Tell me about being a Daisy troop leader

[Anonymous]

In our council, you earn $0.65 per box, with the potential to earn more if you sell more (we earned $0.68 per box) or forego the fun rewards. (which the girls love.) It can add up - our troop raised about $1,000 from cookie sales, which can pay for a lot of stuff and help keep dues low.

We have families cover their own: council dues ($25) and basic uniform and basic badges (troop numbers, council badge, flag, trefoil pin, etc.) We cover everything else, though occasionally we have a fee for a field trip. We charged $60 for dues last year. Badge costs are increasing dramatically next year so we may cut back from 2 meetings most months to 1 badge meeting per month, plus some non-badging activities.

Out of 18 girls in our troop, 16 sold cookies. A few girls only sold at the booth, but most did individual sales ranging from about 10 boxes to over 200. We sold to the houses on our block, family members and coworkers, and I also posted on Facebook - my friends bought a ton of boxes. A lot of folks chose to donate boxes to AFAC, a local food bank, and some donated money. It was worthwhile but quite a bit of effort for the cookie mom (me.)

[Anonymous]

OP here with a question about the dues/fees. Our school has a really low FARMS rate so I expect there aren't too many kids who wouldn't be able to afford dues or a uniform, but since the rate isn't zero, I know there are some kids in the school for which finances might be a barrier to participating. Is there a process for families getting dues waivers, or is it at the discretion of the troop leaders? Does it make sense to include the uniform in the dues to make sure everyone can have the uniform regardless of ability to pay (assuming it's okay to give dues waivers for financial hardship)? Obviously you don't know until you've set the dues level and people join whether anyone would need a waiver, does it make sense to include at least some margin to pay for an event or two from dues that everyone can participate in regardless of ability to pay?

[Anonymous]

Research the SHARE program. In years past, we've had some members who weren't able to afford the activity. We were able to get SHARE to cover their costs.

I can't find information about using the program (your SU leader will be able to help you with the forms) but here is the link from the GSCNC page - http://www.gscnc.org/en/donate/share.html

Back to patches/badges (especially the fun patches) - my co-leader directed me to this site last year. We purchased most of our fun patches from this group - much cheaper than Girl Scout badges. http://www.snappylogos.com/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Not a leader, but a parent. At our school in APS, the organizational meeting to identify families who might be interested was in September. Once two parents agreed to be co-troop leaders, it opened for registration, and the troop was formed by late October. The first official meeting was in November.

Definitely leverage other parents! Our troop leaders are amazing, but each family signs up to volunteer at one of the meetings during the course of the year to help lead an activity or help corral the girls since 15 6yr olds can be a lot to handle! We didn't do cookies our first year. The second year the goal for each girl was one case, which is 12 boxes. That's the bare minimum you need to sell to earn your GS cookie patch. We did decide to do one 2 or 3hr booth, and the girls loved it as one more chance to hang out together on the weekend. Again, families signed up for a 1hr shift at the booth but many hung out for most of the time.

It really is what you and the parents make of it. What are your interests, and what do you want out of it for your own daughter?

What I want out of it for my daughter is the character-building nature of the program combined with the opportunity to make friends and learn some things she otherwise might not from just our family and school activities. My interests tend toward the outdoorsy (hiking and camping), as well as crafty (sewing, knitting, paper crafts, etc.). I like the idea of helping the girls not only develop their own interests, but also encouraging the idea that you can use your passions to help others (e.g., outdoor activities can include things like cleaning up park areas and learning "leave no trace" principles to respect plants and wildlife; if you enjoy knitting or crochet you can use those skills to make warm winter hats to donate to the homeless or low-income school kids, etc.). I'm also really passionate about kids (girls especially, since socialization still doesn't encourage it as much) learning the life skills needed for independence and self-sufficiency. As much as I'm apprehensive about cookie sales, I don't imagine I wouldn't skip it because I like the idea of the girls really learning about money, planning, and budgeting. I'd want to do activities with them where they use actual tools to build something, so that when they're adults and need a shelf hung or need to a broken door fixed, these skills aren't completely foreign to them and they can have confidence in their abilities to help themselves. That kind of stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back to fees - I didn't read all responses, but $25 per scout has to go to the National Organization so right off the bat, your fees need to be at least $25. Then you need to have Troop Fees to cover things like vests, patches, room rentals, etc.

When my DD1 was a Daisy, they had blue t-shirts instead of the vests. Kept the costs down.

If you want to do any extra activities, I recommend doing a pay as you go for those. We do plenty of other activities for our Cadette troop and it's always pay as you go.

Big yes to cookie sales - just do a booth. So much easier and more enjoyable than door to door sales. Especially at that age.

I think PP is referring to the membership registration fee for the council (GSCNC). That is something the parents need to do on their own. That is totally separate from any troop dues. I wouldn't even include it in the dues. I would have the parents sign their girls up and pay the fee on line. The "dues" are really about the costs of running the troop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Not a leader, but a parent. At our school in APS, the organizational meeting to identify families who might be interested was in September. Once two parents agreed to be co-troop leaders, it opened for registration, and the troop was formed by late October. The first official meeting was in November.

Definitely leverage other parents! Our troop leaders are amazing, but each family signs up to volunteer at one of the meetings during the course of the year to help lead an activity or help corral the girls since 15 6yr olds can be a lot to handle! We didn't do cookies our first year. The second year the goal for each girl was one case, which is 12 boxes. That's the bare minimum you need to sell to earn your GS cookie patch. We did decide to do one 2 or 3hr booth, and the girls loved it as one more chance to hang out together on the weekend. Again, families signed up for a 1hr shift at the booth but many hung out for most of the time.

It really is what you and the parents make of it. What are your interests, and what do you want out of it for your own daughter?

What I want out of it for my daughter is the character-building nature of the program combined with the opportunity to make friends and learn some things she otherwise might not from just our family and school activities. My interests tend toward the outdoorsy (hiking and camping), as well as crafty (sewing, knitting, paper crafts, etc.). I like the idea of helping the girls not only develop their own interests, but also encouraging the idea that you can use your passions to help others (e.g., outdoor activities can include things like cleaning up park areas and learning "leave no trace" principles to respect plants and wildlife; if you enjoy knitting or crochet you can use those skills to make warm winter hats to donate to the homeless or low-income school kids, etc.). I'm also really passionate about kids (girls especially, since socialization still doesn't encourage it as much) learning the life skills needed for independence and self-sufficiency. As much as I'm apprehensive about cookie sales, I don't imagine I wouldn't skip it because I like the idea of the girls really learning about money, planning, and budgeting. I'd want to do activities with them where they use actual tools to build something, so that when they're adults and need a shelf hung or need to a broken door fixed, these skills aren't completely foreign to them and they can have confidence in their abilities to help themselves. That kind of stuff.

you are perfect to be a leader. Welcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here with a question about the dues/fees. Our school has a really low FARMS rate so I expect there aren't too many kids who wouldn't be able to afford dues or a uniform, but since the rate isn't zero, I know there are some kids in the school for which finances might be a barrier to participating. Is there a process for families getting dues waivers, or is it at the discretion of the troop leaders? Does it make sense to include the uniform in the dues to make sure everyone can have the uniform regardless of ability to pay (assuming it's okay to give dues waivers for financial hardship)? Obviously you don't know until you've set the dues level and people join whether anyone would need a waiver, does it make sense to include at least some margin to pay for an event or two from dues that everyone can participate in regardless of ability to pay?

there is a link on gscnc.org for financial assistance form (but it is "under construction" right now, so I can't post the link. IME, the form was handled through the service unit. The parent fills out the form. (You can provide it or they can find it on line). Then the parent gives the form to you (or on line). The service unit approves the request. And the girl is provided a free uniform, membership fee is waived, and the troop can get up to $25 in dues (that may have increased in the past couple of years, I'm not sure).

http://www.gscnc.org/en/for-volunteers/online-support-for-volunteers/forms.html

one thing people haven't mentioned is the administrative burden of being a leader. That was a real downer. For EVERY single thing you do outside of your regular meeting place, you need a parent permission form filled out. It can be exhausting to keep track of it. Plus you need to have a medical form for every girl (and the leaders) for all meetings and trips, vehicle forms, etc.

What I did was make up four manilla envelopes and marked them "Emergency Forms #1", "Emergency forms #2", etc. Then whenever we went anywhere, I would pull out a manilla envelope and hand it to each driver. They would turn them in to me when everyone was back at the starting point. Inside the envelope would be

* a sheet that listed all the parents' cars/licenseplates/make/model (if someone were to go missing, we would know what to tell the police to look for).
* another smaller, sealed envelope had a copy of every girls' medical release/info. form. If there was ever an accident, the driver could hand that envelope to the EMT and they would be able to know if Mary is allergic to penicillin.
* a copy of the GSCNC emergency procedures.
* sheet of paper with the name and phone number for every parent of every girl. (Again, if there is an accident or problem -- the driver can call the parent and tell them what to expect.).

This was all the info the driver needed to take with them on the field trip. When you are the leader, you are responsible for every girl's safety. I took that very seriously.

As you can see, it costs $ for manilla envelopes and lots of paper. GSCNC is all about having LOTS of paper and forms.

One other tip -- definitely get the parents used to using sign up genius. I used it for EVERY meeting, EVERY event. Set the reminder email to go out ONE day prior to the event. You have to change the sign up settings to use ONE day, not two (that is the default). People can generally remember ONE day ahead. They can't remember two days. The sign up genius allows you to tell parents what the meeting will be about and what they need to bring. I had the parents sign their kids up for every meeting. We rarely had girls miss the meetings or events. I've had parents tell me "that signupgenius is genius!" Be strict about people filling out the permission forms for every event. No form = no go. It's kind of like being a teacher -- you have to set the bar high at the beginning of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here with a question about the dues/fees. Our school has a really low FARMS rate so I expect there aren't too many kids who wouldn't be able to afford dues or a uniform, but since the rate isn't zero, I know there are some kids in the school for which finances might be a barrier to participating. Is there a process for families getting dues waivers, or is it at the discretion of the troop leaders? Does it make sense to include the uniform in the dues to make sure everyone can have the uniform regardless of ability to pay (assuming it's okay to give dues waivers for financial hardship)? Obviously you don't know until you've set the dues level and people join whether anyone would need a waiver, does it make sense to include at least some margin to pay for an event or two from dues that everyone can participate in regardless of ability to pay?

I don't get the uniforms for my troop. I make the parents go to the store and pick up what they want. Reasons:

1. Less finances/money exchange to handle
2. Less work for me, more involvement for them
3. They all know where the store is so if they need to get something or help me out, they can.
4. The girls (and parents) are much more into Girl Scouts after they get into the store.
5. They can pick up some extras (cute socks, a journal, etc..)

Registration is $25
Supplies/uniforms are up to the parents
Daytrips are optional and paid for at the time since not all kids can go to each one. Our troop is 13 but each trip/event is hit or miss around 8-10.

Our Fall product sales we make about $250
Our cookie sales make us about $1000 give or take.

We never charge dues anymore. The first year we charged $20.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NONE of the cookie money goes to troops, or at least it didn't in my many years as a GS assistant leader. Our most meaningful activities were the ones that cost very little, like hikes, campouts, nature walks, first aid, visits to fire hall, bakery, etc. My daughter earned her Gold Award (Eagle Scout equivalent) as is lifelong friends with several scouting buddies.

how long have you been out of GS????

Dang. Are you the person who mentioned "TRY-ITS" too? Those have been out for a good 10 years. troops get about 75 cents per box of cookies sold (depends if they take the incentive trinkets or not). I think some of your other advice (if you are the "Try Its" PP) is good. But, your comments are showing that it's been a long time since you were involved with girl scouts.

I am the one that said Try It's but not the PP posts. Every Brownie troop in our SU calls the triangle ones Try-It badges. I guess you call them something else. Congrats on your perfection. But wait you aren't perfect. You lack reading comprehension. Why would I post about needing a cookie parent and a booth coordinator and talk about what to do with the proceeds if I believed a troop doesn't earn any money selling??? Did I not Journeys as well? I spent a lot of time with my post to the OP.

Stop being a rude close-minded B with your replies. If you can't be helpful just STFU. You are what is wrong with Girl Scouts.

Not much of a role model are you? You said "NONE of the money goes to the troops..." So, we were just taking you at your word. You are not making sense.

You are a complete airhead. THAT WAS NOT MY POST. Please reread my initial post with the list and this one above. I never said none of the money goes to the troops in either post. Another poster did in another separate post. You assumed that this poster talking about no money and my post about Try Its was the same person. Hence the bolded comment you typed above. I retorted by telling you (now for the second time) it is two different people. The only reason it doesn't make sense to you is because you can not understand. So instead of constantly assuming and bashing people on this thread, learn to grasp what you are reading the first time.

[Anonymous]

My oldest did GS for a few years. Looking back, the activities -- for fourth graders -- were largely preschooler stuff like finger painting and making macaroni necklaces.

Meanwhile, the Boy Scout next door was learning valuable outdoor skills. She was jealous. Why don't I get to do that, too, Mom?

If you're going to lead a troop, then my advice would be to aim for activities that challenge and teach the troop a valuable life skill that will serve them well. I'd rather my girl learn how to use a compass instead of sitting there using glitter glue any day of the week!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here with a question about the dues/fees. Our school has a really low FARMS rate so I expect there aren't too many kids who wouldn't be able to afford dues or a uniform, but since the rate isn't zero, I know there are some kids in the school for which finances might be a barrier to participating. Is there a process for families getting dues waivers, or is it at the discretion of the troop leaders? Does it make sense to include the uniform in the dues to make sure everyone can have the uniform regardless of ability to pay (assuming it's okay to give dues waivers for financial hardship)? Obviously you don't know until you've set the dues level and people join whether anyone would need a waiver, does it make sense to include at least some margin to pay for an event or two from dues that everyone can participate in regardless of ability to pay?

there is a link on gscnc.org for financial assistance form (but it is "under construction" right now, so I can't post the link. IME, the form was handled through the service unit. The parent fills out the form. (You can provide it or they can find it on line). Then the parent gives the form to you (or on line). The service unit approves the request. And the girl is provided a free uniform, membership fee is waived, and the troop can get up to $25 in dues (that may have increased in the past couple of years, I'm not sure).

http://www.gscnc.org/en/for-volunteers/online-support-for-volunteers/forms.html

one thing people haven't mentioned is the administrative burden of being a leader. That was a real downer. For EVERY single thing you do outside of your regular meeting place, you need a parent permission form filled out. It can be exhausting to keep track of it. Plus you need to have a medical form for every girl (and the leaders) for all meetings and trips, vehicle forms, etc.

What I did was make up four manilla envelopes and marked them "Emergency Forms #1", "Emergency forms #2", etc. Then whenever we went anywhere, I would pull out a manilla envelope and hand it to each driver. They would turn them in to me when everyone was back at the starting point. Inside the envelope would be

* a sheet that listed all the parents' cars/licenseplates/make/model (if someone were to go missing, we would know what to tell the police to look for).
* another smaller, sealed envelope had a copy of every girls' medical release/info. form. If there was ever an accident, the driver could hand that envelope to the EMT and they would be able to know if Mary is allergic to penicillin.
* a copy of the GSCNC emergency procedures.
* sheet of paper with the name and phone number for every parent of every girl. (Again, if there is an accident or problem -- the driver can call the parent and tell them what to expect.).

This was all the info the driver needed to take with them on the field trip. When you are the leader, you are responsible for every girl's safety. I took that very seriously.

As you can see, it costs $ for manilla envelopes and lots of paper. GSCNC is all about having LOTS of paper and forms.

One other tip -- definitely get the parents used to using sign up genius. I used it for EVERY meeting, EVERY event. Set the reminder email to go out ONE day prior to the event. You have to change the sign up settings to use ONE day, not two (that is the default). People can generally remember ONE day ahead. They can't remember two days. The sign up genius allows you to tell parents what the meeting will be about and what they need to bring. I had the parents sign their kids up for every meeting. We rarely had girls miss the meetings or events. I've had parents tell me "that signupgenius is genius!" Be strict about people filling out the permission forms for every event. No form = no go. It's kind of like being a teacher -- you have to set the bar high at the beginning of the year.

There is now one permission form you can fill out for that will cover the entire year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oldest did GS for a few years. Looking back, the activities -- for fourth graders -- were largely preschooler stuff like finger painting and making macaroni necklaces.

Meanwhile, the Boy Scout next door was learning valuable outdoor skills. She was jealous. Why don't I get to do that, too, Mom?

If you're going to lead a troop, then my advice would be to aim for activities that challenge and teach the troop a valuable life skill that will serve them well. I'd rather my girl learn how to use a compass instead of sitting there using glitter glue any day of the week!

I found this on the Girl Scouts website, might give you ideas of some of the types of more practical patches they could earn in addition to their standard Daisy petals:
http://www.girlscouts.org/en/our-program/badges/badge_explorer.html
http://www.girlscouts.org/content/dam/girlscouts-gsusa/forms-and-documents/our-program/Badges/BadgeList_2016.pdf

The Nation's Capital badge project looks cool, and could be done over the course of a year. Maybe not for K-age Daisies but for 1st graders or Brownies even: http://www.gscnc.org/content/dam/girlscouts-gscnc/documents/Kits%20and%20Patches/nacap.pdf (I might send this to our troop leader, in fact!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NONE of the cookie money goes to troops, or at least it didn't in my many years as a GS assistant leader. Our most meaningful activities were the ones that cost very little, like hikes, campouts, nature walks, first aid, visits to fire hall, bakery, etc. My daughter earned her Gold Award (Eagle Scout equivalent) as is lifelong friends with several scouting buddies.

how long have you been out of GS????

Dang. Are you the person who mentioned "TRY-ITS" too? Those have been out for a good 10 years. troops get about 75 cents per box of cookies sold (depends if they take the incentive trinkets or not). I think some of your other advice (if you are the "Try Its" PP) is good. But, your comments are showing that it's been a long time since you were involved with girl scouts.

I am the one that said Try It's but not the PP posts. Every Brownie troop in our SU calls the triangle ones Try-It badges. I guess you call them something else. Congrats on your perfection. But wait you aren't perfect. You lack reading comprehension. Why would I post about needing a cookie parent and a booth coordinator and talk about what to do with the proceeds if I believed a troop doesn't earn any money selling??? Did I not Journeys as well? I spent a lot of time with my post to the OP.

Stop being a rude close-minded B with your replies. If you can't be helpful just STFU. You are what is wrong with Girl Scouts.

Not much of a role model are you? You said "NONE of the money goes to the troops..." So, we were just taking you at your word. You are not making sense.

You are a complete airhead. THAT WAS NOT MY POST. Please reread my initial post with the list and this one above. I never said none of the money goes to the troops in either post. Another poster did in another separate post. You assumed that this poster talking about no money and my post about Try Its was the same person. Hence the bolded comment you typed above. I retorted by telling you (now for the second time) it is two different people. The only reason it doesn't make sense to you is because you can not understand. So instead of constantly assuming and bashing people on this thread, learn to grasp what you are reading the first time.

Therapy needed. Anger management specialty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here with a question about the dues/fees. Our school has a really low FARMS rate so I expect there aren't too many kids who wouldn't be able to afford dues or a uniform, but since the rate isn't zero, I know there are some kids in the school for which finances might be a barrier to participating. Is there a process for families getting dues waivers, or is it at the discretion of the troop leaders? Does it make sense to include the uniform in the dues to make sure everyone can have the uniform regardless of ability to pay (assuming it's okay to give dues waivers for financial hardship)? Obviously you don't know until you've set the dues level and people join whether anyone would need a waiver, does it make sense to include at least some margin to pay for an event or two from dues that everyone can participate in regardless of ability to pay?

there is a link on gscnc.org for financial assistance form (but it is "under construction" right now, so I can't post the link. IME, the form was handled through the service unit. The parent fills out the form. (You can provide it or they can find it on line). Then the parent gives the form to you (or on line). The service unit approves the request. And the girl is provided a free uniform, membership fee is waived, and the troop can get up to $25 in dues (that may have increased in the past couple of years, I'm not sure).

http://www.gscnc.org/en/for-volunteers/online-support-for-volunteers/forms.html

one thing people haven't mentioned is the administrative burden of being a leader. That was a real downer. For EVERY single thing you do outside of your regular meeting place, you need a parent permission form filled out. It can be exhausting to keep track of it. Plus you need to have a medical form for every girl (and the leaders) for all meetings and trips, vehicle forms, etc.

What I did was make up four manilla envelopes and marked them "Emergency Forms #1", "Emergency forms #2", etc. Then whenever we went anywhere, I would pull out a manilla envelope and hand it to each driver. They would turn them in to me when everyone was back at the starting point. Inside the envelope would be

* a sheet that listed all the parents' cars/licenseplates/make/model (if someone were to go missing, we would know what to tell the police to look for).
* another smaller, sealed envelope had a copy of every girls' medical release/info. form. If there was ever an accident, the driver could hand that envelope to the EMT and they would be able to know if Mary is allergic to penicillin.
* a copy of the GSCNC emergency procedures.
* sheet of paper with the name and phone number for every parent of every girl. (Again, if there is an accident or problem -- the driver can call the parent and tell them what to expect.).

This was all the info the driver needed to take with them on the field trip. When you are the leader, you are responsible for every girl's safety. I took that very seriously.

As you can see, it costs $ for manilla envelopes and lots of paper. GSCNC is all about having LOTS of paper and forms.

One other tip -- definitely get the parents used to using sign up genius. I used it for EVERY meeting, EVERY event. Set the reminder email to go out ONE day prior to the event. You have to change the sign up settings to use ONE day, not two (that is the default). People can generally remember ONE day ahead. They can't remember two days. The sign up genius allows you to tell parents what the meeting will be about and what they need to bring. I had the parents sign their kids up for every meeting. We rarely had girls miss the meetings or events. I've had parents tell me "that signupgenius is genius!" Be strict about people filling out the permission forms for every event. No form = no go. It's kind of like being a teacher -- you have to set the bar high at the beginning of the year.

There is now one permission form you can fill out for that will cover the entire year.

Hey thanks! That is a huge help! I just found it on line. I'm glad they made that change. Many of us must have complained about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oldest did GS for a few years. Looking back, the activities -- for fourth graders -- were largely preschooler stuff like finger painting and making macaroni necklaces.

Meanwhile, the Boy Scout next door was learning valuable outdoor skills. She was jealous. Why don't I get to do that, too, Mom?

If you're going to lead a troop, then my advice would be to aim for activities that challenge and teach the troop a valuable life skill that will serve them well. I'd rather my girl learn how to use a compass instead of sitting there using glitter glue any day of the week!

Then go get camping certified and tell the leader you can be the camping parents. Or learn how to read a compass and tell the leader you want to lead "Letterboxing". Once again, it's "Here teach my kid something I don't want to teach her my self." GS is a volunteer organization and we depend on parents to share their skills.