Recruiting scouts?

[Nickie219 10]

Hello!

My council is working to bring Studio 2B to my fairly good size town. I was drawn into girl scouting even though I do not have any daughters (mother of 2 sons, 3 stepsons, and a male dog). I spent many years in boy scouting, so when asked to advise a Studio 2B unit in my town, I was eager to get started. Now that I'm all registered, I don't know what steps to take to start recruiting girls. I feel good that Studio2B is an excellent program for girls but I don't think my opinion is enough to generate a unit. Any ideas out there on recruiting girls to get started? Thanks for any suggestions!

Shari

[AnneinMpls 10]

"If you build it, they will come"

Hi Nickie, and welcome to the forum! We do have a separate Girl Scouting forum here but it tends to go dormant from time to time and then people no longer realize we have one )

Congratulations on your new project with S2B! I guess I've got questions for you before any real advice...

1. Are you connected yet with your local Service Unit or Neighborhood or whatever they are calling the local organization to support girl scout volunteers in your area, smaller than your Council? The Service Unit has, or is supposed to have(!!) a recruitment plan. It may be based on the schools, or on geographic areas, or some other way. You'll want to get in touch with a person possibly called a Troop Organizer/Recruiter (unfortunately GSUSA lacks the consistent terminology for volunteer positions that BSA has...) Possibly they will already be able to provide you with a list of names of girls who have been waiting for a troop to form.

2. Have you decided, or has it been decided what ages/grade levels of girls you will serve? S2B has some complexities in terms of breaking the programming for teens down into 3 different age groups. Which girls will you serve?

3. Ok, real advice S2B is supposed to be totally "By Girls, For Girls", but in order to get things off the ground, you'll need to put on a few really awesome programming events so that they have some idea of what's available to them. Rock climbing? Horseback riding? Sailing or canoeing?

4. I have heard of some really excellent programs getting off the ground by seeding the new troop by getting referrals from folks like Gifted and Talented teachers, and so on. You want to get some really sharp kids on board early on so the S2B group doesn't flounder for months in the hanging out eating pizza stage.

Look forward to hearing more from you!

Anne in Mpls

[ScoutNut 147]

First, take your Council training.

 

Once you are all trained contact your Service Unit Manager & your council staff Marketing Specialist (SU Council Rep). These are the people responsible for recruiting girls. They might have a list of girls waiting for troops. However, most likely, they will flyer the middle schools in your area (or whatever the schools are allowing) once school starts back in session. They might also put together some kind of recruiting activity such as a "Bring a Friend" event.

 

You might volunteer to help them with recruitment events, but for now, the ball is in their court to get the girls.

 

BTW - Service Units usually start leader meetings in Aug or Sept & brand new Troops usually start meeting as of Oct 1, when the new GS year (& the registration) starts.