^{New to forming a troop? Start here!}

Recruiting Girls and Volunteers

Updating your troop information helps new members join Girl Scouts. You can also add your troop to the Participation Catalog—our online listing of troops with open spots for youth or volunteers. The Participation Catalog helps families search for troops with open spaces by zip code. It also allows adults to see volunteer opportunities in their area and sign up to help. 

Bee a friend and Grow your Troop!

From July 1, 2022 through November 30, 2022, complete the Opt-In, Update, & Grow Your Troop form to be eligible for several incentives:

Update your troop information and add at least one youth and one volunteer space each to receive the exclusive Bee Activity Packet
Include your troop in our online Participation Catalog (opt in) to ALSO receive a Seeds Packet to complement your activity packet.
Update your troop information and increase your troop by at least one volunteer and one youth member between July 1, 2022-January 31, 2023 to receive the exclusive Bee a Friend patch for your youth members and up to two troop leaders.

For more information on the Bee a Friend incentive, view our FAQs.

Girl Scouts wants to establish a culture of accessibility and inclusion throughout the organization, including in all programming and member-facing activities. While we understand many Girl Scouts want to participate with their friends, we encourage troops to welcome new youth that you may not know. Every year we have hundreds of potential Girl Scouts waitlisted due to lack of volunteerism.

Help us create Girl Scout experiences for ALL youth. Want to open your troop to new families? Click the link below!

Opt-In, Update, & Grow your Troop

How to attract new families to your Troop

If you're a Girl Scout troop volunteer looking for families to join you, we want to help you spread the word and invite them to experience the fun. YOU are the most valuable recruitment tool you have! Your knowledge and experience, passion and advocacy make new members want to join and further the Girl Scout mission. Below are some tools to help you spread the word.

In addition to your word-of-mouth efforts, our Community team can help you with recruiting girls, hosting parent information nights, and providing customized resources to help you spread the word. Reach out to your Community Manager for assistance or email info@gsnorcal.org if you are unsure who to contact.

The best way to get started is to make sure to update your troop information!

Customizable Recruitment Tools

Girl Invite Slip - A customizable slip to invite prospective girls and share troop information.

Join My Troop Fillable Flyer - A customizable flyer to let everyone know what makes your troop special.

Join My Troop Facebook Cover Image - Update your Facebook Cover Photo to let your friends know your troop has open spots available.

Join My Troop Facebook Profile Image - Use this image on Facebook as your profile picture.

Join My Troop Square Social Media Graphic - Use this image on your social media account to post about your troop.

Instructions: Girl & Adult Registration Steps - A customizable instruction sheet to let interested parents and girls know how to register and join your troop.

Tips & Additional Resources

Looking for additional instruction?

Visit the Volunteer Learning Portal at training.gsnorcal.org for our full suite of trainings for troop leaders!

Troop Volunteer Roles

A troop needs at least two unrelated adult volunteers to get started, but troops can have more than two leaders, and they typically have additional member-volunteers to help with the Cookie Program and Fall Product Program, managing finances, as well as other adults to pitch in with planning field trips and chaperoning activities.

We recommend that you identify your Assistant Troop Leader, Troop Treasurer, Troop Product Program Manager, and Troop Fall Product Program Manager as early as possible so that you can lean on their support as the year goes on! It's also a great idea to get the rest of your families to register as Troop Helpers so that they can get background checked and provide support by driving girls or attending troop events.

Troop Leader: Work with other bright, creative people as a team to guide girls in growing life and leadership skills though teamwork and exciting activities. A troop leader coordinates and organizes the meeting activities, communicates with parents and families, and engages girls to create memories that will last a lifetime.

Troops can have multiple troop leaders, typically 2-3, that team up to share responsibility and leadership for the meeting activities.
Assistant Troop Leader: Work alongside your troop leader to coordinate and organize the meeting activities, communicate with parents and families, and engage girls to create memories that will last a lifetime!
Troop Product Program Manager: Did you know that the Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-run business in the world?

Troop Product Program Managers help foster entrepreneurship, business ethics, money management, and people skills in your troop by supporting the troop's cookie program. They'll support by coordinating family orders, distributing and maintaining inventory, reserving booth locations, and keeping the focus where it belongs: on the girls!

Plus, all the money your troop earns through the cookie program stays with your troop to fund activities and events all year long. Whether it’s a trip she’ll never forget, a service project that will change her community forever, or the opportunity to build a lifetime of memories at camp, Girl Scout Cookies help make it happen!
Troop Fall Product Program Manager: Troop Fall Product Program Managers guide the troop through the Fall Product program. This role should be filled by August 1 for troops wishing to have a volunteer in this role.
Troop Treasurer: The troop treasurer is a vital part of any Girl Scout troop and helps make all the troop's activities possible by managing the troop funds and bank account. Trustworthy and reliable, this volunteer works with the girls and troop leader to help develop a budget, make sure dues and payments are collected at meetings, manages the troop checking account, and shares the troop balance with girls and parents (all the while helping girls to learn important financial literacy and money management skills).
Troop Helper: Troop Helpers are role models, mentors, and vital members of a happy, successful troop. They coordinate field trips, chaperone cookie booths, organize and attend camping trips, or share their unique talents with the girls as the troop earns badges related to their expertise—the opportunities are endless!

While each troop has its own way of creating an action-packed Girl Scout experience, girls always get more out of their time in Girl Scouts when volunteers are there to help. Being a Troop Helper is a great opportunity to make a meaningful impact for girls and the commitment and volunteer roles are flexible and depend on the troop’s needs.

Got questions?

Our team is here to support you whenever you need it. Just email info@gsnorcal.org or call 800-447-4475, ext. 3093 and they’ll spring into action.