BELOIT- On June 1, 2009, three area Girl Scout councils, plus portions of a fourth council, will unite as one to become Girl Scouts of Wisconsin - Badgerland Council, Inc. The newly merged council will be the result of a national realignment process that will invigorate the Girl Scout movement by reducing the number of councils in an effort to use resources more wisely, offer more program opportunities and serve more girls.
The legacy councils that will become Badgerland Council include:
• Badger Council, which serves girls in Rock, Green and Walworth counties in Wisconsin and northern Winnebago County in Illinois;
• Black Hawk Council, which serves girls in Green, Dodge, Richland, Sauk Columbia, Dane, Jefferson, Iowa and Lafayette counties in Wisconsin;
• Riverland Council, which serves girls in Buffalo, Trempealeau, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Vernon, Crawford and Juneau counties in Wisconsin and Grant and Allamakee counties in Iowa; and
• Portions of Green Hills Council, specifically those that include girls in Grant and Lafayette counties in Wisconsin.
"The council realignment will strengthen our organization's infrastructure and resources at all levels of the organization including fundraising, public relations, property, staffing, and volunteer support," said Angela Moore, CEO of Badger Council. "There is already a high level of cooperation between our councils because we draw upon many of the same resources. This realignment will help us develop our resources more effectively and decrease duplicating efforts." "What it all comes down to is being able to better serve girls," said Moore.
The national realignment process, which began in 2006, will reduce the total number of councils from 312 to 109 and is expected to be complete at the end of 2009. About 80 percent of councils nationwide have already been restructured.
Already, realignment has resulted in positive change for Girl Scouts. One year after five local councils merged in central Indiana, donations increased more than 25 percent and volunteers grew to nearly 20 percent, thereby improving opportunities to serve more girls. In the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area, financial assistance to girls in economic need nearly doubled. In Milwaukee, realignment enabled four merging councils to add new staff positions, including a curriculum specialist who is improving the quality of programming.
As local councils prepare for the merger, a Council Realignment Committee has been charged with laying the structural foundation for the new council. One of the first orders of business was to establish the headquarters for the new council, which will be centrally located in Dane County. Existing council offices will remain open as satellite service centers and all council properties, including camps, will be retained. The committee is currently recruiting and interviewing for the position of a new CEO with the goal of having the position filled by January, 2009.
Anyone interested in learning more about Badgerland Council and the activities of the Council Realignment Committee is encouraged to visit www.gswibadgerland.org for current updates.
For more information, please contact the leadership at your local council office:
• Badger Council, Beloit, Angela Moore, CEO; (608) 362-8922 ext. 26 or amoore@gsbadger.org
• Black Hawk Council, Madison, Loretta Himmelsbach, CEO; (608) 237-1199 or lorettah@girlscoutsofblackhawk.org
• Riverland Council, LaCrosse, Sally Friend, Interim CEO; (800) 787-2688 ext. 304 or sally-friend@centurytel.net
• Green Hills Council, Freeport, Mary Carroll, CEO; (608) 348-7203 or mcarroll@gsgreenhills.org
For more information on how to join, volunteer, or donate to Girl Scouts, call (800) 478-7248, or visit www.girlscouts.org.
The legacy councils that will become Badgerland Council include:
• Badger Council, which serves girls in Rock, Green and Walworth counties in Wisconsin and northern Winnebago County in Illinois;
• Black Hawk Council, which serves girls in Green, Dodge, Richland, Sauk Columbia, Dane, Jefferson, Iowa and Lafayette counties in Wisconsin;
• Riverland Council, which serves girls in Buffalo, Trempealeau, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Vernon, Crawford and Juneau counties in Wisconsin and Grant and Allamakee counties in Iowa; and
• Portions of Green Hills Council, specifically those that include girls in Grant and Lafayette counties in Wisconsin.
"The council realignment will strengthen our organization's infrastructure and resources at all levels of the organization including fundraising, public relations, property, staffing, and volunteer support," said Angela Moore, CEO of Badger Council. "There is already a high level of cooperation between our councils because we draw upon many of the same resources. This realignment will help us develop our resources more effectively and decrease duplicating efforts." "What it all comes down to is being able to better serve girls," said Moore.
The national realignment process, which began in 2006, will reduce the total number of councils from 312 to 109 and is expected to be complete at the end of 2009. About 80 percent of councils nationwide have already been restructured.
Already, realignment has resulted in positive change for Girl Scouts. One year after five local councils merged in central Indiana, donations increased more than 25 percent and volunteers grew to nearly 20 percent, thereby improving opportunities to serve more girls. In the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area, financial assistance to girls in economic need nearly doubled. In Milwaukee, realignment enabled four merging councils to add new staff positions, including a curriculum specialist who is improving the quality of programming.
As local councils prepare for the merger, a Council Realignment Committee has been charged with laying the structural foundation for the new council. One of the first orders of business was to establish the headquarters for the new council, which will be centrally located in Dane County. Existing council offices will remain open as satellite service centers and all council properties, including camps, will be retained. The committee is currently recruiting and interviewing for the position of a new CEO with the goal of having the position filled by January, 2009.
Anyone interested in learning more about Badgerland Council and the activities of the Council Realignment Committee is encouraged to visit www.gswibadgerland.org for current updates.
For more information, please contact the leadership at your local council office:
• Badger Council, Beloit, Angela Moore, CEO; (608) 362-8922 ext. 26 or amoore@gsbadger.org
• Black Hawk Council, Madison, Loretta Himmelsbach, CEO; (608) 237-1199 or lorettah@girlscoutsofblackhawk.org
• Riverland Council, LaCrosse, Sally Friend, Interim CEO; (800) 787-2688 ext. 304 or sally-friend@centurytel.net
• Green Hills Council, Freeport, Mary Carroll, CEO; (608) 348-7203 or mcarroll@gsgreenhills.org
For more information on how to join, volunteer, or donate to Girl Scouts, call (800) 478-7248, or visit www.girlscouts.org.
