Girl Scouts?

[AnnieBananie]

Anyone have a kiddo in Girl Scouts? I'm thinking about going with DD to the new members informational thingy this Wednesday but wanted to ask a couple questions of you gals...

1) Does it require a lot of time from the parents? Don't get me wrong, I've got time for things, but I can't be that mom who's up until 3am working on crafts for a craft fair or whatever, kwim?
and
2) Are there a lot of fees for regular troop stuff? (ie: not camps and extra activities)

There's no point in bringing Faith and getting her hopes up if it's something we can't afford-- either time or money-wise, kwim?

I appreciate any help! Thanks!

[kscwgirl]

What grade is she in Annie? I'm leading Abby's Daisy troop this year (b/c I can't say no to anyone, apparently)

The registration fee is $12 a year here. Troop fees vary. Ours is $10/semester. Cookie sales bring in a good bit of the money the troop needs, just depends if you do fall or spring cookie sales. We're not camping, so I have no idea how much that costs.

I would maybe email the coordinator first and find out how much fees are before you take Faith to the meeting.

As far as time, depends how often they meet. We're only doing once a month.

[AnnieBananie]

She's in Kindergarten.

ETA: Yeah, I'll have to email the gal to find out.

[kscwgirl]

Originally Posted by AnnieBananie

She's in Kindergarten.

ETA: Yeah, I'll have to email the gal to find out.

K, she'll be a daisy. Uniforms aren't required.. at least, here they aren't. The tunic is $13 if they require them. The patches are $7. The pins and pin thingy are less than $5 total. I can't imagine the prices would be that much different council to council. The daisy activity book is $8.25. The way we're doing it.. the parents have to buy the activity book, and the troop fees are buying the patches and pins.

[AnnieBananie]

Oh that's not too bad. Thanks for the info Sara

[kscwgirl]

you're welcome Let me know if you have any other questions

[Jennilyn]

Originally Posted by kscwgirl

The registration fee is $12 a year here.

Holy crap! Ours is $80!! I just registered Kristen for Brownies on Wednesday...$80 for registration and $50 for the uniform necessities...t-shirt, tie & sash. I didn't even get her the pants or hoodie that I wanted to...that would've been an extra $60!

When Kristen was in Sparks (1st year in Girl Guides) I didn't have to do a WHOLE lot...the main thing was having to take here there every Monday and hang around for an hour because it wasn't worth going home. Was real fun when Kaylee had to come with me and kept wanting to go in the room with them.

[AnnieBananie]

Originally Posted by Jennilyn

Holy crap! Ours is $80!! I just registered Kristen for Brownies on Wednesday...$80 for registration and $50 for the uniform necessities...t-shirt, tie & sash. I didn't even get her the pants or hoodie that I wanted to...that would've been an extra $60

HOLY CRAP! Yeah, those are the numbers I was afraid of. I sent off an email to the coordinator and hopefully she gets back to me quickly. Eep!

[kscwgirl]

Originally Posted by Jennilyn

Holy crap! Ours is $80!! I just registered Kristen for Brownies on Wednesday...$80 for registration and $50 for the uniform necessities...t-shirt, tie & sash. I didn't even get her the pants or hoodie that I wanted to...that would've been an extra $60!

When Kristen was in Sparks (1st year in Girl Guides) I didn't have to do a WHOLE lot...the main thing was having to take here there every Monday and hang around for an hour because it wasn't worth going home. Was real fun when Kaylee had to come with me and kept wanting to go in the room with them.

dude, that's insane.

[Rae's World]

$80!!!!!! That is absolutely insane!!! I would be asking what the heck they are gonna be doing for the year that constitutes that amount!! I know it is $12 to register any girl with council. All the other money is for dues and such for the troop. (ours was $44 this year)

Anyways, my DD as been in Girl Scouts the past 6yrs. I have been both an active parent and one who just drops DD off and leaves. I have also been a leader. (2yrs in Daisy and 2yrs Brownie) So honestly the amount of work you do is between you and the Troop leader. If you have a troop who as a bunch of active parents then you can probably slip by and do very little. But it could go the other way.

Daisy's are awesome!! A great way to start! They are pretty low key. Daisy's can't do sleep overs, they can't sell cookies. They do not have to wear uniform, which is nice! Over all I think it is totally handleable.

Good luck and have fun!!!

[Jennilyn]

When she started Sparks 2 years ago the fee was $70 plus $1 every week for dues. I'm hoping there's no dues with the Brownies!

[Shawna]

Kaylie is a 2nd grader this year so she is a Brownie now, but she was in Daisy's for both kindergarten and 1st grade. Her first year the troop was very disorganized, I think the registration fee was $10 that year and then the parents took turns sending snacks so the $$ outlay was minimal. That year they met one day each week after school for an hour.

Last year her troop was taken over by two awesome leaders, the yearly registration fee is now $12/yr and then their troop dues are $25/yr. For the uniform we had to get a tunic or vest (Daisy's), vest or sash (Brownies) which costs around $25-35 for that and all the starting badges, pins etc. They meet every other week for an hour and then they try to schedule one field trip or special activity per month.

Also in our GS council there is financial aid available for uniforms, dues, etc for those that need assistance paying. All you do is fill out a form and turn it in to the council and they take care of paying, so that may also be available in your area. Our girls do two fundraisers, the Fall Opportunity Sale which is the nuts and candies and then the cookies in January or February I think. The girls and the troop earn cookie credits for every box sold, then you can use those credits for troop dues, uniforms, camp fees, etc. Last year Kaylie sold just over 100 boxes of cookies and earned $40 in cookie credits which almost completely paid for her summer camp dues, I only had to pay $10 oop for her 3 day camp!! So the more you sell the more credits you can earn, and they can be carried over to the beginning of the next year too.

[lisabranka]

in the US it's $12 a year. the other fees are dependent on your troop. I'm the Junior leader and I don't charge a fee to my girls. all of our $$ come from either cookie sales or fall product sales. Most of my parents are a drop and go while myself and the coleader lead the meetings and work with the girls. We went on a trip to a science center and camped over night in there and the cookie money paid for most of it. I had the girls bring $20 to cover meals for the day and half we were gone. Girl Scouts is so worth it! Both of my dd's are in it and enjoy. We just spent 2 hours today practicing for a flag ceremony the girls are going to do next Saturday for the big wigs in our council

Last year, the rule about Daisy's not selling cookies changed. they are now allowed to sell cookies! Also a uniform is not required except for the tab and pins. otherwise, its a white shirt and tan/khaki pants are all they need

[kscwgirl]

Originally Posted by Rae's World

Daisy's are awesome!! A great way to start! They are pretty low key. Daisy's can't do sleep overs, they can't sell cookies. They do not have to wear uniform, which is nice! Over all I think it is totally handleable.

Good luck and have fun!!!

We sell cookies.

[Rae's World]

Originally Posted by kscwgirl

We sell cookies.

Ok, let me clarify. Daisy's get to take home a cookie selling sheet and sell to friends and family. They should NOT be going door to door and they should NOT be selling at cookie booths. Basically Daisy's have less responsibility from the rest of the troop.

[AnnieBananie]

I'd like to take this opportunity to smooch every one of you. Sloppily.

lol Thanks for all the help!

[d2vasquez]

I am a Girl Scout Registrar, a troop leader for Brownies and co-leader for a Cadettes. Registration should only be $12.00 for your daughter and then if you decide you want to assist, you can register as well for the same amount. As someone said there is financial aid for registration fees as well as troop dues - amount for the last part can be up to $99. and can be used for dues, activities, patches and uniforms. The forms should be available through your troop leader and/or neighborhood representative/council.

Daisies can sell cookies and fall products (nuts/magazines) now which was not always the case. I opted not to do it because it is a LOT of work and I always thought it was nice not to have to deal with it in Daisies. However, you can earn a lot of monies if you have a certain activity in mind and don't want the parents to pay a lot.

Troop dues are up to the leaders and are based on what they plan on doing with the girls. As far as how much of your time is involved - that is up to you. My suggestion is to see how things are run and if you feel the urge - then volunteer for something small. But I won't lie that is how I started when I offered to do scrapbooks 9 years ago and now look...lol! Have fun and enjoy.....

[jannylynn]

My DD does GS. $12 for registration and then we paid $12 for our troop dues. We have other fees every now and then. I help every so often but nothing outrageous time-commitment-wise! Usually it's fun stuff like going on a field trip with the girls. Our troop works for badges at the meetings which is just down the street from us. I don't usually attend the meetings unless she says parents need to be there. Our troop leader is really great and usually has everything ready.

I opted out of the fall fundraiser last year and donated money to our troop (which wasn't required so don't think you'll have to even do that). I'm doing that again this year because I hate selling stuff.

We do sell the cookies because they actually sell. People were calling us to place orders. LOL!