VOLUNTEER NEWS & DEVELOPMENT

Ocala Resource Center Now Open!
The Ocala Branch Office recently opened a Resource Center for volunteers. The hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Come and check out the resources available for your next troop meeting!

Basic Camp Training Will Return in the Fall
Basic Camp Training will be taking the summer off so that girls can enjoy our resident camp programs.  Check the website for the most up to date list of trainings already scheduled for this fall.

Volunteer Training Records & Traveling Troops
Adult volunteer training records and service unit reports are not available at this time due to a software and database transition. Individual training can be manually pulled and checked if verification is needed for an upcoming trip, but will require additional processing time. For fastest service, please include copies of certifications, and/or training cards with your troop trip approval form. Just a gentle reminder: troop trips can be approved at the service unit level for all travel within the state of Florida.

Get the 411 On Background Checks
Attention volunteers! Your parent helpers do not need to complete a volunteer application and criminal history screening every year, and neither do you! Criminal history screenings are repeated every five years, so there’s no need to complete another application just yet.

Who is required to complete a volunteer application?
In loco parentis is a legal reference that translates to “in place of a parent.” It refers to the legal responsibility of a person or organization to take on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent. 

Any adult who will be in loco parentis as well as those who handle money, must complete the volunteer application and criminal history screening. This includes:

  • Troop/group leaders and assistant leaders

  • All travel chaperones

  • Volunteers who work with special interest groups

  • All camp volunteers

  • All volunteers who handle money (including product sales managers and volunteers who work at cookie booths)

  • All parents who provide direct service to girls

Blue eligibility cards are issued to each volunteer who successfully completes the screening. This card should be presented to the troop leader or event director as verification that the volunteer is eligible to help.

The Volunteer Application Process Goes Green!
It’s finally here! The adult volunteer application and criminal history screening process has gone paperless!

New troop leaders, advisors and parent helpers can visit the web site www.gswcf.org and click into the volunteer application from the “Volunteer” page. Once they’ve completed the application, they are automatically directed to a secure website where they will enter the information needed to perform the criminal history screening.

Once screened, approved volunteers receive an eligibility card. This blue, wallet-sized card can be used by volunteers to verify that they have been screened.  New volunteers should present that card to their leaders, service team members or event directors as soon as they get it so they can begin volunteering. 

For more information about the volunteer application process, please contact the volunteer records manager: (800) 881-4475, ext. 1766.

New STEM-Focused Adult Learning Courses!
We have new and exciting courses coming this fall for our volunteers! The first of these special trainings will focus on facilitating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) projects with girls. These unique workshops are sponsored by Techbridge of Chabot Science Center in Oakland, Calif.

The first two learning opportunities are Power it Up and Design Time (descriptions below). Both trainings will be offered for the first time on Saturday, Aug. 29 at the Tampa Service Center. After trainings are completed, totes will be available to adult volunteers who wish to facilitate these activities with girls. Space is limited; please sign up online to ensure your slot for Aug. 29!

Design Time Adult Training
Would your girls want to design and market their very own toy? Facilitate girls learning about the engineering design process to design catapults, bags, and a bubble wand solution.  Following a toy dissection activity, help girls work in teams to brainstorm and sketch their toy idea, make a prototype, and market their toy. 

Power It Up Adult Training
Want to help girls create an LED butterfly and Blinky Robot? Facilitate girls learning about electronics and circuitry through hands-on investigations.  They will build circuits and learn about electronics components using Snap Circuits, create an LED butterfly and solder a Blinky Robot.

Upcoming Trainings

July 9
Leadership Essentials
Brandon Little League Civic Center, Valrico

July 11
Leadership Essentials
 Traveling Troops
St. Dunstans Episcopal Church, Largo

July 15
Traveling Troops
Brandon Little League Civic Center, Valrico

July 21
Leadership Essentials
First Christian Church, Ocala

Aug. 17
Event/Encampment Director Training
Christ Lutheran Church, St. Petersburg

Aug. 16
Leadership Essentials
 Traveling Troops
Camp Wai Lani

Aug. 29
Design Time
 Power It Up
Tampa Service Center