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NEW VOLUNTEERS

Welcome!
Congratulations on your decision to become a new GSNWGL volunteer - this page is just for you! Check out the information below to find your next steps, tips and resources available to help you succeed in making the most of your Girl Scout experience.

Steps to Success for all new GSNWGL Volunteers

  • Apply to be a Volunteer. The safety and security of the girls we serve is of the utmost importance to the Girl Scouts. Therefore, each volunteer must be a registered Girl Scout, provide information for a background check and complete a Volunteer Application. If you have difficulty downloading the application, you may request a paper copy from your Community/School Organizer. Please do this right away!
  • Complete the Adult Registration Form (you may download it here). Return the completed form to your nearest Service Center with dues and any additional contributions.
  • Get to know more about Girl Scouting and GSNWGL. Check out our About section and GSUSA's website.
  • Check out and complete the Training Requirements for all GSNWGL Volunteers.

Steps to Success for all new Troop Leaders

  • Complete the Steps to Success for all new GSNWGL Volunteers, above.
  • Meet your Membership Manager.  If you are not sure who this is, call 888.747.6945. She will give you your troop number and your Troop Kit. Your troop kit includes:

    The Source: This is your guide to Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes. It contains all of the council policies and procedures, information on our camps and how to reserve them, council programs, training, forms you’ll need, and much more. You may also download a copy here.

    Safety-Wise: This book from Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. outlines of all of the safety practices that we must follow in order to provide a safe, healthy and fun experience for girls.

    Leader’s Digest: This booklet, also from Girl Scouts of the U.S.A, contains a summary of our Constitution, By-Laws, and governance materials. It will show you how you and your troop can be a part of the democratic process in Girl Scouting.

    Forms: You’ll receive Girl Registration Forms (with attachments), Adult Registration Forms, Health History Forms, Parent Involvement Forms, and insurance forms. Forms are also available to download here and some are available at Service Area Leader Meetings.

  • Explore our website. You’ll refer to this often for programs, trainings, meetings, forms, and much, much more!
  • Register your girls and the other adults in your troop:
    1. Click here for the Girl Registration Form. Click here for the Adult Registration Form.
    2. To register a girl, you need the completed Girl Registration Form and the $12 National registration fee. 
    3. Be sure to tell parents about the opportunity to give to Family Partnership when they write out their checks! Click here for more
        information.
    4. Note: If needed, click here for Financial Assistance Request Form.
    5. Staple the girl’s payments to her registration form.
    6. Keep a copy of the registration forms for all registered members (pink for girls and yellow for adults).
    7. Use a Membership Dues Summary Form to summarize the information for your troop. If you need additional Dues Summary Forms ask your Membership Manager. Turn in the Dues Summary Form and the green forms with the fees to the Council.
  • Take the required Council 101 training. This is a self-directed session available to download here. In this session, you will learn all about the Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes - policies and procedures, where to get help, what resources are available to you, and much more. 
  • Get Organized.  As a leader you will be responsible for holding on to confidential materials including parent/guardian permission forms, girl health history record forms, girl’s record forms, the troop roster, troop attendance and dues roster and financial assistance information.  Plan a way to organize this information and keep it together so you can take it with you easily when you leave the meeting place. Another tip from an experienced leader is to keep proper files. Try keeping a file box. Keep all your ideas for field trips, handouts, catalogs in files.  And create a file folder for each girl. All items and correspondences to go home can be filed; one copy in each girl’s folder. You can make it the girl’s or their parents’ responsibility to check her folder at the end of the meeting for stuff to go home.
  • Go to your Service Area Leader Meetings.  Click here for dates, times and places of Service Area Leader Meetings. Be sure to meet your Community/School Organizer and your Service Area Manager at the meeting.
  • Attend Fall Product Program training at your September Service Area Leader Meeting. Be sure to check out the program materials - there are great activity ideas in here for your first troop meetings.
  • Read Connect, GSNWGL's volunteer e-newsletter. Click here for the current and past issues of Connect as well as GSNWGL's other publications.
  • After you receive notification of your appointment to the Troop Leader position, you may pick a date for your first parent meeting and notify all parents. Each Girl Scout troop is unique when it comes to meeting times, length of meetings and number of times their troop meets per year. It is a good idea to bring this topic up for discussion at your first parent meeting. In choosing a meeting place for your troop, you have several options. Many troops choose to ask permission to use a meeting room in the girls’ school. To check into this option, call the school administrator and check to see if a room might be available during your meeting time at the school. If scheduling doesn’t allow for use of the school, other options might be a local library, church, community center, municipal building, etc. DO NOT hold Girl Scout meetings at your home. Once you have decided on a time and place for your first meeting, you may want to let girls know of the meeting by distributing a flyer to the girls at school. You can get help with this by working with your Membership Manager or you can design your own flyer and make arrangements with the school to distribute the flyer.
  • Recruit parent volunteers and a Troop Committee. Click here for resources and forms, including a sample parent meeting outline, parent/guardian support agreement and parent involvement form.
  • Open a checking account. Click here for guidelines and step-by-step instructions.
  • Take the required Leadership Essentials training course. Leadership Essentials prepares volunteers working directly with girls to effectively facilitate the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. Click here for more information about Leadership Essentials, click here for our Training Calendar.
  • Contact your Membership Manager if you have any questions.
  • Have fun!

Still need additional resources for getting started? Consider these options!

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                                                       link to Volunteer Opportunities        link to Training Requirements
                                                       link to New Volunteer info        link to Volunteer Application PDF
                                                                                     link to Service Areas

 
     
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