Start your own SpiralScouts Charter

Curious about starting your own SpiralScouts Charter?

You've discovered SpiralScouts and maybe there isn't a local charter near you. So what does it take to get involved with SpiralScouts™ International?  Find out a little more about the structure options of SpiralScouts charters and how to get started, so you can be on your way to leading and training your own group of Future Earth Stewards.

Hearth

A Hearth is a charter for a single family.  This would look like a parent or guardian leading the youth in their household through the SpiralScouts curriculum as their charter's HearthKeeper.  They may or may not have a co-leadeing Registered Adult Volunteer from their family.

To get started you need:

A minimum of 1 Registered Adult Volunteer to be your HearthKeeper

A minimum of 1 Registered Scout 

Circle

A Circle is a charter for multiple families.  This would look like 2 parents/guardians or other adults who have completed the Registered Adult Volunteer process serving as the Circle Leader and Co-Leader for their circle, leading the youth from more than one family through the SpiralScouts curriculum.

To get started you need:

A minimum of 2 Registered Adult Volunteers (Circle Leader & Co-Leader

A minimum of 2 Registered Scouts from two separate families

Adult / Scout Ratios

Due to the attention requirements of children of various ages, there are minimum ratios of adults to Scouts for all meetings and functions to ensure the safety of all participants. In situations where there are mixed age Charters, the requirements of the youngest age group participating shall be followed.

• For RainDrops, there must be one Registered Adult for every 5 Scouts.
• For FireFlies, there must be one Registered Adult for every 5 Scouts.
• For SpiralScouts, the ratio is one Registered Adult for every 7 Scouts.
• For PathFinders, there must be one Registered Adult for every 12 Scouts.

In addition to these requirements, no matter how many Scouts are in attendance, there is a minimum requirement of 2 Registered Adults at any function. For example, if the Circle has 12 Scouts that are all PathFinders, having the 2 Registered Leaders is okay. If the Circle has 15 Scouts that consists of 5 SpiralScouts, 5 FireFlies, and 5 RainDrops, then 3 Registered Adults are required. We encourage any adult who regularly assists at meetings to become registered.

If the Circle is so fortunate as to have so many involved parents that there are enough Leaders and Registered Adults to be able to always meet the two-deep and adult-to-scout ratio requirements, unregistered parents are always welcome to help at meetings or serve at planning meetings. If they are unregistered, they do not count towards those numeric requirements. Volunteers without a Scout in the Circle will still need to be registered with SpiralScouts International. 

Investment in Your Charter

What does it cost to get started?

It's important to know how much starting a charter will cost so you can plan.  We hope this break down helps you with planning.

Hearth

Registration

• $35 New Hearth Annual Registration (Renewal is $25 annually)
• $16 HearthKeeper/Registered Adult Volunteer annual Registration for each Registered Adult Volunteer
• $10 New Volunteer Process Packet (includes cost of background check)
• $15 New Scout Annual Registration for each Scout

Uniform

• $16 New Member Welcome Kit (for each Scout and Registered Adult Volunteer)
• $3 each for Charter Number Patches (will need 3 or 4 numbers depending on assigned charter number)
• Uniform shirt and pants are sourced by each Registered Adult Volunteer or Scout family and consist of a forest green polo shirt and khaki pants, shorts, skirt, skort or kilt. 

Circle

Registration

• $55 New Hearth Annual Registration (Renewal is $40 annually)
• $16 Circle Leader/Registered Adult Volunteer annual Registration for each Registered Adult Volunteer
• $10 New Volunteer Process Packet (includes cost of background check) for each Registered Adult Volunteer
• $15 New Scout Annual Registration for each Scout

Uniform

• $16 New Member Welcome Kit (for each Scout and Registered Adult Volunteer)
• $3 each for Charter Number Patches (will need 3 or 4 numbers depending on assigned charter number)
• Uniform shirt and pants are sourced by each Registered Adult Volunteer or Scout family and consist of a forest green polo shirt and khaki pants, shorts, skirt, skort or kilt. 

Other costs?

Other things to consider are costs of certifications:

• CPR & First Aid Certification
• Life Guard Certification (required for activities in or near water)

Other fees:

• Bank fees for maintaining a bank account.  You may use PayPal as an alternative option.