Stay up-to-date on COVID-19
At Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida, there is nothing we take more seriously than the safety and well-being of our Girl Scouts, volunteers, and staff. We continue to monitor information regarding the COVID-19 virus through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local, state and national public health officials to inform our decisions. Please continue to monitor council updates so we may all take the appropriate measures to ensure our Girl Scout family continues to have a safe, fun, one-of-a-kind experience. If you have any questions, please contact us at: customercare@gssef.org.
Latest Update: June 9, 2022
GSSEF COVID-19 Guidelines for Mask Wearing 
Domestic Travel
International Travel
Camp Properties
Communicable Disease Mitigation Guidelines for Trips/Travel
Exposure and Positive Test Results
Looking for a previous update? Our council is constantly monitering the current situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and how it pertains to our organization. All previous updates and announcments are listed below.
Previous Council Updates
Update: August 5, 2021
At Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida, there is nothing we take more seriously than the safety and wellbeing of our girls, volunteers, and council staff. We have been closely monitoring the information regarding the COVID- 19 virus shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as GSUSA, and national public health officials to inform our decisions. New information is still being reported regularly, so we remain fluid in planning and scheduling, and thank our members for their flexibility. Please continue to monitor council updates so we may all take the appropriate measures to ensure our Girl Scout family continues to have a safe, fun, one-of-a-kind experience. If you have any questions, please contact us at: customercare@gssef.org.
- This guidance supersedes our council’s most recent COVID-19 update on 6/1/2021.
- GSSEF recommends maintaining 3-6 feet for social distancing.
- Volunteers are directed to follow Adult to Girl Ratio guidelines found in Safety Activity Checkpoints; there are no additional group gathering limitations required for the number of people meeting in one location.
- Volunteers are expected to confirm and follow venue requirements to maintain compliance.
- It is not the council’s policy to ask about an individual member’s vaccination status. No one should ask the vaccination status of a girl, family member, volunteer, etc. However, due to the close and personal nature of many troops and groups, one’s vaccination status may be voluntarily shared and could lead to a logical modification to guidelines.
- This is not an exhaustive list of Girl Scout activities and should be used as a guide for like activities.
- For detailed guidelines related to Camping, Camporees or In-gatherings or Travel, please click here.
- Children aged 2 and younger are not required to wear masks.
- *For purposes of this guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or 2 weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson/Janssen).
Update: June 1, 2021
Thank you for your ongoing attention to our council’s communications regarding the ways we are adapting to the Coronavirus situation. This guidance will supersede our council’s previous COVID-19 update starting on 6/1/2021.
At Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida, there is nothing we take more seriously than the safety and wellbeing of our girls, volunteers, and council staff. We have been closely monitoring the information regarding the COVID-19 virus shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as GSUSA, and national public health officials to inform our decisions. New information is still being reported regularly, so we remain fluid in planning and scheduling, and thank our members for their flexibility. Please continue to monitor council updates so we may all take the appropriate measures to ensure our Girl Scout family continues to have a safe, fun, one-of-a-kind experience. If you have any questions, please contact us at customercare@gssef.org.
- This guidance supersedes our council’s most recent COVID-19
update on 3/22/2021.
- Volunteers are directed to
follow Adult to Girl Ratio guidelines found in
Safety
Activity Checkpoints; there are no additional group
gathering limitations require for the number of people meeting in
one location.
- Volunteers are expected to confirm and
follow venue requirements to maintain compliance.
- GSSEF recommends maintaining 3-6 feet for social distancing, in
groups with unvaccinated individuals.
- It is not the
council’s policy to ask about an individual member’s vaccination
status. No one should ask the vaccination status of a girl, family
member, volunteer, etc. However, due to the close and personal
nature of many troops and groups, one’s vaccination status may be
voluntarily shared and could lead to a logical modification to
guidelines.
- Children aged 2 and younger are not
required to wear masks.
- *For purposes of this guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or 2 weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson/Janssen).
Update: March 22, 2021
Update: January 13, 2021
Update: October 6, 2020
Update: August 19, 2020
Update: July 30, 2020
Update: June 18, 2020
Update: June 15, 2020
Update: June 1, 2020 (A Message from CEO Lisa Johnson)
Dear Girl Scout Families,
Thank you for your support, dedication, and perseverance as we have navigated this uncertain time together. I know I speak for our entire GSSEF team when I say that I have never been more grateful to be a part of such a strong organization.
This isn’t easy news to deliver, but after many weeks of discussion and carefully considering our options, we have made the decision to cancel this year’s summer resident camp sessions. As your CEO, I want you to know that the health and safety of each of you and your girl is my priority. Depending upon where you are and to what extent you have been impacted by COVID-19, this may not come as a surprise to you.
Our staff team has carefully reviewed the guidelines and recommendations made by the American Camping Association, as well as the CDC, GSUSA and the Florida Department of Health. Given everything that is recommended and required, we do not feel sure that we can provide the reasonable expectations for health and protection that our members must have to be in a resident camp setting.
There is only one way to describe this decision—heartbreaking. Outdoor adventure and camping experiences are among the things that makes Girl Scouting so unique and special. When I became our Council’s CEO in 2016, I made a commitment to reenergizing our council’s outdoor initiatives and experiences for girls. Part of that was ultimately bringing summer camp back. While no one could have expected that a global pandemic would stand in our way, I promise that nothing has changed, and that commitment is intact. Summer camp will return to our camps once it is safe to do so.
I would like to personally thank the many Girl Scout volunteers who were equally as dedicated to hosting summer camp this year. There are dozens of amazing adult volunteers who had made the commitment to be counselors, unit leaders, program providers and CITs (Counselors in Training). Our council is tremendously grateful to have you and I hope that when we can offer summer camp again that you will be with us.
We will begin processing refunds beginning tomorrow. Credits usually take approximately 3-5 business days to be reflected. However, if you have any questions or concerns about your refund, please email our team at customercare@gssef.org.
Thank you for being a Girl Scout with me and I hope that you will continue being a Girl Scout by renewing your membership for the upcoming 2020-2021 year. Now more than ever, we need to stand together as one strong, passionate, visible, positive community – as Girl Scouts.
Sincerely,
Lisa Y. Johnson
Chief Executive Officer
Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida
Update: May 21, 2020 (A Message from CEO Lisa Johnson)
Update: May 8, 2020 (A Message from CEO Lisa Johnson)
Update: April 29, 2020
Update: April 6, 2020 (A Message from CEO Lisa Johnson)
Update: March 31, 2020 (RE: High Award Deadlines)
Update: March 23, 2020
Update: March 17, 2020
Update: March 16, 2020 (A Message from CEO Lisa Johnson)
A MESSAGE FROM CEO LISA JOHNSON - MARCH 16, 2020
Good afternoon,
Thank you all for your quick response to our email on Saturday and for taking steps to ensure the safety of our Girl Scout family by canceling troop and service unit meetings and activities. We are continuing to monitor the CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19 and have also created a website where we can post updates: https://www.gssef.org/en/our-council/covid-19-updates.html.
Since our communication with you on Saturday, the CDC provided interim guidance regarding gatherings of 50 or more people. Specifically, the recommend that for the next 8 weeks, we cancel all in-person events of 50 people or more throughout the United States. They also issued recommendations that events of any size should only be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene and social distancing. Unfortunately, most of our program activities cannot meet this important standard.
My executive team and I met his morning to discuss this latest guidance and have made the decision to postpone, and in some cases cancel, all Girl Scout events, programs and activities through at least May 10. This also includes all camporees, troop camping and other activities on Council properties. Additionally, we have rescheduled the Gold Award Ceremony that was originally planned for May 16. While this is not an exhaustive list, here are some of the upcoming activities and the impact.
| Original Date Planned |
Event/Program/Activity |
Status |
| March 14 |
Rock the Noc! |
Rescheduled to October 17 |
| March 21 |
NU2U |
Canceled |
| March 21 |
In-store Retail Event (in both locations) |
Canceled |
| April 1-30 |
Feeding Florida Together |
Proceeding as planned; expanding donation locations list |
| April 4 |
Cybersecurity Champions |
Rescheduled for September 12 |
| April 4 |
Troop Camp Training |
Canceled |
| April 4-5 |
Spring into Girl Scouting |
Postponed; date TBD |
| April 17 |
Core Camp |
Canceled |
| April 18 |
Emerald Awards |
Rescheduled for July 25 |
| April 18 |
Roger Dean Sleepover |
Canceled |
| April 18 |
Busch Gardens – Cookie Reward Trip |
Canceled; girls will be issued gift cards to go at a later date |
| April 18 |
In-store Retail Event (n both locations) |
Canceled |
| April 25-26 |
iFly – Cookie Reward |
Canceled; girls will be issued gift cards to go at a later date |
| May 1-31 |
Early Bird |
Proceeding as planned |
| May 2 |
Women in Energy Program with NextEra |
Postponed; date TBD |
| May 2 |
Cookie CEO: Extreme Team Luncheon |
Postponed; date TBD |
| May 2-3 |
NU2U |
Canceled |
| May 9 |
Camporee/Ingathering Lottery |
Proceeding as planned |
| May 16 |
Gold Award Ceremony |
Rescheduled for July 11 |
Any training, program or activity that is scheduled to be delivered via an online platform will proceed as planned. This includes all of our online Volunteer training.
We are absolutely still planning all three of our Resident Camp Sessions that are planned for Camp Welaka in July. Planning is well underway and we look forward to having girls on the property.
The Activities Calendar at www.gssef.org is being updated to reflect cancellations and postponements of all program and event activities. This process may take a few days, so we appreciate your patience.
Per our Council’s policies, GSSEF will refund registration fees for canceled programs. If a program is rescheduled, customers will have the option to transfer the registration fee to hold a spot for the rescheduled date and time. If the rescheduled date and time is not desired, a refund will be issued.
At this time, Council properties are still closed to the public through at least April 5. It is our hope to resume normal office hours and normal retail hours after this date, but we are prepared to extend this if needed. We will keep the camp properties closed until at least May 10 unless we receive guidance from the CDC that it is safe to resume. We will continue to monitor this closely and keep you apprised of any changes. It is also our expectation that troops and service units will follow suit and suspend all in-person gatherings that do not meet the CDC guidelines, which can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/large-events/mass-gatherings-ready-for-covid-19.html.
We continue to be available to serve the needs of our members. The best way to reach us is to send an email to customercare@gssef.org. This team will respond to inquiries and will distribute requests to the rest of the team so that we can work as efficiently as possible.
Thank you,
Lisa Y. Johnson
Chief Executive Officer
Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida
Update: March 14, 2020 (A Message from CEO Lisa Johnson)
A MESSAGE FROM CEO LISA JOHNSON - MARCH 14, 2020
Good afternoon,
The last couple of weeks have brought a great deal of confusion and concern to our community, and our GSSEF staff team has handled that with great professionalism and compassion for our members and their families. As the situation with COVID-19 has been a rapidly changing one, we have all found ourselves in uncharted territory that even the many hurricanes we have weathered have not prepared us for. As your CEO, I want you to know that the health and safety of each of you and your families is my priority.
In response, beginning Monday, March 16, GSSEF is introducing a temporary, voluntary work-from-home option for current office-based employees whose jobs can be done from home. While some council functions require work from the Administrative Headquarters, this will be limited to essential functions. The GSSEF Customer Care department is here to help and guide you, however we will accept incoming requests via email only at this time at customercare@gssef.org. With the change in workplace, staff access to the main phone number may be inconsistent. We are committed to assisting you in every way possible and the use of incoming requests through customercare@gssef.org will allow us to do just that.I assure you, our GSSEF staff team will be working during this timeframe, albeit in the unique ways that this unforeseen situation demands. Our staff can utilize their leave time and sick time.
For the immediate future, March 14 – April 5, 2020, GSSEF will limit public and group exposure for staff members who would be expected to be present at Girl Scout related meetings or programs, including but not limited to those hosted by Service Units. Staff members have been directed to participate only using technology such as conference phone or webinar, etc.
Additionally, March 14 – April 5, 2020, GSSEF will close (to visitors and members) our Administrative Headquarters in Lake Worth, Camp Nocatee in Clewiston, Camp Welaka in Tequesta, Palm Beach Retail Store in Jupiter and Broward Retail Store in Tamarac. Customers can still place retail orders online and by phone; our staff team can complete your transactions and ship the items.
All programs, meetings, events, troop camping, Camporees and Ingatherings will be postponed in this timeframe. We will work closely with the troop camping groups and Service Units who had Camporees/Ingatherings in this time frame to establish new dates for those wishing to reschedule, prior to the 2020-2021 Camporee/Ingathering Lottery, scheduled for May 9, 2020.
The health and wellbeing of our entire Girl Scout family is paramount. I urge our troops and Service Units to practice the guidelines set forth by our nation’s top health experts. Even though we dislike it, Girl Scouting can wait for now. GSSEF is directing all troops, groups and Service Units to suspend all in person meetings from March 14 – April 5, 2020. We encourage these groups to meet though the use of technology tools, if they wish to do so.
GSEEF has cancelled all programs in this timeframe, as well as activities scheduled with third-party program providers. Per our council’s policies, GSSEF will refund registration fees for cancelled programs. If a program is rescheduled, customers will have the option to transfer the registration fee to hold a spot for the rescheduled date and time. If the rescheduled date and time is not desired, a refund will be issued.
I will communicate with you as the situation changes and as this timeframe concludes or is forced to be extended.
Please contact me and my team via email or at customercare@gssef.org. We will get through this together. Thank you for your cooperation in helping keep our Girl Scouts and our larger community healthy.
Sincerely,
Lisa Y. Johnson
Chief Executive Officer
Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida
