My Service Area’s Goals

Girl Goal: _________ Girl Actual: __________

Adult Goal: ________ Adult Actual: ________

GSHG SUMMIE AWARD 2018

Let’s bring G.I.R.L. program to every community in our council! Starting this year-Service Area teams

can earn this fun and admirable council award! The requirement is simple- meet your area’s girl and

adult membership goals. It takes a lot of volunteer heart and help to reach girls in every community

and that is our #1 focus.

October 2017 Volunteer Meeting Agenda Have a registration problem or question? Contact our Customer Care Team at customercare@gshg.org or call 1-888-689-1912.

Changes to Membership Staff Positions - effective August 2018 *See attached Membership Recruitment Manager Membership Onboarding Manager Membership Support Manager Volunteer Toolkit online! Check out the new Volunteer Toolkit under the Volunteer Resources tab on www.gshg.org! The VTK (Volunteer Toolkit) is for Daisy, Brownie and Junior leaders- and it's going to make your life a whole lot easier! Troop leaders must be registered for the 2018 year to access the Toolkit. New-Check out our step-by-step guide to the Volunteer Toolkit! The VTK Guide is here.

Troop Opportunity Catalog –We need to hear from you! In order for girls and adults to register online with your Troop, the Troop will need to be displayed in the Catalog. We can display for open girl spots, as well as volunteer positions that are available in your troop. Your exact meeting location will not be displayed in the Opportunities Catalogs. Meeting locations are listed generally, for example, "Troop meets in the Cataula area" or "Troop meets in the Midtown Columbus area". Complete the Troop Opportunity Catalog and Information Update at this link: https://gshg.wufoo.com/forms/wv4dosu1kknqq2/ to have the troop placed in the Opportunity Catalog.

Troop Minimums- GSHG has established troop minimums so that Girl Scout troops are large enough to provide a cooperative learning environment and small enough to allow for development of individual girls. See attached for details

Recommended troop sizes are: Girl Scout Daisies: 8-12 girls Girl Scout Brownies: 12-20 girls Girl Scout Juniors 12-25 girls

Girl Scout Cadettes: 6-25 girls Girl Scout Seniors: 6-30 girls Girl Scout Ambassadors: 6-30 girls Multi-Grade level: 12-30 girls

How can you recruit more girls for your troop? The Troop Opportunity Catalog! Also, consult with your Membership Recruitment Manager for targeted recruitment information.

Conservation in Costa Rica with EF Tours - July 2018 This will be an incredible service learning opportunity! Work to preserve the unique ecosystems in this tropical paradise while enjoying the beautiful surroundings. Visit the Central Pacific coast and the Arenal regions of Costa Rica and participate in seed collection and planting for conservation. Kayak, visit a crocodile farm, and zip through the rainforest on a canopy tour. This nine day tour has it all! For more info and tour itinerary visit: girltrips.eftours.com/tour-website/1752566KF. You can use nutty bucks (fall products) and cookie dough to help pay for the trip. There are also scholarship funds that can help if you apply early. All interested Girl Scouts please contact Sandy Wingard at swingard@gshg.org. Delegate Nominees- Each Service Area/District should nominate between 1 and 3 volunteers to be put on a ballot for selection by area volunteers. The delegates who are voted to represent the area will do so at the council annual meeting in January 2018. Past Due- turn in your SA/District nominee(s) for delegate by using this form: http://bit.ly/2grRKL3.

EB Patch contest- It’s time for the annual patch design contest! Each year we choose a girl’s design to be next year’s Early Bird patch. Next year’s Early Bird theme is “The 10 Year Anniversary of Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia”. Interested girls should create an image and send to Christina Smith at csmith@gshg.org or 185 Newton Br Rd, Athens GA 30607.

Fall Product Sale begins October 1st and ends October 31st. The Product Sales Calendar is attached. Cookie sale will begin on December 18th this year! New Outdoor Skill Building Videos Available Thanks to grant funding from the Elliott Wildlife Values Project, we have two new videos, bringing our outdoor skill-building videos to a total of eight. The videos, designed to help volunteers who are newer to Girl Scouts as well as older girls engage K–5 girls in outdoor activities, can supplement activities linked to several badges that contain “Get Girls Outside!” content in the Volunteer Toolkit. > Outdoors Songs and Games - https://vimeo.com/215872652 > Introduction to Fire Building - https://vimeo.com/215872579

2018 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards- Now through November 7, middle and high school students who volunteer can apply for 2018 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The program honors students in grades 5-12 who make meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteer service. Top honorees earn cash prizes and all-expense-paid trips to Washington, D.C. for four days of national recognition events. Learn more or apply at http://spirit.prudential.com.

Planning an overnight or a trip? Be sure to review overnight and trip procedures and turn in a Troop Group Trip/Activity application to your local Program Manager within the requested time.

Is your troop going to be an All Star troop this year? See attached ALL STAR guidelines to make your year 100%!

Troop/Group Monthly Report and the Service Area/District Monthly Report help us to know and share the awesome things you are doing with girls in your area! Here is the link to the Troop/Group report: http://gshg.wufoo.com/forms/troopgroup-monthly-report/ Here is the link to the Service Area/District report: https://gshg.wufoo.com/forms/service-areadistrict-monthly-report/ Detailed Cash Record Report is now due November 1st (not October 1st), include copies of receipts for all expenses as well as the October bank statement.

Volunteer Development Opportunities (attached) For a FULL listing of adult training opportunities, details, and registration forms go to www.gshg.org- Event Tab or Training Calendar. If you have training needs or requests please send to Rosanne Kelly, Director of Volunteer Development rkelly@gshg.org or to Keli Berkman, Volunteer Development Manager, kberkman@gshg.org.

We are in need of more Volunteer Facilitators to deliver courses and workshops- if you are interested please contact Keli Berkman or Rosanne Kelly.

Facilitating Adult Learning Course - Saturday, November 4, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the Lizella office recommended for new facilitators or experienced facilitators as a refresh, or anyone thinking about facilitating adult courses. Covers how adults learn, effective training methods, engaging the learner, needs assessment, and the evaluation process.

Career Opportunity – Volunteer Development Manager to manage the Augusta, Savannah, and Albany areas – if interested please go to www.gshg.org – Our Council – Employment to apply

Adult Recognitions 2018– it is not too early to be thinking about recognizing our hard-working and deserving volunteers with Adult Recognitions. The information to nominate adults for awards will be on the GSHG website in October. We need volunteers to serve on the Adult Recognitions Review Committees – no experience necessary, just be a current registered member and bring your enthusiasm! If interested please contact Rosanne Kelly, Director of Volunteer Development.

Stay Informed!

Sign up for Samoa News and 5 on Friday emails by going to http://bit.ly/2sUnFJf

Please share this agenda and attachments with troop parents. Also available on our website under Volunteer Resources. Awesome Upcoming Opportunities: For a complete list and uo-to-date information about council events check out www.gshg.org!

ARC First Aid Instructor Course Macon Fri Nov 03, 4:00 PM - Sun Nov 05, 4:00 PM Juliette Gordon Low: A Birthday Celebration Columbus Fri Nov 03, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM Dream Seekers Augusta Fri Nov 03, 7:00 PM - Sun Nov 05, 11:00 AM Good Turn for Goodwill All Areas Sat Nov 04, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM Faciltating Adult Learning- Macon Macon Sat Nov 04, 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM Harry Potter Troop Camp Albany Sat Nov 04, 9:00 AM - Sun Nov 05, 4:00 PM

New Leader Orientation (NLO)- Albany Albany Sat Nov 04, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Grade Level Training- Albany Albany Sat Nov 04, 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM Girls Rule the World Augusta Fri Nov 10, 7:00 PM - Sun Nov 12, 11:00 AM USA Archery Level 1 Instructor Course Macon Sat Nov 11, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM Level 2 Archery Instructor Certification Course Macon Sat Nov 11, 9:00 AM - Sun Nov 12, 12:00 PM Whitewater Watcher Hike Athens Sat Nov 11, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM Over Night at Chehaw Park Albany Sat Nov 11, 6:30 PM - Sun Nov 12, 10:30 AM New Leader Orientation (NLO)- Thomasville Albany Mon Nov 13, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Girls Who Give A Hoot Savannah Fri Nov 17, 7:00 PM - Sun Nov 19, 10:00 AM Damsel Defense Columbus Sat Nov 18, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Amazing Life Augusta Fri Dec 01, 7:00 PM - Sun Dec 03, 11:00 AM Gold Award Training - Savannah Savannah Sun Dec 03, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Gold Award Training - Augusta Augusta Sat Dec 09, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM VIT (Volunteer in Training)- Athens Athens Sat Dec 09, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Silver Award Training - Augusta Augusta Sat Dec 09, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Bronze Award Training - Augusta Augusta Sat Dec 09, 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Adult/Child First Aid/CPR Macon Sat Dec 16, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Gold Award Training - Macon Macon Sat Dec 16, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Silver Award Training - Macon Macon Sat Dec 16, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Bronze Award Training - Macon Macon Sat Dec 16, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Family Fun Day with Horses Albany Sat Dec 30, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

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Albany Team

Courtly Dean- Recruiter; Mary Beveridge- Membership Support; Eltalena Freeman– Membership On boarding

Tiffany Cohran- Recruiter; Mary Beveridge- Membership Support; Eltalena Freeman– Membership On boarding

Tiffany Cohran- Recruiter; Brianna Peral- Membership Support; Eltalena Freeman– Membership On boarding

Columbus Team

Angela Crain– Recruiter; Dee Dee Rivers– Membership Support;

Eltalena Freeman– Membership On boarding

Augusta Team

Nedria Pratt– Recruiter; Femi Watson– Membership Support;

Jennifer Ellis– Membership On boarding

Amelia Beaudry- Recruiter; Erica Strout– Membership Support; Ivy Westbrook– Membership On boarding

Chara McGill– Recruiter; Erica Strout– Membership Support; Ivy Westbrook– Membership On boarding

Macon Team

Lyn Thomas- Recruiter; Cydney Thornton- Membership Support;

Ivy Westbrook– Membership On boarding

Vicki Workman- Recruiter; Jade Jeffers- Membership Support;

Ivy Westbrook– Membership On boarding

Membership

Recruitment, Support, and

Inside Sales Teams

Athens-Gainesville Team

Savannah Team

Kayce Bradbury- Recruiter; Brianna Peral– Membership Support; Jennifer Ellis– Membership On boarding

Kayce Bradbury- Recruiter; Shannon Farnsworth- Membership Support; Jennifer Ellis– Membership On boarding

Vacant- Recruiter; Shannon Farnsworth- Membership Support; Jennifer Ellis– Membership On boarding

Kayce Bradbury- Recruiter; Susan Bass- Membership Support; Jennifer Ellis– Membership On boarding

Vacant- Recruiter; Susan Bass- Membership Support; Jennifer Ellis– Membership On boarding

Membership Staff Positions - effective August 2018

• Membership Recruitment Manager

• Inside Sales Manager

• Membership Support Manager

Membership Recruitment Manager

• Make sure that new volunteer gets registered.

• Assigns troop number.

• Make sure there is a Troop Leadership Team formed.

• Help the troop find a meeting location if needed.

• Assist Troop Leadership Team in setting up the first meeting

• Give new Volunteers the start up checklist

• Enter new leads into the system

Membership Onboarding Manager

• Confirm volunteer has registered, selected a Volunteer job, has completed the background check and

is cleared.

• Inform team when volunteer has completed this process.

• Communicate with Recruiter about forming new troops.

• Maintain the Troop Opportunity Catalog and Volunteer Job Opportunity Catalog.

• Communicate with Recruiters about which new troops need to be created and displayed in catalog.

• Communicate with Membership Support about which existing troops need info updated in the Catalog.

• Work to convert new leads to members.

• Process FA/Insurance registrations.

Membership Support Manager

• Introduce yourself to the new volunteer prior to the first SA meeting. This can be an email or phone

call.

• Be at the first meeting. This will be the official hand-off from recruitment to membership support.

• Provide SA meeting info to new Volunteer and introduce them to their New Leader Mentor (if SA have

one).

• Open up a new troop bank account

• Verify that Troop Leadership Team/Support team and girls are in the correct troop. Verify that

volunteers are in the correct listed in the correct volunteer job.

• Provide on-going support to Troop Leadership Team

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Effectively Facilitating Adult Learning

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A Girl Scout troop must have at minimum, 6 girls and 2 approved adult volunteers to begin meeting as a troop; however, troops need to be open to accepting more girls until the troop reaches the recommended troop size (identified below).

Adults and girls registering in groups of less than 6 girls and /or 2 approved adult volunteers will be registered as individual Girl Scouts. Individual girls are still welcome to participate in Girl Scout activities and events to include the product sales.

Existing older girl troops (2016-17 membership year) will be grandfathered in at the old minimums of 5 girls and 2 approved adult volunteers for the 2018 Product Sales.

The recommended troop sizes are*:

• Girl Scout Daisies: 8-12 girls • Girl Scout Brownies: 12-20 girls • Girl Scout Juniors 12-25 girls • Girl Scout Cadettes: 6-25 girls • Girl Scout Seniors: 6-30 girls • Girl Scout Ambassadors: 6-30 girls • Multi-Grade level: 12-30 girls

How can you recruit more girls for your troop? Troops can be placed in the Troop Opportunity Catalog. Complete the Troop Opportunity Catalog and Information Update at this link: https://gshg.wufoo.com/forms/wv4dosu1kknqq2/ to have the troop placed in the Opportunity Catalog. Also, consult with your Membership Recruitment Manager for targeted recruitment information.

Any troop that participates in the Troop Opportunity Catalog and still doesn’t meet the recommended troop size (listed above) will still have “troop status” participation for the product sales.

*As listed in Volunteer Essentials 2017

GSHG has established troop minimums so that Girl Scout troops are large enough to provide a cooperative learning environment and small enough to allow for development of individual girls.

Revised 8/25/17 GSHG

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User Manual

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Accessing Volunteer Toolkit (VTK)

Open Google Chrome and Navigate to our GSHG website, www.gshg.org, then click SIGN IN in the top right corner of the page.

This will bring you to the log in screen, enter your email and password to proceed.

After logging in, click the Volunteer Toolkit button to access the VTK.

* Please note that at this point any links in the green selection bar (About Us, Activities, etc.), the top-right

corner, the search bar, or the GSHG logo will redirect you back to our main website. The My GS button will lead you back to the Volunteer Toolkit & Member Profile selection screen.

Navigating Volunteer Toolkit

1.) VTK Tabs (descriptions later in overview) 2.) See Past Years

o View archive of previously selected year plans from past membership years.

3.) Options

o Print your current screen or one of the provided options by clicking the green printer icon.

o Download the plan or resource by clicking the green down-arrow bracket icon.

o Seek out additional help by clicking the green circled question mark icon.

4.) Drop-Down Menu for Multiple Troops o If you are listed as the Troop Leader for multiple troops, you will have access to toggle between your

troops’ year plans with this function. It will list your troop number & the level associated with the troop.

5.) Sign Out button o Once you are done working in VTK, you can sign out, and it will redirect you back to our GSHG website.

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Volunteer Toolkit Tabs

My Troop: This tab holds your complete girl roster with primary parent/guardian, e-mail address, and phone number.

On each girl, the green triangle prior to their name will display or hide her details, including attendance & earned achievements that you’ve marked in meeting plans.

You can e-mail parents, as well as add, change, or remove a troop photo to customize this tab.

You can also download or print your girl roster from this tab

using the and icons.

Year Plan: This tab appears first each time you sign in. You can select your year plan applicable for your program level or create your own year plan to fit your girl’s needs.

• Orange bars: Milestones o Set by GSHG to remind troops of important dates.

• Gray boxes: Past Meetings & Activities o Past events cannot be moved or edited.

• Orange box: Next Meeting

• Green boxes: Future Meetings o Upcoming meetings can be moved and edited.

• Blue boxes: Added Activities (custom or council)

Meeting Plan: This tab delivers more information for each meeting in your year plan with a meeting overview, activity plan, materials list, and printable meetings aids.

Additionally, you can review & send a meeting reminder e-mail, track girl attendance or achievements, and customize your meeting agenda. This tab can also be accessed by clicking any meeting on the Year Plan tab.

Resources: This tab provides several GSUSA resources grouped by category, including the adult-to-girl supervision ratio chart. You can search the resources based on the title of meeting

aids through all program levels.

Finances: This tab is used to submit your bi-annual troop finance report. The data in this tab is available until September 30 each year before it archives and resets for the new membership year.

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Choosing a Year Plan The first time you log in to VTK you will need to select a year plan before you can begin to customize any meetings or activities. The Year Plan Library displays all available pre-built year plans based on the Program Grade Level of your troop. You can click the Preview button to view the meetings in a year plan and decide with your girls which plan to follow. Or download the Year Plan Overview using the link near the top of the Year Plan Library.

New content is marked by the word new in orange. Four new journeys have been added to Daisy, Brownie, and Junior levels in the summer of 2017! If you aren’t seeing the correct program choices for your troop please contact our Customer Care team and they will be able to update your troop to the correct level. * Please note that if you make customizations to a year plan, and then change to a different year plan any customizations you have made will be erased.

Also Available: Create Your Own Year Plan For Daisy, Brownie, and Junior levels, Create Your Own Year Plan option will allow you to mix & match the Girl Scout Leadership Experience to fit your troop’s interests. This means that you are now able to access all meeting content for all 3 levels!

First, you’ll select the troop’s program level(s), the type of meeting, and the applicable Journey or badge category. As you find their favorite badges or journey awards, check the SELECT MEETING box on each. Once you’re done with the category, scroll down to the bottom, & click ADD TO YEAR PLAN.

For our older girls, there is no pre-created content, but you can add custom activities or council activities to your year plan. Also, if your troop works with younger girls you will have access to all Daisy, Brownie, and Junior content to help plan those meetings.

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Editing Your Year Plan

Most options for editing your year plan are found at the top of the Year Plan page as seen here.

Specify Dates and Locations: After you select your Year Plan option, you will view the preset options without any dates. To set up meetings to follow your troop schedule, click SPECIFY DATES AND LOCATIONS on the Year Plan tab.

Calendar - It will request your meeting start date (must be in the future), start time for meetings, and how often you meet. It will also provide checkboxes to avoid scheduling the week of major holidays. Click UPDATE CALENDAR to match the year plan to your meeting schedule.

Location – You can add, delete, or edit location names & addresses to assign to your meetings.

Helpful Hint: You are able to change date, change time, or cancel a specific meeting by clicking the Calendar symbol next to the corresponding meeting.

A Combine Meetings option is also available by clicking the Calendar symbol! “Combine Meetings” offers you the opportunity to merge two or more meetings of content into one meeting date. If you add meetings of different program levels, you can merge those meetings, too! This functionality is perfect for Multi-Level troop planning.

If the regular schedule changes, find the Gear (settings) symbol to the right in order to update your calendar from that date forward.

Add Meeting: If you wish to add additional meetings during the year, visit your Year Plan tab, and click ADD MEETING to view the filterable Meeting Library. Click SELECT MEETING once you find the desired badge or award. ADD TO YEAR PLAN will save it & add it at the end of your year plan for you to drag and drop into your preferred order.

Add Activity: If you wish to add a troop day trip, Service Area event, or council program, visit your Year Plan tab, and click ADD ACTIVITY to build a custom activity.

Delete Meeting: If you decide later that you would like to remove a meeting from your year plan, select the intended meeting from within the Year Plan tab. Once the meeting plan opens, click DELETE MEETING as seen to the right. A popup window will ask you to confirm this change, or for past meetings will prevent the deletion if you have tracked attendance and/or badges for that meeting.

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Meeting Plan Tools & Features

Planning Materials

Meeting Overview is the summarization of your meeting as a whole, including: notes for volunteers, ideas to prepare ahead, how to get help from friends & family network, any award connection, and meeting length.

Activity Plan is the guide for all meeting activities. It will provide the following information for each activity: how much time it will take, recommended materials, steps, tips or notes for volunteers, and even occasional scripting suggestions. For some activities, it will also give variation ideas to better fit your troop.

Materials List tells you everything needed for the meeting by activity, such as craft supplies & printed meeting aids.

Manage Communications

Edit/Sent Reminder E-mail will open a pop-up box with a scripted e-mail template relaying information from the meeting’s overview or the event’s details. You can choose who the recipients are, customize the e-mail to match the troop’s needs (such as adding reminders or information to parents), attach council forms or meeting aids, and send the e-mail directly from the pop-up.

There is also an option to e-mail contacts as a group or individually for additional communications. You can go to the MY TROOP tab to see each girl’s family contact information. The e-mail address is a hyperlink which automatically links directly with many e-mail services.

Record Attendance & Achievements will open a pop-up box with the girls’ names. In the pop-up, you are able to check off that a girl was present and/or earned the badge or award from that meeting.

You can go into the MY TROOP tab to view each girl’s individual attendance and achievements record, as shown earlier and it will also download as part of your girl roster. Parents can view their daughter’s tracking.

Other Sections

Meeting Aids include worksheets, songs, and other types of PDF reference materials you will need to print for the meeting activities.

Meeting Agenda lists all of the activities for the meeting with the planned times for each activity. You can add your own pieces to the agenda, such as snack time or troop government time, by clicking Add Agenda Item below the agenda. You can change the order of activities by dragging and dropping or delete activities by clicking on the activity title & selecting DELETE THIS AGENDA ITEM. You can also edit the times allowed for each planned activity if more or less time is desired in 5 minute increments up to 30 min.

Get Girls Outside – Some activities feature alternate plans that can be selected to take the meeting outdoors. This feature is denoted by the tree icon on both the Year Plan view and in the Meeting Agenda. It will turn green if the outdoor plan is selected for that activity.

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Volunteer Toolkit Step-by-Step Guide

Logging into the Volunteer Toolkit

1. In Google Chrome, go to www.gshg.org, then click Sign In. 2. Enter your email and password. 3. Click the green VOLUNTEER TOOLKIT button.

Choosing Your Year Plan

1. When you first log into the Volunteer Toolkit, you’ll be presented with the year plan options available to your troop based on their program level.

2. Click the PREVIEW button beside a plan to view the meetings it contains. Skim through the plans to become familiar with them.

3. Along with your girls, select a Year Plan. 4. Once you have decided on a year plan, click the SELECT button next to that year plan. 5. If you need to change the Year Plan again, click SEE YEAR PLAN LIBRARY and you will be able to view the

previews again and select a different Year Plan. a. Note: This will erase any customizations you have made to the current plan.

View Meeting Plan Details

1. Select a meeting from the Year Plan by clicking its title OR click the MEETING PLAN tab and use the forward or back arrows to switch between meetings.

2. Selecting Meeting Overview gives you a quick description of the meeting, notes about the activities included in the meeting, and ways to involve your Friends & Family network.

3. The Activity Plan details each of the meeting’s activities with materials and steps. 4. The Materials List provides a check list of all the materials needed for a meeting, broken down by activity. 5. The Meeting Aids are used during the meetings by the girls. They can include worksheets, song lyrics, and

other types of reference materials. 6. The Meeting Agenda lists the activities in a suggested order with default durations. The order can be

adjusted by dragging and dropping the agenda item and the duration of each activity can be changed by clicking on the green title of the activity.

Set Your Troop Year Calendar

1. In the YEAR PLAN tab, click SPECIFY DATES AND LOCATIONS. 2. Select the Start Date, Starting Time, and frequency of your meetings. 3. The meetings on your Year Plan will automatically be assigned to dates based on your selections.

a. Orange bars in your Year plan are called Milestones, these are important date reminders from GSHG.

Add Locations for Meetings in Your Year Plan

1. In the YEAR PLAN tab, click SPECIFY DATES AND LOCATIONS. 2. Select the LOCATION tab. 3. Enter location names and addresses. 4. Select which meetings will occur at each of your locations. Then click the ASSIGN TO CHECKED LOCATIONS

button to save the locations to the meetings.

Reorder Meetings in the Year Plan

1. Drag and drop by using the gray rectangle at the left side of the meeting. Moving meetings around will automatically update their date based on your calendar settings.

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Add an Activity

1. In the YEAR PLAN tab, click ADD ACTIVITY. 2. Use the CUSTOM ACTIVITY tab to create a completely custom activity and add it to your troop calendar.

a. Click ADD ACTIVITY when your information is correct to save the event.

Selecting Additional Meetings from the Meeting Library

There may be times when you and the girls want to add a different meeting to your Year Plan. 1. In the YEAR PLAN tab, click ADD MEETING. 2. You can browse all available meetings, first select the Program Level, then the meeting type, and click the

View Meeting Plans button. 3. Once you find the meeting(s) you want, check the box beside select meeting, then click the ADD TO YEAR

PLAN button at the bottom of the screen. 4. The new meeting(s) will be placed at the end of your Year Plan. Drag and Drop them to the desired location.

Change/Cancel a Meeting or Series of Meetings

1. On the YEAR PLAN tab, click SPECIFY DATES AND LOCATIONS.

2. Click the calendar icon next to the meeting that needs changes. a. You can Change the Date/Time for the selected meeting here. Click SAVE to update the meeting. b. To cancel a meeting: Select Cancel Meeting, then choose the meeting you wish to cancel. Then click

SAVE and confirm your choice to cancel the meeting. c. To combine meetings: Select Combine Meetings, then choose all the meetings you would like to

combine. Click CONTINUE, then select the new date and time for the combined meeting.

3. To make changes to a series of upcoming meetings, click the gear icon next to the first meeting to change. You will then be presented with a screen similar to the initial calendar set up that will update all meetings from the selected meeting forward to new dates and times.

Managing the Meeting Agenda

Each meeting has between four and eight items with a default duration and order. Daisy meetings are 60 minutes and all others are 90 minutes. These steps describe how to adjust the order and times of these agenda items.

1. Switch the agenda order by dragging and dropping the items using the gray boxes to the left of the row. 2. Change the duration of an agenda item by selecting the item, click the time drop down in the top right corner,

select the desired time and click SAVE. 3. Delete an agenda item from the meeting plan by selecting the item, click DELETE THIS AGENDA ITEM near

the top right corner, and then click OK. 4. To customize your agenda click Add Agenda Item at the bottom of the page. Enter the agenda item details

and click SAVE. This new item appears at the bottom of your agenda, drag and drop it to the desired location.

Resources Tab

Here you can search the Volunteer Toolkit for meeting aids, meeting overviews, and additional information or resources you may need.

NOTE: Resources in the VTK are GSUSA’s national documents and do not contain council specific additions or customizations. Please visit www.gshg.org for council specific resources like Volunteer Essentials or Safety Activity Checkpoints.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Volunteer Toolkit

1. Can I register for programs or camp through VTK?

• No. To register for an activity, please go to the ‘Events’ tab on our council home page and follow the instructions for registering from there.

2. Why does VTK only include Year Plans for K-5 troops?

• In order to use resources wisely, GSUSA had to narrow the focus during initial implementation. Since older girls have more experience making decisions and planning their own meetings, it was decided to implement the K-5 meeting plans first.

• Older girl troops can still use VTK to communicate with families and plan activities with the Create Your Own Year Plan option. Additional resources for older girl troops will be rolled out in the future.

3. What about multi-level troops?

• If your troop is listed as a multi-level troop with two active Troop Leaders, you are now able to create your own year plan. If your troop is listed as a specific level (Daisy, Brownie, or Junior), you are also now able to access all meeting plans and add meetings from other program levels by clicking ADD MEETING.

• To combine two meetings of different levels into one meeting time: ensure your meeting schedule has been set. Add your desired meetings to the Year Plan tab. Next, open SPECIFY DATES AND LOCATIONS on your Year Plan tab. Click on the Calendar symbol by one of the applicable meetings, select Combine Meetings, and check the meetings you wish to combine. By clicking CONTINUE, you will select the new date for the applicable meetings & save your selection.

4. What is not in the VTK?

• There is no Year Plan for the It’s Your World Journey series. Refer to the adult Journey guide.

• Information on Highest Awards, bridging, safety awards, and additional badges & awards are not included in VTK. Refer to the Girls’ Guide to Girl Scouting.

5. What can parents/guardians view in the VTK?

• All Parents/Guardians have a personal MyGS account.

• Parents/guardians can log in using this account and view parts of the VTK, but they cannot make any changes. They can view the Year Plan, most of the Meeting Plan, and view & search for Resources.

• Parents/caregivers can use their online account to make changes to their Girl Scout’s information (contact information, renew membership, and their family profile), but cannot change the troop information.

6. If I don’t have internet at my meeting place, how can I access VTK?

• You can download and save your VTK plans into any digital device, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

• You can also print VTK plans to take with you to your meeting.

7. What about volunteers who don’t have internet access at home?

• VTK can be accessed from any electronic device – tablet, smartphone, or laptop – with internet capability. Libraries and coffee shops are a great resource for those who don’t have access to internet at home. You can print meeting plans or download them onto an electronic device to use without internet access at your meeting.

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Contact our Customer Care team at customercare@gshg.org or (478) 935-2221 or 1-888-689-1912 with any additional questions.