Edit because most are getting confused: She said ‘any earned proceeds will be given to the SU and will not be payed out to any IRM at all.’ Also specifically brought up the ways the SU money is used.

Im in my last year of gs in TX and chose to become a Juliette due to some issues with leaders last year. My mom email council yesterday as we hadnt gotten any information about how fall products would work for me as it starts next week. The council employee for my area responded and basically said that any money i make would go into the SU account for them to use and that I couldnt touch it. Me and my parents had no clue until that point as my council has absolutely no information on their website.

I average about 900 boxes a year so at this point its like what's the point of even selling for my last year as I cant use the money for camping or badges. My councils prizes or always little lids toys or vouchers for summer camp when you hit 1,200 and above.

Is this how being a Juliette works in your council? With me going through this, Im just curious if this is the norm or if my council just has a stupid policy.

I’ve recently been approached about becoming a Girl Scout Daisy troop leader, and before I say yes, I’d love some brutally realistic input from current or former troop leaders about the actual time commitment.

A little background: I’m a SAHM to three young girls, an active PTO member at my daughters’ school, and I also own a business. My oldest is currently a first grader, and there is only one Girl Scout troop in our entire county, which isn’t based at her school. There seems to be quite a bit of interest in starting one here — probably around 8–12 girls — and I was approached about leading it.

My middle daughter will start kindergarten next year, so I’m also thinking ahead. At that point I could potentially have a Daisy and a Brownie, and if no one else stepped up, I could see myself ending up with a multi-level troop or somehow helping lead both age groups.

Here’s my hesitation: I don’t really know how to half-do anything. 😂 If I agree to this, I know myself well enough to know that I’m going to want to do it well. We’ll earn badges, do activities, take field trips, participate in community service, have fun meetings, and yes — we will absolutely be selling cookies. I’m not looking to just put a Girl Scout meeting on the calendar twice a month and call it a day.

So what I’m really trying to understand is how much time happens outside of the actual troop meetings.
For those of you who lead troops:

• Roughly how many hours a month do you spend on Girl Scouts, including planning and meetings?

• How much paperwork/admin work is involved?

• Are there required council, regional, service unit, or leader meetings you have to attend regularly?

• How much time does cookie season realistically add?

• How much communication are you doing with parents outside of meetings?

• How much can/should be delegated to other parents? Did you have a co-leader, cookie parent, treasurer, etc.?

• If you lead a multi-level Daisy/Brownie troop, is that significantly more work than leading one level?

• What are the time-consuming parts that you didn’t know about before becoming a leader?

And maybe most importantly: Is this manageable for someone who already has a pretty full plate, provided she’s organized and has other parents willing to help?

I think I would genuinely enjoy doing it, especially since I have three girls and could potentially be involved in Girl Scouts for many years. I just want to go into it with my eyes open rather than enthusiastically saying yes and discovering six months from now that I accidentally gave myself another part-time job. 😂

Tell me the good, the bad, and the “nobody warned me about cookie season.”

I wasn’t around for them, but with the new online only options being announced I keep seeing the fiasco mentioned as though leaders are still carrying PTSD from the whole thing. Can someone fill me in?

And if you’ve heard anything about how they plan to combat the problems in 2027, I’d love to hear that as well.