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GSCFP Myth Busters

• Myth: A girl needs to be in 2nd grade to be a Girl Scout.
  Fact: A girl can register to be a Girl Scout when she is in Kindergarten.
   
• Myth: It is only $10 to register as a Girl Scout girl or adult.
  It is $12 to register to be a Girl Scout starting October 2009, with the new Girl Scout year.
   
• Myth: The Pensacola office/store, Camp Kugleman, and Camp Kolomoki are closed.
  Fact: The Pensacola office and store is open. Office hours are Tuesday – Friday 8:00a.m. – 6:00p.m. The store is open Tuesday – Friday 8:30a.m. – 5:30p.m. Both Camp Kugleman and Camp Kolomoki are fully operational and are owned by GSCFP.
   
• Myth: There is not an interview process for the Gold Award anymore.
  Fact: Every Gold Award proposal includes an interview with Gold Award Committee.
   
• Myth: If my troop disbands, I can evenly distribute the remaining funds to the girls.
  Fact: The money from a disbanded troop should be turned in to your local Council Office to benefit the Opportunity Grant Fund. If your girls join a new troop, a portion of the disbanded troop’s funds may go to the new troop that the girls have joined. Reference p. 75 of Safety-Wise
   
• Myth: Scouter-Outer or First Aider must be a Leader or Co-Leader.
  Fact: Any registered adult volunteer may become a Scouter-Outer or First Aider, but the Scouter-Outer and First Aider cannot be the same person on a troop/group trip.
   
• Myth: Cookie Bucks and Nutty Bucks can be used online and outside GSCFP boundaries.
  Fact: Cookie Bucks and Nutty Bucks are provided by GSCFP and can only be used in the council stores in Tallahassee, Panama City, and Pensacola.
   
• Myth: Dads, Grandpas, Uncles, and other males cannot be a Girl Scout.
  Fact: Anyone over the age of 18 can register to be a Girl Scout including Dads!
   
• Myth: The new Council Id Strips are available in the council stores.
  Fact: The id strips are for sale at this time. You can pick up the new Florida Panhandle Id Strips at any Council Shop.
   
• Myth: Registration for program events is open until the day of the event.
  Fact: Event deadlines are posted according to the event. Each event has its own deadline to register by. The best way to get your daughter or troop signed up is as soon as you know the details of the event. Contact your local Service Unit for more details on program events.
   
• Myth: If I send a flyer to Council for approval, it will automatically be added to the Council program calendar.
  Fact: In order to become a Council facilitator for a Council program, you must first be event – or encampment director-trained. You then work with the appropriate program staff member to have the event advertised in an upcoming calendar. Please contact your local Service Center for more details.
   
• Myth: Girls cannot sell cookies after they turn in their cookie order sheet.
  Fact: Girls can continue to take cookie orders with their Goal-Getter Order Card throughout the sale. If they fill up one Goal-Getter Order Card, they can start another.
   
• Myth: Cookie booths are only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during the direct sale.
  Fact: Cookie booths can be any day of the week. Service Unit Cookie Managers or booth managers may receive permission from the store manager for all days of the week or just weekends.
   
• Myth: Girls are not allowed to go door-to-door to sell cookies.
  Fact: Girls are encouraged to go door-to-door during the Cookie sale. As with any Girl Scout activity, all Safety-Wise standards must be adhered to. Girls who sell cookies door-to-door should be accompanied by an adult.
   
• Myth: Girls/parents can sell cookies on the Internet, including eBay.
  Fact: At the present time, Girl Scouts are not allowed to sell cookies via the Internet. They can use e-mail to contact friends and family. GSUSA took the first step into cyberspace with http://www.girlscoutcookies.org. By going to the site, people who do not personally know a Girl Scout but want to buy cookies can be connected with GSCFP.
  GSUSA’s Internet policy states: “Sales on a website on the Internet* of any products sold in Council-sponsored product sales, such as Girl Scout Cookies, candy, nuts, calendars, or magazine subscriptions, may not be conducted at any time.”
  *Sales on the Internet include online auctions and/or posting on individual Girl Scout, troop/group.
   
• Myth: Adults do not have to be registered to volunteer at cookie booths.
  Fact: All volunteers who handle money must be current registered members of Girl Scouts and have completed a Volunteer Application. This includes those who volunteer at cookie booths.