Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan Launches New Web Site to Kick Off Girl Scout Week
March 5, 2010
Photo caption: Toasting the launch of the newly redesigned GSHOM web site at the Girl Scouts' Kalamazoo Program and Training Center are: Shayne Wheeler, Internal Communications Manager, GSHOM; Kristi Breisach, Graphics Designer, LKF Marketing; and Sarah Morgan, Account Manager and User Experience Specialist, LKF Marketing.
Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan (GSHOM), the high-capacity Girl Scout council serving 34 counties in southwest, northeast and mid-Michigan, will launch its completely re-designed web site, www.GSHOM.org, on Monday, March 8, the first business day of Girl Scout Week, March 7-13.
The new site features photos and stories of real Girl Scouts from several counties in the council's service area, easy-to-find resources for parents and volunteers, special pages for younger girls and teens, online program registration and a Girl Scout cookie locator.
During Girl Scout Week, registered Girl Scouts will be able to complete an online scavenger hunt for a chance to win a Nintendo Wii system. Other features of the new GSHOM.org site include: an events calendar, RSS feeds for news and events, and information on all of GSHOM's camps, in time for the upcoming camp season. Each page of the new site allows users to link to Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and MySpace, so that content can be easily shared in today's social networking environment.
Open house launch parties will take place all day on Monday, March 8, at all of GSHOM's regional centers. Visitors will be able to access the site from computers at all GSHOM regional centers from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"Girl Scout Week is the perfect time to launch our new web site," said Jan Barker, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan. "We look back to our beginnings-- on March 12, 1912 -- but we also look forward to the great things that Girl Scouting is doing for today's girls."
LKF Marketing, Kalamazoo, designed the framework of the new web site for GSHOM. The process took six months, from discovery (research), to design, to programming to GSHOM staff training. Shayne Wheeler, Internal Communications Manager for GSHOM, directed the project for the Girl Scout council.
Sarah Morgan is Account Manager and User Experience Specialist for LKF. Even though she was a Girl Scout herself, Morgan said she was surprised at the breadth and depth of experiences that Girl Scouting offers today's girls.
"Our goal for the site is to show all girls that they have a place in Girl Scouting, no matter what their interests are," she said, "and that Girl Scouting is modern and cool."
LKF is a 20-year-old full-service marketing firm with an internal web development team. Other LKF clients include: Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts, the Air Zoo and the City of Kalamazoo.
About Girl Scouting and Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan
The Girl Scout Leadership Experience engages girls in discovering themselves, connecting with others and taking action to make the world a better place. Girl Scouting offers girls the tools they need to be successful leaders, now and throughout their lives. In partnership with committed adults, Girl Scouts develop strong values and improve society. Today's Girl Scouts are defining new ways to lead at home and around the globe. Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan invites all girls to become Girl Scouts. To join, volunteer or donate, visit www.gshom.org or call 1-800-497-2688.
