2021 April Showers Troop Guide

WELCOME TO APRIL SHOWERS 2021! Another spring season is upon us and for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri community that means supporting those in need through our April Showers personal care drive. For 23 years, Girl Scouts have collected more than 24 million personal care items through our Council-wide community service project, April Showers, and we appreciate the thousands of girls and adults who participate in this drive each year. This troop guide will help you understand April Showers, what it is and how to have a successful experience. As a troop leader, you will coordinate and manage April Showers efforts for the members of your troop along with any family, friends, or supporters. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined our efforts in 2020, we are gearing up for 2021 and cannot wait to see our troops connecting with their communities while making the world a better place. The current need for personal care items in our area is great, but by working together, we can support our community members safely. The health and well-being of our girls and volunteers is our top priority. April Showers will follow all Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri COVID-19 Response Guidelines and will occur in an outdoor environment with the ability to work in small groups. We encourage troops to engage their families this year with options to walk a route as a family, count and sort donated items at home or organize an online drive through their neighborhood. There will be new and exciting opportunities for 2021! This will be our first year to implement the new sticky notes that will replace the traditional plastic bags for the door-to-door campaign. This addresses concerns we received from the community and our membership about the use of plastic bags and the impact on our environment. We will also be utilizing two online sites for donations, Walmart’s Registry for Good and Amazon’s Charity List. After seeing over 81,000 items collected from our online drive in the fall, we are including this as an option for our spring campaign. Please be assured that your Neighborhood April Showers Coordinator, District April Showers Coordinator and the Council office are ready to help you in any way possible. Thank you for choosing Girl Scouts for your family! Together, we will make April Showers 2021 our biggest collection yet!

Yours in Girl Scouting,

Nicole Dalton Director or Programs and Partnerships

2021 Troop Guide 3