Help! I just signed up to be a leader, now what do I do?

The troop organizer should have given you some paperwork to fill out. Fill out the Volunteer Personnel application and return it to the organizer.Give the three references to people who know you and make sure they get them filled out and mailed in. While you wait for your references to be turned it, you can get started on your training. Your Organizer can give you the name of the SU Orientation specialist who will help you get signed up for training classes.

I'm ready to have my parents' meeting, but I don't know exactly what to present at the meeting.

Your training will lead you through a parents' meeting. The module (take home booklet) has a great sample meeting agenda. When you call the parents to inform them of the meeting, make sure you remind them to bring their checkbook, daughter's shot records, and health insurance information. Remember that some families may find the dues, uniforms, and cost of a handbook prohibitive, so make sure you cover financial assistance in the meeting. Parents can talk to you privately if they choose this option. It is appropriate to use troop money to buy a Leader handbook. Just remember that the Leader book belongs to the troop and should go with the troop supplies if you decide to leave Girl Scouts. If you need help putting together a presentation about the Girl Scout program, contact your organizer or the consultant for your level (Daisy, Brownie, etc.). You can find their email addresses on the Team page of this website.

I need to have my first girl meeting, but I don't have any ideas. How can I come up with something new and different every two weeks for the rest of the year?

I hate to sound like a broken record here, but your level consultant or the troop organizer should be able to help you with ideas for the first few meetings to get you started. During your first couple of meetings, make time to talk to the girls about what they are interested in, and plan some meetings around their interests. Remember also that they will probably list things they already know about, so try to schedule a few activities that are outside their normal interests. Field trips are great, as you just provide transportation, the rest is done for you. If you look through the leader's handbook, or the girls' book, you can plan a meeting around earning a petal, tryit, etc. Have your investiture and rededication ceremony in the fall, maybe a Holiday party or service project in the winter, and develop some outdoor skills in the spring.

How much should I charge for dues?

Dues for most troops average around $5 a month. Give parents the option of paying up front for the year, monthly, or at each meeting. Remember cookie money should be deposited in March or April, which can help with end-of-year expenses, such as Encampment, Court of Awards, or a year-end party. Keep your troop checkbook balanced and dues money deposited. Dues should be paid up to date for any girl attending a troop event. If you accumulate more money than you can spend, consider cancelling dues for the remainder of the year. At the end of the year, unless the same girls are continuing on to next year, you should spend the money down to the amount you started with in the beginning of the year. If you have significant troop funds left, you can buy each girl a handbook or badgebook. This is especially helpful for girls that are bridging up to the next level. It is a nice gift to give them during their bridging ceremony, and ensures that the girls that are leaving the troop take some of their hard-earned money with them when they move on. You can also ask the girls what they would like to spend their cookie money on. They may say a trip to Disney world, but you should be able to find a compromise that they'll love and you can handle. A great year-end trip or pool party can help ensure they'll want to return to Girl Scouting in the fall.

What is an investiture ceremony? How do I make a Rededication special when we've already done so many?

An investiture ceremony is a girl or adult's welcome into Girl Scouting for the first time. Rededication is similar, except it is for girls and adults that have already been invested. As part of this ceremony, girls or adults make the Girl Scout Promise, and new Girl Scouts are given their membership pin. Before the ceremony, the girls should learn about the values and ideals of Girl Scouting and become acquainted with the Girl Scout Law. During the ceremony, the girls should commit themselves to these ideals in a meaningful way. Daisies love ceremonies where they recite their lines together, or can place an object symbolically without having to speak. Older Brownies and up can help plan their ceremony, which will make it special and unique. Older Juniors and Cadettes love candle-lighting, just make sure you have permission from the meeting place for open flame. Perhaps each girl can recite what one part of the law means to them, or they can act out a skit that shows how a Girl Scout should behave in a given situation.

It is easier to generate ideas if you pick a theme. Look over the tryits / badges / field trips the girls have most enjoyed for ideas. Some ideas for themes are Arts and Crafts, Camping, A Garden, Girl Scouting Through the Decades, Sports. You can also have your ceremony in an unexpected place, such as a bowling alley or a local park. GSUSA has a good handbook, Ceremonies in Girl Scouting, which is available in the GS shops and through the GS catalog.

Why do I need to attend Service Unit meetings? What is a Service Unit anyway?

The Girl Scout organizational structure is broken into geographical areas, the smallest of which is the Service Unit. At the top level is the national headquarters, GSUSA. The next level consists of the Girl Scout Councils. We belong to Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital (GSCNC). Our council has over 50,000 registered girls. To provide service to the girls and the communities they live in, our Council is split into 22 associations, ours being 80, Eastern Prince William County. We are service unit 9 of association 80.

The best reason I can give for going to Service Unit meetings, is to find out what is going on in scouting in our community, Prince William County, and our council. You will get information on events, such as the Father Daughter Dance, Thinking Day, and Encampment. You will also get a chance to meet with other leaders at your level and pick up some great ideas. You can also voice your opinion on what kind of events you'd like to see our service unit offer. If you ever find yourself wondering why you keep missing everything, or finding out about stuff late, you're probably not attending Service Unit Meetings! Besides, they are a great place to network!

Do I have to keep receipts, deposit dues, and use the checkbook? Can't I just keep everything in cash and spend that?

Remember that all the money you collect from parents, or get from cookies sales, or any other income, is the girls' money. If someone else was holding and spending your money, wouldn't you want to see a receipt? Try keeping an envelope with your troop number in your purse or fanny pack. Whenever you buy something for the troop, stick the receipt in the envelope. You'll need the receipts at the end of the year to produce the Money Manager report. Once you sign the signature card for your troop checking account, you can pay for troop supplies directly from the troop account. That eliminates the need to pay yourself back when you spend your own money. Make sure you make deposits regularly and update the balance so you don't overdraw the troop account. If you do overdraw the account, you will need to reimburse the troop for the amount of the bank penalties.

And one more note on money and I'll shut up - if you don't think managing money is your strong point, remember that the troop money manager can be one of the parents. This is a great job for someone who is too busy otherwise to help out. They just have to reimburse you for money you spend, deposit dues, cookie money, and other income, and put together a Money Manager's report at the end of the year to document income and expenses.

What is Thinking Day? How do I prepare myself and my troop for it?

Thinking Day in our Service Unit is two things - one is the Girl Scout holiday linking girls worldwide on February 22, the other is an event our Service Unit holds every year, usually at a local school, to celebrate that holiday. The Girl Scout holiday is on the birthday of both Lord Baden-Powell and his wife Olave, who started the Boy Scout and Girl Guide movements. For more information on the history of this international celebration, check your handbook, or go to GSUSA's website, click on Our Program, then International Girl Scouting, then click on the link to World Thinking Day.

As for how to prepare for it, the most important piece of advice is to attend SU meetings. We will begin planning for this winter event in the fall. Each troop will be asked to choose a country to represent. We will also pick a theme, which may be famous women, or endangered animals, etc. Research your country or theme by going to websites or getting books out of the library. Make sure you check out any websites in advance to prevent the girls from inadvertently visiting an inappropriate site. Our community has a significant percentage of military families, so some of your parents may have artifacts you could borrow depending on the country you choose. Once you have your research assembled, purchase or make a cardboard display panel, grab some markers, and stand back! You will be amazed at what the girls' creativity can come up with! And for you Daisy leaders, just plan to come to the event with your girls, don't worry about making a display. This is a great introduction for the youngest girls to the world of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides.

A couple of reminders - when planning for attending the event, remember to bring the following; 1. your display (duh!) 2. a permission slip signed by the parents of each girl 3. a passport for each girl so she can visit each country and get a stamp 4. a stamp that symbolizes your country (like tulips for the Netherlands, or a zebra for Africa) so you can stamp visitors 5. a goody bag for each girl to collect give-aways from each country visited 6. a penny-a-pound (or inch) for each girl to donate to the Juliette Low World Friendship Fund.

What do my girls need to bring to encampment?

The most valuable tool to bring to encampment is a well-trained, confident leader. The council has fantastic training courses (see the Training link below) that will give you the knowledge and confidence you need to take a troop of girls into the woods. You will also learn tricks on how to deal with "unforeseen events" that you can count on happening to someone at camp, such as wetting the sleeping bag, homesickness, run-ins with creepy crawlies in the cabin, etc.

As for the girls, what they should bring depends on whether you are staying one night or two, and what the weather is like. Here's a packing list to get you started. In addition to the girls' supplies, you will also need Permission Slips, Health Histories and Authorization for Emergency Medical Treatment forms (girls and adults), and swaps. To download the forms, go to the GSCNC website (see Links below), click on QuickLinks, and select Download a Form. You may also be asked to bring other items, depending on the program, such as toilet paper, latrine cleaning supplies, fire-building supplies, s'more makings, mess kits in a mesh bag (girls should bring their own), kaper charts, and/or an activity for troop time. If these items are unfamiliar to you, or this is your first camping trip with your girls, contact your level consultant a couple of months before encampment for suggestions on how to get your girls and yourself ready.