ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Since 1998, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri girls, troops and families have worked together to collect personal care items for those in need in our communities. This April, more than 7,100 girls participated in April Showers, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri’s largest community service program, to collect more than 1.3 million donations. These items were distributed to more than 250 agencies throughout eastern Missouri.
Girl Scouts across eastern Missouri collected personal care items by canvassing neighborhoods and sharing an online registry link with their families and friends to collect shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, soap, disposable diapers and other items. Girl Scouts and volunteers were also outside local participating storefronts to encourage customers to purchase personal care items to donate while they shop. In partnership with Operation Food Search, these items were distributed to agencies across eastern Missouri. Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri also partnered with 64 Schnucks and 24 Dierbergs Markets to have drop-off points at their stores.
“We are grateful to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri for this important and long-standing partnership, which puts critical personal care items into the hands of those who need them most,” said Kristen Wild, President & CEO, Operation Food Search.
Girl Scouts is synonymous with giving back and for the past century, eastern Missouri Girl Scouts have been making a positive difference through girl-led initiatives, including April Showers. As many April Showers recipients live at or below the federal poverty level, hundreds of thousands of households count on these life-changing donations. Over the last 26 years, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri have collected more than 27 million personal care items.
“Participating in April Showers is important because it’s a good way to give back to your community,” said Aria Pelikan, Girl Scout Cadette. “April Showers impacts those who might need toothpaste, deodorant or the other necessities that we forget about when we have easy access to those products.”
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.