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Become a Volunteer

As a volunteer, you’ll introduce girls to new experiences that show them they’re capable of more than they ever imagined. You’ll be their cheerleader, guide, and mentor, helping them develop essential life skills and confidence. Imagine the excitement, the impact, the memories made—those are the moments you’ll share at Girl Scouts!

Whether you can give a few hours, a few weeks, or a few months, volunteering with Girl Scouts is flexible and fun (and we offer all of the training and resources you need to be successful)!

Many volunteers have at least a few questions before standing up to lead a troop. Here are a few of the most frequent questions we hear:

How much time will I need?

Being a troop leader actually fits into a variety of schedules. Troop leaders choose the meeting day, time, and frequency — and there is no requirement for how often a troop should meet.

We provide our troop leaders with online meeting plans, so they can easily and quickly plan their troop’s activities.

I don't know how to do the things Girl Scouts do.

You bring everything that you need to start leading your troop. We think if the girls are smiling and having a good time, the leaders are doing a good job!

We provide online meeting plans to guide you through each step of planning your troop’s activities. We also provide convenient, online training videos and resources to help you learn what you need. Don’t forget that you’ll also have a co-leader and troop support volunteers who will bring complementary skills and experience to share.

What support or help is there for leaders?

Each troop has at least two leaders, so you will have a partner to help lead and to share the fun. We encourage you to invite other parents or friends to serve with you, or we will work with you and your community to help connect you with a co-leader.

We provide online, in person, and on-demand trainings for our leaders that you can take on your schedule, and we provide detailed activity plans that make it easy to get meetings going. You’ll also have access to our dedicated Troop Support team for guidance when you need.

How to Join Girl Scouts as a Volunteer

In order to ensure that volunteering with Girl Scouts is safe, supportive, and fun for everyone, all volunteers complete a background check and are covered under GSSOAZ insurance.

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Register as a volunteer. Whether you're a new volunteer or are just adding a new role, begin the process here. We'll just ask for some basic information to get you all set up in our system before diving into the details!

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Select a role. You can browse the volunteer opportunities in your area or for a particular troop. Not sure which role is right for you? Learn more about our most common roles and ways to volunteer. (Still not sure? You can always select "Unsure" during the sign-up process and a member of our team will gladly help you find the perfect fit.)

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Become a member. Next, you'll provide us with some more detailed information about you, and pay the national membership dues. Dues support the national Girl Scouts organization, cover you under our liability insurance, and support the research and program development our local council relies upon.

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Complete a background check. Because you’ll be working directly with youth, this step is required. This will take a few days to process, and we will be in touch as soon as it is finalized. (Need assistance with your background check? This video can help.)

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Complete training and orientation. After your background check has been processed, you will be officially on-boarded as a new Girl Scout volunteer! Look for your official approval email and an invitation to begin the New Leader Training Path, and stay tuned for a phone call from our CEO, Kristen Garcia-Hernandez, welcoming you to our council!

Become A Volunteer

Already a volunteer? Log in to access to Volunteer Toolkit.

Not ready to decide, or looking for more ways to get involved? Learn more by contacting Director of Programs, Colleen McDonald.