RBSU Event Planning

The Rancho Bernardo Girl Scout Service Unit has had a long-standing tradition of girl-led events.

Troops volunteer to lead these events, providing a great leadership experience for older girls and also adding vitality to the service unit and strengthening the Rancho Bernardo Girl Scout community.  Sometimes, these events can also be a fundraising opportunity to save money toward a bigger troop goal or trip.  

While there’s no set rule on when a troop is ready to lead an event, typically, girls as young as fourth-grade Juniors are ready to start leading events.  Like all things Girl Scouts, through progression, as the girls build their event planning skills, they are ready to work up to leading larger events.

This page is intended to provide resources for troops interested in leading events for the Rancho Bernardo Service Unit.

For GSSD guidance on Activity Approval, please click HERE

For troops that lead events, the troop leader or an active parent needs to take the Event Director training through Girl Scouts San Diego.  This will provide valuable information on things to keep in mind when planning events as well as leading girls in the event planning process.

Girls Scouts San Diego has extensive information available on their web site for event planners, including necessary forms to complete.  Please visit: https://www.sdgirlscouts.org/en/camp/ways-to-camp/service-unit-encampments/encampment-forms.html 

Coming soon is a link to a video created by Alumni Girl Scout Troop 8907 based on their experience leading events, including helpful tips and how to keep the event planning process Girl-Led.  Attached are the slides from this presentation.  

After identifying the event your troop wants to lead and signing up at the link above:

• Pick a theme and activity ideas

• Select a day/time/location

• Develop a budget

• Create a flier to advertise the event with all the essential information. This is something the girls can do, especially as they get a little older.

• Think about how to handle registration and payment.  Google Forms works well for registration, along with accepting check payment or via Zelle or Venmo.

• Seek approval from the Service Unit team before you begin advertising

  • Leave yourself several weeks to get this completed BEFORE your target date to start advertising

  • If the troop plans to make money, complete the Money Earning Project form and submit to rbsumanager@gmail.com. 

• Address Safety Wise and Activity Checkpoints requirements as applicable

  • For example, if it’s a drop-off event, at least two unrelated adults per troop must remain on-site; each troop needs sufficient adult to girl ratio based on the size of their troop.

  • Remember to have a first aid kit on-site, just in case.

• It’s recommended to start advertising your event no less than four weeks before

• A fun component is to design a fun patch or order a fun patch online.  If it’s a badge workshop, that could also be the patch.  There are online stores that will make custom patches for several dollars each.  It’s fun to have the girls design the patch!

• Prepare with girls in advance of the event.

  • Practice leading the activities so the girls are comfortable and prepared

  • Talk about strategies for managing girls at the event (e.g., what if a girl is sad or not engaging because she doesn’t know anyone?)

  • It’s recommended that you have a dress rehearsal in advance of the event to practice walking through it so everyone feels prepared and comfortable in their roles.

• Day of the event:

  • Ask troop moms to help.  To keep it girl-led, have them “waiting in the wings” and taking direction from the girls leading the event.

  • Ask parents and troop leaders of the attending girls to enjoy the event form off to the side to enable the girls to lead the event.

  • Keep the event as Girl-Led as possible!

• Suggested Rough Format for Daisy Day-type event:

  • Two hours

  • Girls arrive / activity, such as making nametags or a coloring sheet until everyone arrives

  • Opening Activity:

    • Welcome and introductions

    • Overview of what’s happening

    • Ice breaker game or song?

    • Break the girls into groups for the activity stations (suggest figuring out a plan to do this before the event)

  • Breakout activity stations (suggest four at about 20 minutes each with about five minutes in between for movement to the next station)

  • Serve a snack

    • Could serve it at one of the stations or have a snack be part of an activity station

  • Conclusion

    • Concluding comments and thank yous to all the helpers

    • “Make New Friends” and Friendship Circle

For questions about leading events for the service unit, please contact rbsumanager@gmail.com