Guest Author - Diana Laulainen-Schein

It's that time of year! Recruitment time for both girls and leaders. The two go hand in hand; in other words, without the adult leaders, there is no Girl Scouting.

Girl Scout leaders are volunteers. To be a Girl Scout leader, you must be at least 18 years of age. You do not have to be a woman, but if you are a man, you have to have a female co-leader. You can volunteer to lead your daughter's troop, but if you don't have a daughter, you can still be a volunteer. You do not have to have any experience.

That last tidbit scares away a lot of potential leaders, but it shouldn't. Training is available and other leaders, people like me, are generally happy to share what they know. In this day and age of the web, there are literally hundreds of resources out there to help you figure it all out.

More on that in another article, but for now, what any potential leader should remember is that no leader is expected to lead alone. At the very least, you will have a co-leader and the support of your neighborhood service team and your local Girl Scout Council. I would also posit that once you know the Girl Scout Promise and Law, you pretty much are free to do anything you want as a Girl Scout leader as long as you keep those basic core values of Girl Scouts firmly in mind.

Another thing to keep in mind is that in this day and age, many Girl Scout councils are championing a cooperative model of leadership in which all parents of troop members play a small part. Those many small parts add up to more than enough to create an enriching experience not only for the girl members but for the adult members as well.

If your daughter's troop is organized this way, you will most likely be asked to register as a Girl Scout with your daughter. Don't panic! This step is for the safety of your daughter (you and any other adult who will have contact with the girls will have a background check) and for insurance purposes (only registered Girl Scouts are covered by the organization's insurance policy).

There are many models for cooperative leadership and ideally you will fashion one that best suits the needs of your troop and utilizes the strengths of each adult volunteer.

As Fall recruitment for Girl Scouts churns around you, seriously think about fulfilling the Girl Scout call to "Commit to a Girl."