Hi, I'm Amy. I've been a Girl Scout volunteer since graduating high school in May 2006. Since then, I've been a Troop Mentor, a Troop Co-leader, a Service Unit Manager, a Council trainer, across 3 Councils (Northeast Texas, North Carolina Coastal Pines, and Central Texas).
Over the years, I've helped multiple new troops get off the ground -- and I noticed the same thing every time: new leaders and parents are nervous, overwhelmed, and convinced they're going to mess everything up. They're not. They just need someone to walk them through it.
I also noticed something else: many new leaders are afraid to be firm when asking families for help. They worry that setting expectations -- like asking every family to lead a badge or take on a committee role -- will drive people away. That they'll lose friends, or lose girls from the troop. So they stay quiet, take on everything themselves, and burn out by February. But here's the truth: when every family contributes, the troop is stronger, the leader doesn't burn out, and the girls get a better experience. Girl progression only works when the whole team shows up -- and it's okay to ask them to.
That's why I created The Troop Mentor website. I wanted to put everything I wish someone had given me on day one into a single place: the practical guides, the template letters, the "here's what to actually do this week" advice that doesn't require a 200-page manual or require an hour-long e-learning training. And just as importantly, I wanted to give leaders the language and framework to ask for help confidently -- because it's not a favor, it's how Girl Scouts is designed to work.
Girl Scouts has incredible resources, but they're spread across council websites, volunteer manuals, gsLearn modules, and word-of-mouth knowledge from experienced leaders. When you're brand new, you don't even know what questions to ask -- let alone where to find the answers.
The Troop Mentor brings it together. The guides on this site are designed to work regardless of which Council you belong to. Where training links and forms vary by Council, we provide customizable templates you can fill in with your Council's information.
My bigger mission is helping leaders understand and implement girl progression -- the idea that Girl Scouts should gradually shift leadership from parents to girls as they move from Daisies on up. It's the most powerful thing about Girl Scouting, and it's the thing most new leaders have never heard explained clearly.