Troop Family Meetings

Prepare for the meeting:

• • Pick a meeting time and place. Choose a meeting time and location that suits your troop families’ needs. The meeting space should accommodate families and their Girl Scout(s). Ideally, this should be the meeting space where you plan to regularly meet as a troop to get your girls and families comfortable with the location.
  • Invite families. Send out invitations to parents/guardians and include any materials that you’d like families to complete before the meeting (such as registration, health history, annual permission forms, etc.).
  • Plan a girl activity. Plan an activity that girls can do during the meeting while you chat with families. You can set aside a nearby area of the meeting space for girls to work on together under the supervision of another adult volunteer.

Use the Troop Family Meeting One: Kick Off the Year Activity Plan to help plan your meeting.

Hold the meeting:

• Open the meeting. Greet everyone who attends and ask them to sign in. Collect any necessary forms from families. Guide girls to the pre-planned girl activity so they can settle in before the start of the meeting.
• Review troop specifics and your year plan.
  • Review your troop’s details (your troop number, troop meeting date, time, and location) and introduce any adults who might be working with girls at meetings.
  • Discuss your policy on dropping off and picking up girls—emphasize that an adult should connect with you directly when dropping off their girl(s) so you can confirm who will be picking up their girl(s) after the meeting.
  • Depending on when your troop meets, it might be a good idea to provide a snack for girls during the meeting. Decide who will be responsible for bringing snack for each meeting. Be sure to check for allergies or food concerns with families.
  • Share Girl Scout program materials (such as the Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting and Journey books). You can also explain how your troop will use the materials during the year (such as earning different badges, working on a Journey, etc.) and how their girls will benefit.
• Set expectations around communication. Discuss how you will keep in touch with families about upcoming troop activities, dates, and reminders. Decide on a method of communication (email, phone, or text) that works best for everyone. Remind families that it’s their responsibility to read all applicable information and reply on time—this includes deadlines for payments, turning in forms, and assisting with the troop as needed. Have families confirm their preferred contact information.
• Discuss troop costs. Decide if your troop will be collecting dues from each family. Troop dues help with the cost of meeting supplies, uniforms, badges, and other troop-related expenses. Talk to your families about taking part in the Snacks & Magazines and Cookie Program, or other money-earning activities. Remind families that financial assistance is available to all girls for shop purchases, troop dues, camp, and council events at GirlScoutsRV.org/Financial-Assistance.
• Encourage parents/guardians to volunteer with your troop.
  • There are many ways to involve families. and share their knowledge with the troop. Ask adults to complete the Family Interest Survey or drive and chaperone girls on trips, bring snacks, share special skills or provide support during troop meetings. Remind parents and guardians that any adult who has regular contact with girls, handles money, or chaperones must be a registered Girl Scout member and complete a background check. Consult Safety-Wise (Girl Scouts of the USA guide on safety) for specifics.
  • Possible troop positions include (but are not limited to): troop leader, troop volunteer, troop fall product manager, troop cookie manager, and troop treasurer. Visit the Troops section of this website for more details on what each role entails. Do you want parents/caregivers to play a meaningful role in their girl’s experience, but not sure where to start? Check out the Family Resources handout—the ultimate cheat sheet for all-star Girl Scout parents/guardians—no matter how busy they may be!

Close the meeting:

• Wrap up: Allow time for questions and thank everyone for attending.

We know that everyone is busy these days, and it might be the case that as a returning troop leader, you feel comfortable doing a quick email instead of a formal family meeting. Use the email template below to connect with your families at the start of your troop year. Be sure to customize and add your specific troop details in the appropriate sections.

Hello, Troop [#####] families!

I’m excited for another great Girl Scout year with [Girl’s name]. We have great things planned for our [Your troop’s program grade level/multi-level] troop! In this email, you’ll find important information about our troop meeting dates, upcoming troop events, troop finances, and how I’ll be communicating with you this year.

Meeting times: We meet [Meeting dates and times. For example: Every second Friday of the month from 3:30PM to 5:00PM)]. Our regular meeting location is [Meeting location].

Pick up/drop off: Please remember to drop off and pick up your girl(s) in a timely manner. [Include other important information like if you’ll be using a sign-in/sign-out sheet, what parents/guardians should do if their girl needs to be picked up by another trusted adult, what to do if they’re late picking up/dropping off etc.]

Forms: I’ve attached the Annual Permission Slip and Health History Form here. Please complete and return these both to me.

Troop finances: [Let families know if you’ll be collecting troop dues this year—and if so, how much each family should contribute. Update families about what the troop funds will be used for this year, such as upcoming service unit or council events, resident camp in the summer, field trips, etc.]

Sign up to help: Girl Scouting is a family affair—I know our girls love it when they see their parents and guardians participating in the fun, and I appreciate the extra assistance! For a list of ideas, check out the Family Resources handout, and let me know how you want to be involved in the troop this year. As a reminder, any adult that has regular contact with girls, manages money, or chaperones should be a registered member and complete a background check. If you have any questions about how to do this, feel free to connect with me or call Girl Scouts River Valleys directly at 800-845-0787.

Troop communication: [Let families know how you’ll be keeping in touch with them throughout the year. For example, “I’ll send out regular emails like this one to let you know about upcoming events and troop meetings. Email is the best way to reach me, but you can also text if something urgent comes up.”]

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the troop. I’m looking forward to another year of adventures!

[Your name, phone number, email address]
[Your co-leader’s name, phone number, and email address]

Prepare for the meeting:

• • Decide with your troop leader whether you will host a virtual or in-person Cookie Business Meeting and invite all parents/guardians. If you will be hosting a virtual meeting, discuss logistics of using the troop’s Zoom account with your troop leader.
  • Set a family return date and write it in the designated space on each Cookie Program Family Guide before distributing. The family return date is the last day that families can turn in cookies to the troop that they do not think they will be able to sell by the end of the sale. We recommend March 13 or earlier. This gives the troop time to redistribute the cookies to other troop members, use them at cookie booths, or transfer to another troop who needs them.
  • Distribute family materials prior to the meeting, or direct parents/guardians to these resources online at Cookie Central. Each family should have one of the following:
    • Cookie Program Family Guide
    • Cookie Order Card
    • Rewards Flier
    • Door hanger sheet
    • Business card sheet
    • Money envelope
  • Be sure you have reviewed the following materials before your meeting:
    • Troop Cookie Manager Guidebook
    • Online Family Cookie Responsibility Form – This form will need to be submitted online, so you will want to review the form yourself before walking families through it during the meeting.
    • Cookie Business Meeting Presentation – Our pre-made presentation includes all of the information that families should know about participating in the Cookie Program. Feel free to use this as the basis of your virtual cookie business meeting.

Print the Cookie Business Meeting Tip Sheet to help plan your meeting.

What to cover in the meeting:

See our Cookie Business Meeting Presentation for more details on each of the items below!

• Cookie Program Overview: Provide a brief overview of the Girl Scout Cookie Program.
• Parent/Guardian Participation: Explain that family involvement is key to troop success in the Cookie Program, encourage parents/guardians to help their girls set goals, and inform them about the Family Entrepreneur Pin.
• Ways to Sell: Review the Participation Options Chart on Cookie Central with your families and discuss the ways to sell that will work best for your troop.
• Troop/Individual Goals: What do the Girl Scouts want to do with the cookie proceeds as a troop? What are their individual goals? Refer to the Troop Cookie Manager Guidebook for tips on goal setting. Discuss the goals with families.
• Communication + Cookie Schedule: Let families know your preferred contact method and provide your contact info. Share your weekly calendar and key cookie milestones, including the Family Return Date
• Finances: Review finances and inventory responsibilities, including how and when cookie money should be turned in to the troop.
• Online Family Cookie Responsibility Form: Provide families with your preferred email so you receive a copy each time a form is completed. Remind families this form must be completed before they receive cookie inventory.

Close the meeting:

• Wrap up: Thank families for attending and ask if they have any questions.

Prepare for the meeting:

• • Pick a meeting time and place. Choose a meeting time and location that suits your troop families’ needs. Invite all parents/guardians.

Use the Troop Family Meeting Three: Wrap Up the Year Activity Plan to help plan you meeting.

Hold the meeting:

• Troop year recap. Ask girls if they’d like to share some of the awesome adventures their troop had this year. Share some of your personal troop leader highlights too!
• Troop finances. Let your families know about the status of your troop funds. Does the troop have enough money for the next year, or are there other costs families should know about? If you’d like, you can also provide a brief recap of how the Cookie Program went in terms of the troop’s goals and proceeds.
• Plans and expectations. Will you be taking a break before the start of another Girl Scout year, or will you continue to have troop meetings? Either way, tell your families what to expect. If you will be taking a break, let them know about other participation options such as Girl Scouts River Valleys’ camps or service unit events that they can do on their own.
• Looking forward to next year. Now is a good time to go over any changes for the next Girl Scout year. Do you anticipate needing extra help? Ask adults who stepped up to assist next year. Do girls or adults need to renew their membership for the next year? Remind them to renew. If you already know where and when your regular troop meetings will be occurring next year, you can share those details here as well.

Close the meeting:

• Wrap up: Allow time for any questions, and thank everyone for attending.

Use the email template below to touch base with your families as you wrap up your year. Be sure to customize and add specific troop details in the appropriate sections.

Hello, Troop [#####] families!

We had an amazing Girl Scout year! Here are just some of the adventures we went on this year: [Share some of your troop’s stories and highlights from your year.]

These months have really flown by and as we wrap up our year [or, if your troop meets year-round: head into fall/winter/spring/summer], here are a few details about what to expect for the next Girl Scout year!

Troop finances: [Let families know about the status of your troop funds, a summary of how the Cookie Program went, and any upcoming expenses/money-earning projects the troop has planned.]

Plans and expectations: [Let families know if the troop will be taking a break before the start of another Girl Scout year, or if your troop will continue to meet. If you won’t be meeting, let them know about other ways they can participate on their own: Girl Scouts River Valleys camps, service unit or council events, etc.]

Looking forward to next year: [Let families know about any changes for the next Girl Scout year. Will you need extra help, have other adults stepped up to lead next year, do girls and/or adults still need to renew their membership, etc.] Meetings will start again on [Date/time] at [Troop meeting location]

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the troop. Otherwise, enjoy your break and see you again in [Month of first meeting]!

[Your name, phone number, email address]
[Your co-leader’s name, phone number, and email address]