Reversing the Membership Decline in Girl Scouts

[Anonymous]

I had the girls vote on doing the Bronze Award. Very few were interested, so we're skipping it. I'm thinking about offering to meet individually with kids who really want to do it but not entirely sure I want to make the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But can we all agree that it's a better organization than the Boy Scouts?

No. The Boy Scouts are evolving positively. And, they're outdoors all the time. Hikes, camping. And they haven't sold their campgrounds.

Boy Scouts have big donors like the Marriott family, who has a long history of supporting BS and funds a large camp ground in Maryland used for summer camps. The activities my son has participated for his merit badges are very focused on life skills unlike Girl Scouts. I can compare them because I have twins and my daughter has been in Girl Scouts for 8 years. The activities seem unfocused and boring. And, to my daughter's great disappointment, once the girls get older they do not camp anymore. I am going to have a challenge keeping her in GS compared to my son who is focused on his eagle award. It's sad to me also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Journeys are awful. But for Juniors and older, you have to do them if the girls want to earn the Bronze, Silver, or Gold Awards.

I got my girls through the Bronze. But I'm really struggling with the Silver. Girl Scouts competes with their other interests, and when the thing I have to offer is "we have to get through this Journey so we can start work on our Silver projects" several of the girls have expressed they just don't care about doing their projects anymore. Things they excitedly brain stormed and started planning at the beginning of the year! I hate to give up on the girls earning their Silver (and hopefully eventually Gold) but I may have to in order to keep them interested in Girl Scouts.

Our experience as well. Once we made it through the Journey, the girls no longer wanted to bother with the Bronze award. Now we're just doing badges (just fun ones), outings, and community service.

[Anonymous]

Our troop is running out of steam because the paperwork and BS requirements take up way too much time. I'd like to propose that we have a low-key troop focused on the actual things the girls learn and having them earn badges. What is the least amount of official garbage and paperwork we can do and still be considered official Girl Scouts?

[Anonymous]

Older DD did 12 years of GS. It was a great experience.

Younger DD's tried 2 troops over 4 years. Both were disorganized, cliquish, seldom did outdoor experiences like hiking or camping, and often involved big ticket activities that we can't afford. The final straw was the last troop moving meetings from a weekday evening to a day that is our Sabbath.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But can we all agree that it's a better organization than the Boy Scouts?

No. The Boy Scouts are evolving positively. And, they're outdoors all the time. Hikes, camping. And they haven't sold their campgrounds.

+ 1. eagle scout mom and former girl scout here. Boy Scouting is amazing. Girl Scouts is now meh. It's a real shame.

+2. Mine didn't quite make it to eagle but stuck with Boy Scouts through most of high school. The trips are amazing -Philmont, Northern Tier, skiing,etc. Tons of camping and service projects. Boy Scouts also really emphasizes leadership and being boy led. And our troop did no popcorn or other sales. My DD was in Girl Scouts for about 6 years. The troop fizzled out by 6th grade. They did one camping trip. It was fun enough but not really a distinctive experience. I don't think she got much out of it while my DS got a ton out of Boy Scouts.

[Anonymous]

Our troop is running out of steam because the paperwork and BS requirements take up way too much time. I'd like to propose that we have a low-key troop focused on the actual things the girls learn and having them earn badges. What is the least amount of official garbage and paperwork we can do and still be considered official Girl Scouts?

Do what I do, participate in cookie sales, screw fall product sales. Who the hell has time to do additional fundraising, parents would rather pay more than take time out of their weekends for fundraising. It is just ridiculous. Parents HATE the cookie sales. Dont go to SU meetings, they are turning into nothing but cookie sale meetings and harassment about SHARE.

You have to let go of the idea that you have to do badge activities. I just looked at the Cadette badge book last night, honestly there is not enough in there of interest for three years.

We will do a journey, but it will be abbreviated and will probably be done in one meeting. Who is going to know that you didn't do all the boring parts? Journey=Done

Charge more troop fees and buy better craft supplies. Take a couple of meetings and do meaningful projects rather than pounding out badges.

Contact private hobby clubs and ask for advice and for people to come to your meetings. There are orienteering clubs, http://qoc.us.orienteering.org/, astronomy, model rocket, sports clubs and photography clubs that have people that will give you advice and often provide volunteers for your meetings.

Start using the multi trip permission slip. You have to plan things out in advance as much as possible so go ahead and do the multi-trip permission slip.

Create a secret (different than closed) facebook page, that way the security of the girls is protected. Post trip details and photos on there, parents love seeing photos of their kids and are more willing to help. Also when they ask questions about planned events, don't answer them but tell them the answer is on your page. It really cuts down on emails.

[Anonymous]

I was a Brownie leader one year (and was annoyed by Journeys) and both my DDs were scouts. Both my kids quit--three problems:

1) No wilderness/hiking etc.

2) The dominance of selling cookies

3) This created an environment where they were often sitting on their butts in a classroom after class, and my kids just wanted to get outside! (and not outside a supermarket to sell cookies)

and the must-sell-nuts-before-doing-a-car-wash? TOTALLY wrong.

and btw the cookies were soooo bad for you, that was another thing that drove me insane. I have the original shortbread recipe. sugar, butter, flour, etc. Now it's a list of disgusting unpronounceable ingredients.

I hope they can turn it around!

[Anonymous]

Want to hear my complaint about local Girl Scouts?

I am single mom and signed up to be cookie mom which required weeknight training. I brought my brownie aged daughter along with tablet and coloring to keep her busy. Room full of women attending training and giving it looked at me disapprovingly when we entered the room. I was then loudly told that dis were not welcome and to "keep her quiet"

Then leader laid out a strategy about how cookie moms would compete against each other on how to get the best booth sites.

Give me a break!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But can we all agree that it's a better organization than the Boy Scouts?

No.

I have boys in boy scouts (no daughters) but from what I see above, it doesn't sound better. My sons have not experienced any pressure to sell things/fund raise. There is a camping outing at least once a month.

Popcorn anyone??? Mulch in the springtime?? Boy Scouts in this area are just as cash happy as the Girls Scouts.

No, Cub scouts sell popcorn, not boy scouts. And while the boy scouts do sell mulch, my kids have not experienced pressure to sell. At all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But can we all agree that it's a better organization than the Boy Scouts?

No.

I have boys in boy scouts (no daughters) but from what I see above, it doesn't sound better. My sons have not experienced any pressure to sell things/fund raise. There is a camping outing at least once a month.

Really? We got hit up for that terrible, expensive popcorn twice in the same day last week. (My husband the sucker bought both times.)

They ask the boys to sell popcorn, but it's not a big deal if they don't. It's the only fundraiser they do.

[Anonymous]

I have had a positive experience with GS so far, largely due to great troop leaders. Their does seem to be a lot of paperwork. For those of you with troops that did not do a lot of outdoor activities, did you offer to lead any activities of that nature? Usually the activities are chosen by the girls and/or geared towards what those volunteering know or have an interest in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have had a positive experience with GS so far, largely due to great troop leaders. Their does seem to be a lot of paperwork. For those of you with troops that did not do a lot of outdoor activities, did you offer to lead any activities of that nature? Usually the activities are chosen by the girls and/or geared towards what those volunteering know or have an interest in.

Usually I am all about getting off your butt and volunteering instead of complaining, but as a troop leader, I have to say it's not so easy. You may want to take the kids kayaking or rock climbing or whatever, but if you don't already have those skills, most likely you will either have to spend a lot of time and money acquiring them or pay an expensive outfitter to organize the activity. I wish GSCNC would devote more resources to organizing affordable, turnkey outdoor programs. They did do an outdoor skills day last May at Brighton Woods, which I thought was very good, all things considered.

[Anonymous]

The training required to lead the camping/outdoor activities is too much and preventing volunteers from signing up. How many of us have a free weekend where we can go to a Girl Scout Camp for the entire weekend just to become camp certified?

My troop would love to go camping but not one parent has volunteered to become camp certified. And there was no SU led encampment this past fall. We'll try for something in the spring.

We did one journey last year at the National Portrait Gallery. That was a pretty good program and a fabulous way to do earn the journey. WSSC ran a program a couple weeks ago for the Wonder of Water journey. If your troop does a journey, try to make it a field trip one like the National Portrait Galley or somewhere else.

This year, the girls are leading all the badges. I doubt we will do any of the journeys.

[Anonymous]

I have a boy scout and a girl scout. Boy scouts is so much better--- all about outdoors and team work. No pressure to sell, no stupid "journeys". My boy scout does an overnight trip once a month, they do great stuff- whitewater rafting, hiking old rag, just camping. They learn cool stuff, they learn independence and leadership. My girl scout does.... journeys.