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Managing_Girl_Scout_Troop_Camping

Troop Management

Leadership is more than “being in charge” or having a title; it’s recognizing that you are part of a team and understanding that team’s needs and interests. Here’s how you’ll do that with your troop! 

Your Role as a Volunteer

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience is based on three keys--discover, connect, and take action--but it's not just for your troop. As a Girl Scout leader, you will embark on your own leadership journey as you help girls develop the leadership skills they'll use to make the world a better place. Here are a few basic concepts that outline what leadership means in Girl Scouting. 

Leadership is teaching your Girl Scouts:

  • That they can do and be anything!
  • That they are decision makers and should own their decisions.
  • How to live the Girl Scout Law by modeling it for them.

As a leader, see yourself as a coach who:

  • Advises, discusses, and cheers on your troop, not as a teacher with a planned lesson or activity but as a mentor and coach.
  • Ensures each member understands and can carry out their responsibilities within the troop.
  • Encourages Girl Scouts to build their skills and their ethics.
  • Gives more responsibilities to the girls as they grow and develop. 

It is important to remember that: 

  • You cannot know everything that your Girl Scouts might ever want to learn.
  • You'll explore and learn alongside your girls and grow your confidence in the process.

You're not expected to know everything about Girl Scouting, but you should know where to go for information, and to ask for help when you need it.

Planning for Your First Troop Meeting

Depending on the ages of your girls, you might take the lead in guiding the structure and experiences of your troop, from how and when meetings are held to how the troop communicates, from steering girl-led activities to setting financial expectations. You'll make these decisions collaboratively with your volunteer team or co-leader, as well as with input from the girls and their parents and caregivers. 

Use the questions below to guide your conversations with your troop committee volunteers or co-leader before discussing these topics with parents and caregivers. 

  • When will we meet and for how long? How frequently should we schedule troop meetings? 
  • Where will we meet? Your meeting space should be somewhere safe, clean, and secure that allows all girls to participate. Some great meeting space ideas include schools, places of worship, libraries, and community centers. If working with teens, consider meeting at coffee shops, bookstores, or another place they enjoy. 
  • Which components of the uniform will families need to purchase? Which uniform components will the troop provide for each girl
  • Will our troop be a single-grade level or facilitated as a multi-level troop with girls of many grade levels combined into one troop? If multi-level, how will we make sure they each get an age-appropriate experience?
  • How will we keep troop activities and decisions girl-led? Use the Volunteer Toolkit to help you through this process by exploring options for activities and reviewing the meeting plans and resource lists.
  • How often are we going to communicate with troop families? Which channels will we use to keep families in the loop? Effective communication will help set expectations and clarify parent/ caregiver responsibilities. 
  • Will our troop charge dues, use product program proceeds, and/or charge per activity? How much money will we need to cover supplies and activities? What should our financial plan look like? 

For information about marketing and recruitment materials for adding new girls to your troop, including details about how to list your troop in a troop opportunity catalog, email customercare@girlscoutsalaska.org.

Creating an Atmosphere of Acceptance and Inclusion

The troop size "sweet spot" is large enough to provide an interactive and cooperative learning environment and small enough to encourage individual development. Though the ideal troop size is 12 girls, we recommend that groups be no fewer and no larger than:

  • Girl Scout Daisies: 5-12 girls
  • Girl Scout Brownies: 10-20 girls
  • Girl Scout Juniors 10-25 girls
  • Girl Scout Cadettes: 5-25 girls
  • Girl Scout Seniors: 5-30 girls
  • Girl Scout Ambassadors: 5-30 girls

A Girl Scout troop/group must have a minimum of five girls and two approved adult volunteers. Be sure to double-check the volunteer-to-girl ratio table below to make sure you have the right number of adults present for group meetings, events, travel, and camping. Adults and girls registering in groups of fewer than five girls and two approved, unrelated adult volunteers, at least one of whom is female, will be registered as individual Girl Scouts to accurately reflect their status and program experience. Individual girls are always welcome to participate in Girl Scout activities and events. 

As you think about where, when, and how often to meet with your group, consider the needs, resources, safety, and beliefs of all members and potential members. Include the special needs of any members who have disabilities or whose parents or caregivers have disabilities. But, please, don't rely on visual cues to inform you of a disability: Approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population has a disability--that's one in five people of every socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and religion.

If you want to find out what a girl with a disability needs to make her Girl Scout experience successful, simply ask them or their parent or caregiver. If you are open and honest, they'll likely respond in kind, creating an atmosphere that enriches everyone.

It's important for all girls to be rewarded based on their best efforts, not on the completion of a task. Give any Girl Scout the opportunity to do her best and she will! Sometimes that means changing a few rules or approaching an activity in a more creative way. Here are some examples of ways to modify activities:

  • Invite a girl to complete an activity after she has observed others doing it.
  • If you are visiting a museum to view sculpture, find out if a Girl Scout who is with visual impairment might be given permission to touch the pieces.
  • If an activity requires running, a Girl Scout who is unable to run could be asked to walk or do another physical movement.

Focus on a person's abilities, on what they can do rather than on what they cannot. In that spirit, use people-first language that puts the person before the disability.

Say . . . Instead of . . .
She has a learning disability. She is learning disabled.
She has a developmental delay. She is mentally retarded; she is slow.
She uses a wheelchair. She is wheelchair-bound.

When interacting with a girl (or parent/caregiver) with a disability, consider these tips:

  • When talking to a Girl Scout with a disability, speak directly to her, not through a family member or friend.
  • It's okay to offer assistance to a Girl Scout with a disability, but wait until your offer is accepted before you begin to help. Listen closely to any instructions the person may have.
  • Leaning on someone's wheelchair is invading their space and is considered annoying and rude.
  • When speaking to a Girl Scout who is hearing impaired and using an interpreter, speak to the person themselves, not to the interpreter.
  • When speaking for more than a few minutes to someone who uses a wheelchair, place yourself at eye level.
  • When greeting someone with a visual disability, always identify yourself and others. You might say, "Hi, it's Sheryl. Tara is on my right, and Chris is on my left."

Registering Girls with Cognitive Disabilities
Girls with cognitive disabilities can be registered as closely as possible to their chronological ages. They wear the uniform of that grade level. Make any adaptations for the Girl Scout to ongoing activities of the grade level to which the group belongs. Young women with cognitive disorders may choose to retain their girl membership through their twenty-first year, and then move into an adult membership category.

Getting Support for Your Troop

From troop meetings to camping weekends and cookie booths, adult volunteers must always be present to ensure Girl Scouts have fun and stay safe, no matter their grade level. If you are not sure about the number of adults you will need for your activity, the chart below breaks down the minimum number of volunteers needed to supervise a specific number of Girl Scouts; your council may also establish maximums due to size or cost restrictions, so be sure to check with them as you plan your activity.

Troop Management Tools and Resources

The emotional and physical safety and well-being of Girl Scouts is our top priority. Safety Activity Checkpoints outlines the Safety Standards and Guidelines used in Girl Scouting, which apply to all Girl Scout activities. All volunteers should review the Safety Activity Checkpoints manual when planning activities with girls in order to manage safety and risk in Girl Scout-sanctioned activities. 

For current COVID-19 guidelines, check your local council's version of Safety Activity Checkpoints.

Customer Care Contacts
Questions? Need help resolving an issue? We’ve got you! Reach out anytime either by clicking on the “Contact Us” form at  our council site or by email customercare@girlscoutsalaska.org. During business hours: Monday-Friday, 9-5, you can reach a customer service specialist by calling 248-2250. Communication: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Taking Advantage of Learning Opportunities

Every participant (girl or adult) in Girl Scouting must register and become a member of Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). GSUSA membership dues are valid for one year. Membership dues cannot be transferred to another member and are not refundable.

Preregistration for the upcoming membership year occurs in the spring. Girls are encouraged to register early to avoid the fall rush. Early registration allows for uninterrupted receipt of forms and materials from the council, helps girls and councils plan ahead, and gets girls excited about all the great things they want to do as Girl Scouts next year. A Girl Scout?s grade level is determined by the current membership year beginning October 1.

Lifetime membership is available to anyone who accepts the principles and beliefs of the Girl Scout Promise and Law, pays the one-time lifetime membership fee, and is at least 18 years old (or a high school graduate or equivalent). Volunteers with ten or more years of service can become lifetime members at the discounted young alum rate. 

You can find Girl Scouts of Alaska volunteer trainings and volunteer opportunities on our website.

Knowing How Much You’re Appreciated

Growing your troop is a great way to share the power of the Girl Scout experience and there are many ways to get the word out, like hanging posters at your girl's school, using social media to reach families in your community, or including your troop in your council's Opportunity Catalog or Troop Catalog.

Girl Scout Participation in Activities with Other Scouting Organizations

Girl Scouts is for every girl, and that's why we embrace girls of all abilities and backgrounds with a specific and positive philosophy of inclusion that benefits everyone. Each girl, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, physical or cognitive ability, sexual orientation, primary language, or religion?is an equal and valued member of the group, and groups reflect the diversity of the community. 

We believe inclusion is an approach and an attitude, rather than a set of guidelines. Inclusion is about belonging, all girls being offered the same opportunities with respect, dignity, and celebration of their unique strengths. It's about being a sister to every Girl Scout. You're accepting and inclusive when you:

  • Welcome every girl and focus on building community.
  • Emphasize cooperation instead of competition.
  • Provide a safe and socially comfortable environment for girls.
  • Teach respect for, understanding of, and dignity toward all girls and their families.
  • Actively reach out to girls and families who are traditionally excluded or marginalized.
  • Foster a sense of belonging to community as a respected and valued peer.
  • Honor the intrinsic value of each person's life.

If you have questions about accommodating an individual girl, please reach out to your council. 


 

 

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