Dear GSCSNJ Members:
I hope that this email finds you
healthy and well as we prepare for the start of school and the
beginning of a new Girl Scout year. While things are still bumpy,
together, we’ll navigate through the continuing challenges of the
pandemic and ensure that girls have a safe and fun Girl Scout
experience.
I’m writing today to inform you that our
Council’s Board of Directors - after careful consideration of a
variety of factors - has made the decision to sell the East Brunswick
Service Center location.
Girl Scout Service Centers are
not only places where staff work, but where troops/Service Units meet,
girl programs are held, and volunteers come to get materials or
supplies. During the pandemic, all GSCSNJ employees have been working
from home, and we’ve now transitioned to that as a permanent
arrangement for most employees. We’ve also seen the value of using
Zoom for some meetings to mitigate travel time and the expansion of
online shopping and curbside pickup for retail. At the same time, our
Property Task Force of Board members and volunteers has been looking
at all of our buildings, examining how Service Centers are used today,
and strategizing how they may be used in the future. We looked at a
variety of data points: usage of conference rooms for
meetings/programs, retail foot traffic, drop-in visits, and more. All
of this was carefully considered in the Board’s decision to sell the
property.
We have also begun a process to identify a new
home, and we’d like your input! Our goal is to ensure that our Service
Centers are accessible, inviting for our troops/Service Units to use,
accommodating to our staff’s new remote way of work, and
cost-effective for the long term.
Please join me and
members of our Council Board at a Virtual Membership Forum (dates and
Zoom registration links below). We’re interested in your ideas as to
how our Service Centers can best meet your needs.
Monday, September 20 at 12:00PM
Specifically for members in the East Brunswick Service Center area.
Register For Forum
Monday, September 20 at 6:00PM
Specifically for members in the East Brunswick Service Center area.
Note: I sincerely apologize to our Jewish Girl Scout members. The Membership Forum scheduled for September 15 @ 6 PM has been rescheduled for September 20 @ 6 PM so as not to conflict with Yom Kippur, the most important holy day in the Jewish calendar. If you already registered for the September 15 forum, the zoom link will remain the same to join on September 20.
- Ginny Hill, CEO
Register For Forum
Monday, September 27 at 6:00PM
For all members who have ideas about how to make Service Centers more engaging for the membership.
Register For Forum
Finally, be assured that we will not close the East Brunswick
location until we have a new home, and that our new home
will absolutely be in the Middlesex-Mercer County area to be
convenient to our membership in that region. In addition, both the
Cherry Hill and Egg Harbor Township locations will remain; there is no
plan to consolidate the number of Service Center locations.
I hope to see you at a Membership Forum and wish you a terrific
new Girl Scout year!
Yours in Girl Scouting,
Ginny Hill
Chief Executive Officer
