Section 2: Getting Started as a Volunteer

• Troop Leaders (or Co-Leaders) work with other enthusiastic people as a team to guide girls in building leadership skills and having fun. A successful troop leader will try new things with the girls, commit 5-10 hours per month, and hold 1-3 monthly meetings.

• Troop Support Volunteers work regularly with the troop leaders on tasks such as assisting with field trips, managing troop records, coordinating product programs, or helping with general meeting activities. We encourage all troops to build your support network with friends and family!

• Troop Product Managers (TPMs) oversee the Girl Scout Cookie and/or Fall Product Program for a troop— including hosting a kick-off meeting for girls and their parents/guardians, collecting money and forms, and submitting the final orders online. The TPM may also be a troop leader—or this is also a chance for another volunteer to step up and help out!

• Troop First Aid/CPR Support (sometimes called Troop First Aider) is an adult volunteer certified in First Aid and CPR, who is responsible for the troop’s safety while away from the regular meeting location. Your Troop First Aider may take a certification course offered by GSGI, or agencies such as the American Red Cross, National Safety Council, or American Heart Association. Healthcare providers may also serve as first-aiders, including physicians, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, paramedics, military medics, and emergency medical technicians.

Think of service units as all the Girl Scouts within a specific geographic area—all volunteers, troops, and girls there. Service unit team members and troop representatives may meet several times throughout the year to share ideas, receive training, and talk about important announcements. By now, you’ve likely heard from your service unit, or will soon at a leader meeting. If not, let us know and we’ll get you connected!

Some service units are very well established and even have committees that include additional roles than those listed below. If you’re interested in volunteering with your service unit, or want to help make your service unit more established in your geographical area, we are here to help! Connect with your Volunteer Experience Manager (VEM) and they will get you set up with the resources you need.

• The Service Unit Manager (SUM) leads the service unit, in collaboration with council staff. They focus on growth and support of girl and adult membership, through programs, activities, and communication.

• The Service Unit Product Chair (SUPC) coordinates the Fall Product Program and Girl Scout Cookie Program in your service unit, assisting Troop Product Managers with orders and distribution, as well as encouraging participation.

For many families, Girl Scouts is a year-round activity. That usually means troop meetings throughout the school year, and camp during the summer. Schedule your troop meetings around your availability.

Troops meet at many locations, including schools, churches, and local community centers. The meeting space should have room to accommodate your entire troop (plus occasional guests), and should ideally be a consistent location where you can meet as a troop throughout the whole year. Most troops meet twice a month for about an hour. When choosing a meeting time, you may also want to consider if girls will need a snack during meetings!

Once you have your meeting info finalized, submit your troop meeting information to the Troop Catalog Update Form or contact us at info@gsiowa.org.

New Girl Scouts are anxious to get started once they join, and they will be thrilled to hear from you! You will receive an email notification from us when a girl or volunteer has joined your troop. We recommend reaching out to your new troop members to introduce yourself within the first few days of receiving notice. You can view your troop roster and contact information any time on MyGS (mygs.girlscouts.org)

• Pro-tip: The email you used for your volunteer registration is your MyGS username. If it’s your first time logging in, you will need to select “Forgot Password” to create a password!

The Bridge is a great online volunteer resource where you can find all of the information you will need during your time as a Girl Scout volunteer. Check out gsgibridge.com/bank-accounts for all the details you’ll need to open your troop bank account.

Use your Troop Welcome Kit to get started planning your first meeting. Don’t worry, we don’t expect you to be a pro right away; we’ll be checking in with you over the next few months to help you feel prepared and to provide you with additional kits to use with your troop. What is a Troop Welcome Kit? GSGI provides all new troops with three Troop Welcome Kits throughout your first year as a new troop! These kits have information to help you as troop leader as well as activities and supplies to get you started earning badges and having fun. If your troop did not receive your first Troop Welcome Kit, please contact us at info@gsiowa.org so we can get you started with this program.

You will need to collect a completed Troop Activities Year Round Permission Form (find it here!) for each girl in the troop and confirm each girl has completed her membership registration!

The most important thing is to build relationships with your Girl Scouts and create positive experiences for them! Girl Scout badges, fun patches, and Journeys are a great way for a girl to explore and learn new skills, with your support as her troop leader.

If you have additional troop support volunteers, make sure to reach out to them as you get started. You DON’T have to do everything yourself! Rely on other volunteers for support and as you get to know your families, don’t be afraid to recruit parents/guardians to help as well!

Manage troop contacts, track awards and badges, track attendance, and communicate with parents/guardians.

• Click on a girl’s name to see detailed information like her address, birthday, and phone number.

• You can track awards, badges, and attendance in each girl’s record.

Here you can customize activities, delete ones your girls don’t want to do, and replace them with new ones!

• In each meeting you will see an activity plan, materials list, email templates, meeting resources, and more.

Find pre-arranged plans that you can select and customize for your troop, including options to focus on Girl Scout badges or Journeys.

• Use the Year Plan Overview and Year Plan Preview tools to check out your options.

• Plans are pre-populated with 15 suggested meetings. You can follow the outline, rearrange meetings, add activities, and mix-and-match between plans!

• Use the Specify Dates and Locations tab to set your meeting dates/times and troop meeting location.

Check out all the meeting aids and meeting plans, as well as helpful tips for troop leaders!