The Troop 56 Girls’ Troop Project is a coordinated initiative to establish Troop 56G, a new girls’ Scouts BSA troop operating in a linked relationship with the established Troop 56B. The primary target is a formal launch in February 2027, aligned with the crossover of the girls currently participating in Pack 56’s Arrow of Light program. An accelerated fall 2026 launch may be considered if recruitment produces five committed Scouts BSA-aged girls and the required adult leadership, registration, training, and institutional approvals are in place.
The project is designed to provide Troop 56G with the institutional support, practical mentorship, administrative infrastructure, equipment access, and leadership development necessary for a strong beginning without making the new troop permanently dependent upon Troop 56B. The intended outcome is a safe, outdoor-centered, genuinely youth-led troop that develops its own identity, traditions, youth leadership, and program capacity while remaining part of the broader Troop 56 Scouting community.
Ultimate authority for the project rests with the Chartered Organization and Troop Committee. These bodies will approve the troop structure, adult leadership, budget, shared policies, significant expenditures, and final launch-readiness determination.
The practical work of implementation will be coordinated by a small Launch Stewardship Team. This team will not function as an independent governing body but will carry out responsibilities delegated by the Troop Committee and bring major recommendations or unresolved questions back for approval. A designated Launch Project Coordinator, separate from either Scoutmaster, will maintain the project plan, assign and track responsibilities, document decisions, monitor dependencies, and coordinate launch-readiness and post-launch reviews.
This structure is intended to protect the Scoutmasters from becoming the default administrators of the entire project. Their principal responsibility remains preparation and leadership of their respective troop programs.
Troop 56G will initially operate under a shared committee and administrative structure with Troop 56B. During this startup period, the established troop will provide mentorship, experienced adult support, equipment access, administrative systems, and institutional knowledge.
The operating model anticipates three developmental phases:
Movement between these phases will be based upon demonstrated organizational maturity rather than an arbitrary date. Indicators will include stable membership, functioning youth leadership, trained adult depth, reliable female leadership coverage, a sustainable outdoor program, financial stability, and reduced dependence upon Troop 56B.
Recruitment is the project’s most immediate strategic priority. The objective is not merely to reach the minimum roster required to charter a unit, but to establish a viable founding patrol and a continuing pipeline of girls progressing through Pack 56.
The campaign will pursue two principal pathways:
Five registered girls is the intended minimum launch roster, while seven to ten girls would represent a strong founding cohort. Recruitment will also support Pack 56 and Troop 56B, but the principal message will invite girls to become founding members of Troop 56G.
The campaign will be coordinated by a dedicated Recruitment Lead and supported through schools, churches, homeschool groups, community organizations, current families, local events, targeted social media, printed materials, and belmontscouting.org. Personal follow-up with interested families will be essential. A temporary Lone Scout pathway may be explored with the council for one or two girls who wish to begin before the troop can formally launch.