Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan Makes Major Investment in Ypsilanti Township

YPSILANTI – While many businesses and non-profits are
looking to downsize or consolidate operations, Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan is
expanding.

Jan Barker, Chief Executive Officer for GSHOM, said today
that the organization is relocating its Ann Arbor regional office to a
30,000-square-foot building on seven acres at 444 James L. Hart Parkway in
Ypsilanti.  She said the facility will
officially open for business on January 28.

The decision to move was prompted by continued increases in
the number of girls and adult volunteers GSHOM is currently serving, Barker
said.

“In order to continue to provide a quality experience to our
girls and our volunteers, particularly in the southeast area of our Council, we
needed to find a larger space,” Barker said. 
“Our new building will enable us to expand our current programming and
services and increase opportunities to tailor offerings which will play to the
strengths of the Ypsilanti-Ann Arbor area.”

Brenda Stumbo, Ypsilanti Township Supervisor, said is very
excited to have GSHOM as a new community partner.

“I think it will be a catalyst that will start something
far-reaching in Ypsilanti Township because Girl Scouts is so well-respected,”
Stumbo said.  “To have the availability
of Girl Scouts in our area is wonderful.”

 The building which
had served for more than 15 years as GSHOM’s Ann Arbor Regional office, at 1900
Manchester Road, was sold in November to Christian Memorial Church.

GSHOM’s new location will be temporarily known as the
Ypsilanti-Ann Arbor Regional Center.  The
building, formerly housed an automobile dealership.

Barker said she expects the 17-member staff in Ann Arbor to
be moved into their new offices by January 28. 
She said she plans to hire more staff as programming and service
opportunities increase.

GSHOM currently serves more than 20,000 girls and 6,000
volunteers in a 34-county area.  Barker
said she expects the new regional center to attract not only girls and
volunteers with GSHOM, but also members of the state’s other two Councils in
addition to Council’s from throughout the United States.

In mid-February, the building will be the distribution point
for more than 80,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies.  On March 2 it will serve as the hub for the
last of GSHOM’s Fab Five events commemorating the 100^th anniversary
of Girl Scouts.

“The cookie distribution alone will generate the type of
traffic that will showcase the beginning of a  
tremendous relationship between Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan and the
township,” said Matthew Bates, Chief Information and Property Officer for
GSHOM.  “It’s no accident that we are
widely recognized as the premier leadership organization for girls with a
mission to build girls of courage, confidence and character who will make the
world a better place.”

The Council’s move will be a three-phase process:  getting staff moved in, involving girls and
volunteers in designing the space, and making improvements to the
building.  There will be no disruption in
services while the move takes place.

In addition to girl-lead and girl-driven services, Barker
said the new headquarters will be available to the general public for events
such as meetings, weddings and parties.

“While the new space is first and foremost for our girls and
volunteers, we want the community to know that it’s their building too,” Barker
said.  “We have a responsibility to our
stakeholders and donors to be good stewards of our resources.”

Barker said she hopes residents of the Ypsilanti-Ann Arbor
community will stop by to check out their new neighbor Monday, January 28
through Friday, February 1.

“We have an incredible organization filled with amazing
girls and volunteers and staff and we want the community to partner with us to
make us even stronger,” Barker said.

For more information, visit our Ypsilanti-Ann Arbor Regional
Center Web page at http://www.gshom.org/about/aamove.html.