Continuing Education Scholarships
Frontier Girls offers three annual continuing education scholarships to girls ages 16-22, one $1,000 scholarship and two $500 scholarships.
These scholarships are not traditional college scholarships and can be used for any type of continuing education including college tuition, vocational schools, special classes or seminars, educational equipment (computers, cameras, etc.) or even travel. Our goal is to encourage girls to continue to learn new things and explore the world around them even if it is not within a traditional school system.
To find out more about the scholarships, eligibility requirements, and how to apply, visit our Scholarships page.
Badge of the Week
Badge of the Week is back! We took a few weeks off for the holidays, but have started posting our badge of the week resources again. Many members requested a calendar of upcoming badges so that they could plan better. Under the Resources tab of the Curiosity Untamed website there is a link to Badge of the Week that will take you to a calendar where you can see each badge. During that week we will be posting a resource article on Curiosity Untamed with 7-8 activities (roughly 1 per day) to help complete the badge. While these resources won’t guarantee you will earn the complete badge, they should give even the older levels a good head start. If you would like to see a specific badge added to the calendar, just send me an email at kerry@curiosityuntamed.net.
Featured badges for January include Carrots, Antiques, Attentiveness, Cooking for Special Diets, and Textiles.
Girl of the Month: Angela Beiswenger, Eagle, Troop #213
With the recent pandemic Angela has been limited to meetings due to health problems. She wanted to remain active and help the community however. This year she was asked to assist a professor from IUP in collecting donations for The R.K. Agarwal M.D. and Family Teen Shelter and Center. Donations were collected at a local business and at the Small-Town Christmas Celebration Parade. The IUP Professor picked up the donations and delivered to the teen shelter on 12/13/2020.
Troop Highlight: Troop #449
Frontier Girls Troop 449 has had a busy start to the holiday season. Tehy filled 10 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. The shoeboxes are sent to less fortunate children around the world. The troop also filled 31 stockings for Soldiers Angels “Stockings for Heroes”. The stockings are sent to deployed military, veterans and VA hospitals. The troop sold baked goods to help cover the cost.
Perseverance During the Pandemic
by Suzanne Vicory
