A Message from Our Board Chair and President/Chief Executive Officer

Dear Friends of Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey,

2021 marked another year of unprecedented challenges for Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That said, it also created opportunities for us and our members to demonstrate our resiliency and commitment to building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.

We saw many troops and leaders pause as volunteers were impacted by pandemic-related stress and illnesses in 2021. During this period, girl membership decreased by 28 percent from the year prior. Despite this decline, we remained committed to preserving the Girl Scout Leadership Experience for our active members. We found alternative ways to deliver programs to best serve our girls and volunteers during these challenging times, while also connecting with prospective members virtually. And, we supported the many Girl Scouts working toward Highest Awards, helping them pivot and adapt their take action projects to navigate the difficulties they were facing.

While social distancing requirements implemented in 2020 carried through 2021, we continued a majority of programs and activities virtually and reimagined a variety of our programs and events to take place in new and creative formats to give girls opportunities to interact and engage with one another in a safe, socially distanced manner. We held more hybrid events, including our Fun with Daisy & Brownie Friends Series for new Girl Scouts, Drive-Thru Boo Bash, Turkey Trek, Voter Girl with the League of Women Voters, STEMfest Jr., and the Becoming Me program, inspired by former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama’s book Becoming: Adapted for Young Readers.

We served 12,364 members through council-sponsored program activities and utilized our camp properties to host many outdoor program activities. In summer of 2021, we were excited to have Girl Scouts return to Lake Rickabear and Jockey Hollow camps in person.

We continued to prioritize our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and racial justice with initiatives such as our celebration of Black History Month in February that included a patch-earning virtual, educational challenge for our Girl Scouts and a series of story-time video recordings by local women leaders of color.

We continued to serve girls from under resourced communities in northern New Jersey, with our L.E.A.D. (Learn, Explore, Aspire, Dream) outreach initiative and supported 618 girls, enabling them to participate in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.

The 2021 Girl Scout Cookie season also provided new opportunities to showcase Girl Scouts’ entrepreneurial spirit as we helped girls find creative, innovative ways to reach their cookie sales goals. Tactics such as drive-through cookie booths, online sales through Digital Cookie, and our contactless cookie delivery partnership with Grubhub helped teach girls new real-world entrepreneurial skills including e-commerce.

Our fundraising gala, Women of Achievement was an "al fresco" experience at Lake Rickabear Camp where we raised $185,000 to help expand the impact and reach of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. The event was held in person beside the lake, as well as virtually, to accommodate guests however they felt most comfortable participating.

We remain strongly committed to expanding the reach and impact of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience so we may bring the benefits of Girl Scouting to as many girls as possible in the communities we serve. As we look ahead to a post-pandemic world, we draw on the spirit of innovation and support that propelled our organization throughout the year and look forward to building upon this momentum in the future.

We thank you for your partnership and all you do to support girls and Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey.

Sincerely,

Bette M. Simmons, Ed.D. Chair, Board of Directors

Sandra A. Kenoff, President / CEO