Please join us as we come together to celebrate the birthdays of both Lord Baden-Powell and Lady Baden-Powell, February 22nd. Girl Scouts and Girl Guides all over the world celebrate this day in international friendship and world peace.

This project was designed to help Girl Scouts and Girl Guides around the world learn about their sisters in scouting. In this project you will exchange postcards with other troops and units to learn more about them and what they do. Registration is two part. First you send me your information which is listed below then, you must create a yahoo id if you don't already have on. A yahoo id is free of charge and can be created a www.yahoogroups.com.

Please read all the rules for the exchange.

RULES AND ETIQUETTE - PLEASE READ THIS IN ITS ENTIRETY - it will answer your questions.

PLEASE DO NOT use last year's list. We have to start fresh every year asking for troops who want to participate. Please help us keep this project successful by following these guidelines.

PLEASE DO NOT post messages to the other lists asking for postcard exchanges. The postcard exchange is a very large activity and there have been complaints of cluttering the other lists. Please use the postcard discussion list to make inquiries. I will make necessary posts to the other lists on a few occasions when needed.

The postcard you send should reflect the area in which you live. Check with your local stores because some may be willing to donate cards to your troop. You should send one card per troop that you trade with. Each troop makes their own decision on how many cards they want to trade with based on the finances of the troop. Ask each parent to bring in 5 stamps (or however many you want) so that you can trade with more troops. "There is a possibility that a postcard trade would not arrive to your troop due to: misdirected mail, lost mail, labels coming off of postcards, illegible address, computer problems, and other unforeseen circumstances. If your troop is having difficulties, please send me a message so I may pass it on."

SAFETY!! - DO NOT put the last name of the girls in your troop on your postcards. Only use their first name. Please use all areas of caution when girls are using the internet.

Put something about your troop on the postcard and not just names. We all love to learn about other troops. (You could type up something on labels and put a label on each card then have the girls sign the card.) Be sure to PRINT, in black or blue ink, the address the card is going to so that the postmaster can read it.

IMPORTANT!!! Make sure leader name and email address are on the card so you can be notified when the other troop receives your postcard. Also include your return address. There is nothing worse than getting a card and not knowing who it is from. Make sure your state is spelled out in full so that International Units will know where you are from. Our state abbreviations are not well known internationally.

Each person will be responsible for contacting troops by email then giving them their mailing address so the exchange can happen. This will ensure that trades have been approved by both parties.

ACKNOWLDEDGE ALL EMAILS you receive requesting trades. Even if you can't trade please let them know so they don't continue to wait for your response. Email me when you are ready to stop trading and I will take you off the list.

Once you agree to trade, please send the cards out within a reasonable time frame. Make your trades and mail your postcards now so that troops can receive their cards and make their displays before Thinking Day.

For ease in tracking, keep a list of troops, with mailing and email addresses, that have agreed to trade with you. When you mail your postcard put the date you mailed it next to the troop info. When you receive a postcard from that troop put the rec'd date by the troop info.

Units from other countries are now listed in the main database. US Troops, please be on your Girl Scout Honor and only trade with 5 international units so that others can have an opportunity also.

Due to the tremendous amount of work involved in running this exchange, I Jan will not be exchanging postcards this year. So, if any of you would like to mail a postcard out of the goodness of your heart, please email me for my mailing addresses. = )

I have set up a discussion list for use during the trade. You will automatically be added once you join the exchange. This list is where I will post info that troops/units need to know during the exchange. Towards the end of the exchange, the list will be open for everyone to post the states they need to complete their displays.

To join the exchange, email me Jan with the information below. PLEASE make sure to send the info in the exact format as below without the labels, just your information. Once I have received ALL of the following information:

US Troops:

Leader name

Council name

Troop level and number

Leader mailing Address, City, State, Zip

Email address

International Units

Leader name

Unit name and number

Age

District, Council, Province or Area name:

Leader mailing address

Leader or unit email address

Country

your troop will be added to the Postcard Exchange list and you will be emailed the web address for the list of troops particiating. The exchange starts in October so that is when you will receive the web address.

Once you received the site, check out the list of troops participating and start emailing troops you would like to swap with. Please let's all use our best courtsey.

Please help us to help others. As you will see, there are several states that do not have troops represented or just a few troops. If you know of someone or locate a troop from one of these areas, please invited them to join the exchange and have them email me so I can add them to the list. Jan

The Event Patch - May take a few minutes to load. All patch orders will be taken on a first come basis until the patches are gone. To place and order please email me at Jan with the quantity you need and the address to send them to. Patches are $2.10 each. If you send a check or money order also send a MANILLA or PADDED Self Addressed Envelope to return them to you in. I WILL NOT send out more than 5 patches in a regular white envelope, they are not sturdy enough. Orders over 5 need to be in a manila envelope.

Preferred method of payment is with a credit card or debit card by using Paypal

Or, I will accept a money order or personal check (in US currency). $25 fee for returned checks.

If you have any questions email me Jan McKinney

Have Fun and Come back often, the list grows daily!