ST. LOUIS – April Showers, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri’s largest community service program, begins Friday, April 4when Girl Scouts, their troop leaders, and families help people in need by going door-to-door, distributing sticky notes throughout the community with the request for personal care item donations. The following Saturday, April 12, Girl Scouts will return to collect the donations left on porches and doorsteps and sort thousands of personal care items at multiple drop-off sites throughout the St. Louis metro.
Over the last 27 years, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri has collected more than 27 million personal care items. They work with long-time collaborator Operation Food Search (OFS) to sort and distribute the items through OFS’s established network of community partners. With more than 900,000 people a year in Missouri living below the federal poverty line and unable to purchase personal care items with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri and the April Showers program help hundreds of agencies throughout eastern Missouri to support those in need in our communities.
There are four ways the community can participate in April Showers:
- Door-to-Door Neighborhood Collection/Donation
- April 4-6:Girl Scouts will be going door-to-door, distributing sticky notes throughout the community with the request for personal care item donations.
- April 12:Girls will return to community neighborhoods to collect donations. Donations should be placed in a bag or box outside on front doors before 9 am on Saturday, April 12, with the originally distributed sticky note attached and clearly marked for Girl Scouts.
- Showering the Community Event at Local Storefronts
- April 5: Girl Scouts and other volunteers will be at local storefronts encouraging customers to purchase personal care items to donate while they shop.
- Online Registry Donation
- April 4-13:Community members will have the opportunity to donate directly through an online registry. All donations are shipped to Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri and then distributed out to hundreds of agencies throughout St. Louis City and the 28 surrounding counties.
- Donation Drop-Off Stations:
- April 4-13:Dierbergs Markets and Schnucks will have shopping carts or collection bins marked for April Showers donation collection at the front of the stores
- April 7-11: Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri will be collecting items at their office, located at 2300 Ball Drive, Monday through Friday, 9 am-5 pm. Look for the blue barrels located at the back of their building.
Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri is proud to partner with Operation Food Search, Schnucks, and Dierbergs Markets on this exciting community program.
April Showers Donation Items Include:
- Deodorant
- Diapers/Baby Care
- Facial Tissue
- Feminine Hygiene Products
- First Aid Supplies
- Mouthwash
- Shampoo
- Soap
- Toilet paper
- Toothpaste/toothbrushes
To learn more about Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, visit girlscoutsem.org/aprilshowers.
We’re Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. To join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, visit girlscoutsem.org.