GSHNJ 2022 Annual Report

2022: Greater than our Challenges

Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey’s 2022 Annual Report shares our essential data and celebrates perseverance and creativity despite obstacles.

2022: Greater than Our Challenges

Dear Friends, Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey (GSHNJ) is greater than our challenges. I know this for sure because 2022 was a year of transitions, new initiatives, and challenges. All of us (our Girl Scouts, volunteers, and staff) adapted to the ever-changing pandemic guidelines, experienced virtual fatigue, and addressed concerns about in-person gatherings. We found new ways to stay connected with our Girls Scout family and grew our membership to 12,174 youth members who participated in virtual, outdoor, and in-person troop activities and programs.

One of our most memorable highlights in 2022 was gathering to honor our twenty Gold Award Girl Scouts with a celebratory luncheon. We welcomed over 225 guests in recognition of three amazing leaders and their connection to the power of Girl Scouting at our Young Women of Vision Leadership Breakfast. Then in November, our SheStormz Robotics Team competed at the state level and received special honors for their teamwork.

This summer, 449 Girl Scouts emerged themselves in outdoor experiences at The OVAL and Camp DeWitt. Our summer resident camp, Camp Hoover came roaring back after a two-year hiatus to welcome 437 campers.

The generous support of Ericsson enabled GSHNJ to purchase and fully equip a Ford Transit van with the latest technology and equipment to take robotics, design, and our entrepreneurship programs on the road to Girl Scouts in their local communities. The excitement is building for the launch of our Girl Scouts On-the-Go Mobile Classroom.

Thank you for supporting Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey as we empower our members to walk boldly towards sisterhood, justice, and equity.

Note that some members live outside of our council jurisdiction—3%.

Natasha Hemmings Laureen Delance Chief Executive Officer Board Chair

2021-2022 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS

Laureen Delance, Board Chair Managing Assistant Dir. of Internships, Kean University

Wendy Deer, Esq.*, First Vice Chair Executive Director, Essex County Bar Association

Naima Ricks, PhD, Second Vice Chair Director of Programs, SEEDS

Mary Beth Dunn, Secretary VP/Program Manager, BMO Capital Markets

Emil Menzies, Treasurer VP, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE

Ademusoyo Awosika-Olumo

Senior Software Engineer, Mailchimp

Chrissy Buteas VP, Government Affairs, Altice USA

Linda Carter Assemblywoman, 22nd Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly

Aisha Lawery

Global Head of Education Programs, Amazon Web Services

Serena Lee Controller, Jewish Community Foundation Of Greater MetroWest

5,786

Charles Mierswa CFO, GSE Worldwide, Inc.

Khadija Niang* Founder & CEO, Smart Start Learning Intl., Inc

Asia J. Norton Literacy Coach, Children’s Literacy Initiative

Alana Vega* Kids Count Coordinator, Advocates for Children of New Jersey

Jessica Viotto

VP and Commercial Treasury Management Officer, PNC Bank

Estelle Vaughns Williams, MD Director of Urgent Care Center, Summit Medical Group

Della Walker COO & EVP of Programs, Newark Alliance

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS

Natasha Hemmings, CEO, GSHNJ

Michael Forrestall, COO, GSHNJ

Exploring New Places

Cadette Girl Scout Elizabeth N. talks about (and shows us!) GSHNJ’s trip to Costa Rica, and why traveling with Girl Scouts is such a fun and rewarding experience.

In 2022 GSHNJ partnered with EF Tours for Girls to host a service-learning tour to Costa Rica. Originally planned for 2021 and delayed by the pandemic, eight adults and 12 Girl Scouts spent nine days discovering the biodiversity of this beautiful country from every angle: hot springs, waterfalls, volcanoes, jungles, lakes, beaches, small towns, and major cities. The group dedicated two days to working with a local conservation society to stabilize their eroding coastline by replanting mangrove and almond trees. This group of travelers began the tour as strangers with common interests and goals, but very quickly bonded into Girl Scout siblings, accepting new experiences with courage and returning with the character to make their world a better place.

2,902 Outdoor Experiences

Experiencing Wins

The SheStormz, GSHNJ’s FIRST® LEGO® League competitive robotics team, successfully competed in their first state-level competition after winning the Core Values award in this year’s local competition and reaching their highest score yet in the robotics component.

908 STEM Experiences

In early 2022, GSUSA sponsored the “Girl Scouts to the Moon and Back” essay contest to give Girl Scouts a chance to win a Space Science badge that’s actually been to space on NASA’s Artemis I. That mission is NASA’s first step toward the goal of sending the first woman and the first person of color to the moon. Congratulations to Ambassador Audrey P. and Senior Jamie C., a member of GSHNJ’s Astronomy Club, whose winning essays earned them this prestigious honor!

Scan to read their essays!

World Class Learning

As a non-governmental organization member of the United Nations, GSUSA sent a delegation of 18 Senior and Ambassador Girl Scouts—including four from GSHNJ— to participate in the 66th Commission on the Status of Women in March, 2022. The delegates spent several months preparing by learning about the UN, the CSW, and this year’s priority theme: climate change. Once the Commission began, they attended virtual sessions hosted by UN Member States and other NGOs. This year, GSUSA hosted a special event for all CSW participants, featuring GSHNJ’s own Reya V. who shared the nature-based solutions for climate change that she’s been innovating. Also new this year, GSUSA’s delegates hosted a virtual event to bring their experiences as UN CSW delegates to other Girl Scouts around the United States.

1,261 Life Skills Experiences

Making & Meeting Goals

Cadette Girl Scout Caroline L. from Troop 10855 tells us how she and her troop set individual and troop goals and how they use their proceeds from the Girl Scout Cookie Program to fuel new and fun adventures.

11,574 Entrepreneurship Experiences

Product Programs by the Numbers:

9,053 Girl Scouts participated in the 2022 Cookie Program that’s 3 out of every 4 youth members.

$1,043,614 went back to their troops

They sold 1,121,867 packages of cookies: that’s enough packages of Thin Mints to stretch from Camp DeWitt to Ocean City!

101,414 packages were donated to our Gift of Caring partner: Operation Jersey Cares.

Top Selling Cookies:

1) Thin Mints®

2) Samoas

3) Tagalongs

Going for the Gold

In 2022 GSHNJ Girl Scouts earned:

38 Gold Awards

162 Silver Awards

308 Bronze Awards

That’s 17,300+ hours—or over 720 days of giving back in GSHNJ communities!

Megan Hauss’ Gold Award project, “Operation: Stomp the Spotted Lanternfly to Save the Trees,” raised awareness on the spotted lanternfly, an invasive bug that is having detrimental effects on our environment and economy. She led her team to develop and implement educational workshops for schools, groups, and clubs about the spotted lanternfly life cycle, biology, habits and methods to eradicate them. In addition, media posts about spotted lanternflies were developed and used in a variety of places, including trail kiosks, social media, websites, articles, and on a billboard on Route 287 which reached over 125,000 people. Megan worked with organizations to increase her reach, including in Rhode Island where spotted lanternflies had not yet been recorded, and developed workshops that were delivered by her team in at least 34 towns in four different states. With her project, Megan was one of 111 Girl Scouts awarded Girl Scouts of the USA’s inaugural Gold Award Scholarship.

By the Numbers

Assets

Great Partners

Liabilities and Net Assets

In December 2021, a new entrepreneurship patch program was launched with Fidelity Investments. Know It! Grow It! A Girl’s Guide to Managing Money, for Brownies, Juniors, and Cadettes, was built for Girl Scouts to use alongside the Fall Product Program, the Cookie Program, and any other troop or personal money-earner.

In February, the Keep the Region Moving patch was launched in collaboration with the Port Authority of New Jersey and New York and designed for Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors.

In the spring, in partnership with Summit Health Cares, GSHNJ launched a new patch program, Be Sun Safe. The program is designed for Girl Scouts of all age-levels to learn about why you have to be careful in the sun, and preparing themselves and their family members for being outside.

Great Support

The generous support of corporations, foundations, and individuals helps to provide financial assistance for Girl Scouts who otherwise wouldn’t have access to the Girl Scout Leadership Experience and helps to underwrite the cost of innovative new programs. This support offsets the cost of membership fees, uniforms and insignia, supplies, camping, travel expenses, and the development of new experiential programs for the thousands of Girl Scouts throughout our service area.

Thank you for investing in the next generation of empowered leaders!

Contributions listed are from October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022. We’re grateful for every gift we receive, however due to space restrictions we can only list gifts of $50 and above.

$100,000+

Rosemarie T. Brodeur

Ericsson Inc.

MacKenzie Scott

$50,000-$99,999

The Achelis and Bodman Foundation

Victoria Foundation

$25,000-$49,999

Amazon.com Services LLC

Estate of Mary G. Dart

Girl Scouts of the USA

The Hyde and Watson Foundation

Verizon

$10,000-$24,999

Bristol-Myers Squibb

City of Jersey City

HSBC

Marguerite Russ Risley and Marshall E. Risley Trust

PSE&G

Henrietta Siodlowski

The Plainfield Foundation

William and Ida M. Kiefer Charitable Trust

$7,500-$9,999

Large Foundation

Port Authority of New York & New Jersey

Westfield United Fund

$5,000-$7,499

L. Rothberg Memorial Scout Trust Fund

National Science Foundation

RWJBarnabas Health

The PNC Financial Services Group

The Souchek Foundation

Debra L. Zvanut

$2,500-$4,999

Connell Foley, LLP

First Bank

Hackensack Meridian Health

Heidi Hemmer

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

Jaclyn Pennella*

Provident Bank

Rey Financial Group LLC

The Fred C. Rummel Foundation

$1,000-$2,499

Anonymous (2)

Diane Barker

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

Sally Allen Chew

Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.

Marybeth Doctor

Edmund G. Taussig and Frances Kath Taussig Foundation, Inc.

Michael Forrestall

Sherry Grobstein

GSE Worldwide Inc.

Barbara Heath

Natasha Hemmings

Johnson & Johnson

Dolores and Edward Kresge

Peapack-Gladstone Bank

Phillips 66

Steve and Fizzy Pitcher

Naima Ricks*

Schwab Charitable Fund

Patricia Steingall*

The Magda N. Yrizarry Charitable Gift Fund

Margaret Velden

Tiffany Wilson*

$500-$999

Anonymous

Ademusoyo Awosika-Olumo

Bank of America Employee Giving

Dianna Beck-Clemens

Branchburg Rotary Club

Chrissy Buteas

Butterfly Dreamz, Inc.

Charities Aid Foundation of America

Colgate-Palmolive

Diann Deal

Wendy E. Deer*

Laureen Delance

Mary Beth Dunn

Bonnie Elbaum

Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative

Holman Frenia Allison, P. C.

Deb Hooker

Horizon Foundation for New Jersey

Inspira Health Network

Intuit

Garrie Lewis

Megan Lunde

Michael J. Manley

Patti Massaro

Maureen Patricia McNamara

New Jersey Association of Health Plans

Tara L. O’Brien

Helen Pendergast

Denise Pilgrim

Ashley Rey

Jane Rey

Rebecca Rudelson

Jennifer Sariano

Eugene Schaefer

Lydia Smith

Khadija Tatoi Niang

Mary Tourangeau

Union County Democratic Committee

Alana Vega*

Vertilocity

Della Walker, Jr.

Peter Webster

Estelle V Williams*

$250-$499

Francis Ahmed Anonymous

Kishor Babaria

Kelly Buzby

Christina Carswell

Patricia Colbert

Lauren Davis

Deborah Diamond

Pam Jernstedt-Duhaime

Fitch Group

Shanna Francois

Theodore Frankenbach

Connie Graf

Christiane Gratzel

Florence B. Henry

Sandra Hicks-Rodriguez

Hunterdon Medical Center Foundation

Julia Johnson

Kemnay

Lyndsay Korbylo

James Kwan

Aisha K Lawrey

Serena Lee

Diane Levy

Tiffany Lewars

Mary Lewis

Karen and Leo Lin

Emil Menzies

Courtenay D Mercer

Jeffrey Mikula

Kim Musler

Honora Van de North

Joanne Otlowski

PSEG Power of Giving Campaign

Kendra Scott

Jeana M Somers

Tracey Toto

Jennifer G Velez

Lynn Weckworth

Ann M. Whalen

Kristin R. Woodard

Jeff and Joy Yagid

$100-$249

Nancy Adamczyk

Lola Altidor

Amazon Smile

Jennifer Angel

J L Boyd

Teresa Boyle-Vellucci

Amy Brainard*

Bristol-Meyers Squibb Foundation

Vanessa Brown

Kathy Calello

Patricia Campos-Medina

Trishka Cecil

Richard Chamberlain*

Elisa A Charters

Chew Family Fund

Scott Cohen

Barbara Cole-Kelly

Maureen M. Corbeski

Maryann Corcoran

Rosalind Cox-Larrieux

Linda Cunniff

Shana Dadlaney

Sheetal S Desai

Chris Dill

V. Harrison Dillard

Jamie Kay Discher*

Erica Regina Dixon

Eva Dorkus

Patricia Duleba

Marcia Durant

Colleen Dyer

Ellen Elias

Irene Emmett

Fanwood-Scotch Plains

Rotary Club

Carol Lamperti

Sue Jardinella

David and Lori Katz

Kessler PR Group

Doris Kiziah

Brett and Laurie Kolpan

Sybil B. Kramer

Natalie Krauser

Raymond and Kathy Krov

Suzanne Kunis

Michael LaFace

Linus Lam

Keri Logosso-Misurell

Stephen Loughrey

Michael Lousteau

Carmen Luna

Carole L. Mackenzie

Kathleen Maddock

Felicity Marinello

Kimberley Mathis

Harry and Ruth Mazujian

Brian McCarthy

Jim McKenna

Patricia McKiernan

Dominique Minars

Danielle Mulholland

Daniel and Julia Murphy

Alexandra Neale

Janelle Neser

Mary Page

Vicki Paulson

Anonymous (2)

Agnes Antonian

AT&T Employee

Matching Gifts

Angelo and Carol Auletta

Jagruti Babaria

Andrea Beck

Deborah Q Belfatto

Rana Berk

Debora Beverly

Danielle Bonastia

Walter Boright

George Ferreira

Michelle Ferrer

Ellen Ferrise

Helen Bishop Foerster

Brett Ford

Richard Frear

Iwona Gaeckle

Audra Giese

Maggie Gonzales

Lori Grier

Alicia Grippi-Virag

Kevin and Elyse Halloran

Holly Hilton

Malika Hogan

Home Depot Charity Custodial Account

Dorothy Hooker

Nichelle Denise Howe

Lauren Hutchison

Debbie Iurato

Anne Pavelka

Ruth Payer

Alison Penrose

Diana Petrazzuoli

Mary Phillips

Joan Van Pelt and James Pivnichny

Cyndy Ponczek

Marsha Prah

Sara Rall

Ana Risoli

Jennifer Robinson

Marcee Rogers

Lymari Roman

Salvatore and Bernice Romano

Toacca Rutherford

Joann Sabados-Carolina

Roxanna Santos

Andrea Schaffer

Megan Schnettler

Kathryn Dale Scolnick

Scotch Plains/Fanwood Girl Scouts

Robin Seasock

Ann Seeler Eldridge

Jodi Seubert

Christine Shapteban

Amy Sherer

Jennifer Shouffler

Rebecca Shum

Michael A Skalski

James and Judy Stahl*

Kathryn Louise Starzer-Farrell

Andrea Stein

Kay Stephenson

Ye Tian

Troop 40861

Heather and Mark Trumpore

Jeanne Van Steen*

Christine Waldron

Jody Weinmann

Anne Weisenfels

Kristina Wetter

Woman’s Club of Westfield

Roxie Zeek

$50-$99

Irma Abrams

Adrian’s Caterers

American Express Charitable Fund

Anonymous (3)

Debolina Arose

Charletta Ayers

Christy S. Barone

Carolyn Barrow

Carolyn Beauchamp

Karen Bennett

Michelle Bobrow

Liza Boffen

Teresia Bost

Carolynn Briggs

Lisa Brophy

Barbara Burton

Vanessa Cameron

Kristy Camphausen

Laura Chew

Sari Cohen

Volkan Coklu

Vanessa Cole

Lisa Colone

Marie Contrucci

Julia Coyne

Mary Craig

Craziii Dozen MC

Cristin Cricco-Powell

Deborah Cummins

Laura Davis

Daniel De Picciotto

Leigh Ann DelPorto

Catherine Denning

Jodi Devchand

Nicole Draghi

Jean Drozdowski

Rita May Dumaguing

Jessica Dunne

Gwen Duralek

Betsy Emany

Stephanie Entis

Kacy Erdelyi

Onelia Figueroa

Andrea Rothfelder

Finnerty

Alison Fleischer

Lindsey Frank

Jeanine Fuld

Maggie Gabanyi

Carol Gallagher

Sharon Gasmen

Ryan Gates

Amy Gelfand

Cynthia R Green*

Skip Drumm and Alan Gross

Irene Gyori

Cori Herbig

Patricia Hilliard

Earle Holder

Cecilia leung

Bart and Amy Johnson

Roxanne Johnson

Marisa Lunde

Theresa A. Lyons

Gerald and Ruth Maloney

Michael Marchesi

Ellen Margarita

Kelly Martini

Rebecca Mazzariello

Tim McCorkle

Rebecca McFadden

Rita McQuilkin

Raissa Mejia

Bianca Miele

Charles Mierswa

Patricia Miller

Katherine Mitrotasios

Jenny Mundell

Jennifer Murphy

Frances Musler

Patricia Novy

Faith Ann Odat

Wendy T O’Ree

Samantha Paris

Wendy Reardon

Bridget Renzulli

Cecilia Ricks

Lisa Robinson

Ruth Sager*

Payal Sahay

Michael Sanabria

Susan Sapienza

Sharon Shivers

Nikara Smith

Barbara Spiegel

Jackie Stamford

Pamela Stanley

Aimee Swain

Hank Swormstedt

Bibi Taylor

Vineela Juturu

Kim Kanger

Domenica Kapetanakis

Hope Kaufman

Anne S Kennison

Caroline Kimball

John and Carol Kissane

Hilary Kruchowy

Kristine Lawlor

Tina LeMar

Christina Liebrich

Cate Lloyd

Marianne Lloyd

Kristen Tilak

Pamela Touretzky

Elizabeth Trainor

Robin Umber

Nevea Van Wright

Lynn Vande Stouwe

Kathleen Walsh

Jeffrey and Michelle Wieder

Elva Wilson-Calabro

Paul Winters

Kristin Woodard

Peg Wright

Barbara Zielsdorff

Mary Ellen Zvanut

Richard Zvanut

In Memory of Marilyn Belluscio

Joann Sabados-Carolina

In Memory of Mary Lou Clayton

Anne S Kennison

Megan Schnettler

Barbara Spiegel

In Memory of Joy Ann Cowell

Sharon Shivers

In Memory of Elizabeth Davidson

Maureen M. Corbeski

In Memory of Edythe Claire Frank

Walter Boright

In Honor of Deb Hooker

Megan Farrell

Mary Ellen Zvanut

In Memory of Paula R. Howe

Nichelle Denise Howe

In Memory of Jacqueline Miller

Fletcher

Debora Beverly

In Honor of Ilene Wachs

David Cucinotta

In Memory of Mandee Jacobson

Weinberg

Tina LeMar

In Memory of Maureen Gaughran

Patricia Novy

In Memory of Mattie Nicholson and Emma Murphy

Doris Nicholson

In Memory of Gerald Lawlor

Kristine Lawlor

In Memory of Madeleine Mess

Cyndy Ponczek

In Memory of Susan Best

Christiane Gratzel

In Honor of Madelyn McCarthy

Natalie Krauser

In Honor of Rachel Neale

Alexandra Neale

In Honor of Jaclyn Pennella & Rey Financial Group

Ashley Rey

In Honor of Chrissy Buteas

Suzanne Kunis

In Honor of Jennifer Velez

Margaret Campbell

Juliette Gordon Low Society

Deborah Stahl

Debra L. & Carl W. Zvanut

Diane Cifelli

Dianna Beck-Clemens

Dianne Belk and Lawrence Calder Girl Scout Movement-wide Planned Gift

Elizabeth Anne Kelly

Erik and Eva Andersen Girl Scout Movement-wide Planned Gift

Kelly Trageser

Lydia Whitefield

Nancy P. Faulks

Okello Hemmings

Yasche Glass

A big, heartfelt...

*Denotes members of our Daisy’s Circle: our monthly givers.