Girl Scout Opportunities!

[Anonymous]

Are you interested in getting your daughter involved in Girl Scouts? Contact Membership Specialist Aniya Kelly at [e-mail] or at 202-534-3778 for more information!

[Anonymous]

Called and emailed a week ago and got zero reply.

[Anonymous]

Where are you located?

[Anonymous]

Not all troops are created equal. Ours meets in a church basement EOTP and most of the time is spent on following protocol, like collecting dues, taking roll, saying a prayer, etc. no hiking or interesting crafts or camping or volunteering. Very old leader who follows the Girl Scout handbook to the letter. it’s like visiting the DMV. We are thinking of defecting to the other team.

[Anonymous]

Not all troops are created equal. Ours meets in a church basement EOTP and most of the time is spent on following protocol, like collecting dues, taking roll, saying a prayer, etc. no hiking or interesting crafts or camping or volunteering. Very old leader who follows the Girl Scout handbook to the letter. it’s like visiting the DMV. We are thinking of defecting to the other team.

What a shame! GS are a wonderful org, but I was so lucky as a kid to have a troop with a really healthy balance of badge earning, outdoor skills, financial skills, and a safe environment to discuss becoming young women. I love that the boy scouts are now accepting girls, but being in a troop motivated by "girl power" was a game-changer. Hope you can find a better group!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not all troops are created equal. Ours meets in a church basement EOTP and most of the time is spent on following protocol, like collecting dues, taking roll, saying a prayer, etc. no hiking or interesting crafts or camping or volunteering. Very old leader who follows the Girl Scout handbook to the letter. it’s like visiting the DMV. We are thinking of defecting to the other team.

Ugh. Get info on other Girl Scout troops near you. They vary widely in terms of style and the interests of the leaders and the girls in the troop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not all troops are created equal. Ours meets in a church basement EOTP and most of the time is spent on following protocol, like collecting dues, taking roll, saying a prayer, etc. no hiking or interesting crafts or camping or volunteering. Very old leader who follows the Girl Scout handbook to the letter. it’s like visiting the DMV. We are thinking of defecting to the other team.

What a shame! GS are a wonderful org, but I was so lucky as a kid to have a troop with a really healthy balance of badge earning, outdoor skills, financial skills, and a safe environment to discuss becoming young women. I love that the boy scouts are now accepting girls, but being in a troop motivated by "girl power" was a game-changer. Hope you can find a better group!

Just an FYI, the element of "girl power" doesn't completely go away in boy scouts. The den meetings are single sex, the pack activities are co-ed. The activities do differ, so really depends on your child's temperament and preferences.

[Anonymous]

I just signed my daughter up for a four day camp during spring break. $45!, total. We’ve been wanting to join GS for a while but just never got around to it. I volunteered to work one of the days. DD is excited!

[Anonymous]

There are now 41 all-girl Scouts BSA Troops in metro DC (ages 11-18) and a larger number of all-girl Cub Scout dens (elementary school ages). At the Scouts BSA age they really concentrate on outdoor activities at a very sophisticated level and every month. You can find direct contact information for adult leaders of the all-girl units at www.BeAScout.org. Just sort for the girl units and they will pop-up on a map. Call the volunteer Troop leaders directly and you will get immediately plugged-in. The 25 Scouts in our all-girl Troop have more girl-power you could ever imagine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just signed my daughter up for a four day camp during spring break. $45!, total. We’ve been wanting to join GS for a while but just never got around to it. I volunteered to work one of the days. DD is excited!

Where?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are now 41 all-girl Scouts BSA Troops in metro DC (ages 11-18) and a larger number of all-girl Cub Scout dens (elementary school ages). At the Scouts BSA age they really concentrate on outdoor activities at a very sophisticated level and every month. You can find direct contact information for adult leaders of the all-girl units at www.BeAScout.org. Just sort for the girl units and they will pop-up on a map. Call the volunteer Troop leaders directly and you will get immediately plugged-in. The 25 Scouts in our all-girl Troop have more girl-power you could ever imagine!

But the parents have to be there for every meeting. I like being able to drop off my daisy, haha.

[Anonymous]

Not true. Parents never have to stay for Scouts BSA meetings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not true. Parents never have to stay for Scouts BSA meetings.

That's 6th grade and up. They do stay for cub scout meetings (Daisies are the equivalent of Cub Scout Lions & Tigers.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not all troops are created equal. Ours meets in a church basement EOTP and most of the time is spent on following protocol, like collecting dues, taking roll, saying a prayer, etc. no hiking or interesting crafts or camping or volunteering. Very old leader who follows the Girl Scout handbook to the letter. it’s like visiting the DMV. We are thinking of defecting to the other team.

Ugh. Get info on other Girl Scout troops near you. They vary widely in terms of style and the interests of the leaders and the girls in the troop.

And FYI, it does not sound like this leader is following the GS handbook AT ALL. Dues should be collected once at the beginning of the year (and takes no time at all); I've never heard of saying a prayer at a GS meeting; and roll is only taken if the girls are into doing that (we skip it, but I know some troops make it a "kaper" that one of the girls does). I can't imagine what badges you are earning with that approach!
You should at least sign up for one of the GS rallyhoods, and you can get a lot of information about activities that other troops are sponsoring, many of which are open to any GS. Here's the link to do it:
http://www.gscnc.org/en/for-volunteers/rallyhood.html
You might also ask if you can be your troop's designated person to attend the monthly "Service Unit" meeting. (The SU is sort of a local subdivision of the council -- ours has about 30 troops or something like that.) The leaders that do the Service Unit stuff are typically awesome, and the SU plans a lot of great activities that will be local for your troop. (The Council spreads over DC and parts of VA, MD and WV, so some activities can be a bit far to travel.) If you go to a couple of meetings, you might get some good ideas for more exciting things your girls can do. You can also volunteer to lead one of the meetings yourself, and then just plan something EXCITING for the girls. If you tell me your rough location and the age of your girls, I promise to have at least one good suggestion for you. (Your leader may make you pay the $25 to be a GS adult member so you are covered by GS insurance; you should also have a First Aid qualified person for any field trip, but if you have a parent that is a doctor, nurse, EMT, paramedic or firefighter, they are automatically qualified as a First Aider.)

[Anonymous]

I was jealous of my brother when we were kids because the Boy Scouts did all sorts of awesome well organized activities and outings, while my Brownie troop made lemonade and Christmas tree ornaments, sang songs and played games. I was sure my daughter’s troop would do more than that, but nope. Chatting, doing a craft, drawing a picture or two, and having a snack was what they did every week. There was one outing over the course of the year. Dd had no interest in doing that again, and I agree that it was just a waste of time.

If she expresses interest in scouts again we’ll find a bsa troop.