Girl Scout troops need at least five girls to start. A standard troop
has 12 girls. If you need more girls, open
your troop in the Opportunity Catalog. Need help or have
questions? Contact membership@sdgirlscouts.org.
How to Welcome New Girls:
In Girl Scouts, everyone is included in the fun! While welcoming a
girl to your Girl Scout troop is exciting, change can be challenging
for both new and current members. Fortunately, these easy tips can
help everyone come together to enjoy new dynamics and friendships.
Before the Troop Expands. When you’re getting ready to expand
your troop, share this info with your girls to help them prepare:
Let your troop know that girls are waiting. In San Diego and
Imperial Counties, more than 300 girls are waiting to be Girl Scouts.
Help your troop learn about the Girl Scout movement. Share that
Girl Guides and Girl Scouts are in 146 countries, with more than three
million members in the United States. Your troop helps grow the
movement when it opens its doors to new girls.
Give your troop an opportunity to practice Girl Scout values.
Welcoming new girls gives your troop a real-world opportunity to
practice being considerate and caring, friendly and helpful, and a
sister to every Girl Scout.
Have your troop create a welcome letter. Girls can decorate a
card for each new troop member and write a message saying what they
love about Girl Scouts and what they look forward to with new troop members.
Set up a buddy system. Let girls know you’ll need volunteer
“buddies” to help new troop members feel comfortable, learn how
meetings work, and get answers to questions.
When new troop members join, take these steps to provide a
welcoming experience:
Ask parents to share and help. Parents will complete the Family
Information Sheet to share about their girl. Use what you learn to
help new members enjoy a smooth transition into the troop. And if
you’re looking for help, discuss the 4 Her flyer with new parents to
see how they might help support the troop. Find these resources at sdgirslcouts.org/forms.
Have a welcome celebration. Guide your troop to plan a ceremony
for new troop members. Girls can choose activities, songs and
games—fun and laughter are good ways to bond. Include an opportunity
for each member, current or new, to introduce herself. A friendship
circle is a nice touch. New members can receive their membership pins
at this time, or you can plan a formal investiture ceremony later. If
a girl has been a Girl Scout before, ask her to share some of her
favorite moments from her old troop, then have all the girls share
what they are looking forward to doing in the future, together.
Plan a team-building activity or event to for a meaningful group
experience. Consider visiting the Adventure Zone at Girl Scouts’
Balboa Campus, or find another opportunity for girls to have fun and
work together.
Have fun! When your troop expands, you can do more. More
girls means more fun, more meaningful leadership activities, more
understanding about including others, and more options—like setting up
a troop patrol.