Let Us Show You the Scouting Stamp

WASHINGTON, June 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Tomorrow, the U.S. Postal Service will commemorate the Girl Scouts' 100th anniversary during the world's largest sing-along to issue the Celebrate Scouting First-Class Mail Forever stamp.

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Available nationwide tomorrow, the stamp will be dedicated at the Washington Monument grounds on the National Mall at the Girl Scouts Rock the Mall: 100th Anniversary Sing-Along, where nearly a quarter-million girls will converge during the organization's centennial anniversary.  

Through audience participation, the crowd will sing along to "Let Us Show You the Scouting Stamp" sung to the tune of "Take Me out to the Ball Game." Celebrate Scouting is the "sister" stamp to the 2010 Scouting stamp that pays tribute to scouting organizations for the opportunities they have provided millions of youths worldwide.

"The Celebrate Scouting stamp is our special way of creating a lasting tribute to the Girl Scouts — by celebrating in song, a rich movement that began nearly a century ago and continues to develop young girls into future global leaders," said Giselle Valera, vice president, Global Business. "I'm positive that the ideals of courage, confidence and character that I learned through scouting as a young girl helped me achieve the success I have as a woman today."

Joining Valera at the stamp dedication will be Anna Marie Chavez, National Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of the USA and Lidia Soto-Harmon, Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts Council of the Nation's Capital.

"We are excited to have the United States Postal Service unveil the commemorative Girl Scout stamp at Girl Scouts Rock the Mall. The Nation's Capital will be the stage for over 200,000 Girl Scouts from around the world to celebrate our 100th anniversary," said Lidia Soto-Harmon, Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital. "Only Girl Scouts with its scale and traditions can elevate girls' voices to celebrate sisterhood and our commitment to make the world a better place."

Song lyrics can be viewed beginning at 12 Noon, EDT tomorrow at this link: http://youtu.be/1d4yULsUF2Q.

In the days leading up to the celebration, the Postal Service has invited followers to share their scouting memories — past and present — on Facebook at facebook.com/usps and through Twitter @USPSstamps or @USPS.

Among the first advocates for a sister scouting movement were the girls who demanded inclusion in the Crystal Palace Boy Scout Rally, the first rally of its kind, held in London, England, in 1909. A year later, boy scout pioneer Robert Baden-Powell and his sister Agnes Baden-Powell helped organize a scouting group for girls, The Girl Guides Association. Together they adapted his guidebook Scouting for Boys, and in 1912 they published the first official girl scouting manual.

Since the birth of the scouting movement, more than a century ago, millions of youths have learned to find their way in the world with skills and confidence acquired through scouting. Some of the first scouting experiences provided opportunities to hike, camp, study first aid and learn to tell time by the stars. While scouts still enjoy those activities, today they benefit from the latest advances in science and technology, with outdoor experiences offering opportunities to study ecology and discover new ways to protect the environment.

Derry Noyes was the art director for this stamp, which was illustrated by Craig Frazier. The stamp features a large silhouette of a girl with binoculars looking into the distance. The scene within the silhouette features a girl in mid-stride with a walking stick, shorts and backpack on a summer trek. The environment is composed of large redwoods, a lake, a distant forested mountainside and small ferns in the foreground. The sky has a blue gradation as it appears in early morning or late evening.

Ordering First-Day-of-Issue Postmarks
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at Post Offices, at The Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP-24.They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others, and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

Celebrate Scouting Stamp
Special Cancellations
PO Box 92282
Washington, DC 20090-2282

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by Aug. 9, 2012.

Ordering First-Day Covers
The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and postal stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

U.S. Postal Service
Catalog Request
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products
There are five philatelic products at www.usps.com/scouting available for this stamp issue:

• 469461, First-Day Cover, $0.89.
• 469465, Digital Color Postmark (DCP), $1.60.
• 469484, Uncut Press Sheet, $81.00.
• 469497, Panel, $9.95.
• 469499, Cancellation Keepsake (DCP w/Pane), $10.95.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, Oxford Strategic Consulting ranked the U.S. Postal Service number one in overall service performance of the posts in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

Follow the Postal Service on Twitter @USPS and at facebook.com/usps.

Release No. 12-071

SOURCE United States Postal Service