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Hello,

Welcome to the online submission system for the GSEMA Safety Approval Form (GSAF)*. Thank you for your commitment to providing new experiences for girls in your community.

A GSEMA Safety Approval Form is NOT required for

• "low risk" activities such as a small group neighborhood walk or day trip to library/ bank 
  
• Troop/SU or GSEMA staff run day programs and activities on GSEMA property, encampments, or other overnights on GSEMA property (instead, Find and Reserve Properties &/or Activies on GSEMA properties online here or register for GSEMA staff run programs on GSEMA properties via gsEvents here)

Volunteers are still required to adhere to volunteer-to-girl ratios, procedures for transporting girls, and have a GSEMA approved first aider (including a hands-on, in-person classroom component for adult and pediatrcis) with current, active, certifications on file, outdoor basics trained - cooking / troop camping, or other expert(s) as outlined in Volunteer Policies and Procedures, Volunteer Essentials, and Safety Activity Checkpoints when booking GSEMA property activities, programs, and reservations.

Still not sure if you need to complete this form?
Answer a few simple questions and we'll tell you!
Take me to GSEMA Safety Approval Pre-Check flow chart.

As a reminder, please be sure to complete this form 4 weeks in advance of your activity or with as much notice as possible and BEFORE making any definitive plans with the girls, booking with vendors/ partners or advertising your event. 

This timeframe will allow GSEMA staff to collect/process the required paperwork and issue an approval in a timely manner.  Even if you don't know all of the details yet, this can edited and updated later. 

This form is used to ensure Girl Scouts, their adults, and other participants are safe by following Girl Scout safety protocols as outlined in Volunteer Policies and Procedures, Volunteer Essentials, and Safety Activity Checkpoints while participating in Girl Scout activities. The following types of activities require approval: 

• "High risk" / "High adventure" activities, as defined by the GSEMA Safety Activity Checkpoints 
• All overnight activities, including but not limited to: hotel, lodge and camping trips (but not GSEMA properties - see above) *requires a GSEMA approved first aid/CPR volunteer and separate in-person outdoor basics trained volunteer -- Please note this form is for 1-3 nights only (less than 6 hours from home), 4+ nights (OR 6 hours or more away) requires a Request to Travel form instead
• Additional money-earning activities, including any activity with a money-handling component (such as break-even events where cash, check, credit card, or third party payment app transactions) of any kind will be involved, even if no profit is expected. Groups must ensure that all legal and regulatory requirements are met for any money-handling activity, including applicable reporting obligations and compliance with payment platform requirements (Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, Zelle, Cheddar up, etc.) for tax reporting.   
  • A donation is not an "additional-money earning activity" and should instead be submitted at https://www.gsema.org/en/support-us/ways-to-give/donate-to-girl-scouts.html 

We appreciate your efforts to keep girls safe.

Remember our motto: Safety First, Fun Second!
-The Safety Team

• Troop numbers of all the troops participating in the activity
• Service Unit Number, Name, &/or Town
• Names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of at least two volunteers responsible for this activity.
• First Aider name and certification expiration date.
• Number of volunteers and girls (and their level) attending the activity.
• Date of the activity.
• Read the Safety Activity Checkpoints, which lists the "high risk" / "high adventure" activities, to know if additional insurance information is required.  GSEMA Program Partners already have this on file.
• Mode of transportation to the event.  All rental agreements for chartered, leased, or rented vehicles must be approved by GSEMA-- even if they are free.
• Are non-Girl Scout members attending? 
• For Overnight Trips, you will need to know the types of activities girls will be participating in and the names of the adults leading the activity and their certifications. For example, archery, lifeguard, outdoor skills trained, &/or wilderness first aid. 
• For Overnights Trips, all overnight participants must be a registered member of GSUSA, including all youth and all adults must be registered volunteer members of Girl Scouts with a current, eligible Criminal Background Check (CORI/SORI, plus an online national screening for those who have not lived in MA for the past 7 years), and have completed, at minimum, our mandatory “Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention” online class on gsLearn in MYGS at gsema.org.
• For additional money-earning activities, include a description of the Money-Earning activity, its purpose, and money-earning goal. As per GSEMA Troop/Group and Service Unit Money Earning Policy, troops/groups must participate in both the Fall Product Program and the Girl Scout Cookie Programs, and submit an Annual Troop Financial Report, in order to be eligible to participate in additional money-earning activities.
• Review the Safety Activity Checkpoints section on Transporting Girl Scouts and know that if your activity requires driving a 15 passanger vehicle, driving approximately 4 hours or more, or includes a trip to a major tourist destination or city, our insurance agency requires that we check all drivers via a Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) check to ensure they have a safe driving record.

If you have any questions filling out this form, please contact Customer Care at customercare@gsema.org

It is important that you review the Safety Activity Checkpoints related to your planned activity and share this information with the girls, their families, any program partners or vendor locations you may be working with. Safety Activity Checkpoints include information on the appropriate grade level (Junior, Cadette, etc) for safe and appropriate participation. Younger Girl Scouts should not participate in activities recommended for older level Girl Scouts. Always refer to the Safety Activity Checkpoints for more information on the level of appropriateness for your activity. Your approval is dependent on GSEMA's review of this information.

If Safety Activity Checkpoints do not exist for an activity the girls are interested in, contact Customer Care at  customercare@gsema.org before making any definite plans with the girls.

All overnight participants must be a registered member of GSUSA, including all youth and all adults must be registered volunteer members of Girl Scouts with a current, eligible Criminal Background Check (CORI/SORI, plus an online national screening for those who have not lived in MA for the past 7 years).

Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (GSEMA) Program Partners are businesses and organizations throughout the council who believe in supporting and enriching the Girl Scout experience. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE

If the activity involves a third-party vendor and that vendor is asking for a waiver, indemnification, or agreement not to sue, please proceed with caution. This is especially true when language in the waiver attempts to exempt a third-party vendor “any and all” liability for “negligence” and/or “equipment failure”. In such instances, GSEMA requests that the third-party vendor allow our members to opt-out of signing waivers and/or redact these areas of concern. If families and/or volunteers agree to and sign a waiver, GSEMA does not assume such liability on behalf of the third-party vendor.   If GSEMA members are being asked to sign such a third-party waiver in advance, GSEMA would ask that such participant execute the Child Participant Waiver and/or the Adult Participant Waiver. Furthermore, please note that photo releases are never allowed without express written permission from GSEMA’s marketing team as this can be seen as endorsing another organization, which Girl Scouts, at a national level, are not allowed to do.

If you have not already done so, be sure to complete the annual GSEMA Online Volunteer Agreement form for the 2025-26 membership year. 

All activities require a minimum of two unrelated, approved, eligible GSEMA volunteers, at least one of whom is female.

Please provide the information of the second, unrelated, approved GSEMA volunteer who has committed to be additionally responsible for this activity.

Because a copy of this form will be emailed to this volunteer, be sure they have accepted this responsibility, are a GSEMA Registered volunteer and have a completed, eligible GSEMA Criminal Background Check on file.

After review of the required volunteer-to-girl ratios for your activity in Volunteer Essentials and the potential need for addtional specialized volunteers in the Safety Activity Checkpoints for your activity, please provide the total number of GSEMA approved volunteers who have committed to help with this event

All activities require a minimum of two unrelated, approved GSEMA volunteers, at least one of whom is female.  Depending on the age/level of the girls, additional GSEMA approved volunteers may be required to satisfy the volunteer-to-girl ratios as outlined for events, travel, and camping in Volunteer Essentials.  Please note, this ratio is more than what is required for troop meetings-- you may need to reach out to your Friends and Family Network for help.  The Safety Activity Checkpoints for a particular activity may also require additional specialized volunteers and/or experts.

Please provide more information on the level(s) of Girl Scouts who will be participating.  If this information is not provided, volunteer-to-girl ratios for the youngest level of girls (Daisies) will be used.

Safety Activity Checkpoints require the participation of a GSEMA approved first aider.  This role can only be served by an approved GSEMA adult volunteer who has taken approved GSEMA CPR/AED and First Aid with a hands-on component which includes child-specific instructions (pediatric).  If a volunteer was certified outside of GSEMA and they haven't already, you may upload below or provide a copy of their First Aid and CPR/AED certification(s) or medical license(s) to customercare@gsema.org.

Please provide your first aiders information below:

Many of the "high risk" activities in the Safety Activity Checkpoints require additional trained volunteers with specialized training and/or experts. 

For example, all camping trips require a GSEMA volunteer certified in Outdoor Camping Skills - tent, and all swimming activities require a lifeguard, any activity that takes girls more than 30 minutes from Emergency Medical Services requires a volunteer with a Wilderness First Aid certification. 

As a reminder, be sure to double-check the Safety Activity Checkpoints to see if your activity has these types of additional requirements.

If your activity does require additional experts, please provide the information about this additional training below.

Be sure to review and share Safety Activity Checkpoints information on Transporting Girls.  This includes information on personal vehicles, private transportation, and a checklist for drivers.  

Unless parent/guardian/caregivers are solely responsible for transportation to/from an event/activity, if leaders are helping to arrange transportation in any way, every driver must be an approved volunteer (with a current, eligible GSEMA Criminal Background Check on file), over 21 years old, have a good driving record, valid license with more than 5 years driving experience, and registered/insured vehicle.  GSEMA reserves the right to collect information on and obtain driving records of any/all drivers at any time, for any reason.

Motor vehicle record (MVR) checks are required from all drivers when travelling four or more hours away from home or a roadtrip to a major tourist destination/city. 

Rental agreements must be in the name of the volunteer and not the council; this procedure enables volunteers to directly sign the rental agreement. Volunteers must accept all optional extra insurances offered by the rental company- including but not limited to collision damage.  Copies of all rental agreements must be forwarded to customercare@gsema.org and preapproved by the council. 

*Taxis and ride-sharing services, including Uber and Lyft, may be used but have strict guidelines.Please see the Safety Activity Checkpoints for details.

Since non-registered parents, tagalongs (brothers, sisters, friends), and other non-members participants may require additional volunteers for ratios, please indicate the number of non-members participating.  Volunteer-to-youth ratios will need to be adjusted to accomidate any additional youth that are attending.

Please note: non-members may not participate in overnights.  All overnight participants must be registered volunteer members of Girl Scouts and all adults must also have a current, eligible Criminal Background Check (CORI/SORI, plus an online national screening for those who have not lived in MA for the past 7 years).

As per GSEMA Troop/Group and Service Unit Money Earning Policy, troops/groups must have participated in both the Fall Product Program and the Girl Scout Cookie Programs, and submit an Annual Troop Financial Report, in order to be approved for additional money-earning activities.

Additional money-earning activities are NOT allowed for troops during the Fall Product Program and the Girl Scout Cookie Program dates, except when a troop already has an approved Request to Travel OR a High Award Project on file with GSEMA. 

Note: the GSAF is not required for Girl Scout Cookie Booth Sales.

Are there additional money-earning activities included in your event?

Annual Troop/SU Financial Report link

Thank you for completing the GSEMA Safety Approval Form. 

We appreciate you and all that you do!

You will automatically receive a copy of this submission via email. 

The confirmation of submission email is an automatic response only a for your records that we received your request to review and is NOT a council approval for your activity. 

Once GSEMA receives your submission, it can take 3-5 business days to begin to process, especially during busy periods. You will then receive another email from GSEMA with instructions for next steps or with questions we may ask you to clarify.  Once all of the Safety Activity Checkpoints have been reviewed and paperwork processed, you will receive an email approval for your event.

Please email customercare@gsema.org or call 844-306-GSEM (4736) with questions.