You’re a new Girl Scout leader or volunteer? Awesome! Now, what? Amy Caperton, Denine Dains, and Darby Petitt in the Metro Denver region are experienced leaders of troops with older Girl Scouts, many of whom have been together since Daisies and Brownies. They offer these “life hacks” to help make your experience as a leader or volunteer less daunting.
Denine: Plug in with experienced leaders and find a potential mentor. Find out who is leading Girl Scout activities in your area/service unit and pair up, observe, shadow, etc. Talk with lots of leaders and other volunteers until you find a good fit to possibly mentor you.
Darby: Other leaders have made community connections, led badges/events, and made reservations, so use others’ experience to your advantage! Join the Facebook page for your service unit and ask for help when you need ideas. If you think something might be fun, try it! Invite others in the community to teach girls skills or take tours of unexpected places. Girls like to hear someone else talk. Older girls can help plan meetings, so reach out to them! They are excited to plan the badges and that’s one less meeting on your plate!
Amy:
Find a reliable/trustworthy person to be your fall product program and troop cookie manager. Leaders already do so much, it’s nice if they don’t have to do this too.
Get involved with your service unit and attend meetings. They are a great place to connect with other leaders.
Look for social media pages for your area or state/nationwide. They are great resources for questions and resources.
Do you have any tips, tricks, “life hacks,” etc. to share? We would love to hear them! Just email GSCO Public Relations Director AnneMarie Harper at annemarie.harper@gscolorado.org.