The Girl Scouts welcome dads and men of any age who want to volunteer in any capacity. The organization is open to any adults who desire to contribute to the personal growth of girls. Expect a full and confidential background check before joining This process applies to adults of all genders.
If you’re a dad with one daughter or more in the Girl Scouts, you might have wondered if this pro-girl domain is open to men at all. With the focus of the Girl Scouts being on girls’ development and empowerment, it’s easy to wonder if men are welcome in the organization.
Maybe you as a dad want to be a troop leader or help out with cookie sales, leading to the question: can dads volunteer for Girl Scouts?
Let’s look at the various roles you as a dad can play in volunteering with the Girl Scouts, as well as some of the personal benefits you can reap from the volunteering process. We’ll discuss what activities you can expect if you decide to volunteer in any capacity and the requirements for eligibility as a volunteer.
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What Are The Requirements Of Volunteers With The Girl Scouts?
The Girl Scouts don’t discriminate against gender and welcome dads and men of all ages with open arms, along with moms and women. The organization acknowledges the role men can also play in the personal development of girls.
If you’re a dad who wants to participate and help run the fun activities that the organization organizes you can sign up and seek more information at any time. Here are the only requirements to becoming a volunteer:
- A complete background check will be done, with confidentiality assured.
- You’ll need to be 18+ years.
- Additional experience and skills working with young people will be more than welcome but not a requirement.
How You Can Volunteer With Girls Scouts
There are many ways you can volunteer with the Girl Scouts. You get to decide whether to take on a troop on a more committed basis or, if you have less time to commit, there will be opportunities to help out at camps, or on the organizational side of things. Any time contributed is valued and adds to the diverse personal development needs of girls.
- Troop leaders oversee small to medium-sized groups of girls. These groups meet weekly or biweekly for an hour or two. With special planning, other trips can be arranged, these can include: hiking, or camping, personal development, outdoor activities and community projects.
- Part-time volunteers can support troop leaders as and when time allows. This support could include support during weekly meetings, special trips for training, hiking and camping, or help with the Girl Scouts’ famous cookie booths and community outreach.
How To Volunteer With the Girl Scouts
If you’re reading this post, then perhaps you already have daughters, or friends with daughters in the Girl Scouts. If this is the case, contact your daughter’s troop leader to find out how you can help them. They’ll put you in touch with the right people. There are national organizations but local contacts will be more suited to volunteering in the first instance.
If you’re considering enrolling your daughter(s) in the Girl Scouts and are looking to join her in these activities, go to the Girl Scouts website and click “join”. You’ll be prompted to enter your zip code, and the website will take care of the rest. As the Girl Scouts is global you can access the sites in the region you are in by doing a quick search of Girls Scouts or Girl Guides on Google.
The Personal Benefits Of Volunteering With The Girl Scouts
Volunteering with the Girl Scouts has some personal benefits for you. Here’s a list:
- In developing girls’ skills, you’ll be contributing to your own too. Girl Scouts provides the perfect opportunity for you to learn new things right along with your daughter. You will have firsthand experience of helping the development of the next generation of women. Well … some of them at least!
- You’ll make new friends and share common achievements with them. The development of children is an incredibly rewarding activity, ask any teacher! You will meet likeminded people in a positive and welcoming environment.
- The memories you form while you’re volunteering with the Girl Scouts will last a lifetime. You will also get to spend time with your daughter in a different environment and playing a different role than just ‘dad’.
- There’s a huge sense of pride involved with seeing your girls experiencing, conquering and learning new things. Whether this is during camp or a hiking trip, or simply attending one of the many personal development workshops.
- You’ll have the gratification of knowing that you have a hand in the personal development of the leaders of the next generation and helping in a fun and exciting environment.
- The Girl Scouts offer adults opportunities to develop their leadership abilities and undertake training and courses that have the potential to lead on to employment opportunities if desired.
What Activities Can You Expect When You Volunteer With The Girl Scouts?
As mentioned before, the typical Girl Scouts troop meets weekly or biweekly for an hour or two. This typically starts off with a general meeting of all the troops to share information or perform some activity. After that, the general group splits, so the troops get to focus on their group plans and activities.
Activities outdoors are a very special part of being a Girl Scout. In the mostly indoor lives, we lead, this is particularly valuable to your own development and that of your daughter(s). Hiking trips and camping trips are arranged specially to develop outdoor skills and life skills.
The Girl Scout cookie program is a valuable way to teach girls about math and budgeting. This program is used to fund extra activities, like hiking and camping. It can also be used to treat the girls to something they’ve been saving their cookie money towards!
At the core of the Girl Scouts is activities that promote the personal development of girls. This could be anything from leadership skills and negotiation to surviving outdoors. Whatever your role is as a volunteer, keep this aim and this ethos at the forefront and you will do just fine.
Conclusion
It’s good to know that dads can be just as much a part of the Girl Scouts as moms. The organization isn’t exclusive to women volunteers. Now you also know what to expect from the screening process and what activities would be in store for you should you volunteer with the Girl Scouts.
Although you will do it to help out a wonderful organization and to help out your local community, you will develop your own life skills, friendships, and relationships along the way.