Fuel prices continue to skyrocket, packages at the grocery store are shrinking but not prices, airlines are charging for luggage and meals, real estate foreclosures are on the rise and the stock market picture is not a pretty one either. This current economic picture affects all of us. Most of us are looking for ways to better manage our resources – we’re eliminating unnecessary travel, staying closer to home for vacations, making wiser buying decisions and in some cases limiting spending to absolute necessities only. We are all trying to find the best means to make the dollar stretch a little more within our own personal budgets.

At Girl Scouts of River Bluffs Council, the greatest increases in our operational expenses mirror those in most of our communities: gasoline/travel and utilities at our facilities (service centers & camps). At the corporate and regional service centers, we are exploring ways to cut our expenses without diminishing services to our membership. One way to aid us in cutting expenditures is the development of ways to contain staff mileage expenses. We need to better utilize the technology available to us. This will not only save on mileage expenses but will save on staff time expenses and free up time for you as well. This means that it is possible that council staff will not attend all of the service unit functions like they have in the past.

Another way for us to use our resources more wisely is to cut our facility costs at both service centers by decreasing the number of hours we are open. In July, the Board of Directors approved a proposal to reduce the hours of operation at our service centers. Therefore, we will be open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm at the Corporate Service Center

We appreciate your support and understanding as we work through this economic crunch just as each of you are in your personal and professional lives.