A Girl Scout troop needs the support of it's parents in order to
be successful. Some troops have a hand full of parents that
help, others involve the whole group. What you do is up to you
but if you do not delegate at least half of the work to someone
else you run the risk of burn out and then the whole troop will
fold. It would be better to allow your parents to help you by lessening your workload and giving them a chance to
share the Girl Scout experience with their daughters.
Most parents do not realize how much is involved in running a
troop. It is important to educate them so that they understand
why their help is needed. Once you have established that you
will find them more willing to volunteer for positions on the
Troop Committee. So how do you educate and recruit your
parents? This is usually done during the parent's meeting at the
first of the year. Doing skits is a good way to explain why help
is needed. Once you have this established you can describe the
positions that you need and pass out a paper to sign up.
Okay, so what positions would I need? The first position that
is recommended that you should fill, if you already haven't, is
that of a CO-leader. Safety Wise requires each troop to have a
CO-leader in addition to the leader. She not only supports you but she brings different
ideas to the planning of the troop. It's always nice to
have backup.
Once you have your CO leader then you need to decide what other
ways that your parents can help you. Depending on what part of
the troop you want to control you may or may not want a
Treasurer. A Treasurer would keep track of all the dues,
registrations, deposits, maintain the troop checking account and
turn in the finance reports. Some leaders prefer to take care of
all their troop finances other want someone else to do it all.
The choice is up to the leader.
Another very important position is that of the Cookie Mom or Cookie
Chair. The
cookie campaign is the biggest fundraiser that Girl Scouts do.
It is with the money raised from selling cookies that troops get
their funds to go on activities and trips that make lasting
memories. It also teaches the girls skills such as goal setting,
finances, planning and teamwork. Your Cookie Mom will handle the
cookie orders, cookie pickups, collection of the paperwork,
signup and working at cookie booths, depositing the funds and
completing the final paperwork. It's a pretty big job and one
that would be a good idea to delegate to a parent or parents.
Some troops have two Cookie Moms or a Cookie Chair and a Cookie
Booth Chair or some have the CO leader double as the
Cookie Chair. Again it is your decision on how you want your
committee set up.
Girl Scouts also do another fundraiser called the Fall
Product Sale - QSP and the Nut Program. If you have enough
parents in your troop it might be a good idea to have a Fall
Product Chair. While the fall product campaign is not as big as
cookies it is still very time consuming.
Other committee position ideas might be a Camping Mom, Crafts
Chair, Transportation Chair, Events Coordinator, Telephone
Person, GIFTs for Girls Chair, Awards Ceremony Hostess, Troop Shopper,
Record Keeper, Troop Sitter (for those leaders who have
other children that need to be watched during meetings) and/or
Project Specialists to help with troop badgework. Or you can
make up a position depending upon what help you need for your troop.
Below are some links with ideas for Troop Committee positions.
Once you have your troop committee always remember to thank them
after they have completed their job. Everyone likes a pat on the back and it will make
them more willing to help next time. Handwritten notes, a card
from the girls or a handmade token are always appropriate. So
are Girl Scout gifts and/or certificates given at awards
ceremonies. The girls like it when their parents are recognized
in front of the troop for service given.
And finally, every troop is going to have that one parent who
can't be bothered to do anything to help her daughter's troop.
The main thing you have to remember is that you are
in it for the girls. Just because one girl has a uncooperative
parent doesn't mean she should be treated any different than all
the other girls. And perhaps, when she sees all the other parents
serving in committee positions, she may be the one to pressure
her parent into helping out even if it is a small thing.
