Need ideas to get girl scout troop to Disney PLEASE!

[carebee21]

When I was attending a training class when preparing my girls to bridge from Brownies to Juniors, something that was stressed to me is that the troup activities should be what the girls want and they should make the decisions about what activities will be done. Our girls decided that they wanted to focus on travel. They've chosen badges that help with this and they also spend some of their meeting just planning trips. So far we've only gone as far as a couple nights camping in our own state, but they do the planning. They want to work towards a few nights maybe 4-6 hours away staying in hotels by the end of grade 6 or early grade 7 (we're just starting grade 6 now) with the idea of a WDW trip when they're in grade 8 or 9. They're learning a LOT by doing all this planning themselves. They all have to take responsibility for their own tasks, research, budgetting and fundraising not to mention negotiation skills since this is a group of preteens who all have their own ideas and interests who have to come to agreement on what will be done. This is a huge learning and growth opportunity. These are skills that the kids can use for the rest of their lives.

If they're so interested in travel, why not just start a travel club and see if people will donate to you. But you don't or won't because you know people won't do that or won't support it. Instead you're hiding behind the Girl Scout name, thinking people won't question the motives or where the money is going.

And as far as their life long skills, while it may be true, it's also a poor excuse. While they may earn budgeting skills from planning a vacation, they can also earn budgetting skills by earning money to give Christmas gifts to low income kids and trying to find decent prices on the gifts to buy as many for as low a price as possible. While they may earn research skills trying to research a destination, those same skills can be acheived trying to research the food banks or nursing homes most in need of volunteers. And while they may earn badges based on their travels, there's just as many badges that they can earn for community service and personal growth at home (ie, a CPR badge.) Also, many of those local badges are going to be the ones that help those children out the most. Volunteering within the community will also earn the children possible letters of recommendation when they go to apply for college or for a job, it will make them appreciative of how much or how little they have, and in some cases it opens the door for a summer job (ie, the CPR badge can help them become a lifeguard.) Those trips won't even come close to offering the same benefits.

I also don't understand people who are knocking fundraising for travel. Nobody has suggested that they want people to just cut checks or buy seriously overpriced products. Our service unit actually has pretty strict rules for fundraising and the girls have to either make something to sell or perform some kind of service (the only premade items they're allowed to sell are fall product and cookie sales which are the standard annual GS fundraisers). They have to WORK for the money. This is also part of the learning opportunity. You don't get anything for nothing.

Ah, but let's be real here. They are getting something for nothing. When it's girl scout cookie time, their parents take the sign up sheets to work. It's not exactly safe to go door to door these days, so what did the child work for? And sure they make an appearance outside of the grocery store and stand there for a few hours, but the cookies usually sell themselves. People either buy them or they don't. That's not really work.

And say your troop decides to do a spaghetti dinner or a pancake breakfast. You go around to local stores and businesses asking them to donate the items to you. You ask churches or community centers to give you a free or very reduced dining hall for a night. You rarely pay for the items yourself. (or for that matter, the same could be said about asking a skating rink/movie theater/pizza shop to split the profits with you for the night) So while the kids may prepare and serve the food themselves, they still made that profit based on someone giving them something. And while I usually don't have much problem with this as a fundraiser, it upsets me when someone uses it for the type of fundraiser that's being proposed here. Some companies have limited donation supplies or funds for the year, so just because one troop decides that they want to sleep in a comfy hotel and visit an expensive theme park for their enjoyment, while not wanting to pay for it themselves, a legitimate organization that has a true need for the money and is actually doing something productive for themselves or the community may get turned away. And yes, it may be up to the companies to research who or why they're donating supplies and money, but honestly, Girl Scouts are a legitimate and trusted company, so people don't think their money or product is being misused in a frivilous matter or for an expensive vacation.

 

[FLAngie]

For those that don't think Girl Scouts should go to WDW

http://www.disneynow.com/profile/web/index.cfm?PKWebId=0x20027e097

The Girl Scout Council is planning a 100 year event at Epcot next year.

OP, I think you have a lot of good ideas. I would also recommend checking with your local council to see what the fundraising and travel policy is.

 

[stacieps]

Volunteering within the community will also earn the children possible letters of recommendation when they go to apply for college or for a job, it will make them appreciative of how much or how little they have, and in some cases it opens the door for a summer job (ie, the CPR badge can help them become a lifeguard.) Those trips won't even come close to offering the same benefits.

And say your troop decides to do a spaghetti dinner or a pancake breakfast. You go around to local stores and businesses asking them to donate the items to you. You ask churches or community centers to give you a free or very reduced dining hall for a night. You rarely pay for the items yourself. (or for that matter, the same could be said about asking a skating rink/movie theater/pizza shop to split the profits with you for the night) Girl Scouts are a legitimate and trusted company, so people don't think their money or product is being misused in a frivilous matter or for an expensive vacation.

Not sure why you are so wound up about this - I don't think anyone has said the troops that travel don't also help out their community. My troop did lots of volunteering (we babysat at monthly PTO meetings, preschool parent nights, visited nursing homes with Christmas crafts that we made, helped out with younger Girl Scout troops, etc.).

As for supplies for events, our council does not allow us to get donations, we purchase it all. Our council also will not allow us to share in profit at restaurants, etc. As for the church, the church we used chose to sponsor our local Girl Scouts (meetings were also held there). Our cleaning the hall was the "fee" for events. They actually were happy when we made a request to use the hall because we were the best cleaners they had.

 

[MrsPete]

Sorry, but the more likely scenario this is just like all the posts that pop up here weekly asking for ways to fundraise for trips to Disney. My “favorite” are folks who come here and say my band/show chori/dance team, etc. was “chosen” to perform in WDW. This whole being “chosen” is a Disney racket! Disney invites thousands of these organizations to perform on some random stage and then in return these groups spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in the park/hotels/dining. Disney is a smart marketer. I do not agree with asking for donations for these trips. If the majority of your trip is for personal travel then you need to offer services/goods at market rate and not ask for donations.

If the purpose is to fulfill badge requirements there are plenty of less expensive options. Asking people to donate so kids can take a pleasure trip while doing a few token badge activities in this economy is not right.

First, I don't think you're at all familiar with Girl Scouts.

Yes, scouts do service projects.
Yes, scouts earn badges.
They also take trips for educational or just plain fun purposes. If you make everything in scouts serious, you'll lose your girls. A good troop offers a balance of activities: Outdoor experiences, crafts, service to the community, leadership opportunities and just-for-fun outings.

The OP doesn't seem to be begging for donations at all. Rather, she's looking for ideas for how to have the girls raise money. Hosting a spaghetti supper or raking leaves are fundraisers. The girls do the work and people pay for their services.

I do agree that the "being chosen" thing is a racket, but that's not really the point at all. High school bands are "chosen", but scout troops aren't.

Going to Disney is not JUST a fun experiance, but a learning experiance as well. Where else can you learn ALL of the things that Disney can teach all in one place?

I disagree. It's possible to search out educational experiences for kids at Disney, but -- if you're going to be honest about it -- the vast majority of the experience is just plain fun: rides, characters, cool sites and meals. It sounds less than honest to say that you're going to a theme park for educational purposes (and, no, I don't want to hear about the various programs because the majority of the Disney guests go for Splash Mountain, not those programs). But for the purposes of this discussion, that's not a negative; not everything has to have a serious, life-long purpose. Sharing a fun time with friends is a worthwhile reason to take a trip.

The most valuable lessons that a scout troop would learn from a Disney trip would revolve around goal-setting, financial planning, and organization.

We've been denied for simple easy fundraisers like pancake breakfasts. We were told it was "out of our scope" and they suggested things like " washing windows " instead. I'm sorry, I don't see how soliciting manual labor on private property followed Safety Wise.

Hint-hint-hint: The council can tell your troop that it cannot hold a certain fund-raiser, but it cannot tell the parents that they can't get together and host a pancake breakfast . . . and then donate the proceeds to the troop. Instead of advertising that Troop 100 is hosting a pancake breakfast, you advertise that A pancake breakfast will be held and all proceeds will be donated to Troop 100. Tread lightly, speak carefully -- but do it!

Of course, this flies in the face of the spirit of scouting, but I lost respect for our national leadership years ago, and our council has recently gone down the tubes as well. It's all about money and membership numbers to them. So I do what's best for MY GIRLS.

And as an individual who supports and donates to local charities and has a DH who has a business who contributes to local events, we would support and give to the community planting project but would not give to the Disney World trip. It's frivilous and a veiled excuse for a fun vacation. That's why it's so important to figure out where your donations are going. Just because a foundation is legit, doesn't mean the people running it are spending the money wisely!!!!

Consider this:

You want to plant flowers in your yard. You see that a scout troop is offering to come to your house and plant flowers for a decent price. Or they're offering to rake leaves, or they're offering to wash your car, or they're offering a pancake breakfast with Santa. They plan to use the money for a Disney trip.

They're offering a service. You want the service. You determine that the price is fair. THAT'S NOT A DONATION. It's a way for kids to earn money towards a goal that matters to them.

If they were walking around with tin cans saying, "Will you give me some change so I can go to Florida?" , I'd be dead-set against that.

I say take the girls to Disney. Every child deserves to go to Disney at least once.

Disagree. No one deserves an expensive, out-of-state vacation.

I don't even think Disney is a particularly great choice for a scout trip. Why? Because so many kids have already been to Disney (multiple times) with their families, and I'd prefer to take my scouts on trips that are new and unique. Things they haven't done before and probably won't do again.

A couple times Disney has come up in my troop's brainstorming list, but every time I've asked them, "Who here has been to Disney?" 100% of the hands go up. Most of them have been multiple times. Then I ask them who's been whitewater rafting, who's biked the Virginia Creeper trail, who's hiked to LeConte Lodge? They end up choosing something that they've never done before. It's more exciting for them. I've heard of some troops doing some pretty cool things -- not long ago I heard about a troop that saved and took SCUBA lessons together. I'm sure that cost as much as a Disney trip, but it's a unique experience that the girls'll always remember sharing with their friends. In my mind, that's much better than one more Disney trip to be remembered along with the other four that they took with family.

But that doesn't mean that it's wrong for a troop to go there, if it's what the girls really, really want to do. Scouts emphasize that THE GIRLS pick what they want to do, and they figure out how to make it happen.

I did this with my 8th graders in June, 2001. We went to Savannah, GA, stayed at the military base and visited the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace.

We've taken our troop to Savannah, GA, and it's an ideal trip for a scout troop. So much to do in that area: The Birthplace is wonderful, and they offer a range of programs for scouts of all ages. Historical tours, ghost tours, the beach and the lighthouse, the Marine Science center, a wildlife preserve. Loads of great stuff, and it's all different and unique. Not things that most of the girls have done with their families. I highly recommend this for any scout troop; it's best for an older Junior troop or a young Cadette troop.

Trips are one of the big things that keep girls coming to scouts once they reach high school, but if you plan trips that kids have taken/can take with their families . . . you'll likely lose the girls. Look at it from a girl's perspective: Why work your fanny off at car washes and bake sales so you can go to Disney? Why do all that when your mom and dad took you last year anyway, and you didn't have to lift a finger for that family trip.

I was a Girl Scout for 7 years (Silver & Gold Award) and a troop leader/consultant for 3 years. I am now involved with Cub Scouts because God chose to bless me with boys
I am midly surprised that a trip to WDW would fall under the domain of Girl Scouting. There are so many other Wider Ops sponsored at the council and National level that would be a (imho) a better use of their efforts.
I have noticed that girls have tons of event patches on their uniforms at the last Scout Sunday I attended - even Daisy's and Brownies going to Great Wolf and such. What? Scouting isn't supposed to be about exotic and expensive locals at that age. There are so many local sites to see that traveling that far seems unnecessary - parks, zoo, museums, momuments, libraries, skating rinks, bowling alleys, police & fire stations - and what happened to good old fashioned craft meetings and camping? Not every activity has to be an "event". The girls want to go to WDW or Great Wolf? Go as a family and not as a Scout event. By the time they get to Cadettes and Seniors/Ambassodors no wonder they quit because the bar has been set so high.
*off soapbox*

I've been in scouting for 34 years, and I'll point out a couple things: Only a handful of girls will be accepted into Destinations (which were called Wider Ops back when I was a scout), and they're very expensive. I did a national Wider Op and an international Wider Op; my daughters haven't, and it's because of the cost. Plus, many of the younger girls (and their parents) would rather see them take trips with their troop -- with people they know and trust.

Scouts STILL DO all those local things -- my girls have, especially my younger ones. Also, we have a tremendous number of local events planned (within the scout community) by our older scouts: Daddy-Daughter dances, Halloween parties, Christmas craft events, camping weekends, career days. But it's not scouts that've "raised the bar" on what's acceptable -- it's the whole world. Kids aren't taught to "make do" any longer, and the average girl today has little interest in camping/outdoor experiences . . . or maybe it's more fair to say that today's girls enjoy outdoor experiences (i.e., hiking and sports), but they expect to have a hot shower and sleep in a bed in an air conditioned room afterward.

Still, I don't think that's the reason girls tend to leave scouts when they reach the upper ranks. I think it's a two-fold problem: 1) Scouts has always been perceived as a little girls' club, and older girls don't want to be seen as un-cool; National does nothing to dispell this notion -- and their pathetic attempts at being trendy are always about a decade behind. 2) When I was a kid, I didn't have a whole lot of options for my extra-curricular activities. Kids today have MANY more choices, and their parents are willing to spend more on their entertainment than mine were!

Most of the girls I've "lost" over the years have left the troop because they were forced to choose between sports (or band) and scouts once they reached high school. Still others were lost to the lure of part-time jobs; their parents tell them that if they want a car, they must come up with money, and (for many girls) scouts can't compete with wheels.

The girls I still have (14 high school seniors) are still here because of the friendships they've made over the years. That and summer camp; half my girls were CITs this summer, and they ADORE summer camp. They no longer care about badges, but they LOVE taking trips together and they enjoy community service projects.

Check with your council before doing anything. A friend of mine held an American Girl Tea Party to raise $ for a trip (they sold raffle tickets to win a doll as well) She had to return all of the $ raised and it was a lot.

That's a pretty cool fundraiser.

When I was attending a training class when preparing my girls to bridge from Brownies to Juniors, something that was stressed to me is that the troup activities should be what the girls want and they should make the decisions about what activities will be done.

Exactly. When they were Brownies, we picked a scout campsite, and we let the girls choose the meals they wanted to cook from a list we'd made -- that was an age-appropriate choice for them. Now that they're about to graduate from high school, we let them do all the planning. For example, soon we're going to spend a meeting making homemade high school graduation invitations and taking senior pictures. The idea that THE GIRLS pick and THE GIRLS make it happen -- with guidance from their leaders -- is the cornerstone of the scout program.

For those that don't think Girl Scouts should go to WDW

http://www.disneynow.com/profile/web/index.cfm?PKWebId=0x20027e097

Commercial venture designed to sell tickets to a large group that otherwise might not buy. This wouldn't convince me that we should give up other plans for a Disney trip.

Not sure why you are so wound up about this - I don't think anyone has said the troops that travel don't also help out their community.

Yes, troops are encouraged to offer a balance of activities. I have never heard of a troop that existed JUST for trips.

 

[MichelleB]

Mrs. Pete, I like your ideas. What else have your girls looked at doing???? I'm off to check out the hiking to LeConte lodge!!! Unfortunately we have a couple of special needs girls and can't do whitewater rafting.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Mrs. Pete, you sound like an amazing leader. I'll have to think about some of your ideas. You make some excellent points.

If they're so interested in travel, why not just start a travel club and see if people will donate to you. But you don't or won't because you know people won't do that or won't support it. Instead you're hiding behind the Girl Scout name, thinking people won't question the motives or where the money is going.

And as far as their life long skills, while it may be true, it's also a poor excuse. While they may earn budgeting skills from planning a vacation, they can also earn budgetting skills by earning money to give Christmas gifts to low income kids and trying to find decent prices on the gifts to buy as many for as low a price as possible. While they may earn research skills trying to research a destination, those same skills can be acheived trying to research the food banks or nursing homes most in need of volunteers. And while they may earn badges based on their travels, there's just as many badges that they can earn for community service and personal growth at home (ie, a CPR badge.) Also, many of those local badges are going to be the ones that help those children out the most. Volunteering within the community will also earn the children possible letters of recommendation when they go to apply for college or for a job, it will make them appreciative of how much or how little they have, and in some cases it opens the door for a summer job (ie, the CPR badge can help them become a lifeguard.) Those trips won't even come close to offering the same benefits.



Ah, but let's be real here. They are getting something for nothing. When it's girl scout cookie time, their parents take the sign up sheets to work. It's not exactly safe to go door to door these days, so what did the child work for? And sure they make an appearance outside of the grocery store and stand there for a few hours, but the cookies usually sell themselves. People either buy them or they don't. That's not really work.

And say your troop decides to do a spaghetti dinner or a pancake breakfast. You go around to local stores and businesses asking them to donate the items to you. You ask churches or community centers to give you a free or very reduced dining hall for a night. You rarely pay for the items yourself. (or for that matter, the same could be said about asking a skating rink/movie theater/pizza shop to split the profits with you for the night) So while the kids may prepare and serve the food themselves, they still made that profit based on someone giving them something. And while I usually don't have much problem with this as a fundraiser, it upsets me when someone uses it for the type of fundraiser that's being proposed here. Some companies have limited donation supplies or funds for the year, so just because one troop decides that they want to sleep in a comfy hotel and visit an expensive theme park for their enjoyment, while not wanting to pay for it themselves, a legitimate organization that has a true need for the money and is actually doing something productive for themselves or the community may get turned away. And yes, it may be up to the companies to research who or why they're donating supplies and money, but honestly, Girl Scouts are a legitimate and trusted company, so people don't think their money or product is being misused in a frivilous matter or for an expensive vacation.

I'm not sure where you're getting some of this from. I NEVER said that ALL they do is plan trips. Yes I said that travel is what they've chosen to focus on but we do definitely still do community service projects. We let the girls decide WHAT community service projects to do and to plan them including figuring out where the supplies come from. There has to be balance. We have a very empathetic group of girls and when they hear of things going on in the community they ask how they can help and we brainstorm ideas and do what we can. I just don't see why you believe travel can't be done as PART of Girl Scouting. You seem to have a very narrow idea of what Girl Scouts should be and any troop that is run differently you deem to be run wrong. That's not how Girl Scouts actually works.

You are right that cookies and fall product fundraisers really aren't a lot of effort by the kids for the most part, especially if they're mainly doing the pre-orders by parents and then doing maybe 1 or 2 booths. The thing is, if kids are going to do some major travelling then this is nowhere near enough and the kids have to come up with other ideas. Fundraisers like Applebees or pancake breakfasts do involve a lot of donations from the community (we haven't actually looked into these to see if they're even allowed in my service unit; I know lots of sports groups do them but I haven't heard of a scout group doing them) but the kids to still have to do a lot of work themselves and you know what? The community is supporting a group that is also supporting the community through their own service projects. Communities are supposed to work together. Everybody works to help each other where they can. Kids can also come up with other fundraisers like offer a badge blast to younger troops or running some kind of party or providing babysitting services at a community event or lots of other things that don't require a lot of donations are also types of fundraisers where the girls are doing work and getting paid for that service. This is not getting something for nothing. It is age appropriate work and it's up to the kids to decide if all that hard work is worth the ultimate goal that they're working to achieve.

Not sure why you are so wound up about this - I don't think anyone has said the troops that travel don't also help out their community. My troop did lots of volunteering (we babysat at monthly PTO meetings, preschool parent nights, visited nursing homes with Christmas crafts that we made, helped out with younger Girl Scout troops, etc.).

As for supplies for events, our council does not allow us to get donations, we purchase it all. Our council also will not allow us to share in profit at restaurants, etc. As for the church, the church we used chose to sponsor our local Girl Scouts (meetings were also held there). Our cleaning the hall was the "fee" for events. They actually were happy when we made a request to use the hall because we were the best cleaners they had.

The church we meet at also told us that they love having us in the church because it's always cleanest after we've been there. We teach the girls the Girl Scout ethic of Leave No Trace meaning that after we're done with any activity there should be no sign that we had been there (with the exception of the fact that the church has asked us for pictures which they hang). We've been noticing more and more over the past year that there is often residue on tables and garbage on the floors when we arrive, but it's always clean when we leave. We also help with spring cleanup. We've offered to plant flowers (provided by us) but they have declined each year.

I'm surprised you're not allowed to ask for donations. We are allowed to ask businesses for donations of supplies. We've been given some $25 and $50 gift card donations from some chain stores that have monthly budgets for this kind of thing. Wal-Mart, Target and Home Depot I know all have budgets for this kind of thing and our council is fine with us asking for donations from businesses in our community. We have to be able to show what we did with the donation but we are allowed to ask. For Bronze, Silver and Gold awards a form has to be attached to the packet for each and every donation showing where it was from and how it was used. Our annual troop paperwork includes similar. It is amazing how different the various councils around the country are.

 

[crisi]

The most valuable lessons that a scout troop would learn from a Disney trip would revolve around goal-setting, financial planning, and organization.

This is huge with any trip or activity that the Girls do. If it is really "girl led" then the girls do most of the planning and organization - with guidance. Its a great learning experience.

I know the OP said "Daisies on up" - our council wouldn't let Daisy's travel like this - they wouldn't let you travel like this as Brownies. (Well, if you LIVED in Florida) You'd need to be AT LEAST Juniors before you start doing a trip like this. And you know - that isn't bad. As Mrs. Pete said, you loose the girls as they get older - and as they get older, that's when Girl Scouts really starts being about something other than selling cookies and going roller skating and doing crafts. Someone up thread said they have problems finding Service Projects for young girls - I agree. But by middle school, places start to be happy to have teenage hands. But if its all about service in Middle School, you'll loose them. And if they've already done their Big Trip, why stick around?

Dangle this carrot and get years of participation (and years of fundraising by selling cookies).

(We can't do Applebees or any "commercial fundraising" in our council - nothing that "splits profits" if the Girl Scout name is attached. And we COULD do a pancake breakfast, but you have to follow all Minnesota and local laws regarding food sales - which is an impossibility for a single breakfast unless you have a contact - like a parent who owns a restaurant).

 

[JamesMom]

Still, I don't think that's the reason girls tend to leave scouts when they reach the upper ranks. I think it's a two-fold problem: 1) Scouts has always been perceived as a little girls' club, and older girls don't want to be seen as un-cool; National does nothing to dispell this notion -- and their pathetic attempts at being trendy are always about a decade behind. 2) When I was a kid, I didn't have a whole lot of options for my extra-curricular activities. Kids today have MANY more choices, and their parents are willing to spend more on their entertainment than mine were!

OT, but I had to respond.
LOL. I haven't been involved in Girl Scout for a couple of decades but I remember reading about the 2B program for older girls and I was like "what?" Jewerly in lieu of interest project patches or challenges? I see that they have done away with that, too. And I can't count how many times the uniform has changed. When I was Cadette/Senior we still wore green (with those plaid shirts, lol).
Sound like you got a great system going- thanks for working with the girls!

 

[MrsPete]

OT, but I had to respond.
LOL. I haven't been involved in Girl Scout for a couple of decades but I remember reading about the 2B program for older girls and I was like "what?" Jewerly in lieu of interest project patches or challenges? I see that they have done away with that, too. And I can't count how many times the uniform has changed. When I was Cadette/Senior we still wore green (with those plaid shirts, lol).
Sound like you got a great system going- thanks for working with the girls!

The Studio 2B junk was one of National's attempts at being "trendy". It fell flat and, yes, is already gone. Their newest bad idea is Journeys. They completely revamp the program every 3-4 years so that no one can keep up with it, and it's polarized between goals that're impossibly high and overly-juvenile, touchy-feely discussion suggestions. This downward spiral started in 1980 when National ditched the programs that'd been in place for decades in favor of the Silver/Gold and accompanying awards. I was a delegate to the "unveiling" of the awards, and everyone there thought it was a mistake. Since then, National has charged through mistake after mistake, unwilling to listen to the membership. Their goals are to increase membership (but pleasing the existing members isn't important) and to increase revenue.

Individual troops can still be great -- really, mine is! But National is a ship without a rudder.

Yeah, I had the green plaid shirt too. They've basically done away with the uniform now. Daisies have tunics, and Brownies have full uniforms. Juniors and above just have vests and a scarf. They made such a big deal about the scarf -- it's a connection to all our sister scouts and guides across the world. All scouts wear a scarf. I've personally never once seen a scout of any age wear a scarf. National is very out of touch.

My troops really are good groups, and it's because we have such a great group of leaders guiding things. Our girls have had so much fun over the years, but our secret is that we've had even more fun!

 

[leebee]

DD dropped out of scouts in Freshman year of high school, and she, too, thought the Studio 2B stuff was stupid, junky, and just plain icky. Interestingly, what really drove DD from scouts was that it became too generic and touchy-feely. She didn't like the idea that badges were dumbed down, patches were handed out for every little thing, and there was a lack of "uniformity", for lack of a better word. She'd always thought of scouts as something special, that set her (and her sister scouts) apart. She was frustrated that Council/National stopped emphasizing things that were uniquely Girl Scout, that made the scouting experience and not just something that they could get wherever, whenever. For example, our council stopped doing a.m. and p.m. flag ceremonies at resident camp. It truly bothered DD that no longer did the entire camp assemble before breakfast or before dinner to raise or retire the colors, with ceremony and dignity. It changed to the unit responsible making sure the flag was raised or lowered and if you were in the area you stopped in respect. "Gee, Mom, that's just how the janitor at school deals with the flag." Everything became too easy, to generic, too common, and she just got bored with it all. It made me sad... I was a girl scout all the way through, from joining brownies in 2nd grade (that was the first level, first age, way back when...) through seniors and beyond, spending 4 summers as a camp counselor and 4 years in college as a scout (Campus Gold, anyone?) and having my own troops (LONG before I ever met DH, much less thought of DD)... so it was hard for me to have DD leave scouts, but I understood her choice.

GO TO DISNEY if that's what your girls want to do! Make good plans, clear everything with your council, and raise the money. Remember that if you are raising money for a trip, you want to make sure that you offer a service to people and charge them a fair price for it. No problem there! We (well, DD's ballet company) always do well with car washes, but parents have to be involved, too...kids don't always take the lead. We would make about $500/car wash, charging donations only. Will council let you sell product if you participate in both the fall product and cookie sales? We did very well with pasta, but the best time to sell this is in NOvember, so it arrives in time for Christmas presents, but this might conflict with council product sales times.

Duckky is a GS leader from CA who brought her troop to WDW, although it was only 4 girls and 4 adults as the crowd dwindled over the years. I thought she was uber-organized with planning, documentation, etc. They stayed in Treehouse villas (rented points) and did the DxDDP. Search for her name on the boards to find her threads... lots of good planning, ideas, what to avoid, etc.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

Some good ideas so far!

 

[MAD4EEYORE]

There are some really great fund raising ideas here.An idea we are looking into is a yard sale at a church or a parking lot at a school. We would sell tables to to the community for them to sell there unwanted items. Example is 5.00 per table or 10.00 per parking spot. Plus the girls and parents would donate any items they wanted to sell and the proceeds would go to the Troop. My Troop of Juniors are looking to go to the 100 year Anniversary Celebration in Savannah in March. The Epcot bridging ceremony looks like another fun idea. I wonder how that will compare in price to the one in Savannah? Does anyone have any more information on that?


When I was a Junior, my Troop went to Disney World. We saved up our cookie money for 2 years and spent a weekend. We camped at FW. Earned some badges about camping, outdoors, and Walt's Dream. We took a behind the scenes tour of the underground. We rode bikes, went to the nightly campfire and we to Epcot. We didn't ride SM or SM. It was educational. My GS Leader was great about making it fun while learning. It's one of my best memories of my childhood and trip to Disney.

The girls need incentive to want to sell cookies,nuts or doing a fundraiser. If all you do is "help" and work on badges the girls will get burnt out, bored, and will drop out. It needs to be fun while keeping with what Girl Scouting is all about.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

We live in a very small place and our entire troop from Daisy on up is about 20 girls. What have you done as far as fund raising besides the nuts and cookies things? Any tips, tricks. Anything you can think of to help us make it happen. [/QUOT

I have not read all of this but. There is no way you should be planning this trip with Daisy's or young Brownies.


IMHO the cart is ahead of the horse here. You need to go back to step one and see who you can really take on this trip. And if you really mean "their parents will all go with the girls" then let mom and dad pay. One of the goals Girl Scouts is to develop independence and a family trip does not meet that goal

 

[FreeTime]

My soon to be cadette troop is planning a trip for next June. Our council does require that you participate in the fall sale to be permitted to have fund raisers on your own. We had a car wash - made $150, started recycling cans - $15 to date, sold candy bars - $50 with only 2 girls participating over the summer, are using our cookie money from last year - $500, fall sales and cookies from this year. We are planning a bingo night, for prizes. This has already been approved by council. We have $1900 left to raise.

The girls voted to go to WDW. They know it will be hardwork. I purchased badges that we will earn while we are planning our trip early (since journeys replaces some), that we will be earning for our last 6 months as Juniors. I really think that the troop will learn a great deal and help the community while planning for the trip. We will be: learning how to cook, budgeting, staying healthly, learning about different ethnic groups, etc. Could we have done all of this while staying at home? YES. But, the girls will have an experience of a lifetime. I still remember travelling with my troop.

Oh! And someone commented on having a GS troop that only tavels? Did you know that travel is actually a selection on the troop registration form for your troops primary function??

 

[Swan4Me]

There is a trip report on the DIS about a GS troop that recently went to WDW from California. The poster name IRL is Lorraine, I think, but I can't remember her DIS name. Maybe you can read her pre-trippie and see what they did. I know she basically detailed all of their fundraising, but the only thing I can remember from the pre-trippie was the awful hate crimes perpetrated against her.

Her name is duckkie

She erased her whole WDW posts and had one thread deleted after some DISers questioned her openly posting critisism against the girls and one leader.
They raised something like $18k to send just 4 girls and 4 leaders to a super deluxe WDW trip. I still cant believe she got approval for the trip from the GS Council


http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37463267&postcount=30-a link to how much they spent

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Her name is duckkie

She erased her whole WDW posts and had one thread deleted after some DISers questioned her openly posting critisism against the girls and one leader.
They raised something like $18k to send just 4 girls and 4 leaders to a super deluxe WDW trip. I still cant believe she got approval for the trip from the GS Councilhttp://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37463267&postcount=30-a link to how much they spent

Who ever said they got approval?

 

[dizzydrop]

I sell Scentsy and I do fundraisers for companies like girl scouts. They sell the products and I give the group between 15-20% of their sales. There are companies like mine that are willing to work with you if it's something you were interested in. Christmas is almost coming so the gifts are great!

 

[stacieps]

I sell Scentsy and I do fundraisers for companies like girl scouts. They sell the products and I give the group between 15-20% of their sales. There are companies like mine that are willing to work with you if it's something you were interested in. Christmas is almost coming so the gifts are great!

Not sure how other councils work, but our council does not allow us to sell other products for a percentage like this. We are not even allowed to buy candy bars and re-sell. Our money earners have to either be a service the girls are delivering (washing cars, dinner, etc) or selling items the girls have made themselves.

 

[surfgirl]

I am in the "WDW is not an appropriate GS activity".

I know you can do all those educational things - I've seen the letters that people send to school. But, really... is that the goal? Or is that stuck in there to make it sound good ?

Our girls raise money and last year, we went to Chincoteague Island and went camping for a weekend. It was about a 4 hour drive and we had a local nature center tour guide that planned everything and dealt with logistics. (and had tents, etc.) It was great because he leads trips down there and knows where to go and how to structure a day.

We had 10 girls and 4 adults - the adults cost was split between the troop and the person joining. We didn't think it fair that the troop funds paid all the adult cost, but some of it was appropriate.

I, too, disagree with some of the direction that scouting has been going, but if you have a scout troop, you are insured under their insurance and you must live by their rules.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I have taken girls to local cities (2 - 3 hours), Savannah (8 hours), London, Paris, Switzerland... (LONG WAY) etc...

While I have not taken troops to Disney I have worked with troops going. If you are on here going "this is not appropirate" I am not sure how you can judge that from the posts on this board? I have been a Girl Scout for almost 50 years and see nothing wrong with it. Sure it may not be London, but the girls learned skills getting ready and just the "art" of traveling and getting along in that environment is a skill.

That said I do think this is NOT an appropriate trip for very young troops UNLESS Disney is your local park. I seen Brownie troops there, but they are from the area. I don't think I should see Daisys or Brownies from Atlanta for example!

I also do not approve of the "family" trip. If you and the other leaders need ALL those parents you are NOT ready for the trip. Back to square one. If you think it will be fun.... right! Trust me, 90% of the Girl Scout trip horror stories start with "one parent took her girl off to do XYZ and I never knew what was going on" Or "the mom who was along got drunk etc" LOL! (Trust me I have been doing this a LONG LONG time, you would not believe what I have seen/heard!)

So if this is really "let's have the girls raise money so we can do a family trip to Disney" then IMHO it's not appropirate.

As for fund raising... YARD SALE. We made a fortune there. All the families donated. We even had folks in the community give us stuff to sell. We also did some crafts and sold them at craft markets etc around the holidays. Very profitable. The girls did badge workshops for younger troops... lots of benefits there. They had to "learn" the skills they were teaching, learn how to work with the younger girls, learn how to budget etc.... Plus the younger girls saw the "Going to London" girls which was an incentive for them to stay in.

We also pay older girl troops a stipend to babysit at our Service Unit meetings. So troops/girls going on trips get first dibs on that.

I think that most of the "product" sales are probably not 'scantioned' There are ways around that, but... I am not going to push them. None of the numerous councils I have been involved with would allow the sell of products from the candy, candle etc..companies.