For Volunteers | Girl Scouts

Everything you need to keep your troop running smoothly

Find resources, guides, and more that are essential to volunteers

Everyone can use a little guidance, whether you’re a brand-new volunteer or a seasoned veteran. The resources on this page will help you along the way in your volunteer journey. Whether you’re looking for guidance on managing troop finances or need help planning your first year of meetings, you’ll find everything you need.

Tell us about a volunteer who has made an impact today!

Has a GSHNJ volunteer made a difference for your troop? Whether it’s a troop leader, cookie manager, event organizer, or mentor who has gone above and beyond, we want to hear about it! Share your story with us, and help us recognize the incredible volunteers who make Girl Scouting possible. Your submission could be featured in our news section or on our social media!

Volunteer Essentials

Your helpful guide for troop management, finances, and more.

Troop Year Plans

A customizable resource featuring our most popular activities to plan a year.

Forms and Documents

Search for important forms and documents for managing your troop, traveling, and more.

The work you do every day to support the Girl Scout mission is critical to our girls’ success and we are excited to give you a digital solution that will help everyone communicate better, smarter, and more efficiently—together!

Rallyhood is an all-in-one solution that integrates the many functions you need to communicate, collaborate, share files, organize events, collect money, and build a strong, connected Girl Scouts community.

Volunteer Brand Resources

Find flyers, branding materials, and more.

RESOURCES

Volunteer resources available on MyGS

Many of your must-have tools, like gsLearn and the Volunteer Toolkit, are accessible when you log in to MyGS —always accessible via the icon on the upper right corner of our website.

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The Volunteer Toolkit is a customizable planning tool where you can find suggested meeting plans for most badges, access activity guides and badge requirements, track your Girl Scouts’ achievements, and so much more. It’s the digital planning assistant that will help you power a fun-filled—and organized—Girl Scout year.

You’ll find the Volunteer Toolkit via the left menu bar of MyGS in My Account. It’s accessible on any desktop, tablet, or mobile device.

VTK User Guide for Parents and Caregivers

VTK User Guide for Troop Leaders

VTK User Guide for Troop Treasurers

VTK User Guide for Caregivers of Individually Registered Girl Scouts

gsLearn

gsLearn is full of essential volunteer trainings and courses, like how to lead activities the Girl Scout way, safety procedures, and advice for guiding Girl Scouts at every grade level.

You’ll find gsLearn via the left menu bar of MyGS in My Account. It’s accessible on any desktop, tablet, or mobile device, and will grant you access to a variety of trainings. Not finding the training you need? Contact training@gshnj.org.

GSHNJ Volunteer Training

As an adult volunteer, we offer a variety of different trainings to help you be successful during your journey as a mentor in the Girl Scout program. Learn more about our training offerings below. Not sure what training your role requires? Check out this Who Needs What guide, which will answer most of your questions.

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Age Level Training
Learn how to work with Girl Scouts of all age levels through our Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador trainings, available on gsLearn.

First Aid & CPR Training
First Aid/CPR certification is required whenever your troop ventures outside their regular meeting place. For field trips and overnight activities, you need to have at least one First Aid and CPR-certified adult member chaperone. GSHNJ offers a variety of First Aid and CPR trainings from both the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross at deeply discounted rates, however certification through a GSHNJ-sponsored training is not required. You can also use First Aid/CPR certifications through such organizations as

American Red Cross
National Safety Council
EMP America
American Heart Association
American Safety and Health Institute (ASHI)
Medic
Local hospitals, rescue squads, YMCA’s or parks & rec departments

If you receive certification with an out-of-council provider, you are invited to upload your certificate into your gsLearn account under “Achievements” > “External Learning”.

Trainings that are conducted entirely online are not acceptable. Blended training is acceptable when followed by an in-person skills test monitored by the sponsoring organization.

Outdoors & Overnights Training
Our Outdoors & Overnights series prepares you and your girls for overnight adventures. You'll learn a variety of techniques that will make you confident to take your girls into the great outdoors. The following steps must be taken in order:

Step 1: Available on gsLearn, Outdoors and Overnights Step 1 prepares volunteers for overnights with Girl Scouts – in hotels, at museum or zoo sleepovers, or backyard campouts.

Step 2: Looking to advance your basic outdoor skills? This in-person training covers choosing equipment, setting up tents, knife and fire safety, knot skills and stick cookery (think hot dogs and marshmallows). You must first complete Outdoors and Overnights Step 1 to attend. NOTE: Plan to complete this course at least six months prior to your overnight or camporee so you have time to teach these new skills to your girls.

Step 3: Step up your outdoor cooking game with our most delicious outdoor training. In this in-person training, you'll prepare (and eat!) baked apples, pizza fondue, and more while learning to cook with a wood fire, charcoal, and a propane stove. You must first complete Outdoors and Overnights Steps 1 and 2 to attend.

To find an upcoming session of Outdoors and Overnights Step 2 and 3, search our Event List.

High Awards Trainings
Leaders of girls interested in pursuing Bronze or Silver Awards are required to complete training on gsLearn within two years of their troop starting the project. Look for our Bronze Award Training and Silver Award Training on gsLearn. For leaders of girls interested in the Gold Award, we strongly recommend you sit with your Girl Scouts to review our Gold Award Tutorial along with other helpful resources found on our Gold Award webpage.

Managing Your Troop Account – Required for Troop Treasurers
Available on gsLearn, this course walks leaders and Troop Treasurers through council guidelines for managing troop funds and your troop bank account.

New Leader Fundamentals
Available on gsLearn and required for all new leaders, learn the basics of delivering the Girl Scout Leadership Experience.

Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Course
Available on gsLearn and required for all volunteers, this training prepares adults to recognize, respond to, and report concerns of child abuse and neglect. This training must be completed every two years.

Looking for more helpful documents?

Check out Forms and Documents for local most-used resources.