Volunteer Connections by Girl Scouts of Nassau County

 5 Ideas to Keep Planning Girl-Led Girl Scouts shape their experience by asking questions, sharing ideas, and using their imaginations. As a leader, allow girls to take an active role in making decisions and choosing activities, while providing guidance that is appropriate to the age of the girls.  When girls step up and take ownership of their decisions, they develop new skills and grow into empowered, confident leaders. All levels of Girl Scouts can be girl-led! How much responsibility varies based on the age of the girls. It is just as crucial that Daisy Girl Scouts get the chance to lead as it is for Junior Girl Scouts, it is just going to look different. Here are 5 ways troops can incorporate girl-led activities: Hold a Braining Storming Session: To start a brainstorming session, ask the Girl Scouts, “what do you like to do?” Write their answers on a dry erase board or blackboard. Talk with them about how their ideas can be incorporated into the petals or badges they are...

Girl Scouts encourage girls to take on new roles, make choices, set goals and make decisions. We do that by giving every girl opportunities to make decisions in the group, to make choices as an individual and to explore various roles in the Troop. Daisies and Brownies may need more assistance than girls who are in middle school and high school.   But even the youngest of girls can make choices between two or three options that you offer.   We can help girls expand their leadership skills by focusing on GOAL SETTING and teaching them various ways to make DECISIONS. Here are some examples of roles for girls at each level… Daisies can help hand out supplies or help with clean-up Brownies can lead the Girl Scout Promise or the walk around the block Juniors can work on writing out the caper chart or send out the emails for Troop meetings Cadettes can lead a Journey activity Seniors and Ambassadors can lead a meeting with an elected official in pursuit of a Take Act...

We all know that the Girl Scout Cookie Season can be a hectic one… girls (with adult supervision of course) are out there “pounding the pavement” trying to sell as many boxes of cookies as they can to reach their goal.   Cookie Season doesn’t start until January 4, 2014, but what are some things we can do now to prepare ourselves and make January a little easier? 1) Troops should be setting GOALS and discussing plans for their Cookie Proceeds.   What is your Troop going to do with the money you earn from the Girl Scout Cookie Program?   -- Community service?   A Take Action Project?   A camping excursion?   Saving for a "big trip?" -- How many Cookies need to be sold to meet those goals? 2) Okay Troop Cookie Managers… now is the time to attend your Association’s Cookie Manager Training Session. These will be taking place at the end of November and early December. Emails will be going out soon (if they haven’t already) regarding date, time and pla...

October is here, which means we are now in Mags&Munchies season. Before you work towards selling your magazines and candies, what is it that your Troop wants to do with the money earned from the sale? Do you want to go on a trip? Do you want to do a community service project? Sit down with the other girls in your Troop and discuss what activities you want to do and how much those activities will cost . This cost and the activity associated with it is your goal.  Use this Goal Planner worksheet if you need some help figuring out costs. Once your Troop has come to a decision, plan a strategy to reach your goal! How many tins of candy does your Troop need to sell in order achieve your goal? How are you going to sell your candy and magazines? Who will your target customers be? You now have a plan in place, so, start selling ! Always remember to have a grownup with you when you are selling, wear your Girl Scout vest and never enter a home or vehicle. Be sure to fol...

We all know that by selling Girl Scout Cookies we earn rewards like Cookie Credits , Journey Books and Trips to New York City, but did you know that when we sell Girl Scout Cookies, we are Cookie Professionals who are learning #5skills ! We are developing skills ranging from goal setting and decision making to money management, people skills, and business ethics.  Let’s think about it… Before you start selling your Girl Scout Cookies, you need to decide what you would like to do with the money you earn and then figure out how many boxes of cookies you need to sell in order to be able to do the activity that you decided on… This involves both Goal Setting and Decision Making . When you are going door-to-door, you have to introduce yourself to the potential buyer, describe what it is you are selling and ask if they would like to purchase.  Then that potential buyer could ask you questions that you would have to answer… This is communication, which is an importan...