How Much is Girl Scouts Worth?

 

One of my favorite Bible verses is Matthew 6:21: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.". I suggest that whether you are a Christian or not, there is wisdom in that verse.  Am I turning this into a religious blog?  No, but one thing I read over and over on Girl Scout leader Facebook groups is leaders saying that they don't want to ask parents for money and that they don't require much if any commitment from families, and then, that they feel taken advantage of and unappreciated.  If you believe that Bible verse to be true (no matter what you think of the Christian religion) then perhaps the answer is to demand more.

We all know that there are some girls whose families really can't afford to spend money on Girl Scouts.  There are girls whose families are doing all they can do to hold things together through some very rough times, and others whose families are far too self-absorbed to do anything to help their child.  Fortunately, families like that are not a major part of most troops.  For better and for worse, Girl Scouting is, in most places, a middle class activity.  Besides Girl Scouts, many if not most of our girls take dance lessons, play sports at the playground, or  participate in other extra-curricular activities--activities that can require the payment of substantial fees and/or significant parental involvement.  Perhaps Girl Scouts is last on people's priority list because we allow it to be.  

When my daughters were in Girl Scouts I tried to plan one weekend event per month, because I thought it added fun to the program and because my daughters and I enjoyed it.  Now I lead a troop of other people's kids, but pre-Covid I've tried to keep that same schedule, though there were times I got annoyed following the kids and their parents around an event put on my someone else.  I was planning on asking for a field trip parent last year, but field trips really weren't in the picture last year.  However, this year I did ask, and so far I haven't gotten any responses.  I've basically decided that if there are interesting things on council's calendar, I'll throw them out there, but I'm done attending events where my only contribution is babysitting.  If none of the parents is willing to pick up the field trip baton, well there aren't going to be many field trips for the whole group.  

What do you demand from your troop parents?  Have you considered demanding more?