Hello,
Welcome to my Leader’s Corner. Here on Just Us Girls Crafting, I plan on discussing my thoughts as a Girl Scout Leader. I will also discuss how to volunteer with Girl Scouts, help you navigate the waters of becoming a Girl Scout Volunteer and provide helpful tips for new Girl Scout volunteers and Leaders. First let me tell you about my Girl Scout experience, my Girl Scout Origin Story.
When I was a child, I had always wanted to be a Girl Scout. I loved that they earned badges, learned new things and went on adventures. Yes, at that young age, field trips were adventures to me. There were girls in my class who were Girl Scouts and they would always talk about the fun things they did. I remember asking my mom if I could join and she said that we didn’t have enough money to join Girl Scouts, for their uniform or their meeting dues. So…I was never a Girl Scout when I was a child.
Fast forward about 30 or so years, my own daughter is about the same age as I was when I asked my mom to join Girls Scouts. I was a volunteer for her teacher and while I was in the front office, making copies for her teacher, I see a flyer for Girl Scouts lying on a table in the school’s front office. I immediately pick it up, read it and made a copy for myself. When it came time to pick up my daughter after school, I talked to her about and explained what Girl Scouts was. She was interested and wanted to join. I went online and searched for where I could go to sign my daughter up or what I needed to do. However, at that time, the Girl Scout website wasn’t very helpful, but back then, website technology isn’t what it is today. I found out where the local office was and their hours. I went on my day off and visited. I remember that I walked into the office and told the receptionist that I wanted to sign my daughter up for Girl Scouts and that she had a funny look on her face. I was then shown the way to an office and spoke to one of the ladies in an office. Needless to say, she signed not only my daughter up as a Girl Scout, but she also signed me up as a troop leader. I was excited! I get to FINALLY be a Girl Scout! So I jumped head first into my new objective, to get my training done and get our troop up and started. It was great fun, not just for my daughter, but for me too. We both enjoyed the things we did and the things we learned. My daughter started her Girl Scout experience at the Brownie level and stayed in until the first year at the Junior Level. For my daughter, it was three years of learning leadership skills, the art of compromise, camping, and having fun! For me, it was all of that plus learning how to organize a team of parents, coordinate trips, and the art of compromise at the adult level as well. The troop lasted until the end of the first year at the junior level. At that time, the girls entered middle school and the weight of homework outweighed the troop meeting and events, so our troop disbanded.
Fast forward again, another 10 years to today, my daughter is now about to turn 21 years old, she is in college, and it is just me, my husband and our dogs at home. Yes, I was empty-nesting pretty hard. I decided I wanted to get back into Girl Scouts. I went online and signed up and waited, and waited, and waited. I waited three whole months before calling their main office. I don’t know what happened, but when I called, I was finally assigned a troop number and told that although the Council office would be trying to recruit girls for my troop, I should go out and try also. So, with the help of the Council office who made copies of flyers, I started delivering a handful of flyers to the local schools around my area on my day off from work. It was a slow start but we finally got the troop up and running. I got the required co-leaders, and started planning our Girl Scout year. That was last May, we are nearing our 1 year anniversary as a troop and I totally love my girls. They are bright, smart and so caring! We are a multi-level troop and we have daisies, brownies and juniors. I attend all of the training I needed, most of my Service Unit meetings, and meet with parents when need be. I have also volunteered in my Service Unit as their Registrar and their Recruiter and I love every minute of it!
So that is my Girl Scout origin story. I hope you like it and that it encourages you to sign your daughter or yourself up with Girl Scouts. I truly believe, that Girl Scouts has been a big influence on the beautiful, generous, caring, smart young woman my daughter has become.
Please, if you have any questions about Girl Scouts, volunteering, or signing your daughter up with Girl Scouts, please comment below. I read and answer all comments as quick as I can.
Patricia has been creative since she was 8 when she built her own puppet theater (with the help of her older sister) to put on a show for her mom and younger sister. She loves fiber embellishments, embroidery, photography, planning and Happy Planner products, and crocheting. Patricia also is a genealogist and volunteers as a Girl Scout troop leader, and as a webmaster for several non-profit organizations.
