New Volunteers

Tips for new leaders

Activities for Girl Scouts would not be possible without the thousands of adults who volunteer their time to give girls the best Girl Scouting experience possible. Thank you for accepting your new role as a Girl Scout leader.

Use the resources on this page to help you get started. Below are some ideas and samples to give you a flavor of what leading a troop is all about.

What's below: Utilize your resources | Stuff you can do | Create a family and friends network | Samples

Utilize your resources!

Your service unit meetings 

These meetings are held once a month in your community: it’s your time to network with other leaders, find out about events and activities, pickup the latest publications and fliers, and occasionally enjoy a min-workshop or Girl Scout social. If you want to catch up with the latest Girl Scout news, be at your service unit meetings!

Training classes (workshops)

Good news: training is provided every step of the way on your Girl Scout leadership journey. There are workshops for new leaders, returning leaders, leaders working with a different age levels, leaders who camp, leaders who do first aid…and don’t miss out on workshops where you get to try out crafts, songs, games, ceremonies, nature discovery and science fun. Your service unit director or new leader mentor will help you find and sign up for the right training.

Experienced Girl Scouts 

Many teen Girl Scouts would love to help you with your first few meetings, teach songs, games, ceremonies and camping skills, and be a extra pair of hands when you need them. Girl Scout Cadettes can even earn a special award for helping with the Brownie Quest (Journey.) Ask your service unit director to introduce you to the advisors of Girl Scout Cadette, Senior and Ambassador troops in your service unit.

Family and friends network 

Talk to the parents and guardians of the girls in your troop or group and f ind out what skills, hobbies or special interests they have that you can use in your meetings. And talk to your own family, friends and neighbors too!

Girls!

If you’re looking for ideas, they are right there in the heads, hearts and imaginations of the girls you work with. Activities, awards, trips, ceremonies, service…girls will have an opinion on almost everything; all you have to do is ask and (most important) listen. View tips on gathering and sorting ideas with girls.

Council Web site

The Web site for the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta has the latest council news, plus updates from Girl Scouts of the USA and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts; a complete list of council-sponsored workshops and events for adults and girls; more places to go and things to do, including community service; tips on working with Girl Scouts with disabilities; forms; and more than we can list here!

Not free, but well worth the price

“How to Guide”/Journey book sets for every girl’s Journey book there is a companion “How to Guide” for adult volunteers, with key information about the journey, its awards and leadership benefits and step-by-step sample plans for Journey sessions. The adult guides feature sections on Girl Scout history and traditions as well as understanding girls at each grade level.

Stuff you can do

Learn the Girl Scout Promise, Law, Motto and Slogan. Have the girls make and decorate a poster or banner for your meeting place. Play relays and other games to help you remember the words. Make bracelets and necklaces to help you think about what the worlds mean. Look for magazine and newspaper articles that illustrate a part of the Promise and Law. Brainstorm ways you can “Be Prepared” and “Do a good turn daily.”

Play! Keep fit, let off steam, be a team, learn a skill, connect with girls around the world through games. Ask girls to choose and lead their favorites, then add to the mix with games you find online, at the Girl Scout Resource Centers, or at your local library.

Help people at all times…be friendly and helpful, considerate and caring…do a good turn daily. Service projects can be Daisy-size or service unit-wide; teach girls how to open their eyes to the needs of their home, school and community then how to make a plan to help. It’s all part of discover, connect and take action.

Create something new and original: woodworking, jewelry-making, drawing and painting, singing and dancing, writing a play, crafting with recyclables, knitting a scarf, making your own cards, printing from nature, working with clay…you’ll never need a craft kit when you know how to create from "scratch!"

Eat food you’ve prepared with your very own hands. Teach girls how to mix, measure, peel, pour, stir and season healthy snacks and meals. If you’re not lucky enough to have a place where the girls can cook, share non-cooking recipes for the girls to choose from.

Camp for a morning, a day, an overnight, a weekend or longer. For most girls, Girl Scouts means camping! Move your troop meeting outdoors to play games and explore nature. Take a picnic lunch to a state park and walk a trail. Once an adult has been trained, spend the day at Girl Scout camp and cook your lunch.- or have an outdoor slumber-and-star-gazing party in the leader’s back yard.

Celebrate with a party, campfire or ceremony (or all three at the same time!) You might celebrate one of Girl Scouting’s special days (Founder’s Day/Juliette Low’s Birthday, World Thinking Day and the Girl Scout Birthday) or your troop’s achievements: earning an award, completing a project or solving a conflict or problem in the troop. 

Make new friends by inviting another troop to join you in a games tournament, a party or celebration, a community service project, a spa night, a first aid class, or…???

Create a family and friends network

You don’t have to do it all! Ask other parents/guardians to be your support team while you and your co-leaders focus on the girls. Some large troops need parent helpers at each meeting to meet the girl/adult ratio, but most troops are looking for “behind the scenes” support to keep the troop running smoothly. Needs vary from troop to troop, but a typical “Family and Friends Network” sign-up sheet includes:

Snack coordinator: Organizes a list of parents willing to bring healthy snacks to troop meetings; sends out reminders in advance of the meeting.

Transportation coordinator: Using council and Safety-Wise guidelines, organizes a list of parents willing to be drivers for field trips and other events; coordinates with troop leader; sends out reminders to drivers.

Camping/outdoor coordinator: Takes responsibility for reserving campsites for overnight camping or arranging sites for other outdoor activities; coordinates with leader; tracks and files paperwork. (This person might also be the trained troop camper for your troop.)

Record keeper: Keeps all non-financial troop records, including membership registration, event registration and individual girl records (see “Awards,” below.)

Awards (Try-Its, badges, etc.) coordinator: Enlists parents and other volunteers with special interests and/or skills to work with girls on awards; helps girls who are working on awards outside the troop set up a way to track their progress and achievements; keeps records chair informed of actual awards earned.

Communications coordinator: Creates a “telephone tree” and/or e-mail system to notify families/girls of changes in plans or to send reminders. This person might also create (or help girls create) a troop Web site.

Cookie sale coordinator: Trains the girls and other parents for the annual cookie sale; handles the money and paperwork involved; coordinates booth sales; works closely with the troop leader!

Emergency contact: Is the “at home” contact person for the troop leaders when the troop/group is on a field trip. The emergency contact person then lets other parents know about delays, accidents, illnesses or other emergencies when the troop is away from its regular meeting place.

Samples of helpful materials

Here are a few helpful forms and tips for you to download in PDF format.

Your First Girl Scout Meeting

Girl Scout Daisies-Juniors >>Click here to download.

Girl Scout Cadettes-Ambassadors >>Click here to download.

Sample Meeting >>Click here to download.

Sample Calendar Year >>Click here to download.

For more information, call (404) 527-7592 or email volunteerinfo@girlscoutsofgreateratlanta.org