What is Girl Scouting?  Girl Scouting is a program established by the Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) for girls who are grades K-12.  Troop 1806 is for girls who are in Grades 1-5.  GSUSA has been in continuous operation since 1912, when it was founded in Savannah, Georgia by Juliette Gordon Low.  The National headquarters of the GSUSA are now located in New York City.  Girl Scouting is not-for-profit - adult unpaid volunteer leaders work with the girls in the Girl Scouting program, and are supported by paid staff and professionals in local area councils.

How Is Girl Scouting Organized?

Girls in the GSUSA are organized into grade-appropriate levels:

Troop 1806 currently enrolls girls only in the Daisy, Brownie, Junior and Cadette levels.  In years past, we did not allow Daisies at the Kindergarten level, but starting in the fall of 2023, Kindergarten girls will be accepted as Daisy Girl Scouts.

GSUSA has headquarters in New York, but is divided nationally into local area Girl Scout Councils.  Girl Scout Troop 1806 belongs to Durham Area 10 of the North Carolina Coastal Pines Girl Scout Council (NCCP), headquartered in Raleigh, NC.  NCCP covers a 41-county area covering virtually all of eastern North Carolina from the Triangle eastward.

What is Troop 1806?  Girl Scout Troop 1806 organized during the spring and summer of 2010, and first started registering girls at the end of August, 2010.  It is a multi-level troop for girls who are in the Kindergarten through fifth grade in the fall of a school year (traditional or year-round).  The troop program focuses on the many different badges and patches girls have available to them through Girl Scouting at their program levels, as well as allowing the girls to participate in outings, field trips, and other fun stuff.

Many Girl Scout troops are single-level, that is, they serve only Daisies, or only Brownies, or only Juniors, etc.  Troop 1806 is a multi-level troop, and enrolls girls on four different levels - Daisy Kindergarten and 1st grade, Brownie 2nd and 3rd grade, Junior 4th and 5th grade, and Cadette, 6th grade.  These levels are organized into patrols (think of patrols as small troops within a big troop).  Each patrol meets at different times, has a grade-level specific program for that patrol, and is led by at least two adult volunteer leaders.  When and where the patrols meet is a mutual decision of that patrol’s leaders, the girls and their parents.

As younger girls age up from one level to the next, they will have the opportunity to stay with the next available level in Troop 1806, or to bridge out to another Girl Scout troop of the appropriate level.  For example, girls who graduate from the 1st grade to 2nd grade would bridge from Daisy level to Brownie level, either within Troop 1806, or to another Brownie troop.

All Troop 1806 patrols, from Daisies through Cadettes, meet together three four times a year for special troopwide meetings: on a Sunday in October (Investiture and Founders Day celebration), a Sunday in January (Cookie Rally!), a Sunday in March (WAGGGS and World Thinking Day themes), and a Sunday in May (program level bridging).

Adult Leadership

Many willing girls each year are unable to  join Girl Scouting because not enough adults volunteer to be leaders.  Having leaders for the various levels of Troop 1806 is very important, as well as non-leader parent support.  Girl Scouting is a volunteer-driven organization.  Everyone, including parents, is expected to pitch in for the girls.  In this way, Girl Scouting is different than many other after-school activities. 

Direct and Patrol Leadership:  GSUSA requires Troop 1806 to have a minimum leadership team of at least a primary leader and a co-leader, one of whom must be an adult female.  In addition to these two mandatory positions, each patrol within the troop has at least two trained adult leaders who work directly with the girls in the patrols.  If a patrol becomes too large (say beyond 10-15 girls), then the patrol may need to be divided, each patrol with its own adult leadership.  These divisions and allotments will be decided by the troop direct leadership, patrol leaders and families of the girls.

Patrol leaders usually meet bi-weekly with the girls in their patrol, for about an hour to hour-and-a-half per meeting.  The time, place and frequency of patrol meetings is at the convenience of the patrol leaders, as decided with the girls and their families.

Parent Helpers/Volunteers:  Parents, male or female, are needed at all levels of the Troop 1806 program.  At a minimum, parent volunteers are usually needed at each patrol meeting, to assist the patrol co-leaders.  In addition, parents will need to step forward for campouts, driving, field trips, and cookie sales.  Except for overnighters, parent helper/volunteers are not required to become registered members of Girl Scouts, and do not need to be background checked.  However, our Council does encourage parent helper/volunteers to be registered to support the council and GSUSA membership.

Adults to Overnight Camp with Troop:  ANY adults who want to camp overnight with Troop 1806, including parents, must be a registered member of the Council and have an approved background check.  If not otherwise registered as a direct leader, then these adults register as parent/volunteers and initiate a background check.

Parent helper/volunteers who act ONLY as drivers, (i.e. help with the transportation of girls on Troop trips/outings), are required to be become registered members of Girl Scouts, complete with the background check.  Drivers must also have a valid driver’s license, proof of current insurance and inspection for vehicle that will be used, as well as be 21 years of age or older.

Check out the Joining Girl Scouts page for detailed instructions on joining Troop 1806 as an adult parent/volunteer and/or direct leader

Finances and Expenses:  While leaders and parents volunteer their time for Girl Scouting, Girl Scouting itself is not free.  There are individual charges for membership, badges and activities, plus the troop receives program support from NCCP.   Troop dues are $75 per year, of which $50 goes to the troop itself, and $25 goes to GSUSA for official membership registration.  Here are some of the expenses that girls and their families should be prepared to pay for - either built into the troop dues or paid separately by the families:

Registration:  The annual $25 GSUSA membership fee is collected every fall (or in the late spring, if the member decides to do “early bird” renewal registration).  The GSUSA membership fee is collected either online through the myGS system, or is collected at our annual registration day in late August (for new girls and adults, and renewing girls and adults). The $25 GSUSA membership fee goes directly to GSUSA, and does not pay for any of the Troop 1806 activities, badges and awards.  If the $25 GSUSA membership fee is collected with registration/renewal registration, then the $75 total will wash through with the $50 annual troop dues dues - that is, the $25 annual registration fee will be built into $50 annual troop dues, then the $25 GSUSA fee will be paid over by the troop to the Council.

Uniform:   Vest/tunic for appropriate Daisy, Brownie, Junior and Cadette Level, with (1) Flag Patch, (2) Troop Numbers 1-8-0-6, (3) Insignia Tab, and (4) Membership Pin Set (goes on Insignia Tab, but is paid for by the troop through troop dues).  See the Troop 1806 Uniforms page for more information.

Outdoor Program and Activities:  Troop 1806 patrols often plan their own campouts and field trips.  These outdoor activities are usually done on a “pay-as-you-go” system, instead of being done through troop dues.  Outdoor activity fees could include things like a program fee (for set activities at Girl Scout camping facilities, or fees for using a state park), plus food costs and infrastructure costs.  Sometimes girls elect to use their patrol cookie money for these events, but that is a decision of the girls in the patrol.

Patrol Expenses and Activities:  When a girl pays in her $50 annual troop dues, $15 of that is allocated to her patrol for patrol activities.  For example, a typical Troop 1806 patrol of 10 girls will have $150 allocated to that patrol.  That fund is for the discretionary use of the patrol leaders to fund some patrol activities during the year.  However, there may be patrol activities during the year that will be “pay-as-you-go,” that is, not paid by the patrol activity funds or the patrol cookie money

Cookie Money:  Each year, in the January-February time frame, Troop 1806 patrols participate in the annual Cookie sale.  The more boxes of cookies the girls in the patrol sell, the more cookie money will be allocated for the exclusive use of that patrol.  Cookie money is usually posted to the patrol in early April.  Unlike the patrol leader activity money funded by a part of troop dues, the use of cookie money to offset the costs of activities is a decision of the girls in the patrol

Council and Area Sponsored Activities:  Each year, the Council provides information listing activities that the Council has available for girls individually in their levels, as well as for troops.  These activities usually have a cost, although some are free.  Depending on whether the girl goes by herself, or with her level, or as a troop, will depend on how these are paid.

Summer Camps:   NCCP operates several staffed summer resident camps, offering programs for all levels, and programs which range all the way from a day trip to a couple of weeks of resident camp.  These programs are spelled out in summer guides that are distributed each year to all registered Girl Scouts, as well as available online. 

Durham Day Camp:  Troop 1806 leaders have conducted a summer day camp at Forest Hills Park since summer 2013.  The Durham day camp for 2020 was COVID-cancelled, but were able to resume the Durham Day Camp for 2021-2023.  We already know that the Durham Day Camp for 2024 has been set and will happen again!  Registration for the Durham Day camps opens on first Monday in March each year.

Girl Scouts Give: Families of girls in Girl Scout troops are asked to consider making a charitable contribution pledge to support Girl Scouting beyond the individual and troop level expenses listed above.  This is called Girl Scouts Give.  The Girl Scouts Give program supports the good work of Girl Scouting done by NCCP.

How to Pay for Girl Scouting in Troop 1806:

The money to cover the expenses of Girl Scouting has to come from somewhere.  Revenues will come from the following sources:

Donations:  The Council does not allow Troop 1806 to solicit donations, but it does not prohibit the troop from accepting them.  Donations in excess of $250 must be given as an earmark to the North Carolina Coastal Pines Girl Scout Council, which in turn will send the earmarked funds back to Troop 1806.

Annual dues - Troop 1806 dues are $75 per year, which includes the $25 GSUSA official membership registration.

Pay-Go:  Additional costs for camping and activities - see above under expenses

Fund Raisers:  Girl Scouts strongly encourage the girls themselves to start early, and learn how to earn and pay for their activities in Girl Scouting.  This can be done through family allowances with set jobs, and paying dues as part of allowance.  The Troop can also put together fundraisers in which the girls can participate - things like yard sales, for example.  Fundraisers other than product sales must be approved by the Troop 1806 leaders committee and by the Council.

Official GS Product Sales:  Another way to raise funds is through the officially sanctioned product sales.  There are two of these per year - the famous cookie sales in the January-February time frame and the fall product sales.  Troop 1806 encourages, but does not require, each girl to participate in one or more of the product sales.  From all funds earned from product sales, Troop 1806 will retain 10% to replenish its general fund, with the remaining 90% being allocated for the use of the girls in a patrol who actually made the product sales.  This builds teamwork in the patrol, and allows the girls to decide what to do with the money they have earned as a patrol.  Patrol cookie money, for example, could be used to pay any of the expenses listed above, for a service project, a charitable donation, or for a special outing or trip.

Safety Checkpoints/Volunteer Essentials/Volunteer Policies:
Girl Scouting has always prescribed a set of national safety rules for girls and leaders to follow in the Girl Scout experience.  These are set out in the Volunteer Essentials, the Volunteer Policies, and the Safety Activity Checkpoints.  These resources should be used to determine GS policies and procedures for any particular situation.  When in doubt, leaders contact the Council for a ruling on matters which may not be covered in these resources

Diversity and Inclusivity:    The Girl Scouts of the USA, of which Troop 1806 is a part, is expressly diverse and inclusive, and does not subscribe to any discriminatory or exclusionary membership policies.  Girl Scouting is open to all - well, except for youth males.