Girl Scouts to close Cape Girardeau service center

Girl Scouts of Missouri Heartland (GSMH) will soon close its service centers in Cape Girardeau and Joplin.

According to a release, the organization is launching a new "community centric service model" that will save an average of $156,000 annually. Employees from five office locations have been relocated to a remote workforce in 36 communities across GSMH's service area.

Local troop leader Amanda Walker said the Cape Girardeau service center in Town Plaza closing will make getting supplies for her troop difficult.

"This makes things inconvenient," Walker said. "It was nice to have a place to go and buy uniforms in-person."

The next closest service center to Walker is in Dexter.

There are currently five service centers in Missouri — Cape Girardeau, Joplin, Dexter, Jefferson City and Springfield.

GSMH will soon close its service center in Jefferson City as well. Its space will be placed on the market within the next several months, according to the release.

Wendy Whelan, director of Strategic Engagement of GSMH, said the pandemic altered how the organization worked. Like most other workplaces, employees transitioned to working from home.

"We decided to make the change permanent," Whelan said. "Without the geographical boundaries set by operating office buildings, we can meet our members where they're at."

Resources used to operate the service centers will now be reinvested into outdoor experiences for Girl Scouts.

GSMH stated in the release it will shift its retail store presence away from its current five physical offices to community pop-up shops. Each of the pop-up shops will sell Girl Scout gear, swag and select badges and patches.

Notifications on pop-up shop locations may be found on the organization's website, www.girlscoutsmoheartland.org.