Girl scouts/Brownies - Financial and Time Money Pit

[PinkRhombus]

The setup is way off base.

My daughter's Daisy troup was new last year. They had a larger than average troop fee last year only because we had no money from cookie sales yet....but we did really well with the cookie sales last year.

EVERYTHING that we do is paid for by those funds. All field trips. All craft supplies.

Parents either work a meeting assisting the two leaders or send in snacks for one meeting.

We also help with selling cookies at a table at one of our church's Friday fish fries that are starting soon.

We even had a rather big outing for the girls and their entire families at the end of the school year that was paid for with some of those funds.

The Brownie troup she'll be going into next year is run pretty much the same.

 

[Tweevil]

I have been involved in GS for 20+ years and that set up is a new one for me. I agree with parental involvement but it seems like considerations are not made for those who volunteer for other positions/activities.

I think if you are a product sale coordinator you should be off the hook for the meeting - that in itself is a sizable time contribution.

Um... is your leader leading or just orchestrating events? Sounds kind of hands off to me... GS is supposed to be self lead but I believe that is incremental - daisy not so much, brownies begins to grasp the concept, juniors and up and pretty much self lead.

I think I would call the council to see if this is the norm. If not, talk to the leader and tell her that you just can't do it all - perhaps there is a troop that is a better fit close by for you.

I hope all goes well, I understand where you are coming from and I was not just a leader for multiple levels in the same year, I was also camp coordinator, council cookie liason, and all kinds of other stuff until I said no more, it had to go back to the basics... when it's not fun anymore is when you have to step back.

 

[vicki_c]

We tried to sign my DD up for GS this past year. Apparently many of the troops in our area (but a little further away) are full and have waiting lists. However, in my immediate area, they have chosen not to run it that way and instead install a new chapter when there is enough interest.

I went to the organizational meeting and it was a total joke, IMO. EVERYTHING was to be done by the parents and one of us was expected to volunteer to be the troop leader. This was about a dozen moms, NONE of which had ever done anything with GS before (well I was one as a kid). Of course, no one was jumping up to lead anything at this first meeting - everyone seemed as confused as me. Then, as it was described, the whole thing was very loose - no real plans, let the kids pick what the topics for the meetings would be, didn't have to buy any kind of uniform, etc. Parents were expected to lead a meeting, and it was suggested that it could even be done at our homes vs. any public place. I was floored. I knew I would never be able to handle being involved with what seemed to be a disorganized mess with no leadership. I didn't want to be the leader but just given my personality, I could see that I would probably end up at least trying to run everything!

We managed to set up a meet and greet type activity for the kids/moms the next week, at a park and thought maybe things would start to come together. Guess what -- only 3 of us showed! The girls were so disappointed because there wasn't enough interest to form the troop. One lady came who's daughter was older - I guess she came to talk to us about cookies -- and she basically admitted how disorganized scouts were in our area.

So anyway, sorry to be so long-winded, but it's a bit of a sore subject with me. In the end, I was happy that it didn't work out. I would rather be on a waiting list for a more established and organized troop than what we were dealing with. Unfortunately, that's not an option for us based on where we live.

I was a GS as a kid and it was a great experience. But we had a full time leader who had been one for years and years, we met at a church hall every week, went camping, had uniforms that you had to wear to the meetings, you know "back in the old days"! I was not impressed with what I saw of the modern Girl Scouts.

 

[Tweevil]

Vicki,
Just as a side thought... there are zip scouts who are not troop affliliated and can earn badges and things. Perhaps that's a possibility? I know it kind of kills the idea of getting kids together but it is a way to get started.

Just a thought, maybe it will help..??

 

[LisaNJ25]

Just curious but if it is a troop from the previous year than why do they not have cookie money left from then??

As for the OP, my daughter gave Girl Scouts a try for 2 years with 2 different leaders and in the end I pulled her from doing it anymore. I was not impressed with what was going on and her second year the leader changed the meeting days to the same day my DD had a prior activity scheduled. Are there any different activities your daughter may be interested in??

I carry it over..we dont get out cookie money until mid march and I cant see blowing by June. Some troops tend to have a big blow out at the end of the year. I never do that. I do have the parents pay a potion of every trip we go on. I found if I covered 100% I had no shows. I also ask that if you sign up, dont show and we pay a potion of the trip you need to reimburse the troop.


OP I wish I had parents who helped out half as much as you do. I have a daisy, brownie and junior troop. I am also a service unit manager for 3 towns, cookie and nut mom for my troop. Heck, when I asked my leaders for help running a me & my guy event next months they looked it me like I had 3 heads.

If you ever get extra cookies like that talk to your service units cookies mom. She probably has a troop that needs them.

I ordered about 25 extra boxes this year and we are going door to door and selling them. This is my first year having 2 daughters selling.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Vicki,
Just as a side thought... there are zip scouts who are not troop affliliated and can earn badges and things. Perhaps that's a possibility? I know it kind of kills the idea of getting kids together but it is a way to get started.

Just a thought, maybe it will help..??

You can also become a Juliette and still be involved with all service unit events/councils events but just not tied to one troop.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I was a GS as a kid and it was a great experience. But we had a full time leader who had been one for years and years, we met at a church hall every week, went camping, had uniforms that you had to wear to the meetings, you know "back in the old days"! I was not impressed with what I saw of the modern Girl Scouts.

That's because most moms move up with their daughters troops.. so they need new parents to step up each year.

I have never personally know anyone who just stayed at 1 age level all of the time.

I can tell you the amount of time I put in with training, organizing meeting and attending meetings is nuts.

Being a girl scout leaders is unfortunately a volunteer job that doesn't seem to get much appreciation.

 

[wthchristi]

I am a brownie troop leader of 12 2nd grade girls and the Cookie Site Sale Manager for our service Unit which has over 500 girl scouts! It has been an experience, but probably one of the most satisfying experiences of my life.

Too be honest, my coleader and I went to a recruiting event and were recruited as leaders. We both have learned by the seat of our pants. What many do not realize is that a leader has to go through HOURS of training classes as well as overnight training events to take the girls on outings. We also have a service unit meeting each month. I had no idea the time commitment involved when we started. I am a manager for a major corporation and she runs a nonprofit organization in our community and travels extensively. We also both have other children involved in multiple activities.

Parent involvement is key to a successful troop. All of our parents are registered Girl scout members. Our parents and there daughter also lead one meeting per year and supply the snack. The parents and daughter know what tryits we are working on and the activity they choose supports the tryit we are working on. We meet twice a month after school for 90 minutes, as well as one or two activities per month. Last weekend was the brownie Sleepover. Our next activity will be a science workshop. We also will be doing a weekend encampment, a geocaching trip with the dads, a pool/ BBQ end of the year party and if cookie sales go as well as they are looking, a night at Great Wolf Lodge with moms paying there way and cookie money paying for the girls (the girls chosen goal, 800+ in presales!).

My cookie mom is my hero....she also has taken on being our treasurer. Another mom tracks badges, another helps plan activities, another helps line up drivers for events....you get the idea, lol. Too be honest, if my parents were not as willing as they are to step up, we would probably be unable to do half as much as we are able and may not even have a troop.

The bottom line is I always welcome any new girls regardless. An extra bottle of juice and bag of cookies in the cupboard...we make it work. I changed a painting t-shirt project when I had 2 extra girls show for a meeting earlier in the year while the meeting was going. We made friendship bracelets instead. GirlScouts should always open there arms to any girl who needs a troop. We will never be "too" full.

All activities are optional. Most of my girls have other activities they participate in. Gymnastics, dance, skiing, you name it and probably one of them are in it. We asked all parents what day works best for them, and chose the one that worked best for the most. I have learned there is no pleasing every parent.

Not sure if this helped...but wanted to end with what a blessing you are as a cookie mom!!!!!

 

[DVCBELLE]

Thanks for all the replies - I feel a little better knowing that it does sound like a lot to others!! Please don't get me wrong - it is a great experience and we love our leader and I truly am appreciative that she is the leader but I am just starting to feel like maybe it is too much!

Your leader probably didn't check with you about the rescheduled meeting because it's easier just to push things back a week than try to accommodate everyone's schedules.

The only reason I mind about that is because I am the one LEADING the meeting...otherwise I would be happy for her to reschedule it next week!!

I don't mind so much that we all had to take a week for meetings but once all the other parents started scheduling field trips - I felt like they were all taking the easy way out and I had to plan a meeting.

I am supposed to do hobbies - but maybe a cookie badge is a better idea - to be honest - I didn't even know there was one!!

As for last year's cookie money - we spent it all on one activity - a mother/daughter camping trip. We had fun but in the past we didn't do all this other stuff so there wasn't all this other stuff going on with planning and paying for our meeting on top of that. Oh wait - she also paid for their year end party with it.

I love our leader - and I do feel like she tries to do everything and she feels like spreading meetings out will give our girls an opportunity to do more. But it is just all so overwhelming now. I do only have to be at one cookie booth for the entire time as two other moms volunteered to be at the other two booths. That is nice for me - but I will still have to get the cookies there and coordinate it so it isn't like I am off scott free for those. Maybe if my meeting weren't scheduled for the week of cookie delivery - I wouldn't be so upset. I will make a mental note to make sure next year my meeting is in the fall!!

Our parents are great and everyone does participate but I just am starting to feel like it is all too much! I think the fact that I am the cookie mom should be enough for me and if we continue next year - I will have to tell her that.

Maybe I can see if I can bribe DD into another activity for next year instead!!

 

[wthchristi]

Here is a link to the Cookie Counts Try-It. Great inexpensive activities with minimal planning. Even better have your daughter lead the activity while you supervise!

http://troop851.ellenbecker.net/Try Its.htm

I forgot to suggest that you go to your leader and ask for a parent meeting. Maybe a plan for next year in the spring? This may help you decide on continuing with scouts. I hope you find the right troop for you and your daughter, the experience can be awesome!

 

[vicki_c]

To the OP - thanks for letting me hijack the middle of your thread!

And to those who responded to me - thanks for the ideas. I think we've dropped GS as a potential activity at this point, but if that changes, thanks for the tips.

And I thought I should just make it clear - that I think all of you who lead troops and participate in troops are doing a great job and I still think GS as an organization has really good things to teach our kids -- I just didn't like how it was being managed where I live.

 

[allison443]

I went to the organizational meeting and it was a total joke, IMO. EVERYTHING was to be done by the parents and one of us was expected to volunteer to be the troop leader. This was about a dozen moms, NONE of which had ever done anything with GS before (well I was one as a kid).

.....

I was a GS as a kid and it was a great experience. But we had a full time leader who had been one for years and years, we met at a church hall every week, went camping, had uniforms that you had to wear to the meetings, you know "back in the old days"! I was not impressed with what I saw of the modern Girl Scouts.

"one of us was expected to volunteer to be the troop leader"...well, yeah, the leader is a volunteer position...who do you think leads the troop? Just like most soccer/baseball/basketball teams at the rec level are coached by parents, etc. Perhaps it wasn't explained about the training that is available to new volunteers.

I don't know what you mean when you say you had a "full-time leader" when you were a scout as a girl. It's not a paid job you know. She must have been a volunteer, albeit an experienced one.

That said, it sounds like maybe your troop organizer wasn't too organized.
GS does seem to have a problem with recruiting leaders, I really think they need to improve it at the local level. I think your experience shows how they need to improve.

 

[PinkRhombus]

The difficulty in getting parents involved does NOT surprise me at all. Schools complain about lack of parental interest/involvement when it comes to just dealing with the students and their studies. This doesn't just stop at that level.

We have several good troops within our parish/school, but we still struggle.

 

[crisi]

That's because most moms move up with their daughters troops.. so they need new parents to step up each year.

I have never personally know anyone who just stayed at 1 age level all of the time.

I can tell you the amount of time I put in with training, organizing meeting and attending meetings is nuts.

Being a girl scout leaders is unfortunately a volunteer job that doesn't seem to get much appreciation.

And, honestly, some parents seem to treat us like paid staff. I've been really clear with my parents - I'm doing it all volunteer and working full time - this is what I can put in....if you expectations for $2 a week and whatever we sell in cookies are higher, you need to help or leave. (Troops only get $.55 a box). Field trips - don't happen, I can't fit five girls in my car - unless you guys want to volunteer.

I'm also trying to run an AFFORDABLE troop - one of my girls has a single Dad whose been unemployed off and on - not a great financial situation. Another family is tight and has twins, so anything they pay, they pay twice. So the only uniforms are sashes -and even that we didn't do until this year.

Although I don't see what the big deal in being a cookie mom is. It took me a half hour in web training, an hour meeting, and fifteen minutes to input the girls forms. Another hour to pick up cookies (which was amazingly well organized). The first meeting after the cookies arrive the girls sort their own cookies, I check. There is a few post sales trips to the cookie cupboard for more cookies. We don't do booths - too much work and not enough parent involvement.

I think cookie booths have really fallen off with our council - too much risk (can't return cookies you don't sell) and too much time.

 

[DeniseinNS]

My daughter is in Brownies and the leaders don't expect the parents to do that much, I don't think I could deal with that. For my daughters group there are 2 leaders and 2 moms who volunteered to be helpers for the year. We pay $2 for dues each week and that covers their badges, crafts materials, parties, etc..... if they do a field trip we may be asked to pay $2-$5 depending on what they are doing but that is very rare. They ask that we take turns bringing snacks for the group but that works out to twice per year which is fine. The leaders are the ones in charge of the cookies as well.

 

[vicki_c]

"one of us was expected to volunteer to be the troop leader"...well, yeah, the leader is a volunteer position...who do you think leads the troop? Just like most soccer/baseball/basketball teams at the rec level are coached by parents, etc. Perhaps it wasn't explained about the training that is available to new volunteers.

I don't know what you mean when you say you had a "full-time leader" when you were a scout as a girl. It's not a paid job you know. She must have been a volunteer, albeit an experienced one.

That said, it sounds like maybe your troop organizer wasn't too organized.
GS does seem to have a problem with recruiting leaders, I really think they need to improve it at the local level. I think your experience shows how they need to improve.

I was just explaining what happened at the organizational meeting I attended. It wasn't very organized as you said. And as for my own experience as a kid, what I meant was that our troop leader was actually an older woman, of course I know it wasn't a paid position, who's daughter was actually out of GS at that point and had been the troop leader in my town for like 10 years. My expectations were for something similar, but I guess that was a unique situation.

I was looking to join an established troop that had its act together, and that wasn't available in my area. It was never that I didn't want to participate - I just didn't want to be in the midst of what seemed like looming chaos.

 

[LisaNJ25]

And, honestly, some parents seem to treat us like paid staff. I've been really clear with my parents - I'm doing it all volunteer and working full time - this is what I can put in....if you expectations for $2 a week and whatever we sell in cookies are higher, you need to help or leave. (Troops only get $.55 a box). Field trips - don't happen, I can't fit five girls in my car - unless you guys want to volunteer.

I'm also trying to run an AFFORDABLE troop - one of my girls has a single Dad whose been unemployed off and on - not a great financial situation. Another family is tight and has twins, so anything they pay, they pay twice. So the only uniforms are sashes -and even that we didn't do until this year.

oh I know.. I just took on a 3rd troop last month.. not because I wanted to but we had major issues with that leader and she had to go.

I asked my neighbor whose daughter is in that troop if she would like to step up and I am more than willing to help out. She laughed and said no, cant they put an add in the paper

 

[DVCBELLE]

Although I don't see what the big deal in being a cookie mom is. It took me a half hour in web training, an hour meeting, and fifteen minutes to input the girls forms. Another hour to pick up cookies (which was amazingly well organized). The first meeting after the cookies arrive the girls sort their own cookies, I check. There is a few post sales trips to the cookie cupboard for more cookies. We don't do booths - too much work and not enough parent involvement.

I think cookie booths have really fallen off with our council - too much risk (can't return cookies you don't sell) and too much time.

IF your troop is large and sells a lot of cookies then it is a HUGE deal! I am picking up 100 cases (1200 boxes) of cookies on Saturday that I then have to sort and have the parents get on Saturday/Sunday afternoon. Having 12 - 8 year olds trying to sort them would not be practical.

They also keep selling so I will have parents picking up cookies at my house for about a month and I will have to make runs to the cookie pantry if necessary.

We will do 3 cookie booths - so I will have to make sure that we have cookies and change on hand each time and then reconcile what was sold at the sale and see if I need more inventory for the next one. We are limited to 4 girls per booth so I have to have 3 so each girl has a chance to have one.

I have to have a paper trail of everything and make sure that each parent turns in the correct amount of money. Then I have to do all the paperwork, take the money to the bank. Then I have to order the prizes, pick them up and delive them.

Its not rocket science to be the cookie mom - but it is a fairly large time commitment in troops with a lot of girls.

 

[Winston1204]

If anybody has a daughter trying to sell cookies, please let me know!! I have no girl scouts in my area and I would love to buy some cookies! Looking to buy Samoas and Tagalongs. I can pay you via PayPal or send you a check and will pay for you to ship them to me.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

I haven't read through all the replies, so if I dublicate something, I'm sorry..
I work in the office for my local Girl Scout council. What you are describing is not "normal" for a troop. Troop dues and involvement can vary from troop to troop, but the leader ought to be running every meeting and buying the supplies. She is the one who should have been trained. If you don't want to change troops because your daughters friends are in that troop, I would suggest you call your local council and talk to the Memebership executive in charge of your area. Sometimes these issues are just a result of improper training and it's the councils responsibility to fix that or remove her from leadership.
I agree with everyone else that said if you are the cookie mom that should be where your personal responsibility to the troop ends. That is a huge and often thankless job!
On the personal level...for my daughter's troop, we pay $25 year troop dues fee, one a school year we have to provide snacks for the entire troop, and we do pay our own way into most of the council events. We haven't done a whole lot of field trips yet, but I would expect that we'd be asked to contribute maybe one thing to the troop as a whole ie drinks, loaf of bread, ect
I hope this gets resolved for you and your daughter had a great time growing up in Girl Scouts! It really is a great positive experience for most girls.