Volunteer Toolkit –Guided Demonstration Activity
Activity Overview
This activity is designed to allow volunteers to learn about the VTK by getting some hands on experience while at the same time presenting the information to other volunteers.
It is broken down into a Presenter role (usually a council staff member or a service unit manager) and eight Participant roles.
Before beginning the activity, select your eight participants and explain to them that there are “stage directions” built into their parts indicated by parenthesis and italic font (Like This) and these are actions they should do on the computer while doing their part of the presentation.
(Presenter - Intro)
We are excited to share with you a new resource called the Volunteer Toolkit, specifically designed for our Troop Leaders!
What is the volunteer toolkit? The volunteer toolkit, or VTK for short, is the new web app that helps you make the most of every troop meeting and is fully accessible from a computer, tablet or mobile device.
For Daisy, Brownie and Junior troops it comes with several different prepopulated plans for a full year of Girl Scouts.While Cadette, Senior and Ambassador troops don’t have prepopulated meetings yet, it can still be used for its great planning features.
So, sit back, relax and enjoy as you learn how to take your girls planning and give it wings.
(Only read this note if using the demo site)This is just a demo site so not everything is functional but we wanted you to have a great overview and start generating excitement for this amazing new resource.
(You will also need to pause between Participant 1 & 2 to switch over to the demo site if desired)
(Participant 1 – Sign In/Overview)
To access the Volunteer Toolkit you need to log in to our council website.
(Open Google Chrome and go to hngirlscouts.org)
Click the SIGN INlink, located in thetop-right cornerof thewebsite and log in using your email and password.
(Click SIGN IN)
For returning leaders this is the same username and password you used for Renewal and the Finance Report.
(Use saved password, click Log In)
After you log in, you will be presented with the option to open the Volunteer Toolkit or your Member Profile.
The Member Profile has been referred to as MyGS previously, this is the place to renew your girls or add new members to your troop.
The Volunteer Toolkit grants access to a variety of great tools and information.
(Click VOLUNTEER TOOLKIT)
The links include the MY TROOP tab, the YEAR PLAN tab, the MEETING PLAN tab, the RESOURCES tab and the FINANCE tab.
Now, let’s look at the features of this great new tool.
(Participant 2 – My Troop)
(Click MY TROOP tab)
The MY TROOP tab is where management of your troop members happens.
Here you can upload a photo of your troop to personalize your VTK.
The two icons in the top right corner of the tab give you the option to download or print a roster of your girls.
The email contacts link provides a one click option to communicating with your entire troop through email.
(Click on Email to # Contacts link, then close box)
Below that, all the girls and adults registered with your troop will be listed. You can manage their memberships, verify your roster, see when a girl registers, access their email and phone numbers, and view their achievements and attendance.
(Participant 3 – Year Plan Intro/Custom Year Plans)
(Click on Year Plan tab)
The YEAR PLAN tab is the default tab in VTK and it will display first each time you log in. The first thing you need to set up to utilize all the features of the VTK is choose your year plan.
(Scroll to bottom of Year Plan Library)
There is a CREATE YOUR OWN YEAR PLAN section designed for older girl troops and our multi-level troops.
Creating a custom year plan allows girls and their volunteers to build a year plan based on their choices. You can choose from all meetings and awards available in the VTK by using a simple filter system to add their selected meetings and then drag and drop them in the desired order in the year plan.
(Scroll up until you see the Brownie Year Plan header)
The year plan library also allows you to choose from a number of plans that include 15 prebuilt meetings from one easy portal. These are currently available to Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors.
(Participant 4 – Year Plan Library)
You can click the preview button to get a feel for the plans or download a Year Plan Overview that highlights all the plans available to your Program Grade Level. Then, after you meet with your girls and decide your focus for the year, click Select next to the plan you have chosen.
(Click Preview next to STEM: Think like a Programmer, scroll down to meeting 11 & 12)
There are alternate activities available for some meetings with a focus to Get Girls Outside, these are indicated by this tree icon.
For the rest of our demo, we are going to take our girls on the STEM: Think like a Programmer Journey.
(Click SELECT at the bottom of the preview for Brownie Journey STEM: Think like a Programmer)
Once a year plan is created, you can drag and drop the meetings to change the order as desired.The next step is to Specify Dates and Locations.
(Click SPECIFY DATES AND LOCATIONS, Enter 9/15/2017 as the start date, then click UPDATE CALENDAR)
(Participant 5 – Year Plan Dates and Activities)
Once you specify a start date the system automatically assigns a date to each meeting in the year plan.
At this point, you may notice some orange bars in the middle of your meetings.
(Scroll down until you see an orange bar)
These are called Milestones and are set by our council to remind you of important dates throughout the year.
From Specify Dates and Locations you also have the ability to define one or more meeting locations and assign them to each meeting in the year plan.
You can add council sponsored activities or create your own custom activities using the Add Activity link.
(Click ADD ACTIVITY, located at the top of the tab)
Addinga custom activity is as simpleas entering the name, location, cost, date, time and address of the activity. Or you can search council activities and add them to your calendar.
(Create a fake custom activity and click Add Activity)
Activities are indicated by a blue box around their date.
(Participant 6 – Meeting Plans - Overview)
Once a troop builds their year the leadership then uses the meeting plan tab to manage the year.
(Click MEETING PLAN)
The arrows on the green bar at the top allowyou to switch from meeting to meeting.
(Click the right arrow)
You can also jump directly to a meeting plan by clicking the title of the meeting from the year plan.
(Click YEAR PLAN, scroll to Making Games 2 and click the title)
Here you can see an overview of the meeting.(Click Meeting Overview) That includes a high-level outline and prep.(Click X to close)
An activity plan.(Click on Activity Plan)That breaks down each activity used in the meeting. (Click X to close)
A materials list for shopping and prep. (Click Materials List)
Each one of these pages also has a download or print options so volunteers can work in their desired method.(Click X to close)
(Participant 7 – Meeting Plans –Emails, Attendance, Aids)
Continuing down the meeting plan, we have a communication section that allows for sending email reminders to your girls’families.
(Click Edit/Sent Meeting Reminder Email)
This reminder includes the date, time, and location of the meeting as well as predetermined information about the meetings content.You can customize this email as needed by adding additional recipients or attaching relevant meeting aids. (Click X to close)
You can also use the RecordAttendance and Achievements section to track girls’ progress.
(Click Record Attendance & Achievements, leave open a few seconds, then click X to close)
Next comes the meeting aids section.
(Scroll down to show Meeting Aids)
This will populate with the materials needed for the prebuilt meetings and you can attach additional resources using the Add Meeting Aids link.
(Participant 8–Meeting Plan Agenda)
The final item on the Meeting Plan is an agenda for the meeting.
(Scroll down to view complete agenda)
Here you can move items around simply by dragging and dropping items in place.
(Demonstrate drag and drop, use the gray area on the left side of the item)
Open an individual section to view the details of that agenda item.
(Open Soccer Twist)
From this screen you can edit the time or delete the item from the agenda. Also, for items with a Get Girls Outside alternate plan you can toggle that here.
(Click circle next to Get Girls Outside! Pause to view changes to the item, then click Save)
You can also add agenda items of your own.
The meeting plans provide great flexibility and the resources you need all in one place so that you can spend moreof your time working directly with your girls.
(Presenter – Resources, Finance & Closing)
The next tab is the Resources tab.
(Click the Resources tab)
This is a great place to find most of the documents and resources that you need to work successfully with your girls, including 5 tutorial videos for the VTK to get you started.
Resources are organized by category and are searchable.
However, there are some documents such as the Safety Activity Checkpoints that have been customized by our council that are not accessible through the VTK. You can find these expanded documents in the Forms section of our website.
Finally, there is the Finances tab.
(Click on Finance Tab)
This tab will allow troop leaders to submit their year-end financial report to the council. Leaders will report on their income, expenses, attach bank statements, and include any other information.
(Slowly scroll)
For disbanding troops, they will be able to note this and share necessary information.
(Click “preview report” at bottom)
The attachment of bank statements and any other documents will be attached after clicking “Submit to Council.”
(Scroll through preview)
Once submitted, troop parents can view the information submitted to council but will not be able to make changes.
Please note: This form must be completed for troops to participate in product sales for the next membership year.
Before we conclude the demo I want to point out that, unlike our previous system, Volunteer Toolkit and our other new web based tools will work best in Google Chrome. If something isn’t working for you, “What browser are you using?” will always be the first question asked by our customer care team to help troubleshoot your issues.
I want to thank my brave participants and open the floor for questions as they make their way back to their seats.