A note from CEO Kathy Cloninger

September 9, 2005

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Our hearts are deeply saddened by the horrific destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. We have no way of knowing about all of our Girl Scout families in the affected areas but we know that this tragedy has reached far and wide. We continue to pray for miracles at times like these and are all so overwhelmed and encouraged by the kindness and generosity of our girls, volunteers, and staff, and the public at large.

We will do our very best to keep you informed on ways in which you can help. We have established a Relief Team with headquarters staff from every group that serves councils to support them as they work to reestablish themselves and serve girls and their families. We welcome your ideas and thoughts. We also want to know, and let you know, about all the ways in which Girl Scouts nationwide are helping bring relief and support to the many victims in this disaster. To this end, we've created a special e-mail address for Girl Scouts to use to tell of their efforts: sistershelpingsisters@girlscouts.org.

Please visit our Web page devoted to Hurricane Katrina as we will continue to update it with new and important information.

We do appreciate all your efforts, but please check with a council before sending any items other than those requested on the GSUSA website. We must make sure that items are truly needed and that there is a distribution and storage plan in place.

Kathy Cloninger
CEO, GSUSA