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Full hearts show love! Yesterday, May 6, Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa CEO Beth Shelton went live in the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa Leaders Group to share how the cookie season wrapped up across the council. The end result was nothing short of incredible – when in-person sales were cut short, the potential impact on our organization and mission was catastrophic. However, the amazing volunteers, troops, girls, and families that make up our council were up to the task, and finished the program strong, resulting in far fewer cookies returned to the council unsold.
We want to Show Love to our members by offering the gift of membership for all participating girls and adults for the 2020-21 year. Read more here.
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Address Updates for Girl Rewards
All of the rewards items earned by girls, including patches, will once again ship directly to each girl at home. We know this was a hit with volunteers and families last year and we are excited to offer this option again!
Parents/guardians received an email earlier this week with an option to submit an updated mailing address with this easy form. Troop leaders can also provide an updated mailing address for girls in your troop. You can update a girl’s contact information through MyGS, or contact us for assistance.
We also know that there are some cases where direct shipping may not work, such as if a family is moving or unable to receive packages. Please fill out this form to request a Girl Scout’s rewards be sent to her Troop Product Manager (TPM).
All address changes and opt-outs to ship to the TPM must be submitted by Sunday, May 10, in order to ship on time to the correct address.
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Reward Shipping Update
We have previously shared that there was some uncertainty in the timing for rewards shipping due to shutdowns of some of our warehouse and logistics partners.
We are excited to announce that rewards will begin shipping to girls by the end of this month, and we anticipate that girls will receive their shipments by the end of June. If a financial shortage form was submitted for a girl, her rewards items will be held until the shortage is paid.
Tech items: iPad and laptop rewards will not be included in the shipment with other items. Girls who selected those rewards will receive a separate communication about shipping and delivery.
Adventureland tickets: girls who selected two tickets to Adventureland at the 700+ package level will receive those tickets included in their rewards shipments.
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Cookie Dough
Each girl’s Cookie Dough account number and balance will be sent directly to the family’s email addresses on file by the end of May. Girls will be able to use their Cookie Dough to register for camps and events, renew their Girl Scout membership for next year, or in the GSGI council shops or online shop. Check out the Program Credit Policy for details.
Cookie Dough earned in the 2020 Cookie Program will not expire until March 15, 2021 (previously September 15, 2020). This extension will also apply to Munch Money earned in the 2019 Fall Product Program. This extension applies to girls in grades K-4 this year only, as Cookie Dough is automatically banked for girls in grades 5-11, as long as they register for the upcoming year by September 15.
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Troop and Girl Experiences
We are so excited for all the troops and girls and reached their goals for special experience rewards. Of course, we did not foresee the challenges of a global pandemic when setting up those experience rewards. We are reviewing public health guidance and projections in order to determine if there are adjustments needed to the planned experiences, and we will communicate with earners by May 22 about the following experiences:
CEO Party – June 5 – Girl reward at 2020 packages sold
Trampoline/Water Park/ Art Adventures – July 18 – Troop reward at 400+ PGA
Troop Camp – dates vary – Troop reward at 5000 packages sold
Gimme Smore Mud Run – September 26 – Troop reward at 250+ PGA
The Adventureland 700 Club ceremony scheduled for June 6 has already been cancelled, with girls given the option of alternative rewards at that level.
We appreciate your patience and flexibility with the 700 Club event and any other potential changes. We know how hard girls worked for these rewards, and we will follow-through on our commitment to providing great experiences, but we recognize there may be challenges in group gatherings through the summer.
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Instant Rewards
Is your troop still looking for instant rewards? Or do you have some extras at the end of the program? Please share locally in your Service Unit or post on the Woodland Brigade swap post on Facebook!
You can also contact us at info@gsiowa.org. We have been tracking any requests that come in, though we’ve had a limited capacity to mail out extra rewards while our offices have been closed.
We will check with troops again at the end of the month to see if there were girls in your troop who did not get the keychains they earned. Again, we thank you for your patience, as the pandemic caused us to lose some of the “instant” nature of the program! We do count on your help to move items around, but that was extra challenging for everyone for the last several months.
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Virtual Cookie Returns
If your troop submitted Virtual Cookie Returns, those cookies should be stored in a safe, climate-controlled environment free from smoke and pests. Once the public health guidance changes, we will provide directions for physically returning the cookies.
Those returned cookies have been transferred out of the troop in Smart Cookies, which also removed financial liability from the troop. If the quantity returned in person is less than what was submitted virtually, the troop will be financially responsible for the difference.
Late sales? Officially, the GSGI Cookie Program has ended, which means sales are complete. We have received some questions about whether troops can continue to sell. If you do have a customer interested in a large quantity sale or buying out your remaining inventory, please contact us at info@gsiowa.org so that we can work with you on how to take payment. Payment for any late sales will go directly to Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa, which helps cover the cost of unsold cookies and supports programming across the council. We are not able to continue to credit troop proceeds now that the program is complete.
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Important Dates
- May 10: Deadline to submit address changes for girl rewards shipping
- May: Cookie Dough emailed directly to families
- May: Any updates to troop and girl experiences communicated
- June: Reward items arrive -- shipped directly to girls!
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Do You Know Someone Who Wants to Receive the Shout Outs?
All volunteers can subscribe to the email list using this simple sign-up form! If you know someone who isn't receiving the Shout Outs, send them this link to get them signed up.
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