From toolkits and guides to regular contact with experienced people, you’ll have all the support you need to be a Girl Scout volunteer. Here’s a list of some important resources you’ll want to check out.
The Volunteer Toolkit
The Volunteer Toolkit is a customizable digital planning tool for troop leaders and co-leaders to easily manage their troop year-round and deliver easy, fun troop meetings. Accessible via desktop and mobile devices, the Volunteer Toolkit saves you time and energy so that you can focus on having fun with your Girl Scouts.
With the Volunteer Toolkit, girls and leaders can explore meeting topics and program activities together and follow the fun as they plan their Girl Scout year. Through the Volunteer Toolkit, troop leaders can:
- Plan the troop’s calendar year and meeting schedule.
- Email parents/caregivers with one click.
- View the troop roster, renew girls’ membership, and update girls’ contact information.
- View meeting plans for Journeys and badges, including suggested tracks for multi-level groups (K–5 and 6–12).
- Customize meeting agendas to fit your unique troop.
- Explore individual meeting plans that show a breakdown of every step, including a list of materials needed, editable time allotments for each activity within a meeting, and printable meeting aids.
- Record attendance at meetings and their troop’s badge and Journey achievements.
- Add council or custom events to the troop’s calendar.
- Submit troop’s finance reports (depending on the council’s process).
- Easily locate both national and local council resources, such as Safety Activity Checkpoints.
Parents and caregivers can:
- View the troop’s meeting schedule and individual meeting plans to stay up to date on the badges and Journeys they are working on.
- Renew their memberships and update their contact information.
- View their Girl Scout’s attendance and achievements.
- See upcoming events the troop is planning or attending.
- Easily locate both national and local council resources, such as the Family Hub.
- View the troop’s finance report (depending on the council’s process).
Get started by visiting:
- VTK FAQs | PDF
- VTK Tips: Choosing and Customizing Your Year Plan | PDF
- VTK Tips: 2022 New Badges and Journeys | PDF
- VTK User Guide: Troop Leader | PDF
- VTK User Guide: Service Unit Volunteers | PDF
- VTK User Guide: Caregiver/Parent | PDF
- VTK User Guide: Juliette/Individually Registered Girls | PDF
- VTK What’s New 2022 | PDF
The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting
The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting for Brownies through Ambassadors is the handbook that includes legacy badges.
Skill building badge sets for Brownie-Senior levels are available to purchase from the Girl Scout store. The badge sets can be earned individually or in concert with Leadership Journeys.
Pamphlets can be purchased in the retail store, online or online digital download. The Individual Badge Pamphlets give girls an overview of the badge requirements and provides interesting background information to spark the girls’ interest. Volunteers should access the Volunteer Tool Kit to find complete meeting plans, including detailed activity instructions and resources. This is especially true for many of the STEM badges.