Every Girl Scout Council sets their own cookie prices. It has been 5 years since Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan has increased the cost of a package of cookies. During these years, the cost to GSHOM for both the cookie product and rewards from the bakery have continued to rise. These increases were absorbed by GSHOM and not passed on to our troops and customers. Very few products cost the same today as they did five years ago. When we last increased prices, our surrounding Girl Scout Councils had raised their prices the year before we did. We have been on the other side of this. We know it’s difficult, our girls are worth it.

Troop proceeds increased this year. For example, if you sold 300 packages last year, your troop earned $180. This year, if your troop sells 300 packages, your troop earns $225.

GSHOM doesn't want Girl Scouts to lose sales, and supports girls in several ways. The "Five for Five" contest to win five cases of Girl Scout cookies is a great sales tool, and GSHOM also encourages girls to market their goals. Digital cookie sales also improves numbers. 

Unlike other councils, GSHOM offers a special opportunity to run cookie booths as early as Super Bowl weekend. These are all opportunities to get out in front. Finally, be sure to show off our Girl Scout Camp guides. Our Girl Scout cookies support the best camps, and customers want to support them too.

Perhaps you’ve heard all of the excitement on national media about Girl Scout cookies! Perhaps you also heard that they are talking about a cookie we don’t sell in Heart of Michigan! That’s OK, we’ve got cookies that people love, and they are supporting girls in our communities.

There are two cookie bakers in the US, and GSHOM uses Little Brownie Bakers. LBB is a subsidiary of Kellogg, so our relationship to them is extra strong. While both bakers bake most cookies, they vary a little. Three flavors are specific to our supply.

• Toffee-tastic, our gluten-free cookie, is celebrating 5 years in 2019. The rich, buttery cookie with crunchy toffee bits are a favorite for customers who need to avoid gluten.
• Savannah Smiles are a crisp, zesty, lemony favorite. Recent news is that this is the LAST YEAR this variety will be available, so fans should stock up.
• S’mores, a graham sandwich cookie with chocolate and marshmallow filling are the Little Brownie homage to the favorite snack of girl Scouts everywhere.

If you have customers who ask about the flavor they’ve been hearing about on TV, let them know we appreciate the interest, and here are the great cookies we are selling this year: Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Dosido, Trefoils, Savannah Smile, Toffee-tastic and S’mores.

One of the best things about camp is making friends. It's the perfect place to try new things and meet new people.

• Our camp staffers are trained to help girls build lasting friendships at camp. 
• When girls arrive, they will participate in “Get to Know You games” to learn names and identify girls with common interests.
• Camp staff watch closely for girls who may be having a hard time making friends and help them connect with other campers.
• Girls will have daily opportunities for free time, still supervised by their counselors, where they can engage with other girls in an unstructured setting.

We're not getting rid of the extra fun a theme brings to camp, we're making it bigger - camp wide! 

What is a weekly theme?

Instead of doing a lot of specific themed sessions, the whole camp will participate in the same weekly theme. This summer, our themes include Circus, Once Upon a Time, Color Wars, Pirates, Secret Agent, and Around the World. 

How does it work?

The weekly theme will be present in many aspects of camp. From meals, to campfires, to All-Camp Activities, to some activity choices. For example, our opening campfire on the first night of Once Upon a Time week may include counselors dressing up as Disney characters, singing Disney songs, performing fairy tale themed skits. Our All-Camp activity during circus week might include stations where girls could learn to juggle, make a balloon animal, eat popcorn, and walk across a “tightrope.”

Color Wars

Each unit in camp will be assigned a color and engage in friendly competition throughout the week. Examples are seeing who can keep their unit the cleanest, who can pick up the most trash around camp, who can sing the loudest at campfire and more!

Secret Agent

Campers will be assigned top secret missions throughout the week like finding who hid all of the marshmallows, searching for counselors during counselor hunt All Camp, and solving the mystery of the missing kayaks. Some activity choices may include learning to take fingerprints and how to make invisible ink messages and have your friends crack the code. 

Once Upon a Time

From Disney-themed campfires where camp staff dress up and sing all the classic songs to a Mulan-inspired All Camp activity, Girls will have a blast with camp’s twist on some classic fairy tales and stories! Some themed activities that may be offered include learning to write your own short fairy tale, building your own castle, or having our older campers read bedtime stories to our younger campers. 

Circus

Learn to make balloon animals, try your hand at juggling, and walk a “tightrope” at our All Camp activity this week! We’ll also do super fun things like listen to Greatest Showman music at meals!

Around the World

Girls will learn all about different cultures during this week at camp! At our "Around the World in 80 Minutes" All Camp, girls will take their passport around to different stations while learning about different cultures by trying the food, learning the songs and dances, and doing an art activity. 

Pirates

This week, we’ll have a “Shipwreck Dinner” where girls will have to wear an eye patch and eat spaghetti with a random utensil. We’ll also hunt for hidden treasure at our All Camp. Beware, there will be pirates lurking around trying to steal your gold!

Did you notice something new when you looked at your camp guide? Here's some background on "All Around Linden and Merrie Woode."

What is “All Around”?

    Both Camp Linden and Merrie Woode are offering the perfect     opportunity for girls to try everything camp has to offer! Girls will stay     in a four-season lodge with other girls their age, each girl getting to     choose her own activities for the day. All girls at camp will participate     in the weekly theme.

What is “Girls’ Choice” scheduling?

    Each night, girls will be presented with choices for the next day’s     activities and get to sign up for whichever interest them the most.     Girls can stick with their friends, or split up, it’s up to them!

How is this different from previous years?

    Previously, girls sat down with the other girls in their unit and voted as     a group on what they wanted their week’s schedule to look like. Since     things were decided by majority, some girls may not have gotten to do     what they really wanted. Now, girls will feel empowered by getting to     decide what they want their camp experience to be.

From which activities will she be able to choose?

    She will get to choose from all of the classic camp activities like     boating, archery, climbing wall, swimming, and hiking as well as things     like leatherworking, friendship bracelets, dance, science activities,     compass skills, and more!

This programming will let girls guide what has always been the bulk of their camp experience - the daily activities. 

In 2018, more girls participating in the community outreach program were able to attend camp than ever before, thanks in part to the support of the Saginaw Community Foundation.  Besides favorite activities like hiking, boating, horseback riding, tackling a climbing wall, and spending time around a fire sharing stories, songs and s’mores, many girls had their first experience of seeing a clear night sky blanketed with stars and hearing the “music” of nature. 

GSHOM’s Senior Outreach/Membership Specialist Lisa Ingram reports that, thanks to their camp experiences, girls “show a real growth in teamwork—it’s always one of my favorite events of our year!  And the girls are already asking about next summer!”

Ten years ago, a nation-wide realignment of Girl Scout councils led to the formation of Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan (GSHOM).  During those 10 years, GSHOM’s commitment to make Girl Scouting available and accessible to all girls in its footprint has meant that girls from the most challenging of circumstances—from limited family financial resources to housing and/or transportation insufficiency to being placed in the role of caregiver for younger siblings—can be part of a safe space where they can build self-esteem, positive values, and have stress-free fun with new and old friends. 

These experiences are part of GSHOM’s Girl Scouting through community outreach program—a program that started with 113 girls, and now engages over 900 girls a year.  Using curricula developed by the national Girl Scout organization and GSHOM, girls have completed art and community service projects, explored STEM and STEM careers, learned how to identify and combat bullying, and increased goal-setting and money management skills by selling cookies.  Additionally, summertime brings a favorite activity—a camping trip. 

Thanks to great supporters like the Saginaw Community Foundation, we look forward to making sure all girls are able to enjoy the benefits of Girl Scouting for years to come!