Girl Scout councils announce merger

MILFORD - The Sarah Wells Girl Scout Council, Inc. will re-align with four other local councils as of Oct. 1. The other councils include, Girl Scouts of Rockland, Girl Scouts of Westchester- Putnam, Girl Scouts of Ulster County and Girl Scouts of Dutchess County. The new council will be called Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson Council, Inc. Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson Council will serve more than 35,000 girls age 5-17 and 14,000 adult volunteers across portions of Pike, and Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Sullivan, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties in New York. “This transition will be seamless to Girl Scouts across the region except for the fact that there will be more opportunities for them to develop leadership skills that will benefit them throughout their lives” according to Barbara Sampson, executive director of Sarah Wells Girl Scout Council. “The new council will maintain its presence in each of its current locations so that volunteers and girls will still have local access to resources and staff.” The re-alignment is part of a national streamlining of administrative services to ensure the most efficient use of resources. Representatives from each of the current councils including board members, volunteers, staff, girl members and community leaders have overseen the realignment process and are helping to create the master plan for the new council. “Our goal is to make sure all vested parties have input in the process,” said Sampson. Sarah Wells Girl Scout Council currently serves more than 10,000 members is Orange and Sullivan Counties and five towns in Pike County. For more information about Girl Scouting call the Girl Scout Council at 845-361-2898 or visit its Web site at www.swgcs.org .