1)
Go talk to the Student Government
Association at your school. They should have some packet
about how to start a new student organization. This
will give you info on who you can talk to, what is required in a constitution
at your school, etc. Don't be afraid to ask questions... I remember having NO
CLUE about half of what I was doing... I put the SGA or Office of Student
Activities phone number on speed dial.
2) Get an
advisor... Many universities require a staff advisor. If
you can't find one on your own (by asking staff and professors), go talk to
your Office of Student Activities. Most have a graduate assistant assigned to
work with student organizations. He/She can send out a letter to all staff
stating the interest in an advisor for the new student organization. Try
searching the university webpages- see if any current staff members have any
previous scouting experience (former leader, worked for GS previously, etc.). A
staff advisor can help you locate campus resources, can use his/her pull in a
college (such as when you run an event on campus), and may have years of
personal Girl Scout experience. When you find out who your council liaison is,
they may know people at the university who have interest in helping with Girl Scouting... remember, life is all about networking ;)
3) Call up
the Girl Scout council. (This may seem obvious, but it could
be forgotten.) The council should assign one staff member to serve as your
liaison. (It’s okay to be friendly with other staff members at the office!) Ask
that council send publications (C/S events, adult volunteer pamphlets, etc.) to
a university address (either your dorm or a student activities mailbox). This
will keep you well informed about council activities. Council can also loan out
recruiting materials, have access to copy machines, budget money for
programming, storage space, etc. You’ll need the council liaison to help you
track down the Executive Director for her signature when you send in the GSUSA
charter (fyi- it’s uploaded in the Yahoo! Groups files section for your
convince)!
4) Find
out about your local Service Unit in town. Your
council liaison should be able to give you contact information about the SU
manager. Call that person up and ask to speak for 2-3 minutes at the next SU
meeting. (Don’t have a ride? Ask for one! Girl Scouts are your sisters! College
towns often have alumni and proud residents residing there who want to help out
the students.) Letting the town know that you exist is a big step. You’ll be
informed of council activities as well and can help the service unit and troops
with events. It’s a great place to start when you are a “young” or small CGS
group. (Those skills you have, such as yoga or lifeguarding, can come in
handy—let the troops know you can help them out!)
5) Prepare
a group Constitution To speed up the student organization
registration process, sit down over the summer and do a rough draft. (sample can be found in the file section of
the Yahoo Group site)
6) Recruiting When you are going to the SGA asking for approval as a student organization, you’ll probably have to have some sort of “petition” of a list of students interested in starting the club. When you place flyers out around campus about your first meeting people will come…maybe not 300 people… but the solid 3 or 4 members you do find make great OFFICERS for the next year (hint, hint)
7) Resources Check
out the Recruiting fliers and the many other resources location in the Yahoo
Groups files section. Many schools have
uploaded their actual flyers they used.
Check out the files for information on recruiting, constitutions,
fundraising idea, GSUSA charter, your first CGS meeting, and ideas for helping
with a troop. Join the Yahoo group for
other ways to stay in touch with CGS groups nationwide.