Local Girl Scout troops seeking new recruits

Published: Sunday, June 30, 2013 at 4:16 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, June 30, 2013 at 5:08 p.m.

Now she's a young woman who helped create a website for job-seeking teens. The project was worthy of the Gold Award ? the highest honor for Girl Scouts.

"As I got older, I realized it's a lot more than (crafts and cookies)," she said. "It's about volunteering in the community and connecting with other girls."

Pinkerton, 18, said her mom enlisted her in a troop more than a decade ago. The Ormond Beach teen stuck with it, even as many of her peers dropped out and joined school sports and clubs.

Yet nationally, Girl Scouts are leaving the ranks by the thousands. Today, the organization has about 2.2 million youth members, down from more than 2.8 million in 2003, the Associated Press reported.

Membership also has declined locally. In the Citrus Council, which serves six central Florida counties including Volusia, adult and girl membership has dropped from 24,115 in 2009 to 23,525 in 2012. Flagler County, which is in the Gateway Council, reported 387 members this year, down slightly from 2012 but more than in 2009 when the county claimed 352 girl members.

Membership has remained flat in most areas of the Gateway Council, which encompasses Flagler and 15 other northeast Florida counties, membership specialist Maureen McGuinn said. A few places, mostly rural areas, have lost members in recent years for financial reasons. Members pay $12 annually, plus their troop dues, she said.

"The sad part of that is we offer full scholarships for girls that are in need," she said. "We don't turn anyone away for financial reasons."

That assistance extends to expenses such as books and uniforms, she said, but families often are reluctant to ask for help or don't want to accept it.

Victoria Green of Ormond Beach watched her troop shrink to three members and shift its focus from camping trips to community service as she grew older. As school and other activities became more demanding, she spent less time with the Scouts. But the 18-year-old, a member of Pinkerton's troop, said "because we saw it out to the end, we feel a sense of self-accomplishment."

"It's a lot of hard work, especially with the Gold Award, but it was worth it in the end," said Green, also a recent Seabreeze grad.

Money woes also have beset the Girl Scouts. Donations to the national office and local councils plunged to $104 million in 2011 from nearly $148 million in 2007, according to the AP, but the Citrus and Gateway councils show no clear trends in funding levels over the past five years.

Citrus Council's revenue has gone up and down, but leaders say their 2013 revenue ($6.3 million) will surpass their 2009 revenue ($5.5 million). For the Gateway Council, revenue has fluctuated greatly, dipping to $4.2 million in 2009 and peaking at $5.3 million in 2010. Revenue hit $5.2 million last year, however staff acknowledges donations may have increased temporarily for the organization's centennial year.

Leaders of the 100-year-old organization also say they're in the midst of a major overhaul. Over the past decade, the Girl Scouts have undergone what they describe as a "complete transformation" aimed at making their programs and image more relevant to a diverse population of girls and parents, the AP reported. Changes have affected uniforms, handbooks, merit badges, program materials, even the logo and the fine print on the boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

For Pinkerton, the organization's "hands-off" approach ? allowing girls to take the lead on activities and service projects ? sets it apart from other service organizations for young people.

"It puts the responsibility on us rather than letting it be on our sponsor or troop leader," Pinkerton said. "For some people, that's a difficult thing because it takes on a lot of responsibility but it's a learning process."

It paid off. The recent Seabreeze High graduate feels college admissions officials looked highly upon that experience and Green agrees. Now Pinkerton is preparing to start classes at the University of Florida at the end of the summer to study forensic science, while Green plans to study environmental science at Duke University.

Some local troop leaders say they've had no trouble recruiting girls, but persuading adults to volunteer is an issue.

Jennifer Schlobach, co-manager of a service unit that assists troops in Deltona and Orange City, said the area's membership has grown from about 190 to more than 300 over the past three years. When local schools resume in August, she plans to attract more through recruitment events and fliers.

"The majority of our troops are at 10 or more because we don't have the leaders to take girls and we don't want to let the girls not join the troops," Schlobach said, who also co-leads a Deltona troop with 19 middle and high school girls.

Lately it's been harder to get parents on board as leaders and volunteers, she said. Most say they don't have the time.

Lisa Fields, a Palm Coast troop leader, hears the same thing. The single mother, who also has a full-time job, encourages parents to give as much time as they can. She typically loses a few girls at the end of the school year, but there's always a new crop come early fall.

"When they get to high school, it's not cool to be in Girl Scouts anymore," Fields said.

She adds, though: "If I keep them busy enough, they won't even notice."

Source: http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130630/news/306309985

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