New Leader Manual Allentown Robbinsville Service Unit GSCSNJ Website: www.argssu.org Council: www.GSCSNJ.

.org Service Unit E-Mail: argssu@yahoo.com Facebook: AllentownRobbinsville GirlScouts

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Revision B: 2012-2013 Revision A: 2011-2012 Initial release: 2010-2011

Welcome to the New Leader Manual, which is an add-on guide to Volunteer Essentials. Volunteer Essentials is a handbook for volunteers in all positions. This New Leader Manual gives you specifics about starting a troop within the Allentown Robbinsville Service Unit. Please be sure to go back and read Volunteer Essentials for more general

information. Safety Activity Check Points (formerly called Safety-Wise) is your guide to find safety protocols for everything Girl Scouts. Safety Activity Check Points can be found online. You will find links to forms, documents and websites throughout the manual. Look for the underlined phrases and click on them to open the links in a web browser.

Defining Girl Scouts

Girls Scouts builds girls of Courage, Confidence and Character that make the world a better place. The girls learn this by the Discover, Connect and Take Action method. The Girl Scouts program helps girls learn how to become leaders and to make a difference in their own life and the lives of others. There is a saying if you give a man a fish he will eat today, but if you teach him to fish he will never be hungry. As a leader of the younger girls, you will help them learn about decision-making. Do we go here or there? Do we earn this badge or that? As the girls get older, you will help them learn to run the troop, by guiding the decision-making process with questions that will prompt the girls to consider all options and choose the best outcome for the girls and the troop. By the time they are in High School, they will be running the troop. From Daisy to Ambassador, the adult role gradually shifts from Leader to Advisor, with both roles being equally important. Girl Scouts is a place for girls to try out their decision-making abilities and leadership techniques. Hint: the more decisions the girls can make about the direction of their troop, the longer they will stay in Girl Scouts. The Discover, Connect and Take Action, is a method that the Journey Program is based on; however, it can be found in all areas of Girl Scouts and for that matter life. Your troop chooses to learn about a new topic. (Discover) Then your troop learns about that topic through field trips, badge work and events (Connect). Lastly, your troop shares their learned information with others (Take Action).

Defining the Troop Pathway

Girls and adults participating in the troop pathway usually stay together for an entire school year and meet once a week, once a month, or twice a month how often is up to you, your co-leader and the girls! Troops can meet just about anywhere, as long as the location is safe (has 2 entrances and exits), access to a restroom, easily accessible to girls and adults, and within a reasonable distance. In each meeting, girls participate in fun activities that engage them in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.

Understanding Your Role as a Troop Leader

Your most important role as a troop leader is to be excited about everything this opportunity affords you: a chance to partner directly with girls; an invitation to play a critical role in their lives; a chance to watch them blossom under your guidance! Sure, youll have a few other responsibilities as well, and the rest of this section shares those details. One note, however: As a troop leader, you serve as a partner and role model to girls. Youll also work closely with your co-leader, as at least two registered, trained adults must be present at all times when working with girls, and at least one of those volunteers must be female and not related to the other adult. This is an important distinction that bears repeating: Men can serve as troop leaders, but an adult female who is not related to the male volunteer must be present at all times, and at no time is a girl to be alone with only one volunteer. Remember to also check the adult-to-girl ratios in the Safety Activity Check Points (formerly called Safety-Wise).

Your Responsibilities
GSCSNJ provides position descriptions (scroll down to Position Descriptions on the webpage) for all service unit volunteers, outlining responsibilities for each position. The position description for troop leaders, co-leaders and assistant leaders is as follows:

Position Description Troop Leader/ Advisor Title: Reports To: Term of Appointment: Troop Leader/Advisor Service Unit Manager The Troop Leader is appointed for a one year term that is renewable upon successful completion of evaluation process. This position requires an average of 20 hours a month. The troop leader has the enthusiasm and ability to generate girls interests and curiosities about the ways that they can discover themselves, connect with others, and take action to make the world a better place through the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE). The nature of this position requires the individual to provide direct service to girls, helping them to develop their leadership skills on an individual or group basis. The troop leader receives support, guidance, and encouragement from the Service Unit Manager and Service Unit Troop Coordinator. She or he has access to relevant learning opportunities and materials that prepare for and support this role.

Job Summary:

Support:

Qualifications and Core Competencies: Personal Integrity Adaptability Oral and Written Communication - express ideas and facts clearly and accurately Foster Diversity Computer Skills access to email and the Internet Girl focused- empower girls to lead activities, learn by doing, and cooperate with others on current issues that involve their interests and needs, while having fun Responsibilities: Registers as a member of GSUSA Complete required coursework as assigned and provided by GSCSNJ and GSUSA Be guided in all actions by the Girl Scout Mission, Promise, and Law Remain informed about and comply with the most current policies, procedures, and guidelines of Girl Scouts of Central & Southern NJ (GSCSNJ) and Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) Work in a partnership with girls to ensure the program offered aligns to the GSLE by utilizing journey books and The Girls Guide to Girl Scouting and customized experiences Organize fun, interactive, girl-led activities that address current issues involving girls interest and needs Serve as a positive example for girls by modeling positive attributes such as reliability, respect for others, inclusiveness, and a positive attitude Support and encourage girls in attaining desired goals and awards Provide guidance and information to the parents or guardians of girls on a regular, ongoing basis through a variety of tools, including email, phone calls, newsletters, and blogs

Process and complete girls registrations and all other paperwork according to GSUSA and GSCSNJ policies and procedures Manage the troop funds according to GSUSA and council policies and procedures (complete annual troop financial summary) Follow guidelines in Volunteer Essentials and all Safety Activity Checkpoints Participate and encourage participation in Product Program opportunities and council events

Your Support Team

In your role as a troop leader, youll team up with helpers, including your co-leader(s), a service unit team, parents and guardians, council staff members and others who have expressed interest in working alongside you. (Note: A Service Unit (SU) is a territory assigned by Council. Our Service Unit is Allentown-Robbinsville and consists of leaders from both towns). Your service unit team of volunteers is composed of the Service Unit Manager (SUM), treasurer, recruiters, registrar, age-level consultants, product sales managers, and historian. These individuals are here to help! All members of the SU, except the Council Leadership Development Specialists, are also volunteers and they are all trained in the positions that they have taken. Service Unit Manager Oversees the leaders and is a liaison with Council
SUM DaisyJean Ward argssu@yahoo.com ruggierogray@hotmail.com Cziliani@kidzart.com; larakeller@optonline.net jtmurph@optonline.net vbeyer@stark-stark.com jaspaltro@optonline.net tammybaio@gmail.com jc.mat@verizon.net kmstupper@hotmail.com larakeller@optonline.net eamato17@optimum.net 609-208-2985

Leader Coaches Will help leaders with level specific, ideas or questions
Celeste Gray Cheryl Ziliani BrownieLara Keller JuniorBeth Murphy Ca/Sr/Amb/Jul- Vicki Beyer April Spalto Tammy Baio Jen Matwiow Kathleen Sturgeon Lara Keller Eleanor Amato 609-918-1473 609-259-1240

Service Unit Cookie Manager Oversees the cookie sales for the SU
609.558.8225 609-357-8059 609-902-3846 609-259-3776 609-918-1473 609- 223-0677

Service Unit Cookie Booth Manager Organizes cookie booths for the SU Service Unit QSP/Nut Manager Oversees QSP/Nut sales for the SU Service Unit Treasurer Oversees the SU Finances Service Unit Recruiter/Organizer Recruit leaders and scouts and assigns girls to troops
Marva Morris-Guyton Patty Dolce Sheryl Smolensky Vacant JoinGSar@yahoo.com JoinGSar@yahoo.com ssmolensky@hotmail.com 609-649-4138

Service Unit Registrar Collects all registrations to submit to Council Service Unit Historian Submits Girl Scout activities to the press Religious Awards Oversees Religious Awards for the SU
Renee Carroll wwjdnay@gmail.com 609-240-1782

Website Administrator Oversees management and maintenance of the SU website

Jean Ward argssu@yahoo.com 609-208-2985

GSCSNJ Board Member Board oversees the running of the Council and makes Council policies
Gail Pfister Charlette Ayers Lori Wolfhope pfister1@optonline.net kweku3@earthlink.com lwolfhope@gscsnj.org 609-529-4677

Council Volunteer Management Volunteer connection to Council

800-582-7692 x 302

An adult representative from your troop is required to attend monthly Service Unit Leaders Meetings. This is a great opportunity for leaders. Besides connecting with other leaders in our area, youll learn about upcoming Service Unit events, hear valuable information about the service unit, council and GSUSA, receive fall nut sale and cookie sale information and much more! The schedule for Leaders Meetings can be found on the Service Unit website.

Taking Your First Steps

Your first steps as a troop leader include the following: Complete the Volunteer Application (which includes permission to process a background check) and register as an Adult member Complete Girl Scouting 101: Orientation Training (online or in person. Orientation training must be completed by two leaders before troop list is given to you by the Registrar) Open a troop checking account With your co-leader(s), decide when, where and how frequently to meet Determine troop dues Hold a parent/guardian meeting

This manual shows how to complete these steps. After youve completed those, youre ready to plan and hold your first few troop meetings.

Completing the Forms and Training

Once you have made the decision to become a leader, you must first be approved as a leader by Council. In order to be approved, you need to complete a Volunteer Application. Once approved, your background check is good for three years after that, you will have to have another background check. You must also register with GSUSA as an Adult member. Get used to the paperworkthis is just the beginning! Once Council has received your application, you will be contacted by a Council Staff Person / Leadership Development Specialist for an interview (usually over the phone). You will then receive a confirmation e-mail that you have been approved as a Girl Scout Leader.

Once you are approved, you should take Girl Scouting 101: GSUSA Orientation to Girl Scouting either online or in-person. You can check the Program and Training Calendar on the GSCSNJ website to find an in-person class near you. The online version takes approximately 45 minutes. The in-person class is approximately 2 hours, but gives you the opportunity to ask all those burning questions. You cannot receive your troop list of girls and troop number until at least two leaders have completed Orientation. Once youve completed GS101, you can then take Girl Scouting 103: Getting Started as soon as possible afterwards, but no later than three months after being approved as a leader. GS103 is only available in-person. Also required is Girl Scouting 102: Service Unit Orientation. This will be offered by the Service Unit, typically before or after a monthly Leaders Meeting. Grade level specific training known as Girl Scouting 104: Partnering with is also required when you first become a leader and later as you move from one Girl Scout level to another (for example, when your troop is moving from Daisies to Brownies, you would take the Brownie level GS104). Lastly, although it is not required, there are Green Apple Workshops that specialize on specific interests of leaders and girls. More information on Green Apple training can be found later in this manual.

Opening a Troop Checking Account

You will need to open a troop checking account before you receive your troop list and the GSUSA membership forms and dues for each girl in your troop. You will be depositing the checks each parent wrote out into your troop checking account and writing a single troop check out for all the registrations. You will also deposit your troop dues into your account for purchasing program supplies. You can use any bank for your troop checking account. Your personal bank might be the easiest since you can combine trips to the bank. TD Bank is very familiar with Girl Scout accounts and is highly recommended. Before you go to the bank, be sure to get a Bank Resolution Form from the Service Unit Treasurer (name found on the Service Unit website). Otherwise, you may have to put some of your own money into the account to open it. Make sure to ask the bank for a business (nonprofit) checking account with no fees. (The account should be opened as and your checks should read GSCSNJ, Troop # _ _ _ _ _. The ownership address should be a troop leaders address, but the mailing address for the statements must be as follows. Your troops monthly banking statements will be available for pick up at each months Leaders Meeting. GSCSNJ Troop #_ _ _ _ _ P. O. Box 484 Allentown, NJ 08501 You should be able to open your account with no money, but will need to make a deposit within 30 days to maintain it open. Also, make sure to deposit at least your own daughters dues into the account before you write the check for the registrationsthe bank will close your account if you have a zero balance. TD Bank, who handles the Council accounts, is very familiar with the Girl Scout accounts.

Deciding When, Where and How Frequently to Meet

When to meet is at your troops discretion: What day and times work best for the girls, for you and for your co-leader(s)? Is after-school best? Or will an evening or weekend work better if you and/or your co-leader(s) work during the day? If so, which day of the week? At what time? How Frequently is also at your troops discretion. If your and your co-leader(s) schedules only permit once a month, then meet once a month. If you want to meet once a week, meet once a week. There is no right or wrong way in choosing how often you meet. In choosing the length of your meeting, take into consideration the age of your girls and at what time you meet. Daisys and Brownies do well with 1-1.5 hours. Juniors may do better with 1.5-2 hours and the older girls may need a few hours to get their projects done. Again with choosing a time frame, work with what works best for you and the personality of your troop. If you choose a time that is too short or too long, you may change it. There is no need to be rushed at the end of every meeting and conversely there is no need to be twiddling your thumbs either. If you are meeting on a weekend, perhaps meet twice a month to allow for missed meetings due to birthday parties, family events, etc. If you have the time and energy, a once a week meeting for a shorter duration afterschool might work best. Consider how much you want to accomplish in a meeting and the attention span of the age-group you are working with. Do you need to build in time for a snack? Are the girls old enough that you can hold their attention for multiple hours? Can you break up activities over several meetings? Where is all about providing a safe, clean and secure environment that allows for the participation of all girls. You might consider the following locations within our Service Unit. Meeting in your home is not recommended due to liability issues. If you choose to meet in your home, your homeowners insurance policy is the primary insurance covering any claims, not Girl Scouts insurance policy. You are not restricted to meeting within the town you reside in. Meeting facilities in neighboring towns can be used as well. The location you select may require proof of Girl Scouts insurance policy. If you need this proof, please contact Donna Hoffman at Council (dhoffman@gscsnj.org) for a copy to be faxed to your meeting location. You can also request a copy be sent online. Ideas on Where to Hold Meetings: Allentown: 1. UFRE&M School Fill out Facility Use form. Return to Joan West in Main office. She will contact you as to what rooms are available. If you do not hear from her in a couple of days, call her. 2. Allentown Library 3. St. Johns Church 4. Presbyterian Church 5. United Methodist Church Robbinsville:

1. Robbinsville Library Must call and speak to librarian first before you fill out the Community Room Registration Form. Please be sure to review the community meeting room policies. 2. Senior Center Must call and speak to Renee to see what the schedule has open. Especially with younger girls, remember the tables in the community room cost $800 a piece. Please consider using the Arts and Crafts room for meetings. The Service Unit will pay the security deposit for the Senior Center and this will cover EVERY Girl Scout and troop activity and meeting. You will need to do a fingerprinting and background check. This is free but you need to go to Ewing. Marcie in the Recreation Department 918-0002 X120 has all the information. 3. Roma Savings Bank The Roma Bank by Town Center has a meeting room upstairs that they allow the community to use for free. 4. Sharon School Please call Maryanne Forno, 632-0960 ext. 5013, for information to request facility use. District Facility Use Request Forms are available in the Sharon School Main Office. The forms are in 4-part hard copy and cannot be submitted online. Please contact Kimberly Keener, Manager of Facilities and Community Education, 632-0910 ext. 3022, for information on procedure, policy, fee structure, and payment for facility use requests. There is a janitorial fee for using the schools on the weekend. There should be no charge for using the school on school days. 5. Pond Road Middle School Please call Debbie Chiodo, 632-0940 ext. 4015, for facility use requests. District Facility Use Request Forms are available in the PRMS Main Office. The forms are in 4-part hard copy and cannot be submitted online. Please contact Kimberly Keener, Manager of Facilities and Community Education, 632-0910 ext. 3022, for information on procedure, policy, fee structure, and payment for facility use requests. There is a janitorial fee for using the schools on the weekend. There should be no charge for using the school on school days. 6. Robbinsville High School Please call Kimberly Keener, 632-0910 ext. 3022, for facility use requests. District Facility Use Request Forms are available in the RHS Main Office. The forms are in 4-part hard copy and cannot be submitted online. Please contact Kimberly Keener, Manager of Facilities and Community Education, 632-0910 ext. 3022, for information on procedure, policy, fee structure, and payment for facility use requests. There is a janitorial fee for using the schools on the weekend. There should be no charge for using the school on school days. 7. The Seventh Day Adventist Church (on Route 33 between Roma Bank and Foxmore) has also offered us use of their community room. 8. Robbins House Contact Marcie in the Recreation Department at 918-0002 X 120. The Service Unit will cover the deposit cost, just like the Senior Center. You will need to do a fingerprinting and background check. This is free but you need to go to Ewing. Marcie has all the information. When choosing a space, consider the following: Cost: the space should be free

Size: make sure the space is large enough to hold all the girls in the troop (plus some adult helpers) while engaged in a variety of activities. Do you have room to move around? Availability: be sure the space is available at the time and day you want to meet, for the entire length of time you plan to use the space (including set-up time and clean-up time) Resources: determine what types of furnishings (tables? Chairs? Kitchen?) come with the room and ensure that the lighting is adequate. A bonus would be a storage space of some sort where you can keep supplies at your meeting location instead of lugging them back and forth! Safety: ensure that the space is safe, secure, clean, properly ventilated, heated/cooled, free from hazards and has at least two exits that are well-marked and both exits are fully functional. Facilities: sanitary and accessible toilets are critical. Communication-friendly: be sure your cell phone works in the meeting space. Also ensure the girls can raise their voices above a normal voice without disturbing others outside the meeting space. Allergen-free: be sure pet dander and other common allergens wont bother susceptible girls during meetings. Accessibility: be sure the space can accommodate girls with disabilities, as well as parents with disabilities who may come to any meetings.

Determining Troop Dues

Your troop will need some funds in order for you to purchase needed supplies for meetings. These funds will come from troop dues. It is up to each troop to determine what your troop dues will be and what expenses you will cover from your troop dues. So, as a new troop leader, how are you supposed to know what you will need? You probably wont be able to predetermine every expense and should remain some flexibility to request more dues later in the year as your plans firm up. Some troops choose to collect dues once a year, others at every meeting. Perhaps you collect some initial dues to get you started at the parent/guardian meeting, but let the parents know you may need to collect Spring dues to cover additional expenses at the end of the year. Keep in mind the effort required to track dues payment and make deposits in determining how frequently to collect dues. Getting the girls involved in helping collect the dues and understanding where the troop money goes (do they want to donate a portion of their cookie money?) will help teach them financial responsibility. So how much money will you need? That depends on what your dues will cover and what you would like to do with your troop for the year. Below are some considerations in determining your dues. 1) Will the troop be purchasing snack for troop meetings? Young girls like having snack, but it can be expensive. If you meet after dinner, snack may not be needed. About the troops have a snack time. You can have a parent snack schedule. The pro is that there is one less thing for you to worry about and sometimes you can

tie in bringing snack and a parent helper for the day. The con is that this usually involves individual juice boxes/pouches and snack bags, which creates more waste and maybe more complicated if there are food allergies. If the troop provides snack, consider purchasing snacks in bulk packaging and juice in bottles. Not only is it cheaper, it promotes Makes the World a Better Place by reducing the troops waste. $______ per meeting x ___ meetings per year 2) Will the troop pay for the girls attendance at Service Unit Events? Held approximately once a month and completely optional, the typical SU event runs approximately $10 a girl. Alternately, you can collect money for each event from the girls who will be attending. By collecting the money for each event individually, the troop will not lose money if a girl does not attend the event. $10 per event x ___ events per year 3) Will you purchase any fun patches for your troop activities? The girls LOVE getting fun patches for the back of their uniforms. Most SU events will provide a fun patch, but you might want to purchase some additional ones for your troop for special events, such as a field trip or ceremony. Patches can run anywhere from $0.50 to $1.50 each. $_____ per patch x ____ girls x ____events 4) Will the troop purchase any books for the girls (Journey, Girls Guide to Girl Scouts, etc)? You could have the parents purchase these themselves, in case they have hand-me-downs from someone. Individual badge books may not be necessary for Daisy and Brownies. Juniors, Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors, will often do badge work outside of troop meetings, they should have their own badge book. The troop can buy the book for the girls or the girls can buy the book when they get their sash or vest. 5) Basic Supplies Depending on your activities, you will probably need some basic supplies such as glue, scissors, paint brushes, napkins, plates, cups, printer paper, construction paper, crayons, pencils, etc. You can help defray the cost of these supplies by putting together a wishlist for the parent/guardian meeting and asking the parents to signup to donate some of the supplies. 6) Craft Supplies You might have to purchase specific craft supplies for some activities. 7) The uniform- Each girl should have a sash or vest. Vests work great for Brownies and Juniors. The girls do many activities and the vests fill up. The sashes overflow quickly. It is nice to include the cost of vest, council ID, troop number and felt tab, this way you know that you are getting the right things. In the end, take your best guess and be a little on the conservative side. You can always ask for more later once the parents see all the wonderful things you are doing with their daughters!

Holding Your First Parent/Guardian Meeting- to take place before your first troop meeting.
A parent/guardian meeting is a chance for you to get to know the families of the girls in your troop. Before the meeting: Arrange for a co-leader, parent, another volunteer or a group of older girls (many older scout badges have the suggestion of working with younger scouts) to do activities with the girls in your troop while you talk with their parents/guardians (if girls will attend the meeting too). Create an agenda and practice what you will say for each topic. Suggested topics are Girl Scout Mission/Promise/Law, how Girl Scouts is Girl Led, uniforms, costs and ideas of how parents can be involved in the troop). A sample agenda is below. Determine what product sales (Nuts/Chocolate/Magazines in the fall, Cookies in the winter) your troop will be participating in. Your troop cannot participate in any other fundraising activity unless you have participated in both product sales. Create an information sheet (Troop number, Leaders contact information, time and location of meetings, meeting dates for the year, etc) Sample Agenda for First Troop/Parents meeting Gather have coloring pages and crayons available for girls while everyone is gathering. Name tags for girls and leaders. Opening - Pledge of Allegiance Introduction to the leaders and Daisies of Troop xxxxx Leaders education/job/family Ask girls say their name and which school they attend/teachers name Circle - Quiet Sign Girl Scout Promise Girl Scout Law / Petals Activity - Girls go with one leader to work on an art/craft project while other leader goes over forms, etc with parents Girls vote on snack choice for next meeting Forms Family Volunteer form - CPR/first aider??? Troop Meeting Permission form Payment form (uniforms/dues/adult membership registration) Adult Registration Forms Council Cares form/instructions

Chaperone Background Check Other Papers/Info Foundation of Girl Scouting (from Leadership Essentials) Troop info sheet Leader wishlist items Next meeting info bring favorite stuffed animal Snacktime/Cleanup Closing - Daisy squeeze Prepare nametags for the girls and Leaders. These can be standard nametags or something cute that you can reuse for the first several meetings until you get to know all the girls names. Perhaps a shape cut out of foam and strung on yarn for them to wear as necklaces. Prepare information packets for the parents/guardians. This could include your agenda, information sheet, blanket Troop Meeting permission form, Health History forms, Uniform order form, Council Cares FAQ and application, Adult membership registration forms, information to complete a background check application online and Girl Scouting is a Family Affair forms. Gather supplies for meeting, which may include your information packets, pens/pencils, nametags, a sample uniform and badges, snack and supplies for the girls activities. Prepare yourself to ask parents/guardians for help with the troop, planning to be as specific as you can about the kind of help you will need. You and your coleader(s) should not have to do everything yourselves! Set the expectation early that you will need helpers and register and background check as many adults as possible so that they are able to help when you need them. If you would like to invite a service team member to join you, do not hesitate to ask. The Service Team is there to support you.

At the meeting, greet each girl as they arrive and give them their nametag. Younger girls most likely will want to stay close to their parents to start. Sit in a large circle and have each girl introduce themselves. Perhaps they can share their teachers name or if they already know someone else in the troop. Leaders should introduce themselves as well. If you are new to Girl Scouting yourself, dont worry just let everyone know youll be learning about Girl Scouting together! While the girls are participating in an activity with another volunteer, discuss the information you prepared for the meeting. Girl Heath History forms these forms are required for trips and physically demanding activities such as water sports, horseback riding, skiing or overnights. Even if you do not have the parents complete this form, it is extremely important that parents inform you of any allergies or medical conditions that may affect their daughter while she is in your care. HIPA regulations allow for medical information be kept secret. If you have a parent who does not want to give you a medical

form for an activity that requires it, have the parent put the form in a sealed envelope with the childs name and allergies on the front. Return the envelope to the parent after your event. Explain to the parent that the health form will only be used in an emergency. Discuss how you will keep in touch with parents (e-mail, text message, phone tree, fliers sent home with girls, social networking site, etc) Permission Slips a blanket troop meeting permission form is required for each girl to attend meetings in your normal meeting location. Any events/meetings held anywhere other than your normal meeting location requires a unique signed permission slip for that event. This includes field trips and Service Unit Events. Leaders should keep the permission slips. Uniforms uniforms are optional. If you decide to purchase uniforms, the required patches and insignia are shown here on the GSUSA website. Pricing for each piece can be found on the Juliettes Closet website. You can choose to collect money and purchase all the uniforms for the girls or the parents can purchase them themselves either from Juliettes Closet or Harrys Army/Navy store. BewareHarrys often runs short of some items and it can be confusing which patch or insignia is for what level (Daisy, Brownie, etc). Council Cares Council Cares is a financial assistance program that will pay a girls Girl Scout expenses if her family is unable to due to a financial hardship. This includes troop dues, GSUSA registration fees, SU event fees and uniform costs. Applications should be made available to parents to return discreetly to the leaders if needed. Volunteering opportunities discuss the various ways parents can volunteer to assist the troop. This could be helping at a meeting, doing prep work at home in advance of meetings, keeping the troop finances, chaperoning SU events and field trips, being the Nut or Cookie Manager, etc. There are lots of ways for the parents to help! Make sure that volunteers that will be working directly with the girls (chaperoning, meetings, etc) or handling troop funds (finances, Nut or Cookie Manager) register with Girl Scouts and complete a background check. The parents background checks will also be good for three years. First Aider Your troop will need a volunteer certified in First Aid and CPR. The First Aider may be required for certain higher risk activities as defined in Safety Activity Check Points (formerly called Safety Wise). The parent/guardian meeting is a good time to find out if there are any parents already certified who can act as your First Aider (someone with a current certification, a nurse, doctor and/or EMT). If not, seek a volunteer. Council offers training on a regular basis for a nominal fee.

Be sure to collect the completed forms and troop dues. After the meeting, be sure to follow up with any parents/guardians that did not attend the meeting.

Registering Girls and Adults

Once you receive your troop list and girl membership registration forms from the Registrar, it is your job to complete the forms and deposit the membership fees in a timely manner. Review the registration forms to ensure legibility. You will need to complete the box in the lower right hand corner of the form and the year at the top of the form. Instructions for completing the registration forms and the Membership Dues Summary Form that must be attached are available on the Council website. Use the following information to complete the box.

Council Code: 131 Group Number: your troop number Report Code: 714 Registration Area: Allentown-Robbinsville Deposit all the membership fees into your troop checking account. You can endorse the checks (which will be made out to either GSCSNJ or GSCSNJ Troop xxxxx) by writing For Deposit Only and your checking account number. There is no need to sign them. Write out a single troop check to GSCSNJ for the total amount of the fees due. Return the membership registration forms (all copies), the Membership Dues Summary Form and the troop check to the Registrar. Please make sure to make a copy of the registration forms for your troop records. Do not hold up the girls membership registration forms waiting for any adult or additional girl membership registrations. You can submit the adult membership registration forms at a later time. Additional forms are available from the Registrar or online. In the spring, Girl Scouts holds Early Bird registration for the following Girl Scout year, at which time you will only have to repeat the paper process for new members (adults or girls). All re-registering girls and adults will be registered and paid online by their individual parents. This allows everyone from Troop Leaders to Council to start planning for the following year. Girls do not have to early register if they are unsure of their future plans. Their current registration is valid through September 30th, at which time they can re-register or anytime in between. Registrations, both girl and adult, are accepted at any time of the year. Please check the online Girl Scout registration portal, e-biz, to be sure that one of the leaders is designated as an 01 (Leader). Only 01s can access the Troop Management feature of e-biz. Leaders designated as 02 (Co-Leader) so not have Troop Management access.

Service Unit Events

On an almost monthly basis from October through May, there are Service Unit Events. These are optional Service Unit-wide activities, usually held on a Friday evening. There is usually a nominal fee for girls to attend, typically around $10. Most of the events are hosted by older troops, allowing the older girls to practice their leadership skills in a safe environment. SU events might be held in two different sessions, the earlier one for Daisies and Brownies, the later session for Juniors and Cadettes. These are great opportunities for the different troops to interact and just have fun. A troop will need to be chaperoned by leader(s) at SU events and possibly other parent chaperones, depending on the number of girls attending from each troop and their level. Parent chaperones must be registered and background checked. Consult Safety Activity Check Points (formerly called Safety Wise) for the appropriate girl-to-adult ratios for trips (SU events are considered trips). Unregistered parents may or may not be able to attend SU events. This depends on if additional insurance known as Plan 2 Insurance has been purchased by the organizer. Contact the organizer to find out of Plan 2 insurance has been purchased. If it has not been, then only registered, background checked parents may attend the event. Typically a Service Unit event will be announced at a Leaders meeting or via an emailed flyer. The flyer will ask you to fill in the number of girls and leaders/chaperones attending from your troop. You will also have to list the girls names on the back of the flyer. This is for insurance reasons and also safety so in the event of an emergency, the organizer has a list of girls that were planning on attending. You will have to write a single troop check (made out to ARGSSU) to cover the fees for the girls attending. Do not submit individual girls checks or cash. It is important for leaders to reinforce to parents the deadlines associated with registering for SU events. The organizers of the event have to order materials and usually only have what they need since they run on slim budgets to keep the costs down. A girl who shows up at the door to an event and didnt pre-register will be turned away. Late registrations may be turned away as well, the only exception being newly formed troops who may not have received the registration materials in time.

Paperwork
Sometimes it may seem that a leaders primary job is paperwork. So whatever amount of it you can share with someone else is better than none! Some records you can keep however works best for you, others need to be on specific Girl Scout forms. When in doubt, go to the Council website to the Forms section to see what is already out there. Youll need to keep track of various things that are due from each girl. These include permission forms, troop dues, Nut and Cookie orders and SU event fees. It might be handy to set up an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of who has given you what. You might also want to keep track of what your adult volunteers offered to help with. That way you know who to call for a certain task you need done.

Other common forms used within the troop are: Permission Forms: A permission form is required for every event or meeting that is held somewhere other than your normal meeting location. This includes Service Unit Events. The leader must bring the permission forms with them to the event and should keep them after the event for 3 years. Troop Trip Log: You will need a troop trip log for your troop AND you need to fill out one at the Service Unit meetings. This should be filled out for every trip the troop takes. A trip is considered anything not at your normal meeting location, including Service Unit events. If you need a permission form, it should be on your trip log. Low Risk trips (as defined by Safety Activity Check Points (formerly called Safety Wise)) do not require advance approval. You should have enough time to fill out the log at your service unit meeting. If an opportunity comes up in between meetings, please call and e-mail your Troop Consultant and SUM with details prior to the trip. Create a paper trail. Troop Trip Form: Higher risk trips (as defined by Safety Activity Check Points (formerly called Safety Wise)) require advance approval using the Troop Trip Form. You must complete this form and submit to the SUM for approval. The SUM/Troop consultant approves your form and then it will need to go to council for approval. This form should be submitted 4-6 weeks before your event. Troop Financial Summary: At the end of every year (May/June), the leader will be required to submit a Troop Financial Summary, along with a copy of your last months checking account statement. This form tracks your income and expenses for the troop. It may be helpful to fill it out periodically during the year (perhaps to balance your bank statement) instead of waiting until the end and staring at a pile of receipts. Keeping your records accurate and up-to-date is also beneficial as the records are open to any parent or Girl Scout at any time during the year. You should have no more than $100 left in your account by the time you file your Troop Financial Summary. No one will complain if you are at $120. However, if you have more than that left over you need to explain, we are saving money to go on the service unit camporee (or any trip- be specific) in the fall, or we were going to a baseball game and it was cancelled, we will take another trip next year or we are working on our bronze/silver/gold award and this will cover our expenses. Plan 2 Insurance: Typically used more at the Service Unit level, you will need to purchase Plan 2 Insurance if you will be holding a troop event where non-registered family members will be attending. An example might be an Investiture or Awards Ceremony. It is relatively inexpensive, typically $5 for a troop event. The $5 will cover 43 people for one day. If you have move than that coming there is an additional $0.11 per person charge. Plan 2 can also cover more than one event (22 people at investiture and 23 people at the award ceremony). Plan 2 Insurance will cover everyone attending the event in case of injury. Normally only registered Girl Scouts are covered by insurance during troop activities. Information on the different types of insurance can be found on the Council website. Girl Records: Each girl in your troop should have a Girl Record. This is a record of the scouts activities within her scouting career. It should list what activities she has

participated in, her community service, and badges/awards earned. This record stays with the girl when she moves into another troop. Daisy Girl Record Brownie Girl Record Junior Girl Record Cadette Girl Record Senior and Ambassador Girl Record

Bridging Requirements
Bridging is moving from one Girl Scout level to another (i.e., Daisy to Brownie, Brownie to Junior, etc.). In order to bridge, certain requirements have to be met. These requirements are meant to give the girls a taste of the next level and get them excited for their next journey in Girl Scouts. Bridging requirements are designed to be completed in the Spring just prior to the Bridging Ceremony and should be built into your plan if you will be moving up to the next level in September. Bridging requirements can be found on the GSUSA website and in the Girls Guide to Girl Scouts. Just click on the level you are bridging to. You can check the Council Calendar for activities that will satisfy bridging activities. Better yet, invite an older/younger troop within the Service Unit and get to know each other! Seeing an older troop could inspire younger girls and allow the older girls to act as role models. The SU has a yearly bridging ceremony for all the girls you may participate in.

Additional Available Training

In addition to the required Girl Scouting 101 through 104 required for all new Leaders, there is additional optional training available to help you manage your troop, learn valuable skills and have fun with your troop! Most are offered free of charge and only require advance reservation. Available training can be found on the Council Calendar. Sometimes the training is at one of the Council Service Centers and sometimes at local venues, such as area libraries and churches. The class will list the location in the title. First Aid and CPR: Your troop will need someone (not necessarily the leader!) trained in First Aid and CPR in order to participate in any higher-risk activities. If you dont have a parent or co-leader already certified, you should get someone to take this class (can be take both in the same day or just one at a time). There is usually a fee involved with the class. Even if you have a parent volunteer, you might want to consider having at least one leader trained as well, just in case anything should happen during a low-risk activity, such as a troop meeting. Outdoor 101- Day Trips, Outdoor 102 Overnight Adventures and Outdoor 103 Outdoor Skills (Prep and Overnight): In order to attend any overnight trips (sleep-over at a Museum or Aquarium, stay at a hotel overnight, etc), a volunteer must be trained in

Overnight Adventures. In order to overnight outdoors (otherwise know as camping!), a volunteer must have completed Outdoor Skills. Prep for Outdoor Skills and Overnight Adventures are pre-requisites for Outdoor Skills. Leaders can have parents train for the overnight programs. For safety, the Camp Trained volunteer and the First Aider must not be the same person. Green Apple Training: There are a variety of training courses known as Green Apple Workshops. Examples of Green Apple workshops are camp songs, running an event, and canoeing. Green Apple classes tend to be shorter, 1-2 hours long. All training, including green apple workshops can be found on the councils website on the calendar. If there is a training you would like to take and dont see posted, please ask the SUM about it. World of Workshops (WOW): Held once a year, WOW is a day-long event offering both adults and older girls the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops, from making duct tape projects to outdoor cooking and everything in between!. There are usually around 50 different workshops available.

Product Sales
There are two major product sales in Girl Scouts, the QSP/Nut program in the Fall and the Cookie Sale in the Winter. Your troop is not required to participate in either sale, but your troop cannot participate in any other fundraising activity unless you have participated in both product sales. The product sales are a great way to teach the girls about budgeting, sales, manners, and speaking to adults. If the girls want to go on an adventure that costs $100 for the troop, the girls can be shown that if they sell 200 boxes of cookies then the adventure is paid for. The QSP/Nut program is a nut/chocolate/magazine subscription sale. Girls will take orders and then deliver the products once they arrive. It is helpful to have one of your parents volunteer to be the Nut manager so the leaders can concentrate on meetings. As a new troop, you will most likely have missed this sale your first year, but can look forward to it at the beginning of next year. Training will be provided by the SU Nut manager prior to the sale. The Cookie Sale, of course, speaks for itself. It usually starts in January. You can preorder cases of cookies to have on hand to sell right away. In addition, girls can take orders to be fulfilled once you have gotten more cookies from the warehouses. A popular method of sales is the Cookie Booth outside area stores with high foot traffic. A SU Cookie Booth Coordinator will arrange locations and distribute a sign-up list for cookie booths. Again, you will want to recruit a volunteer to act as the Cookie Manager, if at all possible. Training will be provided by the SU Cookie manager prior to the sale. A popular fun patch to give out for your first cookie sale is the My First Cookie Sale patch. Juliettes Closet usually sells out of these patches before the end of the sale, so order your patches early if you want them!

If the girls need to do additional fundraising to meet the cost of a project, adventure, or a bronze/silver/gold award, it can be done. The first thing council will want to know is has the girl/troop participated in the 2 Girl Scout product sales. There are Troop Money Earning Guidelines and a required form on the GSCSNJ website under volunteers and forms. There are rules in Safety Activity Check Points (formerly called Safety Wise) stating what can and cannot be used for fundraising. In a nutshell, if there is a brand name on it, you cannot sell it. Please refer to Safety Activity Check Points for details. Girl Scouts are not allowed to endorse other products or organizations. Girls Scouts cannot participate in Walk-a-thons or similar activities, but they can help run them. Girl Scouts cannot raise money for another organization, but as a troop can offer to donate time or money from the troop. Girls Scouts cannot sell M&Ms and coke at a soccer game. They can sell tea and muffins (if locally allowed).

Meeting Resources
So, you have taken your training, found a place to meet, opened a troop checking account and held a Parents Meeting. Things are going great! But now you have your first meeting alone with the girls ahead of you. What are you going to do for an hour???? Dont worry, there are lots of resources out there to help you. A few are listed here, but really just Google the petal / badge that you are working on and you will come up with more info than you can read! Ask your Troop Consultant, SUM and any leader who has had your troop level. Other troop leaders are great resources for ideas and plans. They will be more than happy to tell you what worked and didnt work for them. First, there are links on the Service Unit website to useful sites, such as patches, science sites, community service charities, etc. Click on Girl Scouts Links Page at the top of the SU website. Another great online resource is Scouting Web. This site has just about everything! You can find sample meetings for each age-level, Girl Scout songs, ceremonies, you name it! It is not organized the greatest, sometimes just a long list of websites under a heading. So it can be tedious to find what you are looking for, but usually well worth it in the end. Some of the links no longer work. Another useful website is ScoutMom.net. This site is better organized. Click on Leaders Lounge for lots of ideas. Of course, you can turn to the Council Calendar for activities organized by Council. These may involve a slight cost per girl. Girls can register for Council activities individually or as a troop. There are lots of interesting workshops being held for the girls all the time so look around the coming months and see what you find. You can also purchase age-level Leaders Guides for the Journeys. These can be purchased from Juliettes Closet. Or see if a leader that has moved up has a hand-medown she can give you. Journeys are kind of meetings-in-a-bag, in that there are

multiple-meeting plans and projects contained within the Journey books. Journeys plus the Girls Guide to Girl Scouting (available at each level) are the cornerstone of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. The Girls Guide allows the girls to earn additional badges, but it also contains handbook sections covering traditions and history, Cookie badges, an awards log, and much more. Finally, when purchasing supplies for your troop, you can use a tax-exempt form so you dont have to pay tax on your purchases. Some stores will give you a card the first time you use the tax-exempt form so you dont have to present one each time (AC Moore, Michaels, Jo Ann Fabrics, Staples and Walmart are some examples), others will need a form each time (Target for example). Tax-exempt forms can be obtained from the SU Treasurer. Make lots of copies and keep one in your purse or car for when you find that unexpected bargain.

Field Trips
Just about anywhere can be a field trip. If you can dream it, you can go (almost). Check Safety Activity Check Points (formerly called Safety Wise) for the list of no-nos. Safety Activity Check Points will provide you with safety information that you will need for any trip. If unsure, check with your SUM or Troop Consultant. Here is a short list of examples: Zoos Farms Museums Aquarium Bowling Roller skating Grocery Stores Limited 2 / Justice Restaurants Bakeries Farm markets Battleship National and Local Landmarks Pet Smart Sports studios gymnastics, dance, martial arts, cheerleading Robotics club NYC/Philly Dude Ranches Rock climbing Indoor play gyms YMCA GS Campgrounds Beach Jam Ball games

The Journey Begins.

If you have questions that havent been answered here, please contact one of the Service Unit members or any leader for assistance. Everyone is here to help you! Remember to have fun and enjoy helping shape young lives into girls of courage, confidence and character!