Growing Your Troop: Inviting and Welcoming New Members

Skip to content

SHOP
DONATE
Girl Scout Cookies®
Únete a las Girl Scouts
MyGS account

Discover Discover
Who We Are Who We Are

Community Engagement Community Engagement

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, Racial Justice (DEIARJ) and Anti-Racism Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, Racial Justice (DEIARJ) and Anti-Racism

Advocacy Advocacy

Our History Our History

Leadership Leadership
Our Council Our Council

Contact and Visit Contact and Visit

Newsroom Newsroom

Careers Careers

Governance Governance

Our Finances Our Finances

Policies Policies
Upcoming Events Upcoming Events

Event Search Event Search

Event Calendar Event Calendar
Discover your local Girl Scout council: about Girl Scouts, what they do, what activities are available locally, and how to contact us.
Programs Programs
Girl Scouting Girl Scouting

Badges, Journeys and Patches Badges, Journeys and Patches

Council-Led Programs Council-Led Programs

Highest Awards Highest Awards

Travel Travel
Cookies Cookies

Find Cookies Find Cookies

Meet the Cookies Meet the Cookies

Cookie Donations Cookie Donations

Fall Snacks and Magazines Sale Fall Snacks and Magazines Sale
Camp Camp

Ways to Camp Ways to Camp

Our Camp Locations Our Camp Locations

Rent Our Camps Rent Our Camps
Explore local opportunities for Girl Scouts: participate in the Cookie Program, attend Girl Scout camp, and more.
Get Involved Get Involved
Become a Girl Scout Become a Girl Scout

Join a Troop Join a Troop

Join a BIPOC Troop Join a BIPOC Troop

Go Solo Go Solo
Become a Troop Leader Become a Troop Leader

Start a Troop Start a Troop
Become a Volunteer Become a Volunteer

Why Volunteer Why Volunteer

Ways to Volunteer Ways to Volunteer
Learn how to get involved with Girl Scouts: join a troop, go solo, or become a volunteer.
Support Us Support Us
Make a Gift Make a Gift

Other Ways to Give Other Ways to Give

Donor Circles Donor Circles
Become a Partner Become a Partner

Program Partners Program Partners
Attend an Event Attend an Event

Celebrate Changemakers Celebrate Changemakers
Support Girl Scouts by donating locally, becoming a partner, or joining us at an event for alums and supporters.
Members Members
For Girl Scouts and Families For Girl Scouts and Families

Renew Your Membership Renew Your Membership

Uniform Guide Uniform Guide

Cookie Central Cookie Central

Snacks and Magazines Snacks and Magazines

Solo Girl Scouts Solo Girl Scouts

Financial Assistance Financial Assistance
For Volunteers For Volunteers

Forms and Documents Forms and Documents

Troop Leader Resources Troop Leader Resources

Volunteer Awards and Recognition Volunteer Awards and Recognition

Volunteer Learning and Certifications Volunteer Learning and Certifications

Volunteer Resources Volunteer Resources

Volunteer Toolkit Volunteer Toolkit
For Alums For Alums

Resources for Girl Scout members. Find volunteer, Girl Scout, and family tools and support.

SHOP
DONATE

Council Finder

Use this finder to connect with your local Girl Scout council.

By ZIP Code

ZIP Code

By State

State

By Council

Council Name

Articles
Growing Your Troop: Inviting and Welcoming New Members

Growing Your Troop: Inviting and Welcoming New Members

Girl Scouts is all about making new friends—and keeping the old! By growing your troop to ten or more members, you can give youth in your community the opportunity to try new things, build forever friendships, take on adventures, dream big and have fun doing it.

Invite New Troop Members

Share a Link to Your Troop Catalog Listing

If your troop is in the online troop catalog, you can copy a link of your troop's catalog listing and share it with your networks. To get your troop link, simply search “Troop #####” in the Troop Number search field. Then hover over the green box with the arrow at the top of the tile and click “Copy Link.”

Share Customized Troop Flyers

Customized Troop Expansion Flyers in English (PDF) and Spanish (PDF) can be a great way to get the word out about your troop. Flyers can be shared at schools, community centers, libraries, and more. Troop leaders can either print your own at home or log in to the Impressive Online Print Center to get them mailed directly to your home at no cost.

Note: Please allow one week for your order to be processed and mailed.

If you want to order troop flyers, create a new account by selecting “click here to register” at the sign-in screen. Allow up to three business days for approval of new accounts. Navigate to the troop leader folder and complete your order. For further instructions, view our Online Print Center Training Video or download the Online Print Center Training Guide (PDF).

Use Email and Social Media

Are there parents and friends in your network whose child would benefit from being in your troop? Let them know you have openings in your troop by sharing this sample post (DOCX) on social media. Don’t forget to include a link to your troop listing!

You can also use this easy-to-personalize email template (DOCX) to promote open spots in your troop directly to families in your community.

Use the “Invite Friends” Feature

If you already know the email addresses of families who would like to join your troop, you can send them a personalized invite with a link to register into your troop from your My Account page. To do this, navigate to your troop roster under your My Troop(s) tab, and click the “Invite friends to join your troop” link at the bottom of the page.

Host a "Bring a Friend" Day

Share your Girl Scout community by hosting a "Bring a Friend" day! Customize invite cards (PDF) to encourage everyone in the troop to bring someone who isn’t a member. Then host an event showing off all the fun things that Girl Scouts do, and don’t forget to ask them to become a permanent member of the troop.

This is a day to show off your favorite Girl Scout activities. This might include: creating a build-your-own trail mix bar, having a Girl Scout scavenger hunt, testing your engineering skills by designing paper rockets or pencil catapults, completing a community service activity, or making yummy s'mores.

Find a Committed Co-Leader

Adult volunteers play an important role in making sure your troop gets to achieve the big dreams they have planned! Most troops have a co-leader (or two!) who helps share responsibilities like planning meetings, working with finances, and communicating with families. Here are some resources to help you find a Co-Leader for your troop:

Post on Social Media

Use your social network to share a rewarding volunteer opportunity. You never know who might be looking to join you. See adult sample social posts.

Ask your families at the First Family Meeting

Asking parents and caregivers to help lead at your First Troop Family Meeting. Additionally, extended family members or friends who want to help lead can also be a great resource. They bring a variety of skills and interests, plus, they are already invested in helping their child!

Welcoming New Troop Members

Girls Scouts in an inclusive organization that welcomes everyone to be a part of the fun! You and your troop will want to make sure that any new troop member feels welcome and included—Here are some inviting ideas:

Create a Welcome Letter

Have the troop write, decorate, and sign a welcome letter. They can even write personal messages for new Girl Scouts.

Start With an Icebreaker

Check out our In the Loop post Break the Ice: Four Fun Activities to Engage Girls for ideas on how to kick off your new Girl Scout’s first troop meeting.

Assign the New Girl Scout a Buddy

Prior to the first meeting, assign the new troop member a ‘Buddy’ to help answer any questions and put them at ease throughout the first few meetings. They can sit next to each other during activities and teach how the troop operates. It also gives the “Buddy” a chance to practice their leadership skills.

Teach a Tradition

Girl Scouts has lots of great traditions—They’re what makes us feel connected to each other. When you have a new Girl Scout, take the time to teach them the Girl Scout Promise and Law or sing along to Make New Friends. Including them in traditions will build up their confidence and help them feel like they’re part of the troop.

Summary of Resources

Online Troop Catalog - You can copy a link of your troop's catalog listing and share it with your networks.

Impressive Online Print Center - Troop leaders can log into the Impressive Online Print Center to get flyers mailed directly to your home at no cost. For further instructions, view our Online Print Center Training Video or download the Online Print Center Training Guide (PDF).

Customizable Troop Expansion Flyer in English (PDF) and Spanish (PDF) - Flyer with space to customize your in-person event with your event location, address, date, and time. Includes customizable section at the bottom for school disclaimers.

Sample Social Post - Share information about your troop on social media. Don’t forget to include a link to your troop listing!

Email Template - Use the email template to connect with your families at the start of your troop year. Be sure to customize and add your specific troop details in the appropriate sections.

Peer-to-Peer Invite Cards (PDF) - Customizable invitations for non-members to join your troop meeting.

Troop Family Meeting - Use the following steps to prepare for and hold your first troop family meeting.

The In’s-and-Out’s of Investitures - An It The Loop blog post for troop leaders with tips on the celebrating the investiture tradition.

Troop Expansion Resources (See Links Above) - Use these resources to invite families to Girl Scouts.

Health, Safety, and Using Safety Activity Checkpoints - Remember to stay safe and follow our girl-to-adult ratios during meetings.

GirlScoutShop.com – Visit our online shop or find a local Girl Scouts shop near to purchase to purchase the World Trefoil Pin and Girl Scout Membership Pin.

Contact and Visit
Health and Safety Guidelines
Newsroom
Careers
Policies
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy

© 2016-2023 Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys.

A 501(c)(3) Organization. All Rights Reserved.