I am madder that a red hedgehog. If you have kids in GIRLSCOUTS, then you know the challanges of dealing with troop leaders. There are good ones... and then there is....Cheri Fisher. Just typing her name is causing waves of nausea.
I just got off the phone after calling and talking to a "Support person" for San Diego Imperial Gkirl Scouts. This is where I learned the meaning of faction. You may also say "clique". When you go to complain agaist a sucky troop leader- you are told, "What? She would never do that, she has really been trying to work with you etc... When you provide proof, the proof is "turned around" so that the leader looks like the lamb, and you the lion.
I implore all of you with these "clique" propblems to contact me. Tell me your story, lets get it off our chests. lets gather the evidence and see where it goes.
If you look up "girl scout leader complaint", "troop leader complaint"...etc... There is nothing except a small space to contact New York. Even though we moms have "membership" where is the process for "incident reporting" or complaining"? You wont find it. They have all the rights, and you---none.
If you have had a bad experience with a troop leader, a clique, or other ...Contact me or write on this blog. Maybe together we can do something. I feel so helpless, like the enemy cant be fought. They hurt me so bad!
suezbee@hotmail.com
I know this is an old post but do you realize that leaders are VOLUNTEER? That means we dont get paid, we dovit for the girls and it is a HUGE PAIN IN OUR ASSES! If you have such a big problem volunteer your time and start your own troop. No one responded to you because you are a jackass for tattling on someone who is volunteer ing their time to help kids. Its uninformed lunes like you that make it even less enjoyable to do what we do. Get a life.....or better yet a volunteer position where some moron will publish your name and criticize you for it. Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all how dare you criticize someone you know nothing about. You do not know the entire situation. If it is such a pain in your ass to be a volunteer then heres an idea stop doing it. Volunteer work is supposed to be fulfilling not a headache. Besides most of the problem lies in the organization itself rather than the volunteers. It should be about the girls but its not. Its a crock of shit and full of deceit much like the rest of America. I cannot accurately say everyone involved in the girl scouts are for a lack of better words MORONS but the ones in which I have dealt with most definitely were and have ruined the girl scout name and reputation by being again MORONS!
DeleteOld post obviously Heidi, so you probably won't read this, but
Deletewow, you sound like one of the pain in the ass leaders this poor lady is complaining about. If it's a huge pain in your ass being a leader, then don't to it. Obviously sounds like you don't enjoy what you signed up for. Stop criticising others and listen to yourself, read what you wrote. Very childish.
Yes, Heidi sounds like one of the cliquish turn-it-arounders Sue spoke of. Nailed it.
DeleteHello, my name is Danielle Lane and I just thought I'd share my unfortunate experience with this poorly organized organization. They say it is for the children right? Hmmm where do I begin with my hatred of this group. Lets start with how none of their "troop leaders" get a background check before they can become one. My two young girls were in a group a few years ago and their troop leader was the biggest drug addict I have ever seen! It was both visible and well known by almost anyone who lived in the community. She cussed profusely around the girls and was always cancelling events or giving us the wrong information about stuff. So when the next years enrollment came about I enrolled both my girls again because they insisted they wanted to keep at it. After I enrolled them a month went by with no word as to when and where the girls were suppose to meet and as to what troop they were even in. I called several times and left numerous emails inquiring why I haven't heard anything and when can the girls start participating. I even got ahold of their main office. NO HELP! They lady I spoke with said the troop leader has been trying to get ahold of me but I have not been returning any of her calls. That was no the case at all! But of course as you had stated we are wrong and the troop leaders are right. I was polite and said well maybe she doesn't have the correct phone number and gave them all of my information once again. Another month goes by with nothing. My girls are upset and so am I because in the winter time there isn't much for them to do so this is basically their winter activity. I call the head branch another time. The same women informed me I haven't been returning the troop leaders calls still. Now this is bullshit! I haven't gotten any kind of contact from anyone unless I consistently email and call the main office. I wanted my membership fee money back but of course there is a no refund policy. So I figured oh well I guess I should just cut my losses and enroll them in our local YMCA program. Which I did. Well now this next sign up period rolls around. My daughter begging her father to be in the girl scouts gets him to sign her up. He pays the membership fee for just one of the girls because my other daughter was fed up with them just as I was. Guess what... over a month has passed and still no contact or anything but they sure took the money for the membership fee as always. He calls and gets no call back. I email the New York office and got one reply telling me which troop my daughter is in. How the hell is that helpful if I don't know who the troop leader is and how to get ahold of them. I have been sending tons of emails to the New York office with no replies (big surprise there), I am so fed up that I can't stand girl scouts and refuse to even purchase or support anything they do. Its suppose to be about the kids. This in no way was beneficial for my kids. They were basically shunned repeatedly from the girl scouts while taking our money.
ReplyDeleteamen Danielle
DeleteI wish I could contact you. I am having problems with my daughters troop "leader". I have no one to talk to. It is such a small town. Everyone knows everyone. This leader is terrible!!! Can I leave you my#? or you can leave me yours. Thank so much!!
DeleteGirl Scouts scam ppl Daniel
DeleteI'm sorry you all had such bad experiences. I had to be background checked and CPR certified before I could host my first meeting. Not sure why that didn't happen in your area or if you're just assuming they did not get checked. Also call your council or post to their FB page. Our council is very responsive when approached in a non-threatening manner.
DeletePfft Girl scout leaders and the council are nothing but a joke!!
DeleteLooking to report a former girl scout leader in Levittown New York who was my daughter's leader fpr 3 years who startet texting and calling all my daughter's friends mothers and told them not to let their daighters hang out with her that she was a liar.Devastated my daughter.
DeleteHmmmmmm smdh.... My daughter's troop leader is rude, sarcastic, demanding and nagging. She can't have a normal conversation with out having an attitude. Yea WAY TO GO GIRL SCOUTS.
ReplyDeleteI am having issues with my daughters troop leader. She is rude, screams at the girls, doesnt follow girl scout rules and is mismanaging their money. Several girls have stated she is mean and she hates them. This is horrible! I am torn as to what to do, complain to council but will they even do anything? I haven't even discussed it with other moms because I don't know them very well and don't want to start drama or be the center of drama. Any insight or suggestions would be appreciated. I haven't pulled my daughter out because she is torn too. She likes it but not the leader Valerie Cotton.
ReplyDeleteShirley
I am a co leader and our leader is diplorable. We have banded together as parents several times and turned her in to council. She is unfair, screams and yells at the girls, mismanages finances..... but I am in the background doing everything for our troop. She literally does nothing other than take credit for everything i do. Council has done nothing and I can tell you that she has had over 20 complaints filed about her..... It's sad.
DeleteOur troop leader "does no wrong" treats certsin girls horribly, and is just nothing but a Bully. Does the Girl Scouts of America really do nothing about having leaders like this?
DeleteMy daughter who is a senior Girl Scout has had an ongoing issue within our troop 70631 since August we have had several conversations with different people at the council we have updated on all things that have been happening since August and since the mediation in November. Our troop leader has acted very disrespectfully she has a yelled at us at a cookie booth in front of other people she has refused to sign out cookies that we did have on hand that my daughter has sold she has ceased letting us know about different troop texts that she sends out; she has not sent any at all since the end of September or early October to us. We also have a variety of other items it just too lengthy to stick all in an email we found out yesterday that they have kicked out both of my daughters from the true. My daughters have not done anything wrong my oldest daughter has had our leader and her two friends bass her multiple times on Facebook and person which is why got contacted with the council in the first place.
Deleteat this point we're almost ready to throw in the towel and just be done with it but she hasn't been in since she was a first-year brownie and now this is her last year as a senior Girl Scout. my youngest daughter is a junior this is the only troops she has ever known all of her friends are there. Our leader is the one who is acted incorrectly along with the other two adults within the troop why my daughters are the ones that are getting reprimanded is beyond my comprehension. Since the other ladies and the council can't seem to get this taken care of I'm now going to you. Our troop is 70631. by the way I do have video of the leader yelling belligerently at us at a cookie booth I have footage of us walking up our conversation that we try to have and her yelling.
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ReplyDeleteThe sad truth about GS are not all individuals who become troop leaders do it for the right reason and if you try to report misconduct to the GS of Tropical Fl, no one wants to be bothered. My GS Daisy was robbed by her troop leader/cookie mom of all her incentives and year 2016 end trip money by falsifying receipts. The previous year see was given credit for 500 boxes but had actually sold 612. The extra boxes were given to the troop leaders daughter so she could attend Miami Seaquarium. " Girl Scouts, teaching our kids great leaders". Way to go GS
ReplyDeleteI recently had an incident where I too complained about my concerns for my daughter being singled out by a grading rubric that her troop wanted to implement where the girls would grade each other based on their participation while they worked on their Bronze Award. I believed this rubric would be biased since my daughter is shy and still learning how to speak up for herself. I expressed my concerns and the Troop Leader said that she would not let that happen. On two other occasions a parent, not once but on several different occasions deliberately singled out my daughter in subtle ways. I first brought it to the Troop Leader's attention and she promised me that she would never allow anything like that to happen once more. Well it happened again while the girls and their parents were on a phone conference to discuss an upcoming event the girls were planning. So I called the parent out on it and asked why she was deliberately singling out my daughter. The Troop Leader screamed on me and then turned it around to make it seem like I was the bad guy causing the drama. Mind you most troop meetings are held at a church. Therefore, you would think that they were Christians and would not uphold such behavior when speaking to parents. The representative at the church made false statements about me, called me a liar, and said what I did was toxic to the girls well being. Not once did they show any concern over how what was happening was impacting my child. The church and council took her side and gave me two options: have someone bring my daughter to meetings or transfer her to another troop. What is the world coming to if you can't advocate for your children? They teach the girls to be honest and fair, considerate, and caring, how to respect others, and be a sister to every girl. Well what a crock of bull! Has anyone had any success at all when making a complaint? If so what did you do to rectify he problem?
ReplyDeleteYep we have serious problems with our troop leader too!! She ran the troop into the ground & Brought council in & you know how that goes!! They're all just trying to cover their a**es & protect each other. Then they spread lies & add file to the fire!! I took my girls out of this unorganized, drama filled popularity contest. You're only safe if you suck up to the "right people & or person" No one in my family will EVER support this organization EVER again!!😈😈😈😈 We went to council for help & they further destroyed EVERYTHING & treated us all HORRIBLY!!
ReplyDeleteAll this perfectly describes my current situation!! My troop leader has an ego the size of a planet. She has left everything for her poor coleader and tries to take credit. As cookie mom, she was the ONLY thing that made the experience horrible. She has now labeled me Drama and refuses to speak to me, for reasons unknown to me. Her coleader quit, half her troop is quitting, and they are joining a new troop several moms are starting just to get away from her. Also, council is allowing all this to happen. My only saving grace is these wonderful girls(and moms) I have become so close to. I'm dealing with her crap just to make a place for those who want to leave. Wish me luck!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, you do sound like a drama queen. If you hate it so much, just leave scouts. Nobody is forcing you to be involved.
DeleteWell my daughter leader just told me my daughter looked like a whore
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWell my daughter leader just told me my 10 year old daughter looked like a whore
ReplyDeleteThat's terrible Dan
DeleteWell my daughter leader just told me my 10 year old daughter looked like a whore
ReplyDeleteWhat an awful thing to say. Report her to the Council office.
DeleteThe council office won't do a thing. Trust me
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ReplyDeleteTo everyone that has complaints about the Girl Scouts of America I think the complaints brought are legitimate complaints because I've seen the things myself but everyone needs to individually file civil complaint in the immediate Court Superior Courts of the cities or towns and then finally someone needs to come together file a class-action file a complaint under violation of contract and false advertisement. you can also ask the state attorney for an accounting of the records of everything they do because their nonprofit organization so the public has a right anyone in the public has a right to look at all their books at any time. Start questioning the money legally ,start questing their backgrounds, freedom of information legally is powerful use it, I guarantee your voice will be heard and the headquarters of Girl Scouts of America you know how s*** rolls down hill, GSA will get rid of the bad Apple's. Gather intelligence recording record conversations record nasty attitudes the misappropriation of funds and you put this information on social media you send it to any type of Girl Scout donors companies that support them and I guarantee you they will start dropping the funding and its support for the Girl Scouts and their GSA headquarter Branch will start to knock heads at the bottom. Remember the key word for making any argument a complaint against Girl Scouts of America or individual troops is the Safety and Security and Welfare of the children and the community. Have a good day LANCASTER CA
ReplyDeleteSo I put my daughter in girl scouts this year BC she really wanted to do it. Well she hasn't earned a badge yet she is suppose to this coming up Monday at the meeting well. A week ago the parents and the troop leader was talking about going to the Tennessee aquraiam with the girls this past monday well a couple days before the trip I text and called the troop leader and didn't get no answer well I text everyone else and asked them what time we were suppose to go to the aquraiam and no one replied the day after the troop leader text everyone to tell them we needed to reschedule BC she didn't feel good so I thought it was reschedule well about two hours ago I got a groups message saying did someone get the aquraiam patches and I txt back when are we suppose to be goin well then I was told that they already went. So I said back why didn't anyone tell me well no one wants to answer back. Okay that pissed me off. Well I just found out that me and my daughter has to be at the pertinent store Saturday for the cookie booth okay well I said we are signed up to do it on the 24th too well I guess we got replaced BC were not on there to do it that day this is a bullshit group really is that don't have there shit together. But at this point I want to go off on all of them BC how can they sit there and replace my little girl for the cookie booth when she is also trying to get her badge. But in thinking about just taking her out completely or moving her to another troop BC these ppl act like they don't like me but I give two shits if they do or not but it's hurting my lil girl and that pisses me off what should I do
ReplyDeleteMy daughters troop leader made us leave the cookie selling booth we signed up for because she was not wearing her sash. We had no idea she needed one, no one told us, and she doesn't even have one. She told her she couldn't sell the cookies before she even said hello, or good morning. What a garbage person. If you don't like children, and have no patience or kindness, then don't volunteer to be a troop leader
ReplyDeleteI'm late, bit here is my experience: I wanted to volunteer, and was disregarded. I tried to be a team player, but the moms didn't care to listen to me or thought I wasn't a good as they were, so they decides to tell me I was no longer welcome at meetings. How? Instead of contacting me directly, and politely and respectfully telling me I wasn't needed, they put a post on our fb brownie group. It was written for me, as I was the only volunteer but they made it a public announcement. I was mortified. It's been awful ever since for me, and now one of the moms is collecting money for gift cards for them. I won't be contributing.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter was with Girl Scouts of colonie New York not a professional place at all. The scout leader Jennifer that worked with special needs kids stayed talking bad about other parents talked about her affairs she had with married men! This is a woman that is a teacher and works with special need kids at school. She thought can talk to parents anyway she wanted to but got the wrong parent. I put in a complaint with Girl Scouts in colonie New York spoke with Sarah and she stated that Jennifer admitted her actions but she still her being a scout leader even though she isn't good with working with parents and having affairs with married men. Sarah claimed she would get my daughter in another Girl Scout troop the lady which was I lie! They kept money that I paid for my daughter for a year Sarah stopped returning my calls. She isn't professional don't ever go through the Girl Scouts in colonie New York. They don't know how to deal with special need kids they take people money and their not professional at they hire any Girl Scout leader that's not appropriate to lead young girl whether they have special needs or not! Never go through colonie Girl Scouts ever
ReplyDelete"Take people's money?" Guess what you have to pay for your activities when you are a member of Scouts. The troop leader is not required to pay for your child.
DeleteMy daughter is enjoying GS but I'm seeing the little robberies here and there that her troop leaders are commiting and it's frustrating me. They take trips every month and we parents are to pay for the whole trip. First, they are going to Madam Tussauds and charging $35 but when I looked online it says costs for girl scouts with 3 packages each being under $30 and my daughter is a Daisy so I know they aren't calculating carfare when she rides for free and one of the packages includes food so it isn't that. Next is the trip in December to Medieval Times where they are charging $50 but the site showing cost for GS is much cheaper. Are we covering the leaders' costs? Next thing I noticed was the fees for the books and uniform. They want us to buy from them. We pay one week they bring the stuff the following week. First, I see the discrepancy in prices. The book online is under $20 they charge $24. The pants online $10 they charge $24 the shirt online $10 they charge $28 and the last straw was this morning. I paid last week for the shirt, guide book, journey book and dues. Today I received the guide book and told I was given the rest of my order last week. I told her I did not. I only received the shirt, where is my daughter's journey book? Then as I was so fed up I blurted out that they were robbing me. The co-leader tried to make me look like I was begging for a handout saying she would personally buy my daughter a book next week. I'm not looking for handouts I just wanted what I paid for. Now, I'm going to pull my daughter out of GS if I can't switch her troop.
ReplyDeleteso i know this is an old post but i just had the most uncomfortable incident with my daughters troop leader. this is our first year and my daughter is a brownie. just in the past few months we have had a number of problems with getting accurate information from the troop leaders. i say leaders because there is one person who works directly with the brownies and someone else who "organizes" all the age levels. when i have a questions the brownie leader always says its the other persons job or some nonsense and I'm left with more questions and confusion. my daughter missed camping because we hadn't received information on the cost and by the time they told me it was too late to pay for it. they had our permission slip and my phone number but no one called to tell me. and no the permission slip didn't have the cost listed or the address of the camp. when i ask for information i usually get the "didn't you get the email?" response. i have repeatedly told them i haven't received any emails. so up until now i have generally written these things off as my own mistakes and oversights. my daughter also hasn't received ANY badges through the troop activities, only the things that we have done at the local camp. they said she would get a sash and book and troop numbers for her vest. we haven't and i think thats odd. but whatever i can look past that. so that brings us to yesterday. there was a holiday craft sale that a bunch of troops were participating in. the information provided said the event was from 9:00-2:00 and the girls were to be dropped off and picked up after. i thought we had arrived late so i apologized but then was informed that her "table time" was at 11:30. so i asked if i should stay since we were technically early. we were told no so i left and since she didn't say there was an end time i assumed her time to sell was at 2:00. so i told my daughter where the troop was and i left. when i came back the troop leader was upset with me because my daughter had told someone that she was left there alone and they stopped the whole craft show to look for me. i said I'm really sorry thats embarrassing. the troop leader replied "it was an embarrassment to the whole troop". i was offended and said " I'm sorry my daughter was an embarrassment to the troop". i started to leave and she yelled, in the middle of a crowded room at a church "hey!" everyone stared at us. we tried to leave again but she ran around the tables and blocked our path. she told me not to speak to her that way and i told her i spoke to her the same way she spoke to me. we tried to leave again and she ran infant of us yelling "get out here". again in front of another group of people. we tried to leave the building but she ran in front of us again repeating herself. now outside in front of more people she yells at me that i didn't respond to her text. i told her when i saw it i was already on my way. she said "I'm so sure" i told her that if she had told me before i left what time to be here i would have been back at that time. i later asked my friend who was also selling at the craft fair what had happened earlier. she said my daughter was left unattended at a craft table "supervised" by other girl scouts so when they weren't at the table anymore and couldn't find her troop she got scared. she told another troop leader that she couldn't find who she was there with. she said my daughter did exactly what she should have done. and i guess my daughter didn't even do table time like she was supposed to because no body even cared where she was. I'm not really sure i want this troop "leader" setting an example for my daughter on whats acceptable behavior. I'm not really sure if we will continue in girl scouts or switch troops. i will be making a complaint on monday but I'm not overly optimistic that it will really resolve anything.
ReplyDeleteThe reason you can't get a troop leader "fired" is because the troop leader is a volunteer, who likely stepped up to be a troop leader because no one else would, and also may have a full time job and family in addition to her troop responsibilities. It is a lot of work being a troop leader. When things don't go "your way" then you are welcome to leave the troop, and form your own troop! But don't whine or have a hissy fit because the troop leader doesn't do everything "your way". She isn't paid by the Scouts organization and she doesn't have to cater to all the parents. Wow, imagine that. Now ladies, don't be lazy. Get out and volunteer yourselves if you don't like troop leaders. Make your own troop and work hard to do it. Stop being angry because you can't get a troop leader "fired" by the Girl Scouts organization. Some of you here are truly pathetic and you are raising your daughters to have whiny, immature attitudes just as you have.
ReplyDeleteAs a leader, I am inclined to back you on the statement of us being volunteers and that more parents need to step up..... but when a volunteer is not fulfilling their promise as a troop leader and their is evidence... the council should absolutely step in and dismiss her from her role. Some leaders are doing it because they really care. Others are only doing it to look important and to fulfill their narcacistic tendencies. These girls deserve the best experience possible. It shouldn't matter if the person leading is paid or not..... That is why there are rules and regulations.
DeleteThank you . One of my daugthers leaders is the deginition of Narcistic.
DeleteI not trying to see why all the girls scouts don't sell the same cookies. We are all girls scouts and I feel all the cookies should be the same. Kentucky and Ohio. Our girls lost sales, because everybody wanted Lemonade & Thank you
ReplyDeleteIt is because different Councils source their cookies from different bakers. We would love to sell Lemonades too, but can't.
DeleteI found this forum, like many I’m guessing, because I’m dealing with the awful nightmare that is Girl Scouts and one “leader” in particular.
ReplyDeleteI stepped up to be a troop leader because there wasn’t one for my daughter. What a joke! After spending HUNDREDS (no exaggeration) to get 2 girls and a new troop set up I was just left hanging. Dozens of emails and texts, many frustrated parents and lots of upset little girls later it all boiled down to one recruiter/leader not doing her job. When I finally threw in the towel she refused to take any blame and I got the counsel liaison involved.
Clique is the best word. Despite the awful texts she sent me they did nothing but stick my her side and refuse to say Girl Scouts could do better.
My story goes so much deeper and is so uncomfortably dramatic but honestly this woman has zero business being any kind of mentor for young girls and there’s nothing anyone can do.
Girl Scouts is not what it used to be and their integrity is a joke.
Yes... After co-leading a troop for 4 years... Our main initiative had ALWAYS been to carry our grade school troop into the new Middle School where 90% of our girls now attend ...
ReplyDeleteWhen my Co leader chose to send her daughter to an exclusive, elite private school in the area this year- she refused to let go of the troop... Instead of meeting right after school in one of the girls classrooms as we have always done, this other leader wanted to have our boisterous 5th graders meet AT NIGHT in the local library! She said thatwhen our Troop meets after school, we are only used as a " babysitting service"!!! This selfish, self-centered woman wanted our large troop to change all of our plans just to accommodate her very,very special little girl! This coleader solicited the help of the sloppy, mismanaged Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan office staff... This subpar group of ladies, after a multitude of histrionic, confusing emails, sent emails out to all my parents, blindsiding me, and alerting parents that they were splitting The Troop... furthermore, to add insult to injury, Girl Scouts insisted that ALL Of my girls, (90% of them NOW attending our mddle school) would now have to CHOOSE between the two to troops, how horrible for these kids!
Well, after a week or so, my former co-leader cancelled sll her plans, once again decimating all hard work and planning, AND leaving all the girls up in the air and in a desperate, saddened State...
When I attempted to continue the Girl Scout Troop at our middle school, ThE GIRL SCOUTS refused to allow me to continue (I have a Flawless, spotless record ) and withdrew our troop number(although they were willing to just hand it over to The Other Leader!?!) AND the $1,300 we had in the bank??? well, they are throwing out the window - letting the former leader go on a shopping spree at an elite, expensive toy store under the guise of charity and intended for a donation at a hospital! incidentally, our troops had voted on spending $250 for the hospital...
These plans were made with complete disregard for the three programs I planned and paid for, assuming I would be reimbursed by our funds!!!
I would never recommend working with this childish, haphazard Southeastern Michigan organization!
In fact, everyone should know that as of last fall:
Boy Scouts of America are NOW allowing girls to form all-girl dens within their Cub Scout ranks and GIRLS can even achieve the highly desirable Eagle badge
I believe I AM GOING TO BEGIN PLANNING TO join AND LEAD at that organization and Girl Scouts can shove their Badges right up their greedy little sashes!!
My Girl Scout story is one that breaks my heart into a million piece... I have been a troop leader 2 1/2 years. I was informed today that because I did not meet a deadline to provide them with some receipt I have had my volunteer status removed and my troop taken away. Why did I not meet this deadline my grandmother past away, I had communicate that there would be a delay inproviding the requested information and gave what info I had at that time. They never responded back to notify me that they could not give me the additional time requested. Just a call today saying you are done and out of your girls lifes. I am beyond devastated. I poured my money , bloid sweat and tears into this troop. Girl Scouts is about the money not the girls. It is so sad that an organiztion I once felt so proud to repersent is so heartless towards women who give so much of themselves to it.
ReplyDeleteIf it hadn't happened to us it would be hard to believe these stories as I held GS in high regard. Have over 10 years between three daughters.
ReplyDeleteThe most awful situation recently happened and I see how horrible Girl Scouts really is. Went on a trip to Great Wolf Lodge using cookie funds but the troop leaders never filled out form to make it officially a Girl Scout event even though all parents were under the assumption that it was a girl scout event and we were using cookie funds. During this time my daughter was sexually assaulted against her will by another troop member. After finding out I promptly contacted Council who told me that they did not have the bandwidth to take care of this so that I would have to file a police report for the investigation and to please let them know what the investigation outcome was. They also were quick to tell me that since the troop leaders did not file the form then it was not a Girl Scout event it was a private event I attended. After they asked the trip leaders if this was supposed to be a troop event or not the leaders quickly lied and said that it was a family event not an actual troop event. I forwarded all emails and correspondence about the trip that showed it was clearly stated as a troop event using troop funds as a reward from cookie sales. No parents attended. So disappointed in the way that Council refuses to reprimand the leaders for lying the girl who committed the offence in the room and also found out after parents begin talking that there was another incident a few months later at another girl scout event. My heart breaks because I realize Now That Girl Scouts is just a money-making machine they really don't care about girls and all the BS that they say and their slogans are lies. All action to get things resolved it's only the police department Girl Scouts has done nothing to stop the lying leaders or the girl who committed the offense.
I am so sad this happened to your daughter. You have the proof you need to prove this was a girl scout event and to hold both supervising adults and the scout Council to a standard of truth. Hoping for healing.
DeleteI am going through a hard time with my troop leader and I am the co leader. This person had started her new troop because she said the troop leader from her previous troop wouldn't let her make decisions. Anyways we started off good but soon after she was not replying to my texts wasn't making any contact over badges trips etc and she wasn't making any plans on her own. We have done three events outside of our troop meeting night's but because I set them. Other parents are complaining that she's not doing anything for the troop and was even told that her husband doesn't want her in the troop so she will most likely leave the troop yet meeting night's come around and she's there to talk with the parents. Meetings are over and I don't hear back from her. I don't know what to do if to just give up or try to reach counsel. She also doesn't have any activities set for the girls on meeting night's. At our last meeting the girls were finishing up a first aid poster and didn't explain what they were supposed to include on it. By the end of the night some girls were in the restroom and others were writing and putting glue on there hands.
ReplyDeleteI am concerned about my daughters troop leaders. They harass the girls into doing 3 cookie booths out in the freezing cold and push them to sell, sell, sell and the girls do....then they have no events planned for the rest of the year. The girls made over 1,000 dollars profit and the leaders are bragging about how much they sold but what are they doing with the money??? My daughter is not coming back next year but and she has contributed to the troop funds considerably. It is so not right that they have not planned some good events for the girls who have contributed to the funds this year.
ReplyDeleteplease read my blog post. summer camp buyer beware. smallmoments.home.blog
ReplyDeletewe have been tossed from GS here in SC BECAUSE I stood up for my daughter and other girls against a clickish environment at summer camp . they were being bullied by staff and going to bed hungry..
Sometimes girl scout troop leaders behave badly. I encourage you to contact your local Girl Scout Council if you have a leader issue. Be polite but persistent. If one person won't help you, move on until someone does. (This has worked for me in the past.)
ReplyDeleteAs a troop leader for several years--Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, and now Cadettes--I want to say this: Troop leaders are women just like you, juggling parenthood, work, and a home life alongside the intense demands of being a troop leader. We are unpaid volunteers. In fact, we pay THEM: Did you know that girl scout volunteers pay the same $25/year that scouts pay to belong to girl scouts? Many leaders also have to pay $97 out of their own pocket to become First Aid and CPR certified by the Red Cross before they can take their girls camping.
Girl scout troop leaders are overworked. I think I speak for many of us when I say: We didn't know what we were getting into when we volunteered. And by the time we realized, we were attached to our girls and didn't want to quit.
It is NOT an insignificant effort to research and plan activities for badge requirements, organize crafts and games, manage troop finances, schedule events, shop for everything, and print out the endless paperwork that girl scouts requires. (Paper and printer ink isn't free, but GS acts like it is.) Even communicating with families by text and email isn't as simple as it sounds, because parents are busy and don't always respond. So one email or text turns into three or four as you try to figure out how many spots to pay for at the science museum.
Yes, girl scouts should be led by the girls with adult guidance--but that only works once they get to a certain age. Before that, it's all on you. I was surprised to learn that some troops have a Troop Committee of adults. I have only ever had a co-leader and for a couple of years, a cookie mom.
Then there's the selling. We are pushed to sell product from September to March, and then they start spamming your inbox about Early Bird membership renewal. This is because national Girl Scouts gets 100% of the $25 that each girl and volunteer pays, while the local Girl Scout Council gets about $2.20 from every $4 box of cookies sold (the troop gets around $0.55/box).
Troops don't HAVE to sell cookies, but if they don't, there's no money to run the troop. It costs $7-$8/girl for a Council-sponsored Archery or Outdoor Cooking class. It costs $85/night to sleep in a cabin at camp. Many parents think scouting should be free or almost free once they have paid their $25. But "earned awards" (that is, badges and pins), crafts, snacks, handbooks, events, and uniforms are not free. Even if you do sell cookies, $0.55/box doesn't stretch very far. My troop has a few rock star sellers, but other girls sell 20 boxes or no boxes--and they still get their stuff. I have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on my troop over the years. I don't see that changing, because I don't want to run a troop based on free coloring sheets downloaded from the Web, trips to local playgrounds, and Youtube videos.
People say, "Just quit if you don't like it." But I am devoted to these girls. Not every girl is a soccer star or a choir soloist. But they can all do scouts. Girls need to turn off their phones and spend time together doing cool stuff that they might not get to do, if not for scouting. I get frustrated and overwhelmed and way behind on what I should be doing as a leader. I just get tired. But I keep going, because I care about these girls.
Just realize that it isn't Council or Girl Scouts USA providing "the girl scout experience" to your daughter. It's the volunteer troop leaders. We don't always get it right, and you MUST speak out against bad actors. But do me a solid, and give your leader a break if you can. Most of us are doing our best.
Omg. Girl scouts is a joke. Cub scouts and regular scouts us where it's at. I never felt included ur accepted by the girlscouts but I did by the cubscouts and boyscouts. Girlscouts is a complete joke. It's not even fun.
ReplyDeleteI am dealing with the same crappy girl scout leaders. They had messed up on my order, they gave me double than what I ordered so I told them it was fine I can keep them and just take off some cookies for my next order if it is possible. She said it was still possible. I ended up ordering 2 boxes instead of the 20. The next week comes and they messed up on my order AGAIN but this time they were rude about it. The lady kept trying to make it seem like it was MY fault that I placed the order too late, but she is the one who told me the order was possible , refusing to take any responsibility for what happened. I get ppl make mistakes but she was taking it out on me like if it was my fault and their mad at me because THEY messed up on my order. If it was not possible I would have left the extra cookies they gave me. Now the girl scout leaders do not answer any of my questions and are so rude to me. I have been so understanding about everything but they are awful and I am just about tired of their treatment!! Not only that a few months ago we had to order uniforms they were 70 each, i paid 140 for both my girls and told them Ill just buy only what I have to, they made me buy everything. Fastforward 2 months of moms not having paid for their uniforms they finally offer the shirt option, and I was not able to get it cus I paid on time. My daughters did not get their uniforms til mid february, the season is almost over for these 70 dollar uniforms. The least they could have done was figure it out that these women were not gonna pay after 2 weeks THEN offer the shirt option and get them ordered so they would actually get used. It is frustrating!!
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