San Antonio, TX

Local Girl Scouts begin taking orders for America’s much-anticipated sweet treats on January 1, 2013 and this year’s cookie packages have a new look and a new purpose: to elevate the significance of the Girl Scout Cookie Program, a $790-million girl-led business.  

Girl Scout Cookie Program – Dates & Details

Order taking for Girl Scout cookies begins January 1, so keep an eye out for girls selling door to door, visiting the workplace or sending an email asking for a “promise” to purchase Girl Scout cookies online.   Girl Scouts will continue their sales beginning the first week of February in front of neighborhood stores. Offering eight varieties, each box of Girl Scout cookies is priced at $3.50.  The Girl Scout Cookie Program not only helps girls fulfill their goals, but also helps communities grow. All proceeds from selling Girl Scout cookies stay within the region to provide direct services to girls and adult volunteers and girls get to decide where the money goes. Your purchase of Girl Scout cookies helps girls do great things, such as pay for a fresh change of clothes for an abused victim or cheer up a soldier far from home.  

New Look – Same Great Taste

For the first time since 1999, all boxes of Girl Scout cookies have a new look and a new purpose. The iconic Girl Scout cookie package showcases the five financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills that the Girl Scout Cookie Program teaches girls, skills that will last them a lifetime: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.   The decision to update the package came about in 2010 as part of an overall brand refresh in advance of the organization’s 100th anniversary on March 12, 2012. The package needed to be more contemporary to reflect the new brand identity and to embody the spirit of Girl Scouting, while showing customers how they can reconnect with the organization. Girl Scouts of the USA partnered with the New York office of Anthem Worldwide, the brand development division of Schawk Inc., to redesign the packaging to inspire consumers and engage them on the important role that Girl Scouts plays in girls’ lives.

(SPM Wire)

No matter what your financial situation is like, there’s one way you can give back to your community that won’t cost you a penny. According to the American Red Cross, more than 44,000 blood donations are needed daily. While it’s always the right time to give blood, January is National Volunteer Blood Donor Month, a great reminder to make an appointment. As the new year begins, consider making regular blood donations a part of your 2013 schedule. One donation can help save the lives of up to three people. To find out where you can give blood and to schedule your appointment, go to www.redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

(StatePoint)

It’s at the top of many New Year’s resolution lists -- quitting smoking. In fact, 15 million people try to quit smoking cigarettes yearly. Only 5 percent succeed when they use no support or go cold turkey. Moreover, the average smoker will attempt to quit up to nine times before successfully quitting. Luckily there are new tips and tools that can help smokers kick the habit this year. In an effort to empower the more than 45 million current U.S. smokers to call it quits, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare has launched Quit.com, a free, total quit-smoking online resource with tools to help smokers quit their cigarette addictions and stay smoke-free. Every smoker is different; therefore every smoker’s approach to quitting may need to be different. Quit.com houses personalized tools in a central location to help smokers navigate quitting smoking, no matter where they may be in their quit journey. Here are some tips from the experts at Quit.com to help smokers quit their nicotine addiction in the New Year:

• Preparing to Quit: First pick your quit date. By having a day you’re working toward, you’ll be able to prepare mentally and physically to quit. Do your research on how to be prepared before getting started.

• Ready to Quit: Support your quit by reducing your body’s physical cravings so they don’t get in the way of your willpower. Consider using a nicotine replacement product that fits your lifestyle, such as a gum, lozenge or patch.

• Currently Quitting: Celebrate every little win and stay focused on the positive benefits of quitting and why you decided to quit in the first place. If you get a strong craving, change things up to throw your urge to smoke.

• Post-Quit: Surround yourself with inspiration to stay smoke-free -- your family, your pet, your health and your finances -- and remember you have everything to gain by quitting.

More tips on quitting smoking can be found at www.Quit.com. The new website is built in four levels with specific tools depending on where smokers are in the quitting process -- preparing to quit, ready to quit, currently quitting or post-quit and looking for resources to remain a nonsmoker. “Quitting smoking is tough and requires focus and effort, but that’s only half the equation. Part of the addiction is behavioral -- a learned habit over time -- but the other part is neurobiology, a chemical dependency to nicotine,” explains Saul Shiffman, Ph.D., an addiction and dependence expert, researcher in behavior change and relapse at the University of Pittsburgh, and paid-consultant to GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. “Using a combination of behavioral resources, education and quit smoking medicines can improve chances of success!” Quit.com also offers tools to help battle mental aspects of quitting smoking, such as identifying and tracking triggers and making a list of reasons you want to quit, along with resources to help fight the physical addiction, such as a quit guide to find the right nicotine replacement to provide relief from cravings. The key to successfully kicking the habit is to empower and encourage smokers to try quitting and give them tools to help them succeed.