Message from Your Camp Directors

As much as we enjoy bringing amazing and diverse programs to girls and families during the school year, we're so excited for our favorite Girl Scout season - summer camp!  

We all have backgrounds in youth development and education, so we love to make camp an amazing time for girls. There are countless benefits to getting outdoors, and Girl Scout Camp gives girls an opportunity to create their own experiences. Camp gives girls the chance to try new things and make new friends from around the state, all while having fun in a safe environment. 

There are camp sessions to fit a variety of interests and activity levels - and we've added a ton of new things this year! The Meadows at Camp Linden have expanded, with a new garden and goats adding to educational opportunities about sustainable agriculture. Camp Merrie Woode welcomes its new Adventure Unit this summer, where girls can have an awesome time sleeping in the trees. And Camp O' the Hills is a fun retreat for troops, especially boating on over 700 acres of Wampler's Lake!

Find all of the wonderful opportunities we have for girls to get outdoors this summer at girlscoutcamp.org. 

Yours in Girl Scouting,

Stephanie Hall - Camp Merrie Woode Director

Jen Schade - Camp Linden Director

Mariah Demkowski - Camp O' the Hills Director

Americorps Members Volunteer with Girl Scouts

We are thrilled to host a team of Americorps National Civilian Community Corps members at two of our camps this summer! The team is currently working on repairs and refurbishments at Camp O' the Hills, and will be moving to Wacousta later this month. 

Americorps will hold a Community Service Day on Sunday, June 19 from 9 am to 2 pm. They are inviting volunteers to help with painting Holiday Haven at Camp Wacousta - tools, materials, and lunch will be provided, and all ages are welcome. Bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen and you will be entered in a raffle to win cookies!

 Mackinac Island Amazing Race Quest

Start the school year off right with a great team building trip!

Be amazing as you work with your team racing to overcome obstacles and solve puzzles, all on Mackinac Island.

You will make your way around Mackinac Island, racing against teams to complete challenges and get your next clue. Along the way look out for route markers, road blocks, detours and FUN!

Learn more about this super cool event here! 

Annual Paperwork

Annual Troop Finance Reports are a fabulous tool to showoff all the amazing things your troop did this year with Cookie and Treats & Reads proceeds to parents and Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan. They also help your troop, and staff, ensure you're “using your resources wisely”. 

Troop Leaders, don’t forget these required Annual Troop Finance Reports were due on June 1. Some troops wait to turn these in until after they’ve taken their amazing adventures–that doesn't have to be you! Turning these reports in on time shouldn’t deter you from spending that money this summer. If your trip takes place after June 1, you can report your trip and spending on your next year’s report. 

If you have questions about how to complete this report, call our offices 1-800-49-SCOUT or your Membership Specialist will happily assist you.    

Cookies to Camp

Individual Girl Scouts are welcome to continue selling Girl Scout Cookies for camp credit! Girls will get $15 for every 25 packages sold that will be placed on a Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan credit card exclusively for overnight, day, and volunteer-led camps.

If any of your girls are interested, please contact your regional Product Program Specialist. We are very excited to offer this opportunity to girls. Our girls learn great skills when they attend camp and we want every girl to have the opportunity to attend camp. And what better way than for her to fund her way through cookie sales!

Be On the Lookout for the '16-'17 Training Calendar! 

The Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan Adult Recruitment & Education Team is excited to announce the 2016-2017 Training Calendar! Troop Management, Grade Level Trainings, Outdoor Skills, Proficiency Badges & Journeys, and more have been scheduled throughout Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan for August 2016 to July 2017. You can search for classes on our website here.

Don’t see what you need? Don’t worry, we’re still adding even more dates!  Keep checking the calendar for the latest additions.  

Save the Date!
Camp Merrie Woode Turns 90!

Camp Merrie Woode celebrates a big birthday this year - over 90 years! We will be celebrating the wonderful history of the longest continuously running camp in Michigan on September 17th, 2016.

Girls' Choice Badge - Art in the Outdoors
The Girls’ Choice Art in the Outdoors badges are almost ready! The booklets and badges will be available in the Girl Scout Online Store. You can download the booklets for free in June, or you can purchase the printed badge requirements. Starting July 1, the digital downloads—for both Year 1 and Year 2 of Girls’ Choice—will cost 99 cents.

Membership Dues Increase
At Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan, we believe girls will change the world – and we are committed to helping them do it. As you may have heard, the Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of the USA recently voted to increase membership dues for girls and adults by $10 starting during the October 2017 – September 2018 membership year. This change will take place beginning with early bird registration in spring of 2017 (next year). Girl Scouts of the USA’s CEO, Anna Maria Chavez, has posted a letter regarding the dues increase on the GSUSA blog. 

As with anything worthwhile, a meaningful investment is crucial to success, and that’s why we full heartedly support the national initiative to increase annual membership dues.

Why an increase? Because girls are worth it!

This increase was approved by Girl Scouts of the USA’s national board to help support significant investments being made by Girl Scouts of the USA to improve the Girl Scout experience for girls and volunteers. Every dollar of Girl Scout national membership dues is sent to Girl Scouts of the USA to cover shared services including program development, research, and digital resources.

“Girl Scouts has made an impact on my future by overall making me feel more confident and ambitious. It has provided me the opportunities to approach different challenges and work through them to reach a goal. I think that it has really opened my eyes to all the different possibilities the world has to offer, and it has broadened my scope on what I might want to do later on.”

- Maheru Jahania, Northville High School Junior & 2016 Gold Award Recipient  The new membership dues are keeping pace with other youth organizations and Girl Scout membership remains an incredible value for our girls and adult members. Girl Scouts gives girls the opportunity to develop leadership skills they will use for the rest of their lives - all while having fun, getting outdoors, and meeting their best friends. We remain committed to serving all girls who want to participate in Girl Scouts.  

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