Final Comments
At the end of the survey, respondents were given the opportunity to provide any additional comments about any survey area and/or other areas of Girl Scouting. Responses are listed below "as is" from the survey. They have not been edited for spelling or grammar.
- I think the reason we have 4 good camps running and being used is because we are not in a big city. Girls in my area like to go camping and do outdoor programs.
- I stay with GSWPA, even through the merger. It is a very corporate minded entity now. But I continue for my girls and the love of Scouting. Again, make it work!
- What I love most about Girl Scouts is the tradition and the history. You are truly a part of something big when you become a Girl Scout. I have, of course, appreciated this more as I have gotten older, but I consider myself a Girl Scout through and through. Sadly, I think very few people who are running our organization today feel the same way. It is camp and outdoor programming that has kept me involved, and it is the traditions of camp that are so fundamental to the organization. We have lost our roots, and we all know what happens to a tree that loses its roots.
- Having been a camper as a girl and adult scout, I see the enduring and positive impact camps have on girls and I believe with everything in me that camps enable us to richly empower girls in our focus areas of courage, confidence and character. I believe our Council's approach to providing these camp opportunities at a leased mountain location and at our Council HQ is a model that should be shared and looked at by other councils facing camp closures. Countless Alumnae have expressed their fondest memories of Girl Scouting has been, unanimously, from camping and singing. Please, let's do what we can to retain camping experiences for our girls. It's truly a key factor in what sets us apart from other competing programs for girls.
- When I started GS it relied solely on volunteer led activities. As women have become more a part of the work force, they have less time to volunteer. We are also dealing with issues that require more professional training with the girls. I believe that GS needs to have a balance between volunteer led and professional guidance for leaders. They could use this same model with outdoor programs. There should always be someone that is paid to make sure that the council led programs are provided correctly and that volunteers are trained appropriately.
- I am sorry to say, we have left the Girl Scout organization. Tired of the pressure to sell, sell, sell, pay, pay, pay and get less and less in return. That is not what Girl Scouts use to be about.
- I always feel so bad seeing so many people bemoan Girl Scouts overall over camp property decisions made by councils. There are a LOT of factors - and costs - that camps being maintained (much less programming happening at) naturally incur that a lot of people never think about.My council, GSNETX, does a great job a communicating with volunteers about a situation, and getting (as well as using) feedback from us. If we have a concern - we can always take it to senior leadership and bring it up. I don't think people realize how damaging it is to the overall Girl Scout reputation in the public;'s eyes to go off on social media about things that they often don't have the full picture on and haven't really tried to work with council or see their perspective on something. One of our biggest threats to the Girl Scout reputation is ourselves forgetting to work with our council and on its timeline, instead just jumping on social media and complaining about something that the details provided don't even make sense. Its sad to see, and generally never helps in the long run. I always have to ask 'would you want your girls to act that way about your troop?'
- More outdoor opportunties need to be offered!!
- Save our Camps.. Juliette founded Girl Scouts with a love of the outdoors, not having the girls inside on computers/phones..
- When I talk to staff whether council or national, there is a strong resistance to go back and study Juliette's outdoor program. I feel they are very uncomfortable with the outdoors because they themselves have not experienced in the same manner as in the Post WW-II years. I was a Girl Scout during that period of US life. I can tell that program is very powerful at building, self confidence, ability to work in a group (large or small) leadership, problem-solving skills, planning skills, interpersonal skills. National staff seems very afraid of the outdoors. I was staff for 2 years at National Center West in Wyoming; I could tell that the National outdoor program staff did not like being away from civilization. They didn't like dirt, wind, rain, odors, anything about the outdoors. I never understood why they were responsible for this program. It is time for those biases to go away; they are not part of Girl Scouting. Thank you for this opportunity to express my desire to improve the outdoor program.
- Camping is very important to me. My troops have gone camping since they were brownies . I have lead many Service unit encamporees over you GS career. My favorite workshops to facilitate are the outdoor skills.
- Since the realignment it seems to me that our council is lacking in community excitement towards Girl Scouting and community involvement in promoting out door skills.
- Give the Scout program back to the girls and get the big business out of it.
- I cannot express enough that camping and outdoor skills are key to the GS experience. Being back the old badges that give variety at all levels. Approve the Outdoor Journey. Give girls what they are asking for.
- I have a lack of confidence in the Council Board. Only 1 member is a former Girl Scout. They don't understand the traditions of GS. They don't have the girls best interest at heart. They only see dollar signs.
- I hope you will be attending the National Session in Salt Lake City next month! I will be helping GSUSA engage volunteers in conversations about why they don't do more outdoor activities, and how we can improve on that.
- Deeply saddened by the closing of camps in GSSEM....I am from MA and worked at Camp Green Eyrie the summer of 1990. I moved to MI to work at The Timbers in 2001 and 2002. I really want to do what I can to keep the option of camp available to my daughter. This summer she asked how many summers she could go to camp... I told her 10 or 11, then she will have to get a job there. She was excited about that!
- Our council is selling all but 3 camps, and all 4 of the service centers and stores. They are going to rent facilities and even add 1 more. Although I understand there is a cost with owning property. The property containing Magnolia Manor and the Colfax Learning Center need to be saved. The properties have a lot of potential with easy access on and off I-40. In addition there is space on the properties to building a multi-floor building and manage all the service centers in 1 building. Stores could be located at camp properties and online. With the Manor and Learning Center located in the heart of the state, the property could even be used by the other councils in NC.One Business 101 tip I learned, don't dump all your property or you won't have assets.
- More outdoor skills training for leaders and Brownies!
- While I am obviously bitter and in strong disagreement with our councils decision to sell the camp so close to my home, I feel like GSHOM is a well managed council, that provides wonderful programming for all level girls and supports its volunteers well. I think it is a good example of how a council can be run with success :)
- I am a leader of 13 yr. and a girl scout of 13 yr. I earned my Gold Award .There are pic. of my mom pregnant with me at girl scout programs and my now husband proposed to me in my senior girl scout uniform. I have been a girl scout all my life and always thought I would be . How ever, about 3 years after the merger my daughter asked why her "council didn't like her". When the merger happened they took what the Maumee Valley Girl Scouts liked down to Cincinnati or canceled to programs altogether. Any time the older girls find something to do in the area, council cancels it. We are to big or headquarters' need to move to the middle of the council because I'm ready to tell people NOT to join Girl Scouts. and I never thought I'd feel that way. I've always said "I bleed green". But it's no longer about the girls but about the no. and money. So sad.
- To expensive
- Our council odes a good job of providing outdoor opportunities. National needs to step up and acknowledge that it is important for Girl Scouts to be scOUTing. They need to up the badge and journey offerings to include more outdoor activities. I believe that troops aren't doing as much outside because many leaders weren't GS themselves as children and they don't know what's available. The old badge system gave the leaders and the girls a place to start when looking to ideas about what to do. I agree that you don't need a badge for everything, but it really helped with brainstorming to have the ideas listed in the book.
- This survey was very hard to fill out since there wasn't any grey area on some of the questions. The pricing was hard to know if you meant as a troop, per person, per day, etc. Also we have 4-5 local program centers (scout houses), but our main camp is in another county 2.5 hours away.
- Our Council ran a number of forums and informational sessions about camps and their use, and those forums seemed poorly attended by membership. Were they poorly organized (I got a postcard with dates) or were members not really interested? There are many leaders who enjoy the outdoor experience and make it a priority to get the girls outdoor, but they are many leaders who have no interest in going outdoors and won't even try. So many organizations are deperate for adult volunteers- it's hard to put a requirement that "you have to be willing to do outdoor programming". Do you want volunteers, or do you want GOOD volunteers- they are hard to come by, and you don't want to burn out the good ones.
- I really wish there was more of an outdoor/adventure part of scouts beside just a summer camp.
- I would LOVE to see more focus on outdoors and outdoor skills for the girls. After a week in school, the last thing my middle school girls want to do is sit around - listening to a speaker, reviewing badge requirements, researching things, etc. They want to get out ... run around ... learn about nature ... etc. For this reason, we have all but abandoned the badges and simply do as much outside as we are able to.
- Thank you for taking this on and advocating for more OUTdoors in ScOUTing. *smile*
- Should go back to offering traditional outdoor badges like troop camping, outdoor camper, outdoor cooking, hiking, etc. and the girls would get involved in using the camp facilities to accomplish those badges
- Since GSUSA has changed the terms of service awards not being allowed to be used to sustain GS properties or it's community, I feel our camps have been pushed aside. Many leaders and girls that I have spoken to want to do things for their camps but are told that it won't count toward their award and they are so busy that they have to choose what to focus on. That's where we fall to the wayside. I also found out that council had Boy Scouts come and set up our tents at Stoneybrook......why? Can't a girl scout do it?
- It seems there is an inconsistency of support offered to the various service units in our Council. I think it is a direct correlation to the staff members who oversee the service units.
- GSUSA, use your resources wisely. Do not forget why Juliette Low founded this organization: to give girls opportunities. "Juliette brought girls of all backgrounds into the out-of-doors, giving them the opportunity to develop self-reliance and resourcefulness." Present day Girl Scouts organization is forgetting where it's heart should be. Stop focusing on the money, this is not a corporation. We are a NON-PROFIT organization and our focus should be on giving girls opportunities, and exposing them to experiences that they could not otherwise have access to: camping, archery, canoeing, horseback riding, travel. These girls pay a membership, pay for uniforms, pay for badges that they "earn", work hard selling products twice a year, so they should not need to be paying hundreds of dollars for a few days of camp. GSUSA needs to be less greedy and offer more scholarships nationwide, instead of paying high salaries to it's executives. When they cash their 6 digit paychecks, GSUSA executives chose to forget that Juliette Low was so dedicated to this group that she sold a strand of rare matched pearls for $8,000 to pay for operations in the beginning.
- I have been a leader for 15+ years, this is my second troop and it seems that Girl Scouts as a whole have forgotten that it is about the girls and giving them an experience that they DO NOT get in school, at home, etc. taking them outside their box. The skills that you learn outside will be far more used in adulthood than those from and "indoor" badge. An example when we had a 3 day outage of power this past Feb. my daughter was the one starting the fire in the fireplace and making food over the fire real meals not just s'mores.
- Stop selling camps and make events easier to attend.
- The outdoor aspect of GS is one the keys to Girl Scouting!! It is where one sees the most growth in leadership and self esteem
- GS selling off camps is crazy & it needs to stop!
- I think this is such a great Good Deed to do for Girl Scouting. I can't wait to hear other comments. Thank you so much for doing this. I know it must take a lot of time and dedication.
- I became me because of my early experiences at camps. I learned leadership, skills, gained lifelong friends, and still use the things I learned in my teaching career. I became a Brownie Scout in 1956, earned my Curved Bar in 1962, have lead every level, held every Service Unit position, been a trainer and a trainer of trainers,and am a Lifetime GS. I am truly disappointed in the program now and saddened deeply.
- I was taken aback to learn that the council plans NO program-related events of its own, but rather farms out the girls to other nonprofits, who then collect the fees parents pay for the event. Shouldn't Girl Scouts as an organization have expertise of its own to offer its members? That said, the volunteer training I attended was very good. My plan at that time was to start a Spanish-language GS troop but now I'm trying to rethink that considering the program situation.
- While I am not in love with what GSCM is doing or has done .... I then read what is going in in ther councils on Facebook and .... we are SO lucky here. Also I am not thrilled with the direction of the National program so it is the CAMPS that keep me in GS and not jumping ship to frontier girls or .... so if GS wants to keep me and other adults like me and girls like my daughter they HAVE to keep their camps and start to wake up and bring back an outdoor focus to their program. Outdoor skills for girls is what makes GS special and different from all the other youth groups out there.
- My bigger concern about outdoor skills is with the badges - I would like a clear pathway through different levels of outdoor skills. What knife skills to teach at what levels, how do we know they have passed that level. Separate knot tying levels.
- PLEASE return to the basics of Girl Scouting. The 5 Worlds really helped have a well rounded program. I've been a leader or asst leader since 1981. My granddaughter refused to become a lifetime member when she graduated (2013) last year because of the latest program changes. She had endured 3 (not counting Studio 3g) program changes in the 13 years she was in GS! My 16 year old granddaughter would rather not be enrolled anymore and refuses to do a gold award project because of the new regulations. It's just not a good program right now!
- Council needs to stop hiring people that don't know anything about Girl Scouts.
- There are many here who do enjoy the out of doors. We just need the cost to reasonable, the programming to be reasonable and then we can make it happen for the girls. I think having a "family" camp 1-2 times per year would help make camp more profitable, Renting it out to the organizations that want it would help. Letting girls come onsite to do service at camp to help upkeep it would be great. Perhaps you can camp for free if you are doing service? The leaders and girls have a lot of great ideas, but sadly council has a deaf ear and blind eye on this topic.
- Thank you
- The Girl Scouts are moving in the direction of big business and technology, but not being taught basic outdoor skills. There are too many restrictions put on them.. In event of terrorist actions or natural catastrophe, how will these girls survive?
- I went to the council office because I wanted to start a Junior troop for Spanish-speaking girls, but received little guidance. And no encouragement. I went to the council office to offer to organize a STEM weekend at the camp to help girls prepare for the SAT exams, but was gently informed that the council did not originate any programming, but rather contracted with other organizations to provide it. the girls then paid their fees to the providing entity. On the other hand, I have received nothing but kindness and courtesy at the council office.
- My girls & I would love to see more outdoor badges & outdoor Journey's
- Drop the financial literacy and STEM stuff. The kids get this in school. They want to do things in scouting that they cannot get in school - camping, fishing, archery, winter sports, etc. The journeys are awful - they feel like school for the girls and the leaders. They are hard to follow, unlike badges. We do the bare minimum on the journeys because we have to do them, but spend time focusing on what the girls want to do - get outside, be of service, nurture friendships.
- Do not sell camp timber trails. Use it more. It is awesome
- This controversy has really divided the council between its members and I guess the council staff at the upper leadership levels and I am not sure who to say that exactly is. This leaves the council staff that actually works with the volunteers in an unfair position. Support the wishes of their job or support the membership they were hired to support. It has caused distrust and that makes me sad to know that happens in a Girl Scout setting. There is reason for the distrust since I don't think the council has not been forthcoming about this issue and I feel misled about various decisions and things listed as "facts" that are either not true/not facts or just statistics used in a way that bends the results. 2) Camps were well utilized not that long ago. Getting air conditioning is not going to be a magic solution. Fixing the program to bring the girls back is what needs to be done before any major expansion. Bigger/more modern means more expensive to maintain and maintenance is one reason they want to sell. This does not make sense. Also our council built two great offices and it is great that staff have nice places to work and volunteers to shop/do business at but not at the expense of the camps. Many more volunteers will end up at a camp at some point than an office. Some leaders will never step foot into an office but at least in the area I live in most end up at camp at some point. That is as long as our closest camp remains. Once camp is 4 hours away that will likely change to zero as well.
- I'm an inactive volunteer because I'm one of several Persona Non Grata in my Council. We had the audacity to speak our minds on issues confronting our Council when "The Powers That Be" didn't like what we had to say. We have either been removed from our volunteer positions as Trainers ( Troop Leader, Outdoor, Girl Scout Astronomer, etc.), or decided to lay low for a while, depending on who you ask. I'm very frustrated with my Council. They are wasting valuable resources by not using us. We are well-trained and available. What do we do now?
- Please do not close Camp Kittamaqund! We LOVE Camp Kitty!
- I have been in O-Fair Winds Council as a scout, and camp counselor years ago. I worked in summer city day camp in the mid 70s in Michigan Trails Council, worked oversees as a leader and mother in China, and as a camp counselor and parent in San Jacinto council. I have been in scouting for 54 years.
- CPR training is very expensive and should be offered closer to my service unit.
- As parents/families incur more hectic schedules, it would be a huge help to leaders to have a list of prepared ideas for meetings & journeys. Leaders need the process to be more simple and more interactive. We've found that our girls think the new revised badge & journey books are boring ( too much talking time, not enough doing time). Our girls love interactive tasks for badges, not discussion. And as a leader, I'd love love to see a curriculum that includes a long list of ideas, crafts, activities. I'm feeling like I'm trying to "reinvent the wheel" at every meeting. Also, you may want to audit/explore the Middle Tennessee Council. Seems like there is too much internal dysfunction and not enough focus on great benefits for the girls and assistance for leaders. Thank you for the opportunity to give feedback.
- Council should hire someone who has been a girl scout and/or a girl scout volunteer. People who have been in the position understand much much more than people who do not understand scouting or the organization.
- I feel that the council leadership is more focused on making money than offering good program for the girls. There is a complete lack of consistency in their answers to concerns - and those concerns are often not addressed at all. How about we worry less about the retirement fund and more about keeping girls involved in positive programs?
- I find that as our council has become more business-minded, the programming and people-oriented sides have suffered. Everything is focused on how mush it will cost instead of how much benefit it will provide to the girls.
- I and my fellow leaders have worked hard to save our camp. It's a continuing battle and constant effort. Our camp was given to the girls of our community but with council mergers and re-alignment, the day to day policy development and planning has been taken away from our control. I often do not feel that they have the best interest of the girls in our community and struggle with trust when it has been damaged so many times.
- Thanks for putting this all together!
- SAFETY AND DISTANCE FOR TROOP CAMPING IS A TOP PRIORITY. COST IS ALSO TOP. LEAVING ON FRI NIGHT TO GET TO CAMP AFTER SCHOOL AND RETURNING SUN. MID DAY WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR GIRLS EXPERIENCE. I WAS A LEADER WELL PAST MY OWN DAUGHTERS DURATION. ALL THE GIRLS I STILL TALK TO, SAY THEIR GIRL SCOUT HIGHLIGHT WAS CAMPING. DISTANCE WOULD CURTAIL THE EXPERIENCE. GIRL SCOUT FENCED CAMPS PROVIDED SAFETY, AT LEAST IN OUR AREA. I WOULD DRIVE SOME GIRLS TO CAMP, BUT, NOT HOME. I WAS TOO TIRED BY THEN. SO, DISTANCE PLAYS A PART FOR LEADERS ALSO. IT WOULD PAY TO FIND A PARTNER TO KEEP THE CAMPS OPEN. MAYBE A PARK SYSTEM IN THE AREA. CAMPING WAS A VALUABLE ASSET AND DIFFERENT SELF-ENHANCING EXPERIENCE THE GIRLS DID NOT USUALLY GET FROM HOME. EVEN WET, RAINY WEEKENDS IN TENTS BROUGHT OUT THE SPARKLE, SLIPPING AND SLIDING IN AN OTHERWISE CRABBY WEEKEND. I WOULD SAY PLANNING, INDEPENDENCE, LEARNING AND SELF WORTH WERE GREAT OUTCOMES OF OUR CAMPING TRIPS. THE GIRLS WERE SAFE. LOVED IT AND STILL TALK ABOUT IT. ONE MORE GREAT OUTCOME IS THE FRIENDSHIPS THAT COME FROM SCOUTING. I KNOW MANY OF OUR GIRLS FORGED FRIENDSHIPS THAT STILL ENDURE TODAY. I JUST WENT TO ONE OF MY SCOUT'S MOM'S FUNERAL TO FIND THREE OF MY GIRLS ARE STILL THE BEST OF FRIENDS. PROVIDING A FRIEND WHO SUPPORTS YOU THROUGH LIFE SEEMS LIKE A GOOD INVESTMENT. SCHOOL SUPPLIES GREAT PATHS FOR A FEW BRIGHT CHILDREN, SCOUTING PROVIDES AVENUES FOR MORE TO ACHIEVE IN A DIFFERENT VENUE EQUALLY AS ENRICHING.
- Thank you for all you are doing.
- Thank you for compiling this information!
- I am absolutely HEARTBROKEN over the mess that is the current state of Girl Scouts. I have been defending Girl Scouts for YEARS. I am finding more and more that I am unable to defend it.
- While I'm all for more camping and associated badge work I am also for getting back to the "old way". Girls should be offered a large selection of badges to work on. In the old days there were all sorts of things they could work on including sewing & baking as well as hiking and swimming. All girls are not the same. They should choose what to work towards. Remember... Girl Led.
- My girls love to camp but we are having to find opportunities outside of our council. We either can't get a place at our closet camp or we have to travel hours away. We have gone to a neighboring council to camp (we are on the border of 2 councils) which was great. Lots more to do there. We've done state park camping and recently rented a cabin at a local farm. Of course the paperwork to get permission to do these things is crazy ridiculous. I'm willing to do it because my girls love it. But others aren't willing so their girls don't camp except once a year at our Community Camporee.
- More outdoor badges, please!
- None of this addresses REAL camping. I consider real camping to be going out to a campground with tents or out backpacking. Not going to a camp with bunkhouses and prepared activities.
- Nationwide sell off of camps reflects poor advertising and outreach. We have thousands of kids in this country who need outdoor time and exposure to nature, and parents who would love to get their kids away from screens. Why is this not happening? When I was a kid we used to go around to troops and do a camp slide show.
- There needs to be SERIOUS changes made COUNCIL WIDE or Girl Scots is going to slowly fade away.
- The GSCNC has too many girls, too many great leaders and too many opportunities to change lives to slack off, let up or put outdoor events on the back burner. Get back to basics. Get back to supporting your Troops. Ask one single question, is the GSCNC doing the work that Juliette Gordon Low set about doing? She wanted the girls to experience the outdoors. We need to reevaluate our mission, our focus, our direction.
- The paid people in my council are only interested in growing their numbers through the "Lunch Bunch" program - which only promotes Girl Scout Lite crafting, and does nothing to promote the real possibilities in Girl Scouting, and cannibalizes our ability to retain girls in scouting beyond K-4, as there is no motivation to place these girls in a real troop. To add insult to injury, the summer "free" program (4 Wednesdays at GS Day Camp) is open to all girls, regardless of whether they are in Girl Scouting, or have any financial need. Because the busing is 1 stop, the only way the most underprivileged of my troop could go was if *I* drove her (my kid was in other activities) - this was a kid who had enthusiastically participated in our troop and all sales, in spite of her home situation. Shouldn't the kid get rewarded more than a non-Girl Scout from a 6-figure 2 parent household? But no, we raise money so that non-Girl Scouts get benefits.
- So much to say...When I started my troop 8 years ago, it was just before the Council merge and what a fiasco that was. Our new council is half the state of Pennsylvania and includes a lot of rural areas (like mine). I am located almost dead center in the new council, right off a major highway. We had an office and a shop right off the exit. Council deemed them too expensive and unnecessary so they closed them. We now have a huge hole in the middle of our council and we are often lost as the attention is given to the more urban areas. Our Membership Manager is expected to take care of her area while using her car as an office. Her area is rather widespread and can be difficult to get around - especially in the winter. She works very hard and we appreciate all she does - but it is not an easy job. The council is just too big. 2) The Journeys have scared away girls. When my older daughter was a Cadette and we were doing the Amaze (I think) Journey and the group was reading some of it out loud and the topic was stereotyping, but daughter says "why are they stereotyping the way they think we talk?" Doesn't that say something?! They are workbooks on topics that they already discuss in school. Not that the topics aren't important, they are...they just don't come to scouts to be beat over the head with them. 3) STEM - Really, it needs to be STEAM. Period. The girls are also being hit with that at school - when they come to scouts they want to try something new. For years the first question I usually get is "what craft are we doing today". The girls I have had usually need that creative outlet and the best part? While they are working on their activity they have some of the best discussions. Getting the science, math, etc organically through creative and exploratory ways are much more effective. 4) Leadership - We can not make every girl a leader and we should stop promoting that, in my opinion. When I was a girl scout, I was NOT the leader type...but I grew into it :). The leaders will rise and the girls that follow and contribute are just as valuable. They can' t all be leaders. It is about teamwork and cooperation - that is the bigger message. 5) Badges - they tell the girls they can do anything...but then limit the number of badges. There are many badges we can't do in a meeting setting or our immediate surroundings. We can't find experts on every subject. Several badges require "homework" and they girls - especially the older ones, have enough of that. The badges that require computer time? Unless there is a special event they can go to to earn that badge, I don't want them just sitting in front of the computer. Don't even get me started on the Cadette Babysitter badge. "Find a toy inventor" "Visit a toystore" In rural Pennsylvana? HA! So, yes, we have the ability to alter the Journeys and Badges, but that takes time and, often, research. Something that can wear us down and stress us out long before we get to a meeting. But once we get there, we want to make sure the girls enjoy the experience. Our council actually told us, in the earlier days of the Journeys, that we just "weren't making it fun enough". Yes, I got to express my thoughts on that at a Town Hall in front of the Council President. Politely, but with emphasis. 6) I'll just finish with the hope that they will finally start listening to the girls.
- My daughter took the survey about camping years ago. She showed me some of the questions and many were referring to the use of air conditioning. It is obvious that given the choice many girls would like this, but it's GIRL SCOUT CAMP! How much time are you really spending indoors during an outdoor program? Is it hot in the summer? Yes, but keeping the camps open without this expensive option is still a viable solution. They will survive, as generations of girls before them.
- http://www.girlscoutseasternmass.org/aboutus/property-planning.html
- There are many opportunities to improve the process of scheduling outdoor activities at every level inside the council. I would love to help solve these problems. I appears the feedback and offers to help from me and my fellow volunteers in the 901 service unit have fallen on uninterested ears and the frustration is really growing.
- Council should learn to communicate very plainly. I had signed my troop up for a council event and they cancelled it 5 days before the event. And during the 5 days before the scheduled event I heard three difference reason why the event was cancelled. That makes me wonder what the reason was. 2) Council needs to offer a First Aid/CPR Course to all Leaders if even at a cost. That training should not be left to the Service Units. The Service Unit Manager is a volunteer and does not have time to coordinate this course especially when all outdoor and regular events require and a troop trained First Aid/CPR registered adult. Where are Council employees are paid and there should a person assigned to this training.
- I wish our council was on top of things like I have heard about from other councils..... Having some help for leaders would be great..
- The lack of an outdoor focus is one of GSUSAs major flaws. The lack of troop and leader support is a bigger issue that makes me eager for the time my girls are old enough to join Venture Scouts. Parents of Boy Scouts can see how much better the BSA troop model is and the real leadership opportunities it provides.
- I have been in scouting in this SU for about 25 years. Our SU has some amazing ladies running the show! They are one reason why I have not quit scouting. I love camping and I serve as the SU camp consultant along with the SU manager and another woman who does not have children and is a reserve member of the US Armed Forces - maybe Air Force? thanks for asking!
- Council needs to remember we are VOLUNTEERS. And don't receive any pay for what we do and most of the items we buy. This is not our job, we do this while we juggle a job, family, other sibling activities and we probably don't dedicate as much time as a paid employee.
- Thank you for taking the time to listen to our concerns. We are lovers of the outdoors and wish to let the girls know what they are missing. My troop is very fortunate and try to run outdoor events for the girls that don't have the opportunities.
- I would love to see activities that involve parents. Unless you are a volunteer, you are asked to drop child off. This makes me uncomfortable and unsure on what is expected of my daughter.
- When I see retired badges sold on the internet, leaders go for the outdoors badges most. We need to do more to get the girls outside and learning, especially in a society where people spend the majority of the day inside. Learning about nature, animals, outdoor survival, skills, caring for the environment, etc...we need badges at all levels. Not just hiker at brownie, camper at junior, etc. Brownies want to camp, Juniors like to hike...badges help leaders plan the activities, the girls have a goal, and they are rewarded by what they learned and earning the badge.
- I love volunteering but some of the respect we receive from parents is not there. They don't understand I don't get paid and I also have other children and have a full time job. I do this for the girls if I can make a difference in one girl it will make the rest worthwhile.
- We appreciate your efforts in continuing to support outdoors in Girl Scouts.
- I am extremely bothered that I cannot find a new troop for my daughter. The idea that troops are able to put a limit on the number of girls vexes me. Why would we deny girls the opportunity to participate? I have spoken to the parents in some of these troops - they simply want to keep their numbers small, it has nothing to do with lack of volunteers. Disappointing that the national organization allows this. We are considering American Heritage Girls because of our poor experience with Girl Scouts. The only fun we have had was at a campout a few weeks ago that did not involve anyone from our troop.
- It is disappointing that Girl Scouts has not made arrangements with American Red Cross to become an authorized provider of CPR, AED, and First Aid training so that individual Red Cross-certified instructors can give troop leaders much-needed safety training (as suggested in Safety Wise) at a reasonable cost. ARC in recent years changed its program so that individual instructors must teach under the aegis of an authorized provider rather than as independent providers. By refusing to sign papers to be an authorized provider, Girl Scouts essentially makes it harder for troop leaders to get proper training!
- I really feel that the Journeys should be let go. I feel like the reading level is way too high for many of the girls and the stories are so long that the girls get lost in the story and miss the point that is trying to be made. Plus, many of the girls feel like the books make it feel like they are doing more school work/homework as opposed to having an experience that they can't have at school.
- More outdoor badges in a wide variety of activities are necessary!
- We have some significant issues with the facilities at some of the camps, including closed buildings.
- I think a lot of the problem is lack of girl interest in non-frilly outdoor experiences. I don't know how to fix this. Council used to run an outdoor skills competition for cadette and senior girls, but they stopped and a service unit picked up the event. It is now basically a council-wide event, but planned and run by service unit volunteers. It is a very fun event and I wish the council directly sponsored more events like it, as well as opportunities for troops to go camping with leadership other than their leaders. Leaders are great, but I've often seen that many are women with little outdoor experience who feel nervous and unprepared taking their girls camping. I wish there was a way for council staff or someone to help take troops camping, not just train leaders, because training has a hard time taking the place of experience and ease in the outdoors. When the girls see their leaders being uncomfortable, nervous, or grossed-out by the outdoors, it diminishes their enthusiasm for it. ALSO I have answered most of these questions for GSWW, not GSOSW. IN ADDITION, I have worked for a council "camp"--for lack a better word--run by GS of Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines that takes troops and individually registered girls and adults into the Boundary Waters on multi-day canoe trips. Called the Northern Lakes Canoe Base, it is the best GS outdoor program I have ever participated in or heard of, and I (and everyone connected to it) desperately wishes it were a national program instead of just a council program. That way it would be known outside its own small council, and could come closer to being as well-used as the BSA National High Adventure Base just down the lake, which is ten times its size. The canoe base gives girls wilderness experiences, real camping skills, and the challenges of difficult canoeing and portaging. Please help publicize the base. In my opinion, it is the best example of what Girls Scouts can be.
- Offer more for the girls...offer training and events for leaders with enough notice...
- GSUSA needs to quit running their program as if it's an extension of school- girls should be able to learn about things that they can't already learn in class. That, and they spend enough time sitting and fidgeting as it is already any given weekday. Kids aren't outside enough as it is already and already too plugged in all the damn time; how can we expect future generations to protect and serve as environmental stewards and how to appreciate being disconnected if they've never been shown how to appropriately do so??? Right now, it seems your focus is to enable the traits that we as adults admonish ourselves for daily. Let's let kids be kids, electronics be for classroom learning and home use, and let's all take a big step outside without anything but basic supplies and responsible grownups to make sure we only get into appropriate shenanigans. Just think, girls would learn to be prepared, listen, look, breathe, discover, meander, entertain themselves, the value of teamwork, be creative, use critical problem solving skills, use interpersonal communication skills, try new things, to champion others, to feel good about their own accomplishments, respect Mother Nature, respect themselves (maybe even respect adults in the process), be independent, make new friends; keep the old, sing, be silly, learn skills they couldn't learn elsewhere, test boundaries safely, have fun, leave a place better than they found it, and want to do it all over again. Everything we spend time with is a quadrangle these days it seems; TVs, cell phones, computer screens, MP3 players, smart boards, chalkboards, cameras, DVD players, dry erase boards, mirrors, calculators, even paper. In a world of rectangles, how lovely would it be to know that Girl Scouts develops girls into not just squares, but into well-rounded young women?
- Get rid of the journeys! That is the number one reason girls quit Scouting - boredom! As a leader I have to invest triple the time to make the journeys and new badges palatable. They truly are horrid.
- I moved last school year to a new council. For me none of my GS training transferred, my Red Cross did.
- Give us a reason to go to troop camping - even if it's loosely based on resident camp themes.... having us plan it is not in our schedule. 1-2 meeting is it... we'd be better choosing a theme, then prepping our menues and showing up with workshops and other camp skills related programs pre-planned.
- I love that there are so many people with the same goal of bringing the outdoors back to Girl Scouts. I think my council does a great job with their properties and outdoor program offerings. I hope that other Girl Scouts across the country can get the same opportunities we have here in Eastern Massachusetts.
- I started our troop in the first grade 9 years ago now, and I started it because I was told by a paid Girl Scouts staff member, that there was no troop for my daughter to join, and that I must start up a troop if I wanted my daughter to have this experience. (I found later that this was untrue.) She then pushed another woman upon me to be my co-leader. We were asked to submit applications for background checks, but my references told me that they were never contacted. The other co-leader's background was obviously never checked. She stole a significant portion of the cookie money, and when I contacted the woman at council (who I believe is no longer there), instead of being supportive, she blamed me. Our family reimbursed the troop for the missing cookie money, so that the scandal would not traumatize our first graders. I also requested that the co-leader be removed from her position of leadership, and since I felt this woman was dangerous, I wanted to step down as well, so that she didn't suspect that I was the person who requested that she be removed. The council was absolutely negligent and unsupportive throughout the entire experience. We are Girl Scouts because it's a platform for opportunity for our girls. We have our program center to have meetings. We can meet with other Girl Scouts and share experiences. If it weren't for the properties and the volunteers, we wouldn't be involved in Girl Scouts. We find the paid leadership to be poor in our local area, and the volunteers to be amazingly generous with their time and talent -- especially a wonderful woman named (name removed) in the (name removed) Service Unit.
- When told my scouts about the idling of the camp, all of them were upset. My oldest scouts said that camping is the best thing about scouts and the one part of scouts they really loved.
- There should be far more emphasis on camping skills than on cookie sales. All my daughter's troop does is sell cookies and fall product. I don't think this develops leadership skills.
- I have no clue to any of these questions since Small Towns never brought up such things. I am disgusted by the change in the GSUSA since my tenure and am appalled by the continued participation by what is killing girls in record numbers with Planned Parenthood and the Big Sister business with women who extol abortion as the highest virtue for girls. Regardless of what happens on the Troop level, they ALL get hit by what is decided by the National Office, regardless of what is said in News Releases. Cut out the Liberal/ Pro Choice and other messes that have parents and Alumni up in arms and quit thinking that things will get better as they go along, cause they won't. Ms. Gordon Low did not make the Girl Scouts to be what its turned into, especially in taking out God, while still thinking that her ways will still work on the current idea of how to make everyone happy. No one is ever happy, no matter the decisions made to get people off of their back of including everyone. It is GIRL SCOUTS. Not Boys. Things will have to change to keep it going, cause otherwise, the Future is not bright for anyone, but Dark. It will be a very bad day when and if it has to shut down, and by the way things look, that could be soon in coming. What have you done to my Girl Scouts, and why are you so surprised by it all? Quit thinking about only Dollar Signs and start thinking about People. We're human beings, not the Bottom Line to some Abortion Mill or Liberal Think Tank spokesperson. I am still proud to have been a Girl Scout, but not what it is now. How can that be made anymore clear by the others for you that are now speaking out?
- When you bring a younger audience to camp (daisy brownie) and bring them more frequently, they will become more comfortable at camp more quickly. When girls have a great time at camp and parents receive great customer service, kids ask to go back and parents will pay for another positive experience. When you make training options more frequent, or give incentives like free babysitting or free council program or service unit incentive, you will see more service units promoting outdoor training and more volunteers getting certified, to get kids to camp.
- In general, Council properties should offer group tent camping sites so the girls can really rough it at an affordable price, at Council properties.
- Please let these girls get outside. The Daisy journeys are saccharine sweet and jumpy--okay, seeds! Now tell me your feelings! WTF? The girls who don't do as well in school have trouble with the journeys, and need some outdoor things to develop their own talents and gifts. Honestly, not sure I would have registered my daughter to become a leader if I'd known about this big shift that started a year before we did. So we mostly ignore that and just do the minimum and get outside!
- Our CSM, (name removed) is a joke and she makes council look bad. My neighborhood is her ONLY neighborhood to manage. I have called her 8-10 times over the past 2 years and she has NEVER phoned me back. She has started to come to monthly neighborhood meetings (most of the time) but she is only there to regurgitate council info that can be found on the website. Ask her for any additional info and she says "I don't know." When I speak to her in person, she never has an answer and tells me she will let me know. NEVER has she followed thru. Our neighborhood service team (whom aren't getting paid) can answer questions about council activities before she can. She has no personality with her volunteers and has no interest in getting to know anyone. I would bet $ that if she were asked by her boss to name 3+ volunteers in her neighborhood, she wouldn't be able to do it. It's disappointing to know that our girls hard earned $ is paying her salary to do NOTHING for the volunteers or the girls.
- Camporees are an important component of scouting where the girls can interact with other troops. Not enough Camporees are offered by our council, it is left to SU. These events are always disorganized and oversold/sold out. We are told we can’t even bring both leaders, their is not enough space for the campers, we have to share space with other troops (site is not designed for this, like not enough tables etc.). We have to bring a lot of gear but the sites require us to haul it from the road (not drive up and dump gear). The programs are frequently inadequate, inappropriate and do not provide opportunities for the troops to do anything together except compete against each other.
- Please consider doing a survey on why volunteers do what they do, how they are treated by council staff, service units, if they feel their voices are heard, etc. I know you did one that did touch on it but maybe just exclusively on volunteers.
- I am a woman and former girl scout. I have fond memories of my time in scouts. I am all for empowerment and equality but I think the girl scout mandate has strayed too far away from what was originally intended. The idea of girl scouts (as I always understood it) was to offer girls unique opportunities that other girls wouldn't get. Being outdoors, camping, being self sufficient in any circumstance and being helpful. The message today seems to be about "empowerment" and more loosely equality and their is a huge focus on raising money. By next year I expect to start losing girls to the BSA (including my own which is when I will move on) venturing program because who wants to stick around and figure out a muddled and poorly conceived journey program? If you have to invest time and money to heavily modify the girl scout program to make it remotely interesting for the girls, what is the point of the girl scout program at all? I am having trouble seeing the value anymore
- I reading some peoples comments online, I feel that perhaps GSWPA does "the outdoors" better than some other councils. Their biggest problem, I think, is getting out information about their events and some fill months in advance.
- I think a lot of councils could learn from the way GSOSW handles outdoor training and program. One of our training resources: http://girlscoutsosw.org/Files/OnlineTraining/GS_Outdoor_Resource_Guide_GOTM.pdf
- Older girls are being ignored. That is why they quit. We need better badges and programming options. I just had a 9th grader's mom tell her she couldn't join my troop because scouts is for little girls.
- We are closing camps and trying to sell as many as possible for several reasons. Camps are not fully utilized and take a disproportionate amount of money to operate compared to number of girls who use them. With realignment, we had 8 camp properties and 5 offices to support.
- I like to camp, my girls in my 3 troops like to camp. Camping inspires them to respect nature and their environment, learn more about it. Camping helps the girls with courage, confidence and to be a team partner -to discover themselves - connect with the world and nature and their fellow girl scouts and most importantly be confident that they can do things they did not know about or feel that they could ever do. Take action - to make the world a better place - because of what they have learned about themselves,nature and their surroundings and each other. To be "sisters" to every girl scout! To be an asset to their GS community and civic communities.
- I am the leader of my daughter Junior Troop My son is a boy scout, and I assist with some activities and a merit badge counselor. I can't help compare what the BSA offers for older boys (middle and high school) in terms of programming, rank advancement, leadership skills, achievement levels, outdoor experiences, and what GSUSA does not. I am concerned that as my troop's girls age, it will not hold their interest. I am excited that the this FB group and GS USA is taking a look at the issues, but I am honestly not holding my breath. It may be too little and too late for my troop. I plan to look at Girl Guide USA, Frontier Girls, and BSA to get ideas for curriculum, and hope to connect with another troop (older girls) to make a "BSA" like troop. This will take a ton of energy and time on my part, and hope that I will be able to sustain it to support the girls in our area until a more suitable format emerges. I did an interest survey at the beginning of the year with the girls, and outdoor sills, camping, and awards ranked very highly with the girls.
- All-in-all, council has been relying WAY too heavily on volunteers to staff all council sponsored programs. Volunteers (who btw volunteer for EVERYTHING community based, as is) are ALREADY stretched beyond normal human limits. It is ridiculous the number of times I had to be there to ensure that a council program happens--can't they staff their OWN programs??? In fairness, the council staffers are WAY over booked themselves with events. I don't know why they work there--they probably don't make much or have much of a personal life. I'm not too keen on this council consolidation for the Midwest. It didn't work well here.
- I am abhorred at the decline of the Council in the past 7 years since I became a leader. The quality of board members, staff, & especially the CEO has fallen significantly, and it reflects in the membership as half of the girl and adult membership quit Girl Scouts under the previous CEO who is now on staff at GSUSA to train CEOs.
- I am planning to travel 4 hours to a GS camp next year with my Troop of D-C and we want to visit several more. I hope they don't close. These were some of my best memories growing up
- I think the Girl Scouts are becoming more of a corporation than a non profit, every time I ask about changes the answer I get is oh that's what the girls wanted and this is a girl let org. bunch of Bull.
- They are seen as something to make a profit off of rather than to enrich the girls' experiences. I understand the need for both, but one is certainly more important than the others. We simply wanted to borrow a bridge at camp for an hour and were told we would need to pay a $100 deposit (which takes a long time to be returned) as well as pay about $30 to rent the unit. Before the realignment, troops were allowed to camp for free and we would camp several times a year. Now we are lucky if we can go once a year.
- I'm a die-hard camper with 16 years of GS camp experience. It kills me to see the tremendous neglect our camps receive. They're beautiful & can host much more than we're giving them. Our program department chooses to spend a lot of time generating "glitter & glue," princess programs. Low enrollments and mass cancellations show our girls do not want that, they want programs with substance; leadership skills, team building, adventure sports, archery, kayaking, ACTIVE activities! We have the resources! We just need to USE them!
- Thank you for doing this. :)
- I really hope there is something that can be done because Girl Scouting has really lost its way.
- Save Our Girl Scout Camps!! Please!
- I don't like the Journeys. I am not a science teacher - I am a Girl Scout leader.
- i am not a camper but strongly support those leaders and troops who do! My daughter attended Summer Round Up for 8 years. I want others to have the same opportunities.
- I like the outdoor badge/journey movement - but wish we didn't have to choose between the three categories (I realize this might not be you doing it.) I think all of the categories should be covered by badges.
- We need our camps...I think the councils should help support the camps. We have been threatened with closing camps if we do not use them but then we are charged more than our troop can afford. It is forced to go to neighboring GS councils to camp. The camps are closed during the winter to save on heat etc but this is when troops have the best chance to use the camps!! Catch 22!! I love the idea of councils moving their offices from expensive buildings to their camps!! More visibility equals more usage!!
- Camp Innisfree, a beautiful facility as part of Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan in Howell, Michigan is soon to be idled. This camp has been such a wonderful place for hundreds of girls and their families for many years. My hope is one day this camp will be able to reopen. Thank you.
- I wasn't happy with the studio2b program and I'm not overly happy with the Journey program either. I didn't like the fact that the majority of the outdoor patches were removed. I was really shocked by it. I keep thinking about my son's Boy Scout experience and his achievement of his Eagle Rank. There is a clear path to be able to achieve this rank. In Girl Scouts there hasn't been a clear process to the achieving of the Gold Award. Each girl's Gold Award process is different. Each boy has to earn the same 21 badges but GS don't do this. Maybe GSUSA needs to look toward BSA and develop a clear program to the achievement of Gold.
- Sorry I could not answer some of this I'm not in the loop anymore, Like I use to be.I just know scouts isn't what it use to be and that is so sad, like some of the improvements but not all.
- Access to council owned outdoor properties is crucial to Girl Scouting ! Please remember that. We NEED our camps!
- Thank you for giving voice to the concerns of outdoor supporters. Girls need nature. Nature needs girls.
- I could go on and on but you have heard it before. We don't get enough support from local council, but I know this is because they do not get support from state and national. We need more mini camps! Off site camps using existing accommodations and resources. If council wants more volunteer run camps then SUPPORT US!!!!! Girls DO love to camp! We have to introduce some of them young so they get the hang of it, but we have to keep this a major part of Girl Scouting or the enrollments will just keep going down!
- I love the outdoors and teach scouts the things that relate to the outdoors I loved it as girl and as leader. G.S 43 Years
- No more selling camps! Keep Camp Misty Hollow!
- I really think GSUSA needs to commission a "best practices" type of study to see which Councils have thriving camp properties and figure out why. Then they need to share that information with Councils that are struggling. Some of our Councils have FULL camps! We need to figure out how they're succeeding and try to replicate it in other areas.
- Need more frequent training an encouragement to volunteers to make outdoor events more appealing.
- This survey would have been more user friendly if we could have chosen the topics we knew about and been able to share more.
- Get rid of journeys! Girls like a variety badges.
- The spirit of scouting cannot be squelched. I hope and pray that the recent camp sales and the desire to re brand and re invent GS will be looked at with a discerning lens. This is not what Baden Powell and Juliette Gordon Low had in mind. Camp is where you learn how to be a leader- you cannot teach that- you have to experience it. Scouting is a game with a purpose. I will always hold my childhood and adult scouting experience dear to my heart.
- I think our council is very badly run and MANY leaders are talking about walking away from this organization. New leaders aren't trained properly, there are no programs for the older girls, council is just all about getting registration money from people without any concern at all for placing their girls into troops. There was a rally held last night for our area and the council person said none of the volunteers were allowed to run it because we hadn't been "trained" in how to recruit, even though most of the leaders who helped her last night have been leaders for 10 or more years and have done recruitment on our own in the past. She did a power point program for the new parents about GS and kept them there for over 2 hours talking about the program and trying to convince them to give her registration money without knowing if they would get into a troop. We KNOW this is not the way to run a rally. Parents don't want to sit there for 2 hours. And afterward, she said that all the leaders there are now considered "trained" to do recruitment since they watched how she did it. None of us will EVER do recruitment like she did it last night.
- Thanks for asking for input! Wish you reached out to the field more often.
- Thank you for taking time on this process
- I love girl scouting. I am very active as a leader, organizer, trainer, and event planner. I would love to see the outdoor element brought back. My girls love the science activities, I do too, but they shouldn't totally replace the outdoor elements of scouting! I wish my council would offer things that they used to. They had an amazing assortment of parachutes, leather working tools, dutch ovens, solar cookers, outdoor games, etc for service units to rent for outdoor game days and camporee's. They don't have it anymore. Very sad. The activities are far away, also sad. Many times the activities are more than $50 per girl, that prices out too many kids. Then they wonder why the activities aren't filling.
- Bring back our camps. If the programs are available, children will come.
- Give more responsibility to the volunteers. It worked before...
- I believe that are council needs to have more training accessible for leaders here in Southern Maryland. Also, so many events for girls & leaders for our council seem to take place outside of our area...at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours away.
- i wish there were funds to help establish new troops. I feel a cost burden on us and the girls and they miss out on events because they lack the money after purchasing uniforms and supplies.
- I love GSOSW and GS. I will gladly help out in any way to facilitate our Council to promote outdoor activities to our GS. I am comfortable and proficient in outdoor skills and I would like to assist the Council to expand our outdoor skill offerings.
- Hard to address many of these questions in context of our council.
- While I understand the changes that were made in the realignment, for this council, it has really hurt the area. This council is not meeting the needs of the girls they serve, and much of it has to the with the geographic divisions between us.
- GSUSA needs to focus on OUTDOOR SKILLS, more Outdoor badges and more opportunities for girls/leaders to get OUTDOOR experiences.
- I would love there to be an outdoor journey at every level.
- Our girls are not being allowed enough opportunity to learn about the outdoors or how to survive in it.
- I think we have moved away from outdoors b/c of the lack of programming. I would like to see GS get back to outdoors whether it's through a Journey or badges (ideally both).