Dear Girl Scout Family,

As we communicated to you Saturday, we continue to monitor the COVID-19-related decisions and guidance from our relevant county health departments, the federal Centers for Disease Control and the state Department of Health and apply them as sensibly and effectively as possible to Girl Scouting.

Given recent action by them, including increased school closures, we are suspending Girl Scouting activities at this time on Sunday, March 15, until at least April 1. For those Girl Scouts and volunteers involved in activities today, suspension will apply upon completion of those events. Members across our council should please communicate this decision to families, potential meeting sites, sales booth locations and any other needed entities. Please continue to follow all official regulations in your communities, and also refer to our earlier communications about safety protocols.

Girl Scouts, who always endeavor to do what’s right, are following the lead of our nine county governments and their various school districts. Suspended activities include troop meetings, events, cookie deliveries and cookie booths.

The Girl Scouts of WNY established and tested protocols for widespread health or food-safety issues. We want to reassure our Girl Scouting family that leadership will continue to constantly monitor the situation and regularly discuss best courses of action. Based on all available guidance, we moved to Level 2 Preparedness Saturday for two counties, and are now moving to Level 3 across our nine counties.

We, as you, realize the timing during cookie season is not optimal. But we can all agree that public health safety and the health of all our families is and will remain our top priority, and these actions are necessary until there is official word that this pandemic eased or ended. Nonetheless, we would renew our appeal to our community supporters who are interested in buying our cookies online. Anyone interested in supporting a Girl Scout cookie booth virtually can contact us at CustomerCare@gswny.org or 1-888-837-6410.

Please look for another communication from us later this week on how we will be supporting you and options for virtual programming during this time.

We will still hold two virtual information sessions, for service unit team members and troop leaders on March 18, to update everyone on the situation. Details may be found on our website.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at 1-888-837-6410 or email CustomerCare@gswny.org.

Yours in Girl Scouting,

Alison Wilcox
CEO, Girl Scouts of Western New York