Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some suggestions for how to get your needs met as quickly as possible when you contact our Customer Care team for support:

1. When you contact Customer Care team via phone or email, you’re not just sending an email, you’re opening up a case in our system.

2. Please have the individual who needs the action taken contact us so that the case will link to the correct record. (Exceptions: updating how a troop appears in the troop catalog or troop transfers should be completed by the troop leader, SAM.)

3. We can help you best if you group together like issues into one case each. For example, if you need to check on the status of your criminal background check AND ask a question about your Girl Scout’s fall product sales, please enter these as two separate cases.

4. Finally, when you first email or reply to Customer Care, please don’t CC or BCC anyone else. Every time someone besides you replies to that email thread, a new case opens up in our system!

Albany Service Center
515 Pine Avenue
Albany, GA 31701
Monday-Thursday: 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Closed Friday

Athens Service Center & Shop
185 Newton Bridge Road
Athens, GA 30607
Monday- Thursday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Augusta Service Center
508 Shartom Drive
Augusta, GA 30907
Monday- Thursday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Columbus Service Center
1344 13th Avenue
Columbus, GA 31901
Monday- Thursday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Gainesville Service Center
906 Interstate Ridge Drive
Gainesville, GA 30501
Monday & Thursday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. All other times by appointment.

Macon Service Center & Shop
6869 Columbus Rd.
Lizella, GA 31052
Monday- Thursday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Savannah Service Center & Shop
110 Pipemakers Circle, Suite 116
Pooler, GA 31322
Monday- Thursday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Our shops are generally open on the first Saturday of every month from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Holidays and school closings may affect our operating hours.
 

Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia serves more than 13,000 girls and 5,000 adults in 122 counties in Georgia, two counties in South Carolina and one county in Alabama. Our council’s footprint is more than 48,000 square miles! Check out our service map to see if we serve your county.

Girls and volunteers cannot be excluded from activities based on race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, creed, national origin, marital or socioeconomic status, disability, or age. Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization. Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia is committed to having its membership reflect the diversity of population groups within its jurisdiction.

To accommodate girls of varying faiths in saying the Girl Scout promise, volunteers are responsible for being sensitive to the spiritual beliefs of all girls, making sure that everyone in the group feels comfortable and included in Girl Scouting. Individual girls may substitute the word "God" in the Promise with whatever word is applicable to the girl's spiritual beliefs, but, like the Pledge of Allegiance, the official Girl Scout Promise includes the word "God" in both its spoken and written form.

Looking for a wow-worthy story? Look no further! From inspiring programs to community bettering projects, we always have a story brewing. For information and inquiries, visit our news room or contact Alexandra Stine, our Events and Media Manager, at (478) 239- 4899.  

We love seeing our girls in the news and will happily send a patch to any girls featured in news stories about Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia. To get your patches, please email Victoria Vanhuss, our Marketing & Communication Specialist. She'll need the completed submission form along with a clip of the news story.  

Yes! Along with ads on our social media and in our monthly newsletter, we sell space in our annual Program, Resource and Summer Camp Guide. This guide is distributed to our entire membership and referenced frequently throughout the year. Advertising opportunities are also available through our annual Girl Scout QuestFest in Savannah, GA. Interested? Please contact Tara Nobles, our Director of Community Engagement, at (912) 988-8655.

To keep up with all things GSHG, visit our website frequently, subscribe to our email list and follow us on social media.

GSHG Social
Facebook: Girl Scouts Historic Georgia
Twitter: GAGirlScouts
Instagram: girlscoutshistoricgeorgia
Flickr: Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia
Pinterest: Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia
LinkedIn: Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia
YouTube: Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia

QuestFest Social
Facebook: Girl Scout QuestFest
Twitter: GSQuestFest
Instagram: gsquestfest

FHQ Social
Facebook: Girl Scout First Headquarters

Camp Social
Facebook: Girl Scout Camp Martha Johnston
Facebook: Girl Scout Camp Tanglewood
Facebook: Girl Scout Camp Low

Subscribe: Recieve our monthly Samoa News newsletter and our weekly 5 On Friday emails by signing up for our mailing list. While we try to limit the number of emails we send, we will occasionally send important reminders or area specific information. Please note that these emails may go to your spam folder.

Unsubscribe: If you no longer wish to receive any general emails from GSHG, simply click the “unsubscribe” button on any of our email messages. This will remove you from our mailing list. Unsubscribing will NOT stop delivery of any transactional messages that are a critical part of GSHG membership. For example, if you registered for one of our programs, you will still receive an email confirming that you've registered.  Unsubscribing from GSHG general emails also does not unsubscribe you from GSUSA emails, and vice versa.

For questions, please contact Customer Care at 1-888-689-1912.
 

Even if you like us on Facebook, you may not see many of our posts. If you don't want to miss important updates, like our page and then hover over the following button to select the see first option.  

We love it when you share your happenings with us! Send updates and pictures to Victoria Vanhuss, our Marketing & Communications Specialist, to be featured in our newsletter and on social.  

We try hard to put all photos and videos on our Flickr account. If you have pictures you'd like to share, please send them to Victoria Vanhuss, our Marketing & Communication Specialist.  

Keep us in the loop! Whether you've created a Facebook group to share photos and info with parents or your Service Area has created its own website, be sure to follow our Social Media Guidelines and share it with us!  

In addition to donating your time, there are many ways to help support the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE). Whether you choose to make a one time donation, become a monthly giver or include us in your estate plan, we're grateful for your gift. You can also help us raise funds by sponsoring a signature event or utalizing Kroger Community Rewards and Amazon Smile. Learn more or donate here!

If your business is interested in purchasing a sponsorship for one of our events, please contact Debbie Caballero, our Chief Development Officer.  

The membership dues go directly to Girl Scouts of the USA each year; girls receive all the benefits of being a member of a national organization. Currently there are 2.8 million girl and adult members. All members (girl and adult) pay membership dues annually. The membership year runs from October 1 through September 30. Current dues for the 2017-18 year are $25.  

Any girl in grades K-12 can join Girl Scouts. In order to begin, a girl must be in Kindergarten. We are so excited that parents are interested in getting their daughters involved right away and can't wait to have them as brand new Daisies once they are old enough to join!

Yes. Anyone who wants to participate in activities such as trips, events, or meetings must be registered. And participating with your daughter enriches her experience.

Yes, all girls and adults participating in our movement should be registered members of Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA). Members will need to pay the $25 fee annually- with the exception of adults who are lifetime members or who are working in a temporary advisory or consultative capacity. Click here to register a girl and select a troop based on your location. Click here to volunteer. To renew, visit gshg.org and click on My GS.  

When you register your daughter online, you will be asked to enter your zip code and the available troops in that area will be displayed for you to select from. These troops may be established or may still be forming, needing more girls or adult volunteers. If you sign up for a forming troop, our staff will contact you with meeting details when the troop is fully formed.

We encourage you not to wait until there is a troop before you sign your girl up. When you sign your girl up for Girl Scouts, you can choose the troop that will best suit your family. If the troop is forming, we will need adult volunteers in order for it to start meeting. When you click join on our website and enter your girl's information, you will be taken to the Opportunity Catalog which lists all the troops available by location. The best way to search is to search by zip code and then scroll through the selections until you find the school or location of the troop you want your daughter placed in. If the listing shows that adult volunteers are needed, this means that we still need adult volunteers before we can form the troop. Consider signing up as a volunteer and helping out with your girl’s troop.  

 Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia allocates funds for the sole purpose of assisting new members with paying their membership dues. These funds are limited and are granted based upon a specific set of criteria. There are also health insurance plans (Amerigroup, Peach State, Well Care, and Care Source) that provide free Girl Scout memberships and a voucher to be used to purchase program materials from the Girl Scout shop. Learn more about recieving financial assistance!  

Uniforms are not required; however, we do recommend that you purchase a sash or vest with membership pins and troop numbers so your daughter has a place to display the badges and patches earned or awarded. GSHG Starter Kits are a great value and have everything needed to begin the Girl Scout experience. The Starter Kit includes a Girl’s Guide, a Journey book, sash or vest, membership pins, and troop numbers. Starter kits are available at all GSHG Council Shop locations or on our online shop.  

Visit My GS to renew a girl or adult membership.  

Visit My GS to renew the membership of your troop members. Once you are logged in as a leader click the Troop tab and renew the members who show a renew status; to opt out of renewing a specific membership for the time being change the status to "I’ll decide later” using the drop-down tab to the right of the person’s name. Continue to the payment screen, enter credit or debit card information and checkout to complete the renewal.  

While the majority of memberships can be handled online, there are a few exceptions that must be taken care of using the traditional paper method.

1. Checks, Money Orders, Cash - These cannot be accepted online. All online registrations require credit/debit cards. Troops leaders without a troop debit/credit card will not be able to re-register members online; however, a leader's personal debit/credit card can be used to register members and the leader can be reimbursed by a troop check. Troop leaders can submit paper forms to a GSHG service center. Note: Paper forms take much longer to process than those completed online and may delay membership information from appearing on a troop's roster.

2. Discounted Lifetime memberships (graduating Girl Scout Ambassadors only) may only be handled by turning in a paper form.
 

Paper membership registration forms are available in the GSHG Forms Library. Here is the 2018 Adult Membership Form and the 2018 Girl Membership Form. If you choose to complete a paper application, please mail them to your local office.

Membership dues are non-transferrable and cannot be transferred to another member or another membership year.

All troop transfer requests should be submitted by using the Change of Membership form. This form will expedite transfers from one troop to another within Girl Scouts of Historic GA. Please fill out this form separately for each individual needing to be transferred.

You may use this form if:
• You are one of the Troop Leaders receiving the Girl Scout member
• You are the Service Area Manager, District Chair, or Registrar in charge of the troop receiving the Girl Scout member
• You are a GSHG staff member
• You are a parent or guardian requesting a transfer of any family members to the Individually-Registered Member (IRM) / Juliette troop in your service area or district (IRM/Juliettes are members not affiliated with a troop, but are affiliated with a service area or district and complete Girl Scout activities with the guidance of their families)

Do not use this form if:
• You are a parent/guardian requesting a transfer of any family members to a traditional troop, as we will still need to hear from your new troop leader to place your Girl Scout. Please have your new troop leader fill out this form.
• You are a troop leader sending a girl or adult to another troop. We need to hear from the receiving troop leader, or alternatively, the SAM, District Chair, or appropriate GSHG staff member.
 

If you need to have memberships transferred from another Girl Scout Council and into GSHG please contact your old council to initiate the transfer process. When you contact your former council, you will need to tell them GSHG is "Council 325” and a “Salesforce Council." Please note that only currently registered members can be transferred into GSHG.

Your former council will need the following information for any member(s) transferring INTO GSHG: Each member's full name (indicate Girl or Adult), date of birth, former home address including zip code, current home address and zip code, email address, and current phone number (optional). Transfers into GSHG from another council can take up to 2 weeks.

If you need assistance from GSHG with this process, please email us at customercare@gshg.org and include all demographic information listed above.

If you need GSHG membership(s) transferred to another Girl Scout Council, please contact customercare@gshg.org to request this transfer. Please include each member's full name (indicate Girl or Adult), date of birth, current home address including zip code, new home address and zip code, email address. Transfers from GSHG from another council can take up to 1 week. Please note that at least one member of the household must be currently registered in order to transfer a family’s household to another council.

Yes. Protecting the girls and young women in our care as well as the Girl Scout Movement is top priority, and screenings and checks are integral parts of our due diligence process and risk management policy. Background screening is the process of authenticating the information supplied by an applicant. At Girl Scouts, the screening of volunteers includes background checks, which are performed by Asurint, an independent, third-party agency.  

After an adult registers online as a member and completes payment of the membership fee, the adult has an option to choose a volunteer role. When an adult chooses a volunteer role that requires a background check, the individual will automatically be requested to supply information required for the background check.  

Background checks, conducted by Asurint, consist of an Advanced Criminal History Record Locator Search, including any Government Watch List, and a 50 State Department of Justice Registered Sex Offender Search.

Once an invitation to complete a background check is "answered" by a volunteer, our third party background check vendor generally takes an average of 3-5 business days to complete the background check report. In certain special circumstances, the process can take longer. Always allow yourself several weeks before a criminal background check is needed.

All registration and refund information is listed in our 2017 Program, Resource & Summer Camp Guide. Please check pages 4-5 and 46-47.

Registrations are typically done online through either Wufoo or DoubleKnot. All programs are listed online under Events. To find your desired event, scroll through the event list or event calendar. Once you've found your event, read the description and click the registration button. This will take you directly to the registration form.

All new members need to use the Girl Registration form or Adult Registration form. To renew, please use My GS to log in as a Troop Leader, click on Troop and renew the members who show a renew status. To opt out of renewing a specific membership, change the status to "I’ll decide later” using the drop-down tab to the right of the person’s name. Continue to the payment screen, enter credit or debit card information and checkout to complete the renewal.  

Yes! When you log back into your account, you should receive a prompt asking if you would like to continue or start over.

The Status column will tell you if a membership is current or not.

Other helpful terms
• Current: the membership is active for the year shown.
• Time to Renew: the member does not have a membership for that year.
• In Progress: the parent started the membership process but did not finish it. For adults that have selected a volunteer role, it can also mean that their background check is being processed.
• Payment Pending: the member has not completed the payment
• Inactive: the member is no longer active or no longer active in your troop.

Using the Renewal Choice column, options you can select are Renew, I'll Decide Later and Do Not Renew.

• If the girl is joining a different troop; you can choose to Renew her and then have the receiving leader submit a transfer request using the Troop Transfer Request Form.
• If you are unsure if a member is returning, please select I'll Decide Later, which will allow you to go back to renew her membership later.
• If a girl or adult member is not continuing at all as a Girl Scout, select Do Not Renew. When selecting Do Not Renew, the member will not be able to renew online until they contact the council to reset the renew option. Do Not Renew should only be selected if the member is not returning at all.
 

If they did not participate for the year, they can request assistance from Customer Care at 1-888-689-1912.

You will receive an itemized email receipt. The parent of each girl will also receive renewal notification email(s), and the email will also ask the parent to update contact information if needed.

At the end of the renewal process, there will be an option to share on social media that you have renewed. Please help us spread the word by using this new feature!

No, not through our online registration system. If she would like to purchase a graduating senior a lifetime membership at the discounted rate, the paper registration form and payment must be submitted to Customer Care by September 1st.

If a girl wants to join a specific troop, ask the parents to fill out the Girl Registration form, which is accessable through the Join botton on our homepage. The system will walk them through the steps to becoming a member. As long as the troop vacancies are available, new members will find troops in the Opportunity Catalog. To make it easy for someone to find a specific troop in the Opportunity Catalog, make sure they have the five-digit troop number and enter it without a space between the letters and numbers (Troop12345 or Troop00012).

If the parent is already a registered member and in your roster, you can now add a volunteer role for them. Click on the green Add link in the far-right column next to the parent's name. You will then be taken to a list of volunteer roles within your troop. Select the appropriate volunteer role by marking the tick box on the left. Click Next. You will then see the updated participation on the Troops tab.

After the new volunteer role is added, the system will automatically check to see if there is an eligible, unexpired background check on file for that volunteer. If not, the system will automatically authorize Asurint (GSHG's third-party criminal background check vendor) to send the volunteer an email invitation to complete a background check. The invitation will be sent to the email address the volunteer uses for Girl Scouts.

Because a parent/caregiver will select a troop whose meeting date and time fits their schedules–our hope is that they will be more likely to choose a volunteer role in the troop from opportunities on display in the Opportunity Catalog. Volunteers do not necessarily need to be the parents of the girl members in the troop; however, all adult volunteers need to pass the background screening process. If parents don’t voluntarily select a role for themselves when they register their girl online, and the troop needs leadership, Service Area Managers or GSHG staff will contact them directly to offer them volunteer opportunities.

Parents do not need to register for membership. However, if you register for a members- only event, or if you directly participate in your daughter's troop, you will need to register as an Adult Member. If you need to renew your membership, use My GS.  

Members are encouraged to renew early – renewal on My GS is easy! If members do not renew by September 30, their spots will open up and will be shown as openings in the Opportunity Catalog beginning October 1. Please consider renewing all girls – even those who are undecided. Oftentimes, girls will return to the troop after a busy fall season of extracurricular activities. Girls who wait to renew between October 1 and March 1 may renew to their current troop if there are openings.

If a parent insists that a girl is registered and is not listed on your troop roster, they may have been registered to a former troop or to another troop in your community. Contact Customer Care at 1-888-689-1912, and they will look up the girl in the GSHG database to see if the girl is registered. If she is not registered to the right troop, they will ensure that the girl is put into the correct troop.

All parent troop transfer requests should be submitted to Customer Care. Please include the current troop, destination troop, the girl's name, and another girl identifier (address, phone number, parent/guardian email, or DOB). The receiving troop leader will need to give permission to join the troop prior to transfer being made.

You can update basic contact information and the school attended for your troop members through the Troop Roster tab! Just click on the green Edit link to the right of each member's name.

The listing includes the meeting time, general are of the meeting location, troop size, the troop number and age/grade level. The physical address of the meeting location is not displayed in the catalog.

Yes. A troop listing can accommodate multiple age/grade levels.

The minimum troop size is 12 girls for Daisy-Junior troops. Exceptions are made for continuing older girl troops. Troops cannot opt-out of the Opportunity Catalog until they have a minimum of 12 girls. We recommend 12 girls per troop to provide a diverse, interactive experience for the girls. If you have room for more girls, or you have volunteer roles that need to be filled, please fill out the Troop Update Form so that your vacancies will display in the Opportunity Catalog. Troop size can be changed by submitting a Troop Update Form. Troops formed prior to the 2017-2018 membership year will be grandfathered in under the former standards.

A troop leader can update some information that appears in the Opportunity Catalog themselves: Meeting Day(s), Meeting Frequency, and Meeting Start and End Times by updating the information on the Troop Tab within MyGS by clicking the View/Edit Troop Information Link.

The Opportunity Catalog is updated in real time, so please let us know whenever you have changes to your meeting location or troop availability by completing the Troop Update Form. All troop leaders will be asked to submit any changes by April 1 of each membership year in order for all inputs to be incorporated by our Early Bird launch, which is typically mid-April. Put troop vacancies on display in the Opportunity Catalog by completing the Troop Update Form. For example, if the desired number of girls is 12 but there are only 10 girls in the troop, two vacancies may be displayed in the Opportunity Catalog until those spots are filled. Once Early Bird registration starts, spots for all existing girls and troop volunteers for the next membership year will be reserved up until September 30th.

This is perhaps the best part of being a Girl Scout – making new friends! Since the system is searchable by zip code, we expect that most parents will enroll their daughter in the area where they live or near the school she attends. When a new girl joins a troop, the leader will get an email notification. The automated email will prompt the leader to reach out and welcome the new Girl Scout to the troop. This connection is really important because it serves as a warm welcome and it’s an opportunity to share important next steps, including troop meeting dates, times, and location.

Yes. Troop leaders can specify if their troop is closed and will not accept additional girl members (must have a minimum of 12 girls for Daisy-Junior Troops and 6 girls for Cadette-Ambassador troops). Troops that are full will not show up on the Opportunity Catalog.

As long as there are 3 unrelated adults as the Troop Leadership Team and a minimum of 12 girls, a troop leader can decide when to close their troop enrollment.

Select Service Area (SA) and District leadership positions are listed in the Opportunity Catalog by zip code – SA and District Event Coordinator, SA and District Troop/School Organizer, SA and District Team Member, SA and District Treasurer, SA and District Cookie Manager, SA and District Fall Products. The SA Manager is appointed by the Membership Support Manager. All appointed SA and District positions are not listed in the Opportunity Catalog.

When you're logged in to MyGS, click on the Troops tab and then click on the green link VIEW/EDIT TROOP INFORMATION at the bottom of the page. Please update all of the information. The following information updates as soon as you hit the green SAVE button: Meeting Day, Frequency, Start and End Time.

• Meeting Day, Frequency, Start and End Time can be updated from the VIEW/EDIT TROOP link.

• Program Level, Desired Number of Girls in Troop, Meeting Location Name and Address are submitted to council to review and update manually.

• Meeting Location Name is displayed publicly so potential members can get a general idea of where you troop meets. The exact street address is not shown - it is for internal purposes only.

• To update the meeting location, physical meeting address, program level, grade level, number of girl openings - submit a Troop Update form.

 

In order to start a troop, leaders must:

1. Be a registered member of Girl Scouts.
2. Complete the online Volunteer Application and background check.
3. Complete online Training.
4. Secure a second leader.
5. Request a troop number.
6. Open a bank account (see Volunteer Essentials, Chapter 5: Money).
7. Decide when & where to meet.
8. Recruit new girls.
9. Hold meetings & have fun (connect with GSHG's many forms of communication newsletters, Facebook, Twitter, SA or District meetings, etc)!

A troop must consist of a minimum of twelve girls from more than one family and two unrelated adults as the leaders. Troops may have an unlimited number of girls registered as long as there are enough adults, including parent volunteers, to meet the required ratios.

Troops or groups can have multiple grade levels, but girls must participate in activities that are appropriate for their level of Girl Scouting. For example, Brownies in your group need to work on Brownie badges and Journeys while Daisies work on Daisy petals and Journeys. The appropriate girl to adult ratio needs to be met for the grade level of girls in the troop.

All potential troop volunteers are required to register as an adult member of GSHG, have an approved background check on file with GSHG, complete the New Leader Orientation Online, have no debt owed to GSHG or troops, and support GSHG and GSUSA policies and procedures. A leader is appointed for one year at a time but can be reappointed annually. Two leaders are required for a troop. The troop leader must have registered as a Girl Scout Member, completed a background check, and taken the required training.. A troop may have as many leaders as desired, but they must all have completed the same requirements. To maintain an acceptable girl-to-adult ratio, troops may also have adult members who are not required to have completed the same training (Volunteer Essentials, Chapter 1) as the leader, but must be registered Girl Scouts and have a cleared background check on file.

Relatives may serve as leaders. Many families work together to help support a girl's leadership experience. However, the troop will require that two (2) unrelated adults are leaders, and at least one must be female.

Men may serve as troop leaders and/or volunteers, but an unrelated female volunteer must be present at all times.
 

The Service Area Manager or District Chair or Membership Support Manager will communicate service area or district meeting dates and time to troop leaders via email or phone calls.

Resigning troop/group leaders should contact all the parents to inform them of the disbanding troop/group and to identify opportunities to place the girls in the IRM/Juliette network so girls can remain active in Girl Scouts. If this is a situation where the troop/group leader simply wants to resign, they should ask if any other parents or adults are interested in taking over as the leader.

The Membership Support Manager should be informed of the troop/group leader’s decision to resign. If a replacement troop/group leader cannot be identified and there are girls still interested in troop/group participation, their name(s) and contact information should be shared with the Membership Support Manager, who will then work with the service area leadership to place the girls in new troops/groups.

The retiring troop/group leader should transfer all supplies, financial records, debit card, check book, bank account information and materials to the new leader. The signatures on the bank account should be changed to reflect the new troop leadership. The retiring leader will need to notify the bank of the change to authorize the new leader to be a signer on the troop/group account. Be aware that individual bank policies may vary. Please contact Customer Care at 1-888-689-1912 and ask to work with the Membership Support Manager to change the signer’s name.

Up to 13 months of insurance coverage is provided for new members registered in the month of September. For a new registrant who has met the requirements for membership, including payment of membership dues, insurance coverage becomes effective the date the parent or guardian completes the online registration information. New members and late re-registrants joining the troop after the troop registration has been sent will be covered effective the date the parent completes the online registration information.

Girl Scouting is a year-round program, and troops are encouraged to continue meeting over the summer months. Many troops choose to take a break over the summer due to family vacations, schools not being available for meetings, etc., while other troops continue to meet. The decision to meet in the summer months is based on the availability of the leaders, girls, and space.

The length of a troop meeting depends on a number of factors including the age of the girls, availability of volunteers, and meeting space. An average troop meeting is 1.5 hours.

A typical troop meeting includes: Start-up (10 min), Opening (5-10min), Business (5-15min), Activities (30-45min), Clean-up (5-10 min), Closing (5-10min). Girls usually enjoy following this process because the girls know what is next and don’t have to ask every time what they will be doing during each meeting.

Troop meetings may be held at any location that provides a safe, clean, and secure environment that allows for the participation of all girls. A meeting place should be free, large enough to accommodate the whole group, available for your meeting dates/times, safe and clean, has toilets, allergen free, and accessible to girls with disabilities. For example: You might consider choosing meeting rooms at schools, libraries, houses of worship, community buildings, childcare facilities, and local businesses. For teens, you can also rotate meetings at coffee shops, bookstores, and other places where girls enjoy spending time. Council offices or local JoAnne Craft Store's program spaces may be available upon request. 

An acceptable girl-to-adult ratio must be present at all troop activities. The ratio varies by Girl Scout level (girl-to-adult ratio table may be found in Volunteer Essentials, Chapter 4). At least two adult volunteers 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 volunteer. Only in times of emergency can a girl be left with one volunteer.

Please refer to Volunteer Essentials, Chapter 3: Engaging Girls at All Grade Levels. You may specifically refer to the sections on “Managing Conflict” and “Working with Parents and Guardians”. If you feel you need more support, please reach out to your Service Area Manager, District Chair, or Membership Support Manager.

The Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) is a great online tool which can help you lead in less time and make it easier to delegate to other parents. Depending on what you choose to do, it supplies plans, lists of materials needed, and even helps you schedule meetings and communicate with other parents. It also makes it easy to check the calendar and schedule your troop for events. VTK is designed primarily for K-5 troops; however, other levels can utilize the toolkit. For adults who do not feel they have time to be troop leaders, we have found that getting all the girls' parents and guardians involved in running the troop can make the leadership easier for everyone. Also, check the GSHG calendar and take advantage of the various events we offer to troops. You do not have to provide all the troop activities yourself.

Volunteer Toolkit is now Multi-Level Troop friendly! Troops that are listed as Multi-level can access Volunteer Toolkit and all the badges/year plans available. 

GSUSA added a new banner in VTK that promotes the Get Girls Outside! Release.

To make it easy to Get Girls Outside! Some meetings now give you Outdoor activity options. These activities maximize the use of an outdoor space using the same themes as the indoor activity. You’ll know it’s an Outdoor activity if it has a little tree.

10 badges now include outdoor options:

• 2 Daisy Petals
• Lupe
• Clover
• 4 Brownie Badges
• First Aid
• Making Games
• Snacks
• Senses
• 4 Junior Badges
• First Aid
• Simple Meals
• Staying Fit
• Detective

All outdoor materials and activity details are included in the meeting plan writeup. You choose whether outdoors is right for your troop and that activity. If it looks like rain on your meeting day, simply change your selection to indoors.

After joining Girl Scouts, a girl can participate in any of the council's activities and events which are age appropriate. The Girl Scout leadership Journey programs and the Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting are the heart of the Girl Scout program. They help girls learn Girl Scout traditions, earn recognitions, and have inspiring adventures that change their lives and make the world a better place. The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting contains a handbook and instructions to earn badges. The three Journeys: It’s Your World, Change It!, It’s Your Planet, Love It!, It’s Your Story, Tell It!, help girls learn about themselves and the world around them and how to take action to make the world a better place. A girl can experience these programs as an individual in our Juliette Network, or in a troop of girls who decide as a group what activities they engage in. 

Girl Scout has a rich history, wonderful traditions, and inspiring stories for you to share with the girls to help them feel more a part of Girl Scouts and the troop. These traditions include: the Girl Scout Sign, Girl Scout Promise, Girl Scout Law, Juliette Gordon Low, Girl Scout Birthday, Brownie Elf Story, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), Girl Scout Handshake, Friendship Circle, and songs such as "Make New Friends", the "Brownie Smile" song, and "Taps".

Girl-led means that girls of every grade level take an active role in determining what, where, when, why, and how they will structure activities, though leaders and adult members may provide guidance appropriate to the age of the girls. Girl-led processes encourage girls to bring their ideas and imaginations into the experiences, make choices, and lead the way as much as they can.

The Girl's Guide to Girl Scouting is a handbook for girls detailing Girl Scout history and traditions, a chart of all earnable awards, and a chart of badges available at each Girl Scout level, and badge requirements.

Please refer to Volunteer Essentials, Chapter 4: Safety-Wise. When planning activities, please consider the abilities of each girl and the progression of skills from the easiest part to the most difficult. In Chapter 4 of Volunteer Essentials there is information on how to plan activities within a troop meeting and travel activities outside of a troop meeting. You may find the section on “Providing Emergency Care” with our policies and procedures in the event of an emergency in Chapter 4 of Volunteer Essentials.

A Journeys series is a 4-8 week (though they can be condensed into weekend or week-long activities) series based on the following Journeys: “It’s Your World-Change It!”, “It’s Your Story-Tell It!”, and “It’s Your Planet-Love it!”, “Think Like a Mechanical Engineer”, “Think Like a Computer Scientist”, “Think Like a Citizen Scientist” and the Outdoor journey.

Please participate in the trainings offered by GSHG in-person or online to learn more about the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. You may also refer to Volunteer Essentials, Chapter 2: Girl Scouting as a National Experience.

Leaders can start off their chosen journey by facilitating a discussion or debate on the Journey's theme and what it means to the girls. Probe to find out what they are most interested in accomplishing during their time together, and then help them connect those interests to their Journey.

When girls do service, they help to fulfill an immediate need. This service is a necessary response to a basic need, such as food, clothing, shelter, and care. Examples of community service projects are collecting food for a local pantry or collecting clothing for a local homeless shelter. When girls take action, they team up with others in an effort to solve a problem and create long-lasting change. When girls take action, they seek to understand the cause of the problem and decide upon the scale and scope of their project, based on a realistic assessment of their resources. They also enlist others from the community to get involved. Examples of Take Action projects include fixing up an animal shelter or creating a center where children who need tutoring can always get it. In other words, service makes the world better for some people “right now.” Taking action makes the world better for more people for a much longer time.

Yes, a girl may independently work on badges, journeys, and awards without her troop or while being an Independently Registered Member (IRM). If your daughter is in a traditional troop and works on these projects without her troop, the Troop Leader will still need to sign off on her work done.

SWAPS are “Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere”. They are small handcrafted keepsakes designed to exchange with other Girl Scout members. SWAPS are the perfect way for Girl Scouts to meet each other and promote friendship which is why they are great for community events, camp, etc. Each one is a memory of a special event or Girl Scout Sister!

Bridging ceremonies are events during which girls move from one program level to the next (for example: Daisies to Brownies, Juniors to Cadettes, etc.).

Destinations are regional, national or international travel activities/events for Girl Scouts. For national events, girls and/or adults apply to, and are selected by, the sponsoring council. For international events, girls and/or adults apply to, and are selected by, GSUSA.

Volunteer Essentials is a resource for volunteers which details the policies and procedures of Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia (GSHG) and Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA). Every leader should have access to a copy of Volunteer Essentials. 

Safety guidelines may be found in Volunteer Essentials, Part III: Safety Guidelines and in the GSHG New Volunteer Guide. For guidelines related to outdoor activities, please refer to the Safety Activity Checkpoints.

The Safety Activity Checkpoints are a resource for volunteers which provides general and specific guidelines to ensure that girls can participate in a safe, high quality Girl Scout Leadership Experience. If you have any questions in general or in particular with higher risk or aquatics activities please contact customer care at 1-888-689-1912.

Yes. Healthcare providers may serve as Level 1 or 2 first-aiders. These include physicians, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, paramedics, military medics, dentists, and emergency medical technicians. It is also recommended that they provide proof of current certifications.

GSHG encourages volunteers to take advantage of first-aid/CPR training offered by the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Medic First, National Safety Council, EMP America, or other recognized organizations approved by GSHG or GSUSA. Try to take age-specific CPR training, too - that is, take child CPR classes if you’re working with younger girls and take adult CPR classes when working with older girls and adults. GSHG First Aid/CPR courses offer both Child and Adult CPR together.

First-aid/CPR training that is available entirely online does not fulfill Girl Scouts’ requirements because these courses do not offer enough opportunities to practice and receive feedback on your technique.

If you’re taking a course not offered by one of the organizations listed in the previous paragraph, or any course that has any online components, get approval from your council prior to enrolling in the course.
 

GSUSA provides an automatic basic accident insurance benefit for every registered member through Mutual of Omaha Plan 1. This benefit provides up to a specified maximum dollar amount for out-of-pocket medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident while a member is participating in an approved, supervised Girl Scout activity, after the individual’s primary health insurance pays out. More information about the Mutual of Omaha insurance plan options can be found in Volunteer Essentials. 

Contact the your local Membership Support Manager to request additional insurance or a claim form. Please see our staff directory for more information. 

A new girl can join a troop for the upcoming membership year at any time after Early Bird starts in April. Her membership year officially starts on October 1; however, she can be welcomed into the troop at the start of the new troop season in August for back-to-troop activities or troop meetings. Starting September 1, she will be covered by Girl Scout insurance as a girl member. If her participation in the troop begins earlier in the spring or summer (involvement in any troop meeting, activity, or summer camp), she should register for the current membership year, as well.

Yes. Troops/Groups may participate in additional money earning programs if other conditions are met. See use this form.

First Guiding Principle – Troop funds collected and earned by the girls belong to the troop. The funds never belong to one individual. When a girl(s) decides to leave a troop and join or start a new troop, the troop funds will be split equally according to the number of registered girls in the troop at the time of the split. An equal portion of the total troop treasury divided by the number of girls will be distributed to the gaining troop(s) (the troop the splitting girls transfer to).

First Guiding Principle: Troop funds collected and earned by the girls belong to the troop, never belong to one individual and should never be distributed to the girls in any form. When a troop disbands, remaining troop monies, the troop’s checkbook, debit card, and all other materials belonging to the troop must be returned to the Membership Representative. When a troop disbands, splits, or reorganizes, and a girl or girls transfer to another troop, a prorated share of remaining troop funds will be forwarded to the troop to which they transfer.

The council encourages disbanding troops to expend all remaining troop funds in a manner determined by the girls, i.e. final troop trip, contribution to Service Area or District for girl program, charitable donation to another organization, etc. Troop funds do not become the property of any individual, girl or adult, per direction in Volunteer Essentials/Safety Activity Checkpoints.

When a troop disbands without girl-directed fund distribution, either the outgoing Troop Leader or the assigned staff member will be authorized to close the troop bank account and write a final check from the account or request that the financial institution issue a check for the balance in the account made payable to Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia. The check will be forwarded to the Chief Financial Officer along with a completed Disbanded/Dormant Troop Bank Account Closure Information form.

Disbanded troop monies will be held in a restricted account for one (1) year from the time of disbandment. Monies not claimed by regrouping of the troop will be transferred to the council operating budget.

If one or more members of a disbanded troop re-register with another troop within one (1) year of their troop disbanding, a prorated share of monies will be disbursed to their new troop.

If a troop bank account has been dormant for one (1) year or more, council staff will be authorized to close the account and request that the financial institution issue a check for the balance in the account made payable to Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia. The check will be forwarded to the Chief Financial Officer along with a completed Disbanded/Dormant Troop Bank Account Closure Information form completed by the Membership Representative. The check will be deposited into the council operating budget.

Girls are not allowed to solicit cash, service, or in-kind gifts. However, if a local business, community organization, or individual wishes to support a troop or group, the following guidelines must be followed:

Donations of $250 or more must be turned in to the council along with a SA Manager-approved Gift Acceptance Form. Gifts of $250 or more require appropriate acknowledgement from the council to maintain donor and IRS standards. Once receipted by council, the funds will be redistributed to the troop/group in accordance with the wishes of the donor. The funds must benefit the entire Troop/Group, not a specific individual. Funds will be disbursed to the Troop/Group only after the Troop Leader(s) signs off on a Troop/Group Gift Acceptance Form, which confirms that the funds will be for the benefit of the entire Troop/Group and not for a specific individual.

Donations of less than $250 can be received by the troop/group and deposited directly into the troop’s council approved checking account. The troop/group thanks the local donor with a special thank you note from the girls of all gifts below $250. Donations of less than $250 that require donor acknowledgement from the council must be receipted by the council. The donation will be redistributed to the troop/group.

Monetary gifts donated directly to Troops/Group or given through the council and restricted for Troops/Groups are limited to a combined total of $300 per year per Troop/Group
 

Some employers offer matching gifts and volunteer service hours to their employees. Employers may match the employee’s donations or give monetary gifts in proportion to employee volunteer hours to 501(c)3 charitable organizations. Corporate or Volunteer Match programs specified for designation to a specific troop/group by the company making the donation will be receipted by the council and distributed to the designated troop/group in accordance with our annual troop fundraising policy. Acknowledgement will be provided to the company for its donation of any amount. Matching donations received that are not specifically designated to a troop or group will be considered unrestricted donations and retained by the council to carry out the Girl Scout Mission.

Troop/Group should submit a Troop/Group Fundraising Application to their Membership Support Manager for approval.

Troop dues are monetary collections which are deposited into the troop bank account for future use (for example: badges, activities or council events). The amount of troop dues is set by the girls and leaders of the troop to be paid by members weekly, monthly, quarterly, or bi-annually to finance the programs and activities of the troop.

The shop can serve you in several ways. The staff in all four shops are very knowledgeable and the shops carry everything for each level Girl Scout. The shops are located in Athens, Lizella, Pooler and Savannah. There is also an online shop.

The GSLE is center of the Girl Scout program and a collection of activities and experiences that include earning badges and high awards, selling cookies, going on trips, exploring the outdoors and learning to do Take Action projects. The shop staff is extremely knowledgeable of the GSLE and shares the collective history of Troop Leader, Volunteer and Girl experiences.

The shops carry the full line of Core items like Uniforms and Badges, but they also carry Girl Scout and Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia t-shirts, totes, accessories, and gifts. Depending on the season or the Girl Scout calendar, the shop carries items to compliment experiences. For instance, during Cookie Season, the shops carry Cookie Selling Support items such as Cookie t-shirts, Cookie booth items, yard signs, buttons and other tools to help a girl reach her sales goal.

The online shop sales also benefit the Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia (GSHG) Council and help fund programs in our Council. Not all specific GSHG items can be found in the online shop.

Yes, GSHG online cookie dough can be used in the online shop.

Individually Registered Girls (IRG) can participate in Product Program through a GSHG District. If a district does not exist then a IRG can participate through their Service Area.

The Fall Product Sale gives girls the opportunity to sell candy, nuts, magazines and other snacks.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led business in the world. Girls will learn life skills such as entrepreneurship, financial literacy, goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.

The Girl Scout Cookie program is the largest girl-led business in the world. Through this program girls learn entrepreneurial and financial literacy skills including decision making, goal setting, money management, people skills and business ethics. In addition, girls earn cookie dough, which can be used as described here. 

Girl Scout Dough is an incentive with credits that girls earn during Fall and Cookie Sales. It can be used for approved Service Unit events, Troop Trips, GSUSA Destination trips, GSHG council sponsored trips, Council Events , GSHG camp, GSHG shop. Learn more here. 

Contact your Service Area Cookie Manager for more information or email Product Sales jdial@gshg.org. Troops/parents should not contact any possible booth location(s); all location(s) are contracted by the Service Unit Cookie Manager.

There are several ways a girl can participate in the sale even if she chooses not to sell cookies, such as by making signs, leading a calling campaign, helping with pick up and delivery, and participating in the troop's cookie booth. It is important to remember, all troop funds are for the entire troop, not just the girls who sold product.

If you are a Girl Scout troop or Service Unit, you can use our online reservation system, Doubleknot, to make a reservation for Camp Tanglewood, Camp Low, Camp Martha Johnston or Camp Robert Lewis. Instructions on how to use Doubleknot can be found in on the first screen of each camp. It is a very user friendly system. If you want to change the camp you are looking at, simply hover over the camp name in the green tabs at the top. You can Search by Date (this is the default view) or if you have a certain lodging in mind, you can Search By Lodging.

If you require assistance, contact the Customer Care at 1-888-689-1912.

If you are not a Girl Scout member, please contact our Assistant Property Director at 706-621-5979. We will be happy to assist you with lodging and non-member pricing information.

No. We also welcome reservations for various outside groups. This means not all campers at camp will have a Criminal Background Check like registered Girl Scouts do. At all times keep to your Safety Checkpoint guidelines to help ensure a fun and safe visit to camp.

Yes. If your camper currently is not a Girl Scout, she will need to purchase a Girl Scout membership. Go the "Join" page for new members, or use "MY GS" login for former lapsed members.

Please refer to the 2018 Program Guide for everything you need to know about our camps. Once you have decided on a camp for your child, you can register for the camp by selecting the camp week from our Event Calendar. The Event Calendar provides a more direct route. Just navigate to the camp/week you want and click on it. A short description will appear. Click on the name of the camp week in green and start your registration.

We want every girl to experience Girl Scout camp! If you need financial assistance for your camper to attend camp, we are happy to help. You must first register your daughter for camp and pay the deposit. Then, complete the Camper Financial Aid form found on gshg.org and send to Customer Care at customercare@gshg.org to start the process. Girls must apply any cookie dough earned to camp fees before financial aid can be considered.

GSHG offers several scholarship opportunities to graduating seniors in our council. GSHG also posts additional scholarship opportunities on our website. For information on how to apply or to view additional opportunities, please see our scholarship page.

The Girl Scout Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards are Girl Scouting’s highest awards. They also engage girls in building networks that not only support them in their award projects, but in new educational and career opportunities. For more information, visit our Highest Awards and Scholarship page.

The highest award a Cadette Girl Scout can earn is the Girl Scout Silver Award.

The highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn is the Girl Scout Bronze Award.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Senior/Ambassador Girl Scout can earn.

Silver Award: Girls have until September 30th of the year they finished 8th grade to submit their Final Report. Gold Award: Girls have until September 30th of their graduation year to submit their Final Report.

Yes, there are both earned and nominated awards for registered adult members. The information on adult awards can be found on our web site here. 

To learn more about Girl Scout First Headquarters, please visit our web section here. 

The First Girl Scout Headquarters building was formerly the carriage house for Juliette Low’s adult home, and it now houses the council’s archives and serves as a museum and program activity center. We’re replacing the bricks in the courtyard with new, commemorative engraved bricks. They are 4”x8” in size and cost $100 each. Share a message or just list your name. To purchase a brick, please print/complete the Commemorative Brick Order Form and return it with your payment (Visa, MasterCard or check) to any GSHG council shop, or to save time and gas, order your brick online now!

Join Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia for their Second Annual Girl Scout QuestFest on July 12-15, 2018. Drawing Girl Scouts from across the world, Girl Scouts and their families will participate in a massive “Quest” through Savannah’s Historic District to find items, do good deeds and tackle silly situations. Our rousing weekend of fun and friends will also include a Girl Scout Expo, a campfire at Girl Scout Camp Low, an unforgettable Bridging ceremony over the Savannah Bridge, a blowout Finale Celebration and so much more! Between tackling all of our events, exchanging SWAPS with friends, loading up on special swag and learning our beautiful city’s history, you’ll leave Savannah exhausted in the very best way. Learn more at gsquestfest.org!

Our next Girl Scout QuestFest is on July 12-15, 2018 in Savannah, GA. Registration opens on Februrary 1, 2018. Learn more at gsquestfest.org!