As we prepare to celebrate our nation's Independence Day, I want to take this time to thank you for your steadfast support of another time-honored American tradition: Girl Scouting.

As you may have read in the recent Associated Press article our national organization, headquartered in New York City, is in the midst of a major organizational shift. The goal is to better align its resources to its strategic priorities and enable the national movement to be more agile and customer-focused.

Here at Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, we are fiscally sound. Our efforts over the recent years to right-size our programming to meet the needs of today's Girl Scout have led to a balanced budget and progressive, exciting leadership experiences for the 40,000 Girl Scouts in our region. While some councils across the country are seeing declines in membership, we've got our eye on growth for the future as our numbers have held steady this past year. For a comprehensive view of our council, I invite you to take a look at our annual report, detailing our 100th anniversary year efforts in 2012.

In Eastern Pennsylvania we're celebrating the significant impact our Girl Scouts are already having on their communities. Collectively, our award-winning Girl Scouts have contributed more than 32,000 hours of community service. Earlier this spring we were proud to acknowledge several Girl Scouts from our council who received the prestigious Gold Award, the highest honor any Girl Scout can achieve. Every day our Girl Scouts are participating in new activities ranging in topic from Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) to horseback riding, traveling to our nation's capital, environmental activities and much more. You can read about the breadth and depth of our programs here, in the latest issue of our SPARK magazine.

What's more, our summer camps are in full swing and we're excited to be serving close to 4,000 girls with outdoor programming.  Our properties allow us to offer the Girl Scout leadership experience in a beautiful, outdoor setting. In fact, our camp sites serve more than 10,000 girls throughout the year. It's not too late to sign up for some of our fabulous outdoor programming. If you know a girl who is interested in swimming, adventure, horses, archery or the environment, I encourage you to look at our camp guide and sign her up today. She will try new things, connect with new and old friends and have the time of her life.   Scholarships/Financial aid is still available.

Our rich history and our track record of successful alumnae illustrate the fact that Girl Scouting works. Please take a look at our alumnae impact study which exemplifies our organization's vast influence on women in America.

Together we are making a difference. We're building girls of courage, confidence and character who will undoubtedly make the world a better place. I thank you for your continued support and wish you a very happy Independence Day.

Yours in Girl Scouting,

Natalye Paquin, CEO, Girl Scouts of Eastern PA

Want to Take Action to make the world a better place?

If you said "YES!" then you are ready to begin earning Girl Scouts'Highest Awards: Bronze, Silver, and Gold!! Use the GSUSA Girl Guidelines and complete the new, revised forms that are easy to fill out online. Click here to access the forms and start using your leadership skills to make a lasting difference in your community! 

• Our goal is to have 100% of eligible membership registration completed online using the Online Registration System at www.gsep.org
• The only registrations that are not considered online eligible are financial aid, the graduating senior discount lifetime offer (available 5/3 - 9/1), and the membership cookie vouchers
• It is preferred that parents re-register girls online and forward the email confirmation to leaders
• Leaders can also re-register girls and adults who are currently in their troops from 5/3 - 9/29 using Troop Management. Leaders must still collect parent signatures and turn them in to council, using individual registration forms or the new Leader Registered Troop Parental Permission form. 

1. Login to the Online Registration System
2. Scroll down to the bottom of your Profile
3. Under Roles, select the "role" you are serving and the membership "year." During the early bird period (May through 9/30), the current and future membership years are available for selection.
4. Click on the box next to "serving" and the search screen will appear
5. Click on the radial next to troop or service unit (GSEP does not use Area for self-appointing position codes)
6. Enter the number of the troop/SU in the box and click SEARCH
7. Find the correct troop/SU in the search results listing, and click on it
8. Click ADD ROLE and the position will be added to your record with a pending status. Position codes are made active each business morning for the previous day. Position codes are subject to final approval by the membership and SU managers.

• Every GSEP service center has computers available for use during normal business hours
• Staff will also be happy to schedule appointments for in person/phone training
• Printed instructions and helpful, easy to follow video tutorials are available online