Working Together to Keep Our Girl Scout Community Safe

(En Español)

Updated: 6/29/20

Girl Scouts of Orange County is closely monitoring the COVID-19 updates from the  Centers for Disease Control, the  World Health Organization, the California Department of Public Health, and the Orange County Health Care Agency. As Girl Scouts, we have a responsibility to our community to do all that we can to limit the spread of coronavirus. 

Thank you for your support in keeping Girl Scouts safe and providing an engaging space for everyone! Please refer to this page for the latest updates and read our  FAQ (En Español) for additional guidance or contact us at  customercare@girlscoutsoc.org. We're here for  you.

If you have an urgent concern that needs immediate response, please call (949) 461-8800 and follow the prompts to reach the manager on call.

Updates on Girl Scouts of Orange County Closures

• Out of an abundance of caution in line with the State of California’s Stay at Home order  and local school closures, Girl Scouts of Orange County’s properties, including our offices, Program Centers, and Irvine and Yorba Linda Shops, are closed until further notice. Curbside pick-up for online shop orders is available from our Irvine office. Girl Scouts’ online shop is open 24/7 for all your Girl Scout needs. Council staff are telecommuting during our regular business hours, M-TH from 8AM-6PM. If you need to reach your troop support specialist or a specific member of our team, the best way is by email. For general questions, please contact us at customercare@girlscoutsoc.org. 
  
  
• If you have an urgent concern that needs immediate response, please call (949) 461-8800 and follow the prompts to reach the manager on call.
  
  
• In line with the State of California’s Stay at Home order  and local school closures, all in-person troop meetings or trips, Service Unit events, and other volunteer-led programs/events must be cancelled until further notice. GSOC Staff will be reaching out to volunteers to discuss options for events scheduled in June and July. Visit our Girl Scouts at Home webpage for free badges and activities that our Girl Scouts can do at home.
  
  
• All council-sponsored in-person Girl Program experiences are cancelled or postponed until further notice. For council events/programs that are not currently rescheduled, refunds will be provided for those who registered. Registrants for any postponed/rescheduled events will be transferred to the new date, unless a refund is requested. We appreciate your patience, as our refund processing may take longer than normal. Please check your email and our website girlscoutsoc.org/events for additional information regarding upcoming events.
  
  
• All in-person weekend and summer resident Camp Scherman sessions are canceled for the summer of 2020. All camp registrants have received a full refund, including the camp deposit. For additional information regarding this notice, please watch this message from our CEO and read our FAQ.
  
  We are excited to share our registration for our at home camp offering, Camp Scherman Adventure Anywhere, has begun. This summer campers can register for up to six weeks of action-packed, at-home camp adventures– each designed around a unique theme.  Priority registration for previously registered summer campers opens 6/1. General registration opens 6/8. Visit here for more details.
  
  
• Due to recommendations from local health authorities regarding COVID-19, all day camps are canceled through July 30. Camper families are receiving communications regarding refunds. We appreciate your patience, as our refund processing may take longer than normal.
  
  
• All in-person trainings are cancelled until further notice. Many of our trainings are now available online. Visit girlscoutsoc.org/events for more information.
  
  
• For Girl Scout events managed by outside councils or vendors, check with the council/vendor regarding cancellations or refunds. All in-person troop meetings, trips, Service Unit events, and other volunteer-led programs/events must be cancelled through until further notice.
  
  
• While our Irvine and Yorba Linda Retail Shops are closed until further notice, Girl Scouts' online shop  is open 24/7 for all your Girl Scout merchandise needs and curbside pick up is available from our Irvine Office. Please read and follow the Curbside Pick Up instructions so we can provide you with the best service and protect your health and safety, as well as our staff. Program Center Pick-ups are suspended until the offices reopen. Your cooperation, patience and understanding with our new process is greatly appreciated. 

At the bottom of this page, we have included a list of free and low-cost conferencing tools that could be useful to you in support of virtual meetings and events. We encourage troop leaders to look at these and alternative options and discuss with parents and girls the best solution for your troop’s needs during this challenging time.

Explore video and audio conferencing tools with free versions for virtual meetings

While all of these options have a free version, please note that you may be prompted to consider upgraded versions for a subscription fee. Please follow the Safety Activity Checkpoints for Virtual Troop Meetings for any online activities involving Girl Scouts or volunteers. 

• Zoom –   FAQ
  Note: Meeting duration is a maximum of 40 minutes in free version
  
  A note on how to keep Zoom meetings secure
  For additional guidance, please review Zoom's security recommendatons.
  
  
  • Make all conference meetings password protected. 
  • Discourage sharing meeting links on public-facing platforms.
  • Enable/Assign a Co-Host that has the same administration duties while the administrator/host presents.
  • Disable the Allow Removed Participants to Rejoin option, which prevents those kicked off the call to come back.
    
    For even more meeting security, you can:
    
    
  • Disable all non-host screen sharing capabilities, making sure screen share capabilities remain host-only.
  • Enable the “Waiting Room” feature, which allows hosts of the meetings to see participants in a virtual staging area so they can be vetted before joining.
    
    
• Skype –   Support
  Note: Up to 10 participants free
• Webex –   Help Center
   Note: Limited file and content sharing in free version    

Chat and Collaboration Tools with free versions

• Microsoft Teams –  Support

• Slack –  Help Center

• Facebook Groups –  Help Center

Additional low-cost tools for collaboration and conferencing to consider if the above options do not meet your group’s needs.

• GoToMeeting – Support

• Google Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet - Support

Program resources for activities girls can do at home

We are working on resources to support you and your Girl Scout with activities she can do at home and will be posting the latest virtual program content and resources at girlscoutsoc.org/athome.  We also encourage you to check out our Badge Explorer and the Resources Tab on the Volunteer Toolkit for programs you can adapt to continue the Girl Scout program while she may be home from school.

• girlscoutsoc.org/athome
• At Home Activities - Awards and Patches
• Supporting Your Troop When You Can’t Meet in Person
• Safety Activity Checkpoints for Virtual Troop Meetings
• Recommendations for Parade Celebrations

Be a source of comfort and calm for girls.

• Girl Scouts of the USA has developed a helpful resource for How to Talk to Your Girl About Coronavirus (español) to help minimize stress and worry in your Girl Scout’s life and give her a sense of calm and control.
• CDC - Manage Stress and Anxiety - fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Coping with stress will make you, the people you care about, and your community stronger.
• The National Child Traumatic Stress Network -Parent/Caregiver Guide to Helping Families Cope With the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)