How to handle too many girls for a Girl Scout troop?

[Anonymous]

This sounds bad but a lot of girls who signup will never actually join. A membership is $15. Dues for our troop were $50. Just the tunic and insignia patches and pins were $60. Cookie rally was $7. We have to drop off and pickup for events and meetings. This is a Title I school- those things are simply not going to be doable for a lot of those kids. So ultimately you will probably only end up with enough girls for 1-2 troops.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This sounds bad but a lot of girls who signup will never actually join. A membership is $15. Dues for our troop were $50. Just the tunic and insignia patches and pins were $60. Cookie rally was $7. We have to drop off and pickup for events and meetings. This is a Title I school- those things are simply not going to be doable for a lot of those kids. So ultimately you will probably only end up with enough girls for 1-2 troops.

There are ample scholarships for families who need them. Girl Scouts doesn't have a monetary barrier to entry.

[Anonymous]

to 8:43:

It sounds like you have a remarkable leader who probably spends most of her time on GS. That's terrific--but she sounds like a special person who would be hard to duplicate!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This sounds bad but a lot of girls who signup will never actually join. A membership is $15. Dues for our troop were $50. Just the tunic and insignia patches and pins were $60. Cookie rally was $7. We have to drop off and pickup for events and meetings. This is a Title I school- those things are simply not going to be doable for a lot of those kids. So ultimately you will probably only end up with enough girls for 1-2 troops.

There are ample scholarships for families who need them. Girl Scouts doesn't have a monetary barrier to entry.

I have a FA kiddo this year. It is a very long process to get the uniform from GS. She just got it in December and I submitted the paperwork in September. We still have yet to receive her troop dues from GS. You will only get a max of $25 from Share. Our regular troop dues are $40.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This sounds bad but a lot of girls who signup will never actually join. A membership is $15. Dues for our troop were $50. Just the tunic and insignia patches and pins were $60. Cookie rally was $7. We have to drop off and pickup for events and meetings. This is a Title I school- those things are simply not going to be doable for a lot of those kids. So ultimately you will probably only end up with enough girls for 1-2 troops.

No... your memory is bad or you got ripped off. The prices for these things are the same everywhere. It is $35 if you get the vest/tunic. It's never going to be $60. If you get the sash it is even less. But, if you request financial assistance in this council (GSCNC), no proof of need is required and the uniform and books are FREE. Dues should be set based on the plans of the troop taking in mind the ability of the girls to pay. Last I heard, council will also cover $25 of troop dues (but that may have risen in the last year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This sounds bad but a lot of girls who signup will never actually join. A membership is $15. Dues for our troop were $50. Just the tunic and insignia patches and pins were $60. Cookie rally was $7. We have to drop off and pickup for events and meetings. This is a Title I school- those things are simply not going to be doable for a lot of those kids. So ultimately you will probably only end up with enough girls for 1-2 troops.

No... your memory is bad or you got ripped off. The prices for these things are the same everywhere. It is $35 if you get the vest/tunic. It's never going to be $60. If you get the sash it is even less. But, if you request financial assistance in this council (GSCNC), no proof of need is required and the uniform and books are FREE. Dues should be set based on the plans of the troop taking in mind the ability of the girls to pay. Last I heard, council will also cover $25 of troop dues (but that may have risen in the last year).

I didn't say just the tunic was $60. I got the tunic. But I also had to get four individual number patches for her troop number. An American flag patch. A GSCNC patch. A daisy pin and some other pin, and a yellow banner thing to hang on the tunic to pin those on. Then a package of magic sticker stuff that enables you to stick the patches on without sewing them. So okay, subtract $7 for that. My total was $62 for all that at Leesburg Hobby shop last week, so I'm not imagining things.

[Anonymous]

Are you in DC? I started a troop at a DC Title 1 school last year and after everything settled most of the girls were higher SES. I would recommend breaking it into 2 troops - a Daisy troop and a Brownie troop. Maybe meet at the same time and do snacks / girl scout traditions together but break into 2 rooms for the core part of the meeting.

What SU is your troop a part of? Since this is an anonymous board - I do not find my DC Service Unit meetings to be of ANY value or provide any guidance other than asking for $ for share.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I had not looked at this thread for a few days and I'm grateful for all the advice! So the other moms who want to start a Daisy troop are now moving ahead without doing flyers. It's essentially going to be a club for their higher SES girls. I'm a little uncomfortable with that. Maybe no lower income girls would have joined, anyway, but it seems like they should have at least made the effort. On the other hand, it will keep the troop size down. Maybe its ok considering that they're starting the troop midway through the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I had not looked at this thread for a few days and I'm grateful for all the advice! So the other moms who want to start a Daisy troop are now moving ahead without doing flyers. It's essentially going to be a club for their higher SES girls. I'm a little uncomfortable with that. Maybe no lower income girls would have joined, anyway, but it seems like they should have at least made the effort. On the other hand, it will keep the troop size down. Maybe its ok considering that they're starting the troop midway through the year.

I'm a new troop leader. If you can get folks on board with really encouraging participation next year, this may not be so bad in the long run. Getting a GS troop up and running, especially with no prior GS experience, is a royal, bureaucracy filled PITA. And after 2 meetings I can say for sure that running a *good* meeting is a learned skill. The learning curve on all this is not to be underestimated. So let this spring be a 'lets figure out how to do this on our own kids' experiment, and then next year once the leaders have a clue you can push to make it a more inclusive experience for all the girls the way it should be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This sounds bad but a lot of girls who signup will never actually join. A membership is $15. Dues for our troop were $50. Just the tunic and insignia patches and pins were $60. Cookie rally was $7. We have to drop off and pickup for events and meetings. This is a Title I school- those things are simply not going to be doable for a lot of those kids. So ultimately you will probably only end up with enough girls for 1-2 troops.

No... your memory is bad or you got ripped off. The prices for these things are the same everywhere. It is $35 if you get the vest/tunic. It's never going to be $60. If you get the sash it is even less. But, if you request financial assistance in this council (GSCNC), no proof of need is required and the uniform and books are FREE. Dues should be set based on the plans of the troop taking in mind the ability of the girls to pay. Last I heard, council will also cover $25 of troop dues (but that may have risen in the last year).

I didn't say just the tunic was $60. I got the tunic. But I also had to get four individual number patches for her troop number. An American flag patch. A GSCNC patch. A daisy pin and some other pin, and a yellow banner thing to hang on the tunic to pin those on. Then a package of magic sticker stuff that enables you to stick the patches on without sewing them. So okay, subtract $7 for that. My total was $62 for all that at Leesburg Hobby shop last week, so I'm not imagining things.

They are ripping you off. All the insignia AND the tunic should cost about $35 if you buy it from GSCNC direct or one of their stores. I'm not saying you are imagining things. I'm saying they are over charging you if you spent $60 on the uniform. I'm a former leader. I've priced these items and purchased them for 12+ girls. A full uniform with the required patches and such doesn't cost $60.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This sounds bad but a lot of girls who signup will never actually join. A membership is $15. Dues for our troop were $50. Just the tunic and insignia patches and pins were $60. Cookie rally was $7. We have to drop off and pickup for events and meetings. This is a Title I school- those things are simply not going to be doable for a lot of those kids. So ultimately you will probably only end up with enough girls for 1-2 troops.

No... your memory is bad or you got ripped off. The prices for these things are the same everywhere. It is $35 if you get the vest/tunic. It's never going to be $60. If you get the sash it is even less. But, if you request financial assistance in this council (GSCNC), no proof of need is required and the uniform and books are FREE. Dues should be set based on the plans of the troop taking in mind the ability of the girls to pay. Last I heard, council will also cover $25 of troop dues (but that may have risen in the last year).

I didn't say just the tunic was $60. I got the tunic. But I also had to get four individual number patches for her troop number. An American flag patch. A GSCNC patch. A daisy pin and some other pin, and a yellow banner thing to hang on the tunic to pin those on. Then a package of magic sticker stuff that enables you to stick the patches on without sewing them. So okay, subtract $7 for that. My total was $62 for all that at Leesburg Hobby shop last week, so I'm not imagining things.

They are ripping you off. All the insignia AND the tunic should cost about $35 if you buy it from GSCNC direct or one of their stores. I'm not saying you are imagining things. I'm saying they are over charging you if you spent $60 on the uniform. I'm a former leader. I've priced these items and purchased them for 12+ girls. A full uniform with the required patches and such doesn't cost $60.

I just priced out everything I bought on girlscoutshop.com, Girl Scout official store site. Subtotal was $50 and shipping was $10.50. Total: $60.50 before tax. Were you a former leader in 2001?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I had not looked at this thread for a few days and I'm grateful for all the advice! So the other moms who want to start a Daisy troop are now moving ahead without doing flyers. It's essentially going to be a club for their higher SES girls. I'm a little uncomfortable with that. Maybe no lower income girls would have joined, anyway, but it seems like they should have at least made the effort. On the other hand, it will keep the troop size down. Maybe its ok considering that they're starting the troop midway through the year.

OP On a practical level keeping the troop smaller helps when you do an activity. Some moms limit it to the number that will fit in 2 cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I had not looked at this thread for a few days and I'm grateful for all the advice! So the other moms who want to start a Daisy troop are now moving ahead without doing flyers. It's essentially going to be a club for their higher SES girls. I'm a little uncomfortable with that. Maybe no lower income girls would have joined, anyway, but it seems like they should have at least made the effort. On the other hand, it will keep the troop size down. Maybe its ok considering that they're starting the troop midway through the year.

That sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I had not looked at this thread for a few days and I'm grateful for all the advice! So the other moms who want to start a Daisy troop are now moving ahead without doing flyers. It's essentially going to be a club for their higher SES girls. I'm a little uncomfortable with that. Maybe no lower income girls would have joined, anyway, but it seems like they should have at least made the effort. On the other hand, it will keep the troop size down. Maybe its ok considering that they're starting the troop midway through the year.

No it's not ok. That is a terrible message and example to set for the kids that join what will obviously appear as an "exclusive", high SES group formed right in front of all of the other kids. They should find another way to do it or not at all. Any value the girls might gain from the group exercises will be offset by the toxic message set by the parents in forming the group. So sad.

[Anonymous]

This is why they have created the obnoxious new registration system -- so you can't cherry-pick the kids. The o lay thing you will be able to do is make it a PITA location or time so that it does not happen at right at school at the end of the day.

And if financial assistance is that hard to get, you are talking with the wrong people at GSCNC and your membership specialist should be fired. Go higher up the food chain and it should happen a lot quicker.