Help for a new Brownie leader...

[McKelly]

I have a troop of eleven girls in 1st grade and I am trying to think of some community service projects for this age. So far, I am planning on having them decorate Meals on Wheels bags for Christmas, but I don't know what else to do with them. I would like to have them do another service project which we can do right at our meeting sight.

Also, to those of you who do food or clothing drives, how do you this? Do you just have the families of the girl's bring things in? What is the family's reaction to this?

I was thinking of when it gets closer to March and the Girl Scout Birthday week, I was going to have the girls make coupons for certain chores around the house that they could earn a couple dollars and then have them purchase party supplies (plates, balloons, napkins). I was then going to make birthday party bags and donate them to the food pantry with a cake mix and frosting inside and have the girls make a card and friendship bracelet for it too. But I am afraid this might be asking too much of the parents: to give them money and then take them to the store to pick something out? What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks for any advice and ideas?

 

[WDWMom]

You can always make Christmas cards for a nursing home or Valentines for Vets. Both can be done at meetings.

You could also plan a meal for a family. Plan at the meeting, cook at the next.

If you meet at a the school, pick up trash around the outside, plant flowers, weed. Since the school is letting you use the building (or whatever place you are meeting at) you are doing something in return for them.

I will try to think of some more things.

 

[horseshowmom]

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/vision_sight_snight.shtml

This site gives you some information about collecting eyeglasses. Lenscrafters and Lions Club team up for this project.

This project is very easy to do. All the kids have to do is ask their familiy members (friends, church, etc.) for eyeglasses that are no longer used. Almost everybody who wears glasses has at least one or two pair that they don't use anymore, and you'll be surprised how they add up.

While it talks about doing "Sight Night" and collecting glasses on Halloween, we never did it that way. We just collected them whenever it was most convenient for our group, and you can drop them off at any Lenscrafters. The site above probably has some other alternatives too.

I remember one story I read in a magazine about this project. The optometrist had traveled to an impoverished country to help match glasses and recipients. One of the women who received a pair of glasses had vision so poor that she had never clearly seen her children. When she got her "new" glasses and looked at her children, she cried.

 

[OceanAnnie]

This website looks like it has good information. You might want to check it out:

http://brownies368.tripod.com/leader.html

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Some simple things we did with our troop:

Christmas caroling at a nursing home

Decorating the public library for Halloween (we made up decorations ahead of time)

Collecting toys for Hurricane Katrina girls--these ended up being donated to a council in Mississippi to replenish things lost at the GS council level.

Other thoughts/ideas: For Christmas, we have the girls make crafts for family members (also at Mother's and father's Day). Also at Christmas, we do a "secret sister" where each girl makes 2 of an item. They give one to their secret sister, the other of each goes to a local organization that gives them to a girl (maybe more) the same age as our girls. We leaders also make homemade gifts for the troop, and make an extra for the organization.

Feel free to ask me anything about scouting--I've been doing this a while, and we've done a bunch of stuff.

 

[McKelly]

Thanks everybody for the advice and suggestions! How are your parents with bringing or sending in "extras" throughout the year. I only charged $10.00 for the year in dues and I have far exceeded that already. I am not complaining, I knew going into this it was going to cost me some money, but in trying to come up with service projects, it always seems like it is going to require more money or families donating something. I can barely get somebody to help with the meeting or pick their girls up on time!! I am sure this is nothing you haven't experienced!!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

$10 dues isn't enough for the entire year. At first we did $15, twice a year. Now with cookie sales, we only do it once, but with a new troop, I don't advise counting on cookie sales until you know what your girls can do--we have a couple "power sellers".

We also asked families for craft donations, then we did our crafts based on what we had.

We also asked for bottle receipts, if they do bottle returns in your state. My family doesn't give much--we rarely drink soda, and the cub scouts do bottle drives, too, so what little I have is split in two. But several girls have been ambitious and gotten returns from relatives, as well.

Also, we leaders generally decide if we're going to do an outside activity which costs money (lock-ins, roller skating, etc.) Sometimes the troop pays for it and then any moms going pay for themselves--other times, it's up to the families. When the girls are older, we let them vote on it.

Oh, one leader had her company donate $500 to the troop. Sounds like a lot, but doesn't go far with 12 girls! Also, council hassled us--they wanted the $, we eventually got it for our troop. We're not in a rich neighborhood, have a couple "scholarship" girls, while council gets $ for every box ofcookies sold. Sorry, but we could do more with the $ than they could!

 

[McKelly]

I wish I would have asked for more than $10.00, live and learn I guess. We have a couple scholarship girls too, and I was informed that if I asked for more than $10.00, nobody would join. Well, with the cost of other after school activities, I don't know how true that is, but I didn't want to go against the grain. This is my dilemna with outings and service projects. I don't want anybody to feel bad if they can't afford to go. I have read previous posts on here where the troops went on field trips and charged the girls anywhere between $25.00 and $40.00 a girl. Yikes!! I will have to stick to the $5.00 or less field trips. I just hope we get some kind of cookie money. I plan to use this for field trips. I will continue to buy the supplies and put out wish lists for them.

I have another question. The girls are all at such GREAT differing abilities, how did you handle that? Do you wait until each girl is done with every project, or do you set an allotted time and have them take it home? Currently, I am waiting for every girl to get done and am putting coloring pages, mazes and that type of thing out for the girls that finish early, but I am not getting much done, always waiting for the last one or two girls. I don't want the parents to think all we do is color!! But yet I feel like the big Meanie if I don't let the other girls finish! What do you all do?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I wish I would have asked for more than $10.00, live and learn I guess. What do you all do?

If you have a troop like that then you plan outings by asking for money upfront.
When an activity comes up you let them know when and how much.
Generally I had them pay and sign the Permission form at the same time.
Sometimes it is live and learn. I did the same.

I know you will say, a couple of girls can't go to everything. Well as much as that pains me, as a leader your responsibility is to the whole troop. If you do not foster "fun" in your troop it gets boring and I have found that parents WILL PAY if the girls are having a blast at Girl Scouts. (Trust me....been there, done that.)

Since you are 1st year it isn't so much of an issue as it will be next year and esp the following year. Once the girls hit Jrs., money is a big deal and you rely on fundraising.

They say you can't carry cookie money over to the next year. Well no listens to that. It is impossible to run a good and fun troop without money. You plan your activites way ahead of time, so you know how much $$$ you need. Secret to FUN TROOP is plan, plan, plan. Plan out the ENTIRE year. Know the ballpark amount so you can charge the parents or set aside $$$ from cookie sales.

As far as the activites, well you have them take it home. You should have cut off time and do your closing for your troop. Yes you feel like a meanie but you also have to be a leader to your troop. That part gets easier as they get older. It is important to establish a "cut-off time" and stick to it.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Oh and I wanted to add....save your receipts!!!! When the girls sell cookies you can get your money back as long as you have the receipts!!!!

 

[Cruise04]

Some service project ideas:

If you have a Hospice in your county or town see if they can use anything - or any help. Ours has a newsletter that they ask for volunteers to help with labels and a couple of times a year they give baked good to their clients.

If you have an animal shelter in your area see if they need newspapers for the bottom of the cages. That's an easy thing to collect.

Meals on Wheels is a great thing. We had a troop in our area that made Snowman bags (had hot chocolate mix and marshmallows and some cute little saying on it. Also you could placemat to go with the trays.

Placemats can be done also for nursing homes. Another thing our troop did one year was made napkin rings for the trays at a nursing home.

You also could go to a nursing home or retirement community and spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon reading to the residents or playing games or just visiting - adopt a resident program is something else you could do. Especially for people who don't get visitors this is a great way for the girls to feel good about something they've done and the residents to have feel like they are still needed.

Now, as far as dues here's is what I tell leaders when I'm training them (I'm a council trainer in our council) - you need to sit down and look at your plan for the year - include an estimate on the number of try-its/badges you expect to complete and use that total, think about any field trips that might cost money and include that total, and then put at least a $5 cushion amount in for supplies, snack, etc. if you feel it's needed. Generally people do $25 a year and that gets them through but don't include field trips and just ask the parents for that money when it happens. Twice a year you can have an ask for craft supplies - in October do a Juliette Low Birthday party and ask the kids to bring in a supply item for the craft bin wrapped and have a birthday party; do this again in March around the Girl Scout birthday. That will cut down on a lot of your expenses. If you are finding you are going through the money too fast, then you need reevaluate your program at the middle of the year and ask for more dues if necessary. You really shouldn't do more than $25 or $30 a year - that should last you. Once you get Fall Product Sale money or Cookie Money (or whatever council fundraisers you participate in) then you can see where you will be in March.

Good luck - it's as fun as you make it to be.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

Wow, did a search and just found this.

When we started out last year as a new Daisy troop, we had a New Troop Party and each girl was asked to bring in a craft supply. I asked that it be something laying around the house that wasn't being used, that way there was no cost to the parents. We recieved crayons, velcro, spirograph items, glitter glue, pom poms, and patterned paper.

I have a mom who runs a daycare in her home and she brings in leftover craft items all the time. We also get newspapers from a neighborhood quickie mart, we use them to cover tables or make crafts and the quickie mart saves on their recycle fees.

For service projects, last year (Daisy level) we made Valentines for Vets. We also cleaned up the grounds at the school.
This year (Brownie level) we went caroling at the local senior center, where we also passed out cookies and handmade cards. Both were well recieved and recipients were very thankful, which made the girls feel good.
In the spring we plan to go back to the senior center and plant flowers with residents.

Our dues for this year were set at $35. $20 at the start and $15 due the end of January. We also have a couple of scholarship girls, as well as "sponsoring" two Juliettes. All are from the same family and they desperately need the kind of guidance that Girl Scouts can provide. So as a troop, we just do what we can to cover the four girls. As the leader, whenever we have an activity that requires parents to pay, I cover the four. It wouldn't feel right to me if I didn't. They are in a tough spot through no fault of their own.

Check out fieldtripfactory.com for free or inexpensive trips in your area. It can be a big help.

 

[MariDisney]

I'm also the leader of a 1st grade troop. It's too late now, but last week we went caoling at a local subacute center (patients all on ventillators). It was awesome. We'll also go play bingo at a local nursing home sometime in Feb.