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Unleash your potential as a volunteer.
As a volunteer, you are a mentor, role model, and champion to Girl Scouts.
Your training as a volunteer is crucial to success. It equips you with the knowledge and skills to inspire and guide our Girl Scouts. You'll learn to create safe, engaging, and memorable experiences with your troop. With a variety of training available, we have all you need to feel prepared, including interactive training resources for leading your troops.
gsLearn 
gsLearn
gsLearn is our online training platform that gives you easy access to online and in-person learning opportunities as well as the ability to track all your accomplishments! Learn at your own pace, access additional resources, and repeat info when you need it!
Accessing gsLearn
To take advantage of the learning opportunities and other programmatic training offered to volunteers, you’ll need to access our online learning management tool, gsLearn. To access gsLearn, log in to MyGS. You will find gsLearn in the options on the left-hand navigation (or drop-down navigation on mobile) once you’ve logged into MyGS.
In-Person Training Opportunities
GSGI is proud to offer in-person training opportunities for our volunteers across our council. Below are descriptions of the different sessions we offer in-person. Please visit The Hub to view upcoming sessions and to register.
First Aid/CPR Training
GSGI requires each troop secure a Troop First Aider, a registered adult volunteer trained in First Aid and CPR. In partnership with the American Red Cross, we offer a blended learning training option for volunteers hosted at locations throughout our council territory. Once you register for a session, you’ll receive an email receipt with a link to complete your at-home portion (on a PC or tablet), which must be completed prior to attending the in-person skills test. Allow approximately 2 hours 30 minutes to complete the online portion.
Students who successfully complete this course will receive a certificate for Adult & Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED valid for two years.
Youth Mental Health First Aid Training
Thanks to GSUSA & the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, GSGI provides Youth Mental Health First Aid Training! Youth Mental Health First Aid training teaches adult volunteers how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among youth and adolescents, ages 12-18. Using a blended format, participating adults must complete two portions of learning to obtain certification:
- Two-hour, self-paced online course available through MHFA Connect (access provided after minimum of 5 participants fulfilled)
- 5.5-hour live, instructor-led video conference (breaks included in full timing)
Wilderness First Aid Training
In partnership with the American Red Cross, we offer a Wilderness First Aid training option for volunteers as an add on to our First Aid/CPR program. To complete this course, you must first have the First Aid/CPR Certification completed. Designed for Girl Scouts and volunteers, outdoor enthusiasts and anyone who works or spends time in remote environments, this course teaches advanced skills to be used in emergencies when help from professional first responders may be far away. Topics include primary and secondary assessments, heat related emergencies, hypothermia, allergies and anaphylaxis, burns, bone and joint injuries and wound care.
Prerequisites: Must be at least 14 years old and hold current adult CPR/AED certification.
Participants who successfully complete this course will receive a certificate for Wilderness First Aid valid for two years.
All of our in-person training opportunities can be found here.
Online Learning Opportunities
We know that when you have the knowledge and skills you need to manage your Girl Scouts, both you and your troop will thrive. We offer national onboarding training for new troop leaders in gsLearn.
New Leader Onboarding Courses:
GSUSA New Leader Onboarding: What Girl Scouts Do
In this course, you will learn about what girl scouts do and how they do it at each grade level so you can plan your troop's year. This course is presented through the lens of an experienced troop leader whose troop completed all grade levels of the Girl Scout program. You will have the opportunity to explore the troop's interactive journal and learn about the things they did on their Girl Scout journey. Please note, you are only required to explore the grade levels you will be leading, although you are welcome to explore more if you'd like.
GSUSA New Leader Onboarding: Your First Troop Meeting
This course provides new troop leaders with the structure and tools to plan a successful first troop meeting—and beyond—with their Girl Scout troop.
GSUSA New Leader Onboarding: The Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE)
The framework we use to grow future leaders, also known as the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, is what sets Girl Scouts apart from other organizations. In this course, you will learn how to facilitate the Girl Scout Leadership Experience with your troop in an age-appropriate way. Throughout the course, you will learn about lots of real-world examples so you can apply the framework as your troop ages through the Girl Scout program.
GSUSA New Leader Onboarding: Family Engagement: The Key To Success
Engaging families in their Girl Scout’s experience benefits troop leaders, Girl Scouts, and families too. This course illuminates the value of family engagement and provides practical strategies for how to enlist family support. It also equips you with an agenda to plan a parent/caregiver meeting to set the tone for family engagement for the year.
GSUSA New Leader Onboarding: The Girl Scout Cookie Program
In this course, you will learn the basics of the Girl Scout Cookie program. You’ll discover how and why Girl Scouts sell cookies, who the bakers are that make the cookies, and how to utilize your cookie proceeds with your troop. A review of all the exciting program options you can explore with your troop as you build their entrepreneurial skills is also included. Cookie selling safety and important ways to bring families and caregivers along in your troop’s cookie business adventure are also part of the course.
Contact us if you're looking for additional training opportunities that will help you grow your skills and confidence.
Other Program Courses Available
Delivering Inclusive Program
In this course, you will practice using inclusive and equitable language to support the identities of all Girl Scouts and foster a cohesive troop environment.
Courses are also offered on specific badges including Daisy petals, Math In Nature, and Mental Wellness.
Accessing online trainings
Once you've logged in to gsLearn, click Content Library to see the trainings available. If you have questions about gsLearn or need help logging in to the system, please email info@gsiowa.org.
To access gsLearn on mobile devices the following settings must be disabled: ‘Prevent Cross Site Tracking’ and ‘Block All Cookies'.
Please note: If it’s your first time logging into gsLearn, your Content Library may appear to be empty. Log out and log back in through MyGS. It may take up to 30 minutes for the Content Library to load.
Volunteer Toolkit (VTK)
The Volunteer Toolkit
The Volunteer Toolkit is a customizable planning tool where you can find suggested meeting plans for most badges, access activity guides and badge requirements, track your Girl Scouts’ achievements, and so much more. With inspiring ideas so you can engage your troop in a mix of activities all year long, it’s the digital planning assistant that will help you power a fun-filled—and organized—Girl Scout year. Be sure to look for helpful icons to identify activity focus areas like the evergreen icon which tells you the activity can be taken outside or the globe icon which lets you know you can bring a global perspective to the activity.
With the Volunteer Toolkit, Girl Scouts and leaders can explore meeting topics and program activities together and follow the fun as they plan their Girl Scout year. Using the Volunteer Toolkit:
Troop Leaders can:
- Plan the troop’s calendar year and meeting schedule.
- Email parents/caregivers with one click.
- View the troop roster, renew Girl Scout memberships, and update Girl Scout contact information.
- View meeting plans for Journeys and badges, including suggested tracks for multi-level groups (K–5 and 6–12).
- Customize meeting agendas to fit your troop.
- Explore individual meeting plans that show a breakdown of every step, including a list of materials needed, editable time allotments for each activity within a meeting, and printable meeting aids.
- Record attendance at meetings and their troop’s badge and Journey achievements.
- Add council or custom events to the troop’s calendar.
- Submit troop finance reports (depending on the council’s process).
- Easily locate both national and local council resources, such as Safety Activity Checkpoints.
Parents and Caregivers can:
- View the troop’s meeting schedule and individual meeting plans to stay up to date on the badges and Journeys the troop is working on.
- Renew their memberships and update their contact information.
- View their Girl Scout’s attendance and achievements.
- See upcoming events the troop is planning or attending.
- Easily locate both national and local council resources.
- View the troop’s finance report (depending on the council’s process).
Get started by logging into MyGS.
Additional Tools and Resources
Girl Scout Handbooks. These grade level-specific handbooks will break it down for your Girl Scouts. Adventures include earning badges and awards, running your own cookie business and learning about the traditions that have brought Girl Scouts together for over a century.
Safety Activity Checkpoints. Safety is paramount in Girl Scouting, and Safety Activity Checkpoints contains everything you need to know to help keep everyone safe during a variety of exciting activities outside of their regular Girl Scout troop meetings.
Tips for Troop Leaders. When you’re looking for real-world advice from fellow troop leaders who've been there, this volunteer-to-volunteer resource on the Girl Scouts of the USA website has what you need for a successful troop year.
Troop Year Plans. Our age-appropriate troop year plans are the best tool for first year troop leaders to get started with Girl Scouts without getting overwhelmed, or to help any troop leader with planning out a well-balanced Girl Scout year. The entire year is mapped out—just follow along to help your Girl Scouts complete badge activities, improve their communities, and explore the world around them. Access Troop Year Plans online here!
Girl Scout Volunteers in Your Community. Remember that Girl Scout support team we mentioned? You’ll find them in your service unit! Troops are organized geographically into service units or communities. You’ll find a local network of fellow leaders and administrative volunteers ready to offer tips and advice to help you succeed in your volunteer role.
Join the Official Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa Leaders Group on Facebook for inside information and to share tips with other volunteers and parents/guardians. This is a private group only GSGI members and parents/guardians of members can join.
