Zoom For Service Units

Girl Scouts of Central & Southern NJ is providing one (1) year of free Zoom licenses per Service Unit to make leading your Girl Scouts in the 21st-century easier than ever!

Zoom licenses for 2023 will expire between July 15th and August 1st. Service Units that want to have a license for the new year will need to fill out the form. Service Unit must be registered for the 2023/2024 year to request a zoom license.

Who Can Receive a Zoom Account?

GSCSNJ is only providing one (1) Zoom account per Service Unit as of October 1, 2023. Each Service Unit should still request to have an account for their Service Unit by completing the opt-in survey. The account will be for up to 100 people, and no time limit.

Basic Zoom Account

Cost: FREE!
Attendees: Up to 500
Plus, no time limit!

REQUEST ACCOUNT

Zoom 101

GSCSNJ is excited to offer modern resources like Zoom for our troop leaders as they continue to encourage our Girl Scouts to think creatively and act boldly!

Resources for Successful Virtual Meetings toggle arrow

Girl Scouts of Central & Southern NJ and GSUSA provide many resources for leaders to plan and deliver fun and engaging virtual meetings for their troops.

To learn the ins and outs of Zoom and virtual troop meetings, check out these courses from GSUSA available in gsLearn.
- Zoom for Girl Scouts
- Facilitating Virtual Troop Meetings
For ideas and tips to engage every level of girl in your virtual troop meetings, visit Girl Scouts at Home
Spice up your virtual meetings with the fun Girl Scout backgrounds below.

Cookie Themed Backgrounds

Girl Scout Themed Backgrounds

Safety First toggle arrow

As with any Girl Scout-related activity, safety should be paramount. Make sure that girls and guardians have signed the Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge before participating in any online meetings or events. Here are a few additional safety tips when using Zoom:

Use Zoom safety settings. When setting up your meeting, remember to check your settings to ensure your meeting is accessible only to you and your troop.
Password protect your meeting. Enable the password requirement to join your meeting and only share the password with troop participants.
Use the virtual waiting room feature. This enables you to admit individual participants into the meeting and controls who can and can’t be admitted.
Enlist a co-host. If you have a co-leader or another registered adult volunteer joining in the meeting, promote them to the co-host position. This gives that adult the same meeting privileges and controls as you (the host). You can work together so you can focus on leading the meeting and supporting the girls.
Change usernames. Once they’re in the meeting, encourage girls to rename themselves so only their first name shows up on the screen. (Alternatively, if you’re comfortable, they can assign themselves nicknames — like their camp names!)

Virtual Meeting Sample Agenda toggle arrow

What can you do in 40 minutes? A lot! You don't need time for a snack or to clean up, so maximize the time with your Girl Scouts.

Arrival Activity (5 minutes): Consider having a welcome question on the screen for the girls to answer either in the chat box or on screen if you enable the annotation tool.

Opening Ceremony (5 minutes): Recite the Girl Scout Promise and Law, say the Pledge of Allegiance, sing a song together. Whatever you’d normally say or sing together — do it here!

Business (3 minutes): Share any news and agenda.

Main Activity (12 minutes): This is a great time to work on badge or Journey activities! Think about what you can send the girls the day before or the morning of the meeting so that they can come in prepared to interact. That helps you make the most of your time. Remember: You can screen share, so anything that you can put on your screen can be shared — like videos, pictures, and more.

Closing (5 minutes): A modified Friendship Circle is possible! Instead of squeezing a hand, have each girl say the name of another person in your virtual circle. Encourage the girls to be creative!