lake compounce: i am in girl scouts, i am also a 7th grader (is that babyish? cuz everyone else in my "troop" does. we dont do anything fun. our troop leader promised us we would do fun thing years ago. but still nothing. we raised about 1000 dollars and she CHOSE FOR US to go to lake compounce. and WE STILL HAD TO PAY! now we have to pay for all this other stuff. for some center or wutever, WHY DONT WE USE THE MONEY WE HAVE?! and its annoying she is sooo snotty. -.- idk wut 2 do.|||I'm a Girl Scout volunteer myself. Is it babyish to be in Girl Scouts or is it babyish to be in the 7th grade? Either way, the answer to that question is no. Some of the money you raise stays with your troop, and some of the money you raise goes to the Girl Scout council office, to pay for things like adult volunteer training, development of materials (like the badges and handbooks), and membership fees for girls that cannot afford to join Girl Scouts otherwise. Most Girl Scout activities are coordinated and delivered by volunteers -- people are not paid -- but there are some paid staff members who help support all these many thousands of volunteers all over the country. You will often have to pay some money for the outside activities your troop undertakes. Going to any event or fun site costs money -- even state and national parks charge entrance fees. Ask your leader to please produce a pie chart that shows where the 1000 dollars you raised (I'm assuming through cookie sales) went. Ask how much stays with your troop, how much stays with your region, how much goes to the state office and how much goes to the national office. Tell her that you think this would be helpful for the entire troop to understand the budget process. If she says no, that she doesn't know how or doesn't have time, find the council web site for your state or region (just type in the name of your state and Girl Scouts into Google and you will find it) and say, "Hello. My name is _________. I live in ___ city______. I am with Troop xxxxxxx. I do not understand how the distribution process for the money that my troop raises. I have asked my troop leader to explain, however, she said she does not have time to explain it/she said she couldn't/whatever. We raised $1000 through cookie sales/whatever other activities. How is this money distributed? How much stays with my troop, how much goes to the state Girl Scouts office, etc.?" Also, at future troop meetings, raise your hand and very politely say, "I would like for the troop to be able to vote on the next outing we take or the next badge we pursue. Girl Scouts is an organization that is supposed to promote girl leadership, and I think this would be a good way for us to learn to be leaders." and "I would like to see the budget for your troop. I would like to see how much money we raise, how much money is spent on things our troop needs, how much money we get from Girl Scouts to engage in activities, and how much all of the various activities we undertake costs. I think this would help our members to understand financial management and budgets. These are very important things for girls to know." Always be polite, always be respectful, always be calm, always be as clear as possible with your questions, but you keep right on asking those questions. And when you are ready to pursue your Gold Award, here is some advice for you: http://www.coyotecommunications.com/stuf鈥?/a>|||i'm in 10th grade and still in girl scouts, mainly because my three best friends are in it. my troop has a great leader so we always go on trips, have demonstrations, go on vacation, and just have fun. maybe go to the next meeting with a few ideas of what to do and information about them, and see what she says (for example... maybe plan a trip to Great Wolf Lodge or Six Flags... go online, get group prices and dates, print it out, and discuss it with the troop)