Programs For Every Girl

Planning Trips with Girl Scouts

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The Planning Process

Taking trips beyond the troop meeting place will put adventure into your troop's program. A very important part of these trips is the planning process. A trip is not something planned for girls by adults, but something planned by girls with guidance from adults. Learning how to plan a trip should be a progressive experience for Girl Scouts. Trips should have a specific purpose that the girls understand and be of a length suitable for their age and maturity.

Questions to be answered by the girls when starting the planning process:

• Why are we going?

• Where and when are we going?

• How will we get there?

• How much will it cost and where should the money come from?

• How should we get ready?

• What will we do when we get there and when we return?

During the planning process, the girls learn how to develop their overall plans, make arrangements, budget and handle money and accept responsibility for personal conduct and safety. Afterwards, they evaluate the experience.

The trip progression steps give girls the confidence to handle the "glitches" that sometimes occur in planning and carrying out program.

Paying for the Trip

One of the benefits to trip planning is that girls learn how to budget money so it covers all costs, and they have the satisfaction knowing they have earned their own money to pay for the trip.

It is easy to decide where to go. Important decisions that need to be made early are:

• How much will the trip cost each girl and adult?

• How will the money be earned?

• How much will the troop pay? How much must each girl and adult pay?

• What happens if all girls can't afford their share?

• When must money be paid to the hotel, airline, etc.?

• What extra insurance must the troop purchase?

• What will you do if you don't have enough money?

Troops must make these decisions before they pay out any of their hard earned money. If they have not earned enough money to go to both Savannah and Disney World they should, choose which of the two they can afford.

• plan another trip that costs less, or postpone the trip until they have earned the money.

As girls gain more skill in planning, budgeting and fundraising, they will climb the steps to more exciting adventures farther and farther from home.

Travel Readiness

To be used with Safety-Wise © 2000  "Planning Trips with Girl Scouts" and "Girl Scout Program Standards and Activty Checkpoints"

PURPOSE: Girl Scout trips provide opportunities for fun and adventure and serve to enrich ongoing troop program.

RECOMMENDED PROGRAM LEVEL	TRIP PROGRESSION	EXAMPLE
D,B,J	Meeting-time trips	Local points of interest in the neighborhood/community during troop meeting time.
D,B,J	Day Trips	Away from troop meeting place,outside troop meeting time,, for day visit to a place of interest.
B,J,C,S	Simple Overnights	May involve one to two nights away to a nearby park, historic site with overnight stays in hotel or campground.
Experienced Juniors, C/S	Extended	Three or more nights a camp or extensive travel within the continental United States.
C/S	Wider Ops	Girl Scout activities beyond the troop. Wider Op publication sent annually to girls 12 years old and older and to their leaders.
S	International	Trips of greater distance such as Canada, Mexico, England.
All	TRAVEL TIPS FOR ALL TRIPS:	For all appropriate program standards see Safety-Wise.
All	TRAVEL READINESS CHECKLIST: Reference Safety-Wise, Checklist for Travel Readiness.	For determining troop readiness is there:

• a clear purpose for the planned activity/trip
• parent/guardian support
• a realistic and detailed plan
• a completed travel plan
• a detailed financial plan prepared
• council approval
• a health and safety plan

Planning Guide for Overnight Troop Activities

Troop Plans Program/Facility	Meal Preparation	Sleeping Space	First Aider Needed	Training Level
Overnight at leader or parent home	Parents prepare meals	Recreation room or screened porch	No	100 A & B/101/ 002
Backyard camp out	Girls prepare meals on charcoal grill	Screened porch	Yes	200
Overnight at leader or parent home	Parents prepare meals	Parents pitch family-owned tents in backyard	No	100 A & B/101/ 002
Backyard camp out	Girls prepare meals on indoor stove or outdoor charcoal grill	Parents pitch family-owned tent	Yes	200
Indoor facility, indoor bathrooms, electricity, heat. Program planned	Meals furnished by facility or prepared by parents	Beds or bunks or floor	Yes	100 A & B/101/ 002 Minimum
Lodge/Cabin camping, no inside bathroom facilities	Girls prepare meals on indoor stove and/or outdoor fire sites	Floor or bunks	Yes	200
Camping at improved sites (GSCNC or non-council)	Girls prepare meals at outdoor fire site. Patrol cooking	Platform tents, glen shelters, adirondacks, or pitch tents	Yes	200
Camping at unimproved sites	Girls prepare meals, advanced cooking methods	Pitch tents (usually 2-4 person tents) No shelter	Yes	250/215
Backpacking	Girls use light weight foods, cook in small groups	Lightweight tents; may sleep under tarps	Yes	260/216

Guidelines For Overnight Experiences For Troops

As part of troop program, an overnight activity is a valuable growth experience for girls. It may be a beginning experience in group living or a girl's first time away from home. It may be an experienced troop traveling to another city or it may be a time for girls to practice new skills in preparation for more adventuresome activities.

Troops and/or groups must have Council approval to go on an overnight trip, whether camping at an established site, an overnight at a youth hostel or a sleepover with parents. This approval is received from your Service Unit Manager and Field Director. If they are traveling more than 50 miles outside the Council boundary, the adult in charge must take 110 - Troop Trip Travel or consult with someone who has.

If planning a troop overnight at a home or in a backyard, the leader must consider the purpose of the activity, then decide on the adults who must be present. For example, if girls sleep on a porch or in family tents that have been pitched by parents and parents are preparing the meals, no troop camp certified adult needs to be present. Since girls are not likely to be injured and emergency help is accessible by phone, no first aider is necessary. However, a first aid kit must be available. But, if girls are preparing meals on a charcoal grill, you need an adult certified at the 200 level and a first aider.

Always refer to Safety-Wise as you plan activities with the troop.

If the troop is spending the night in a church, hotel or a dormitory facility, the leader must evaluate the purpose of the trip as well as the facility to determine the adults needed. For example, if the facility has beds, electricity and indoor plumbing, if meals are being prepared for the girls and the focus of the activity is environmental education, this is not a camping event. This is very different from a GSCNC lodge with no beds, no plumbing, girls cooking their own meals and planning their own program activities, which requires a 200 certified adult. Both of these events require a first aider.

When planning a troop trip, the leader should use the Checklist for Travel Readiness found in Safety-Wise. The checklist can help leaders and girls determine whether the troop is ready for a trip.

One of the most important considerations when planning troop activities is the degree of risk involved. In a backyard, if tents fall down and girls get wet, they can move into the house to get warm and dry. If their cookout plans get rained out, they can cook and eat inside, even go to the store again if necessary. Thus, there is little risk to their health and their enjoyment of the event. In contrast, if they are camping in the woods far away from these comforts and become wet or cold, there is a greater risk of a first aid emergency and a bad experience. If you are forty minutes from a grocery store and the dinner becomes a disaster, you probably cannot pick up the phone and order pizza. Both the leaders and girls must know how to handle emergencies. Therefore, the greater the risk, the greater the need for training of both girls and adults.

Though you and your service unit manager may not feel your overnight activity needs to be supervised by a trained adult, many topics taught in our courses must be considered, such as time schedules, clothing and equipment, emergencies, night concerns, safety and security.

Troop Trips - Trekking

Is your troop planning a trip outside our Council? Looking for places to stay? Maybe you should consider staying at another Girl Scout Council camp or property! In 1990, GSUSA set up a "trekking network" - a list of councils that are willing to host traveling Girl Scout troops on their camp properties. The network has expanded to 127 councils offering 228 sites in 38 states. These councils offer many options for program activities as well as a wide variety of sleeping accommodations for traveling troops. If you are just looking for a campsite to spend the night, or if your troop would like to participate in a Resident Camp Program offering swimming, horseback riding and sailing, you will find many different options available. In addition, several councils have also offered the "program trails" they have developed for trek groups interested in sightseeing.

For a current listing of participating councils, available sites and proper trekking procedures, contact the Council Information Center at (202) 237-1670 ext. 297.

Troop Trips/Hosteling

American Youth Hostels is a membership organization offering opportunities for travel and outdoor recreation for all, but especially for young people, by providing low cost, dormitory style housing in scenic, cultural and historic areas.

Resource: American Youth Hostels Handbook - a Directory of Hostels in the USA published by American Youth Hostels, P.O. Box 37613, Washington, DC 20013-7613, (202) 783-6161.

Transportation For Girl Scout Troop Trips and Activities

Making decisions about transportation is a very important part of planning a troop/group trip or activity. The first concern is always safety. Adults planning trips with girls have a responsibility to evaluate the kinds of transportation available, to understand the requirements of safety (refer to Safety-Wise), then determine what is best for the trip. Although sometimes parents can be recruited to drive small groups of girls, chartered buses, public transportation and leased/rented vehicles are often the preferred choice of transportation.

Chartering Buses

When a Girl Scout troop/group charters a bus for an activity or trip, the guidelines provided by the Council and the standards established by GSUSA in Safety-Wise should be followed carefully. In the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland, all companies chartering buses for trips within their jurisdiction must have a permit from their local regulatory commission. For trips across state lines, the federal government requires the company to have a permit from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Under a charter agreement, the company supplies the vehicle and the driver. Girl Scout troops may not enter into arrangements wherein they rent or lease just the bus and provide their own driver. In an attempt to save money, sometimes arrangements are made for the use of school buses during off-school time, but this practice is not advisable. The insurance the school district carries on school buses does not always apply to use of a bus by outside groups or to travel outside the school district. Careful consideration must be given when making arrangements with school district officials to ensure all the requirements within the guidelines are fulfilled.

Guidelines For Chartering Buses

• The bus company must hold a current license for operating in the jurisdiction/state the troop/group will be traveling.

• The bus company must have general liability insurance covering claims or lawsuits arising out of an accident. See Safety-Wise. Standard coverage should be no less than one million dollars limited liability for bodily injury or property damage. The bus company must provide a certificate evidencing the insurance carried. A copy of this certificate, a copy of the letter of agreement and the "Request for Council Approval of Activity, Event and Overnight Trip" form must be sent to the Council Office not later than two weeks prior to the activity. Often it takes several weeks for the certificate of insurance to be sent, so be sure to request it well in advance. When requesting a copy of a certificate of insurance to be sent to the Council, please ask the bus company to have their insurance company list GSCNC as "additionally insured" for the dates of your trip.

• Once a company has been selected, it is necessary to enter into a written agreement specifying all of the agreed upon arrangements. Some companies prefer to use their own form for this purpose while others do not. In the latter case, a letter written by the company or the troop/group leader is acceptable. (See "Guidelines for Letter of Agreement"). Three copies of the form or agreement letter must be signed by the bus company and the leader. The original copy must be sent with the insurance certificate to the Council office at least three weeks prior to the date of departure. A copy should be retained by both the bus company and the leader.

Tour Companies

When entering into an agreement for a troop/group trip or activity with a tour company that will provide transportation, it is the leader's responsibility to inquire about the transportation provided and to ensure it meets the standards and guidelines established by GSUSA in Safety-Wise and by the Council regarding bus transportation (see above).

Leased Or Rented Vehicles

Rental agencies supply a variety of vehicles designed for group travel. Be certain the agency provides liability insurance for rentals. Read all rental agreements carefully in order to comply with the terms. Note especially the type and amount of insurance carried by the rental agency. Rental agreements specify the minimum age of the driver, generally from ages 21 to 25. The rental terms also specify who has responsibility for damage to the vehicle. Strong consideration should be given to carrying collision insurance for the rented vehicle. This insurance generally is available from the rental agency for a daily fee.

Guidelines For A Letter Of Agreement

A letter of agreement may be a form used by the chartering company or it may be a letter the company writes. If you have difficulty obtaining a letter of agreement from the bus company, you may write your own. In any case, it should contain all the information listed below which applies to the type of trip the troop is taking:

• Name and address of the bus company

• Permit numbers (ICC & others)

• Name of insurance company (attach a copy of insurance certificate)

• Authorized bus company representative responsible for the arrangements

• Troop leader's name and address

• Troop number

• Number of people going on the trip

• Specific information concerning the trip itself: include time, date and place of pick up and final destination. Be certain to include specific details concerning all side trips and stops.

• Type of equipment:

• size and type of bus equipment desired, including air conditioning, lavatory, heater, luggage storage under the bus, luggage rack overhead, radio, etc.

• Driver:

• experience, knowledge of area of trip, where she/he will stay (if the trip is overnight), who is responsible for paying for her/his accommodations, etc.

• Financial arrangements:

• total cost of trip and when it is to be paid to bus company

• deposit required and when

• refund or cancellation arrangements

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