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New Leader Training

In order to build our girls into great leaders, we have to start with ourselves! We offer free online training to empower you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to deliver fun, safe, and meaningful Girl Scout experiences to the girls in your troop.

Learn how to get your troop started on the How to Start a Troop page. While your troop is forming, get familiar with the New Leader's Guide to Success and choose a New Troop Leader Training option below.

Troop Leader Learning Path

New Troop Leader Training Options

New troop leaders are required to complete the Mandated Reporter Course and choose one of the following New Troop Leader Training options below to complete. Download the New Troop Leader Training Path document for easy reference.

Recruit Girl Members & Adult Volunteers

It’s never too early to start spreading the word about your new Girl Scout troop. Even while you wait to complete your onboarding and get a troop number, you can talk to your girl’s friends, your neighbors, and other families in the community to make sure that your girl will have a lively troop. As a bonus, more girls usually means more adults who will be happy to help you lead! Before you host your first official meeting, you should aim to recruit at least 8 girls and 1 or more additional adult volunteers (who are not related to you) to create a thriving Girl Scout troop.

The girl and adult recruitment process should take about 4-6 weeks and, in addition to your word of mouth efforts, our Community Managers will support you with recruiting girls, hosting parent information nights at your girl’s school, and providing customized resources to help you spread the word.

We’ve created a few downloadable tools to get you started:

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

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 Facebook Post Image - Use this image on Facebook to post about your troop.

Join My Troop Fillable Flyer - A customizable flyer to add a description of what makes your troop special!

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

Connect With Your Service Unit

Your Service Unit is made up of a team of local volunteers in your area who will help you as you get your new troop started and will connect you with other troop leaders in your area! Service Units hold regular meetings to keep troop leaders up-to-date with local happenings and will help you stay connected with other troop leaders like you!

Get Ready for Your First Meetings

Hosting Your Parent Meeting

After you've completed Part 2 of the New Troop Leader Learning Path, First Troop Meetings, and before your first troop meeting, invite your troop families to their first parent meeting, where you'll set the tone for the year, recruit troop volunteers, collect safety forms (everyone needs an Annual Permission and Girl Health History to get started), and talk details about troop dues, Girl Scouts, and the awesome activities you'll do this year.

Psst—If you're not comfortable hosting your own parent meeting, our Community Managers can help!

Parent Meeting Resources:

  • Parent/Caregiver Meeting Agenda | PDF
  • In-person parent meeting Example | Video
  • Virtual parent meeting Example | Video

Planning Your First Girl Only Troop Meeting

Your first few troop meetings will be all about getting to know one another, learning about Girl Scouts, and establishing a routine and rhythm for your troop meetings.

First Troop Meeting Resources:

  • First Meeting Tips | Video
  • Troop Meeting Structure | Video
  • Virtual Troop Meeting Agenda and Activity Ideas | PDF
Open Your Troop Bank Account

All troops will need to open and maintain a troop bank account to manage troop income and expenses. Complete Part 3 of the New Troop Leader Learning Path, Troop Finance Basics, for more information. You will need two adult signers on your troop bank account (troop leader and troop treasurer). All signers must be registered members with an approved background check on file. When you have your two signers in place, you'll want to complete the Bank Account Creation Packet to open your bank account. Learn more about the how to complete the packet by viewing the Troop Bank Account Creation Packet video.

Essential Girl Scout Experience

To get the full Girl Scout experience, we encourage all troops to:

  • Plan the year together, remember: Girl Scout troops can do anything, from camping and high adventure to arts and crafts, to science and engineering activities! It’s important to put your girls’ and their needs and interests first, but having a well-rounded Girl Scout experience will not only introduce your girls to a wide variety of skills and experiences, it will encourage healthy risk-taking, open minds, and strengthen sisterhood.
  • Meet at least once per month during the school year to form a tight-knit troop
  • Choose badges or activities from a variety of skill-building areas
  • Hone their entrepreneurial skills by starting a troop cookie biz through the Girl Scout Cookie Program
  • Explore the great outdoors through an age-appropriate outdoor experience
  • Attend or hold an end-of-year celebration or event to celebrate what they’ve accomplished
  • Learn resilience, risk-taking, confidence, and other crucial life skills at summer camp

Not sure where to start? Check out the Girl Scout Planner and our sample meeting ideas for each month.

Explore Our Resources and Join Our Community

Whatever you want to learn, we’ve got a resource for that.

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