Our troop meets the first and third Tuesday of each month
from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.

A Newsletter/Calendar will be published each month,
and should be read by both the Scout and her parents. 

These are kept in a file folder at the meetings
 with the scout’s name. Information will be placed in the folder for girls to take home look over,  (paperwork, not the folder)
Any notes from girls, record of badge work or
notes from parents can be placed in the folder
for us to look over at the next meeting.

 Newsletters and some other information will not be on
this website for the girls general safety.
Remember to check this folder.

Troop 880 collects annual dues of $35.00. 
This is  done in September. 
 $25.00 helps defray the costs of badges and patches and program materials. 
Also there is the $10.00 fee for annual national dues which
is paid to Girl Scouts of Michigan Trails Council.
 
Please Note: There is sometimes a small fee associated with
specific camping trips or field trips and some activities and crafts.
The troop underwrites part of the cost;
we ask the participating scout to pay a portion as well.

 FINANCIAL AID: Of all organizations I know, Girl Scouting
has perhaps the easiest-to-obtain financial aid program. 
If a parent ever feels the cost of scouting is
becoming too much on their budget,
please let me know.  
With that, I can make a request to Council for funds to pay for
that scout’s activities – no documentation is required from the family.
Click here for form.

PERMISSION SLIPS: Whenever the troop meets outside of the
normal meeting location, a permission slip is required. These need to be signed and filled out prior to the activity
(which also lets adults know how many girls will attend).
Normally a generic slip will be used and kept in the file box
for parents to sign before leaving for the event.
For other trips and camp outs,
a more formal permission slip will be used.
No girl may attend any activity without signed permission.

HEALTH FORMS: At the beginning of the year,
you will be asked to fill out a Health History Form and Emergency Consent Form.
 We take these on every trip,
so that should something happen to a scout,
we will have all needed medical information at our fingertips. 
Adults who travel with the troop should also fill these forms out.
There will be adult driver forms that will be filled out for every
trip a parent is driving to and from. Each driver will have a packet.

UNIFORMS:   There is only one “required” uniform item in Girl Scouting,
and that’s the Girl Scout pin. However, in Junior Girl Scouts,
girls enjoy wearing the uniform items, and at certain events,
we look best if we wear whatever “official” items we own.
Experience has shown the vest is easier to wear than the sash
(doesn’t fall off the shoulder),
and it holds more badges and patches than a sash. 
If you buy a vest/sash, you also need to buy the following to be sewn on:
       “GSUSA” Strip
       “GSMT” Strip
        Numbers “880”
Nice, but not necessary: Felt tab for Girl Scout and World pin
The troop provides:
        Troop Crest - Falling Star
        Girl Scout and World Pins
(if they don’t already have them)
 

If she was a Brownie, the “Fly Up” wings go on the front of the Junior vest,
as well as the Bridging Rainbow, if she completed the bridging requirements. 
Those should have been provided by her Brownie Troop. 
They can be re-purchased, if they were lost.

Uniforms can be purchased at the Council Shop.

 The shop also has a website http://www.gsmt.org/

In addition, Girls are encouraged to buy both the Junior Girl Scout Handbook and the Junior Guide to Badges and Signs.  We don’t use these books at every meeting, and the girls can get any information they need from a buddy; however, for those who miss meetings and wish to catch up on missed badge work, or wish to do badges on their own, the books are a necessity.