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 Realignment Update Letter to Volunteers
February 26, 2008
Dear GSC Volunteer,
As an important volunteer for Girl Scouts of Chicago, we want to make sure you have the latest information regarding the Chicago-area Girl Scout council realignment.
As you will recall, Girl Scouts of Chicago and six other Chicago and Northwest Indiana-area councils are in the process of merging to create one high capacity council that will more effectively and efficiently bring Girl Scouting to the Chicago metropolitan area.
Mergers are complex, and ours is no exception. As directed by Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., the Council Realignment Committee (CRC) has had to take some steps backward to review and evaluate prior actions and to determine new directions necessary to complete the merger. As one of the consequences, the search for a CEO for the new council will be reopened. At this point, the merger is projected to be completed by summer, 2008.
Beyond the personal – and personnel – issues are the larger issues. For many, one is the question of what will become of Girl Scouting in Chicago once this merger is complete.
Those of us who know and love Girl Scouting know that Girl Scouting is a movement – a movement that is almost 100 years old. The Girl Scout movement was born of the vision of a stubborn 50-year-old Southern widow, Juliette Gordon Low, who believed most passionately in the power of girls to make the world a better place. She gave her life and her fortune to create an organization where girls would find no limits, no restrictions, no end to the possibilities of who and what they could become.
This is the movement you have supported through your volunteer work. This is the movement that continues today. This is the spirit of the movement that provides the foundation for Girl Scouts of Chicago, and that will provide the foundation for the new council: Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
Girl Scouting in Chicago – and in other urban areas – will remain as a priority for the new council. We know that our volunteers care deeply and passionately for the girls they serve and the programs they help run – and that their passion and commitment are not based on council boundaries or configurations.
Now, more than ever, the world needs girls of courage, confidence and character. Now, more than ever, girls in Chicago need YOU. We thank you for the work you have done in the past, are doing, and will continue to do in the future. Together we can celebrate Girl Scouts of Chicago’s 88 years of service to girls and look to a future with even more hope and greater opportunity for Chicago’s girls.
Sincerely,
Barbara Vroman
Chief Executive Officer
312-416-2500 x 203
Gwen Ferguson
Director, Membership & Volunteer Services
312-4165-2500 x 235
The Girl Scout Leadership Development Program
The National Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of the USA has endorsed a more contemporary leadership philosophy, and renewed an organizational commitment to develop girls’ leadership skills based on the values of the Girl Scout Promise and Law. This leadership philosophy is captured by the new Girl Scout mission statement to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.
Girl Scouting has identified some core tenets of its leadership philosophy – discover, connect and take action – which will form the basis of all Girl Scout activities beginning in October 2008.
Updated 12/13/07
Aligning Legacy Councils
The seven area councils realigning into Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana include:
Girl Scouts of the Calumet Council, Inc.
Girl Scouts of Chicago
Drifting Dunes Girl Scout Council, Inc.
Girl Scouts – Illinois Crossroads, Inc.
Girl Scouts – Prairie Winds, Inc.
Girl Scouts of South Cook County, Inc.
Girl Scouts of Trailways Council, Inc.
Membership Services
Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana will be committed to implementing the Girl Scout Leadership Development Program in the best way possible, which will likely include operating a variety of service centers/satellite offices located throughout the new council jurisdiction that meet the needs of girls and volunteers. Ensuring that volunteers, girls, and parents have services available to them in close proximity to their communities is a key component in our commitment to improving services throughout the region.
As one council, we will focus on addressing specific needs where they may be, improving overall membership services and program opportunities, consolidating overhead expenses, eliminating duplication in services, better serving volunteers, coordinating area-wide media strategies, and improving fund development opportunities for the benefit of all girls in our jurisdiction.
To effectively operate the business of Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana and provide effective localized services, the Real Estate Subcommittee of the Council Realignment Committee is recommending a property plan that includes a corporate office and multiple satellite offices in convenient locations throughout the area.
Each Girl Scout satellite center will support numerous employees and foster Girl Scouting’s brand image though its visibility in the community. Each center will be a place where membership and staff receive services, hold meetings, answer questions, receive mail and packages, sell Girl Scout merchandise, train volunteers and staff, and store goods. Some satellite centers also will provide program space.
A corporate office located in downtown Chicago will house the CEO, management team and administrative services in order to provide convenient access to public and private transportation options, as well as resources and strategic contacts within the city.
For More Information:
A temporary Web site has been launched to provide centralized information. Please visit www.gsmetrochicago.org. If you have specific questions about the realignment process, please contact your local Girl Scout council or Girl Scouts of Chicago. More information about this national process as a whole is available at http://strategy.girlscouts.org.
Updated 5/23/07
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