Start a Troop

Do you love inspiring girls to grow, learn, and shine?

As a Girl Scout troop leader, you’ll guide girls to build confidence, explore the outdoors, make new friends, and discover their strengths, all while having fun every step of the way.

A Girl Scout troop is more than just meetings, it’s a safe, supportive space where girls dream big and take action to make their world better.

And you won’t do it alone: with training, ready-to-go meeting plans, and an entire Girl Scout team by your side, you’ll feel confident and prepared to lead.

Be the role model they’ll remember forever, become a Girl Scout troop leader today!

Start your own local troop and help Girl Scouts make a difference in their community. There's no one "type" of volunteer. If you’re ready to support Girl Scouts and help them grow, you’re ready to be a troop leader.

Troop leaders can be a recent college grad, a parent, or a retiree—really, people of any gender with a sense of curiosity and adventure who are 18 or older, pass a criminal background check, and complete required trainings.

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Teaming up with a co-leader or troop volunteers, you’ll decide where and when troop meetings take place, and then you’ll set up a meeting with your troop families to talk about things like meeting logistics and the roles they can play in the troop.

Girl Scout leaders are supported every step of the way. Membership Support Specialists are council staff members who support volunteers and can help you find resources. You'll be part of a service unit full of volunteers and Girl Scouts in your community. Service units are led by experienced volunteers who have a wealth of knowledge to share.

Plus, there are lots of resources available, including meeting guides for your troop, supplemental trainings, and how-to’s for leading badge activities.

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We recommend you start your troop with at least 8 girls, but you only need 5 to be an official troop. You'll need at least 2 leaders who aren’t related to each other to form a troop, and one of them must be female. You can recruit new troop members and volunteers on your own or use recruitment resources created by our council.

Recruitment Resources
Host a "join our troop" event or post on social media:

Big Fun, New Adventures Style (8.5"x11" fillable PDF, 2 per page)
Your Year of Friendship - English (8.5"x11" fillable PDF, 2 per page)
Your Year of Friendship - Spanish (8.5"x11" fillable PDF, 2 per page)
Your Year of Fun (8.5"x11" fillable PDF, double-sided)
New Troop Checklist (Image for social media)
Join/Volunteer info handout (8.5"x11" PDF, 2 per page)

Check out the printing discount available for Girl Scout purposes.

an illustration of a troop leader and the troop year plan PDFs

Preview Your Year

Our easy-to-follow Troop Year Plans are available for troops of all ages! Check out the fun that awaits you and your troop.

SEE PLANS