Volunteering is becoming a lost art. This is a bold statement to someone who is
constantly volunteering their time for various reasons and organizations. Those who volunteer though, can tell you that
we are all always in need of more volunteers.
We are all “short staffed.”
I won’t lie, being a Girl Scout volunteer is not easy. Yet every year, I return, and ready for
more. All of the girls I work with want
to be there, and that is one of the many reasons why I return. They are eager to learn and have fun. Sometimes, they are a group of crazy kids
running around you, and other times they are very quiet listeners who are
fixated on your every word.
Ok, I know you’re all thinking, “this woman is nuts! Why on earth would she give up her time for a
bunch of kids?” My reasoning is very
simple. The first is to pay it forward-
many years ago I had an amazing Girl Scout leader, and I feel the need to pass
on everything she taught me (and she taught me a lot!). My second reason is a little selfish- to
spend more time with my daughters. My
last reason is one I owe to my parents for instilling upon me a sense of
community- to give to those around me to better our area.
I started out as a Girl Scout volunteer during my time in college,
many years ago. The first troop that I
led was one that forever changed my life.
It was a troop with nine young women who were all from severely
impoverished families. It never stopped
them from attending meetings, and it never stopped them from being amazing
people. Before I graduated and handed
the troop over to a trusted friend, we took a big trip to New York City. Those girls had earned every single penny
through Girl Scout fundraisers (mainly our precious cookies). Their parents had to pay nothing for the
trip- not a single dime. That trip was
one they were all so very grateful for, because none of them had ever been
outside of their home state.
Here I am, years later, a troop leader to my oldest
daughter’s troop. Even though they are
all equally wonderful, each scout has touched me on a different level because
they are all my daughter’s friends. I
have watched the shy girls come out of their shells, the “girly” ones try messy
and dirty things, and I have watched all of them explore the world around
them. They constantly challenge me. Every year, they spend their last meeting
planning for the following year. I
recently sat down to put their plan into a schedule and I realized that I have
some reading to do if I plan on being their own personal expert on canoeing,
botany and first aid (just to name a few).
Every year, they come up with things that I need to learn a little bit
about, but I enjoy it because I know they want to learn about all of these
things.
Girl Scouting doesn’t stop once you leave high school
though, and I am living proof of this.
Since becoming an adult volunteer, I have literally traveled the world
in the name of Scouting. Two years ago,
I was afforded the opportunity to travel to Chicago to represent our area in
Girl’s World Forum. The forum had women
from over 90 countries in attendance. My
own roommate was from Ireland! I have
been presented with opportunities to travel to Germany, Hong Kong, Rwanda,
Mexico and more. I was offered these
chances because I am a member of the GLO pool- Global Leadership
Opportunities. This is a Girl Scout
sponsored thing, but you have to be an adult Girl Scout member to be in
it. It gives me the chance to represent
our country in the name of Girl Scouting, all over!
I love everything that Girl Scouts stands for. I learned how to start a fire, change the oil
in my car and I even learned how to climb a mountain, all because of Girl
Scouts. I can proudly say that I am a
debt free adult because I learned how to make and stick to a budget while my
former Girl Scout troop planned a massive overseas trip. Every time someone asks me if we just sell
cookies, I laugh a little, but it’s because I know how important the Girl Scout
program is. The Girl Scout leadership
experience, instills courage, confidence and character. We do strive to, “make the world a better
place,” but in the process, we learn invaluable skills and life lessons, and we
always manage to make amazing friends along the way.
I can’t imagine my life not being a Girl Scout
volunteer. It just doesn’t seem right to
me. In the end, what truly makes it
worth my time is when the girl who was standing in the corner, upset, decides
to join in on the activity, and later on tells you, “thank you!”
