The conversation at the Town Hall Meetings will cover five focus areas:

1. Expanded diversified funding
2. Programing and participation models
3. Technology optimization
4. Volunteer delivery model
5. Cookie Program

The Town Hall Meetings will build on the conversations held by delegates at January’s Open Space Summit, which focused on the central theme of creating an exciting future for the River Valleys community. For more details on the Open Space Summit, please read the Book of Proceedings.

Please review the Town Hall Meeting discussion questions and come prepared to participate in some collaborative and interactive discussions.

Locations + Dates

• Grace Lutheran Church (Mankato, MN)—Thursday, May 2
• St. Paul Service Center—Wednesday, May 8
• Brooklyn Center Service Center—Tuesday, May 14
• Rochester Service Center—Wednesday, May 15
• Webinar (Online)—Thursday, May 16

*Please note: To simplify our volunteers’ lives, we are canceling the previously scheduled May SUMITs and have transitioned to this combined meeting approach.

Christine Pearson

Christine will be attending the Lakamaga Conference for the sixth time this year. She originally signed up to complete required trainings, but the networking, enrichment activities and service projects have kept her coming back. “I really enjoy the conference as a way to learn fun skills that I can bring back to the girls,” she says.

Christine’s most memorable experience was an evening sing-along around a fireplace. Participants were invited to lead a song, and then everyone shared why they liked singing it.

Christine leads a group at the conference that works on quilts in the Old Lodge art studio during downtime. “I have only been leading the project for two years, but in that time, we have been able to donate eight quilts to Project Linus and another six quilts to Bundles of Love,” she says.

Liz Cooney

Liz found a great deal of camaraderie as a new attendee and staff member at the 2012 Lakamaga Conference. “I’m always looking for ways to learn more and grow. The conference sounded like a wonderful opportunity for me as a staff member to interact with volunteers in a fun, relaxed environment,” she says.

Liz also wanted to expand her outdoor knowledge and skills, which she accomplished by starting a fire using flint rock and steel. “I came away as a stronger person with more skills and a better understanding of our volunteers, their needs and the girls we are all working for,” she says. In addition to attending again in 2013, Liz plans to lead an enrichment workshop.

Christine + Liz’ Advice to New Participants

• Take advantage of all the conference has to offer
• Share ideas and stories
• Listen to others
• Complete required training sessions
• Get out of your comfort zone
• Introduce yourself to someone new
• Try something new—you might surprise yourself
• Have fun and see what Girl Scouts are capable of!

Donna says she is a Girl Scout volunteer because she enjoys helping girls become successful young women. She incorporates many of her passions into weekly meetings.

“Their enthusiasm is really what keeps me going,” explains Donna, “They want to engage in all that we do. When they are successful, I see the happiness in their eyes.” She also enjoys hearing feedback about troop activities from parents.

Even after the girls leave elementary school, she has been proud to see their passion for Girl Scouts continue. Many of the girls that have gone to middle school and high school return to visit Donna and her troop. “Some girls still come back and help tutor at our meetings. [The experience] meant a lot to them, and it’s great to see that they formed good bonds and friendships,” says Donna.

Although troop meetings are often overflowing with fun activities, Donna also takes time to emphasize good behavior and setting a good example for other students. She even checks in with her troop’s teachers and makes sure the girls are doing well in their schoolwork and with their classmates. If girls do get in trouble, they have to improve their behavior before they can start coming to Girl Scouts again.

With only a few months left in the school year, the troop is looking forward to its summer outing to Camp Lakamaga. Just recently, the girls returned for the second year to the Women of Distinction on April 18 luncheon to sing for attendees.

Soon after her inquiry, River Valleys reached out and invited her to a volunteer recruitment event. She says, “I attended my first meeting and was asked if I wanted to co-lead a troop of Daisies with another volunteer, Kelly Christofferson. I was nervous at first, but Kelly and I decided that together we could lead the group of girls.”

Karen and Kelly’s troop has been going strong for five years and typically has around 17 girls. Although Karen doesn’t have a daughter in Girl Scouts, her troop has become very special to her. She spends a great deal of energy staying in contact with the parents and recruiting new members. A tool she loves to use is Shutterfly, where she can privately share pictures and troop updates with the families. She jokes, “I sometimes feel like I over-communicate.”

Karen and Kelly do a lot for their troop, but they get some help along the way from their ready and willing troop parents. “My advice to people is to organize things in a way so you don’t have to do everything yourself,” explains Karen. “There are so many resources available, it is important to realize what parents are good at and what they can commit to, even if it is something small.”

Karen’s favorite Girl Scout memory was two years ago at her wedding. She invited her troop to her special day on Memorial Day weekend. Many of the girls attended with their families, and Kelly’s daughter even walked Karen down the aisle. “I was so surprised at how many girls came since it was over a holiday weekend,” says Karen, “At the reception, they manned the candy table and filled the dance floor. We even did a few Girl Scout dances!”

No longer the new person in town, Karen now has a strong network in the Rochester area. Through her experience as a volunteer, she gained a best friend, her co-leader Kelly, and built a Girl Scout family.

As an alumna, Amanda knows the importance of growing up as a Girl Scout and didn’t want girls to miss out on the opportunities she had. She says, “I know how much Girl Scouts impacted my life. It helped me become organized and take on active leadership roles.” Amanda started Girl Scouts when she was in kindergarten and earned both the Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards.

Amanda enjoys reliving her experience as a Girl Scout by co-leading her Girl Scout Daisy troop. For her, “The big thing is to help teach girls leadership skills, encourage them to be self-confident and help them reach their goals.” This year, she taught the Girl Scout Promise and Law and got the girls ready for cookie season through role-playing. Next up on her agenda is to get the girls prepared for a day camp experience this spring.

Amanda will be transferring leadership of her troop completely to the parents at the end of the year, and she has plans to start another Daisy troop next year. In addition to being a troop leader, Amanda has also been on the Girl Scout Gold Award committee for several years and has been a volunteer at council-sponsored program and membership recruitment events.

The lessons learned and sisterhood gained through Girl Scouts are tremendously important to Amanda, and her dedication to River Valleys as a volunteer proves that. As a leader, she says, “You can see the growth in the girls. They become more outgoing and willing to talk—they are bonding and forming friendships outside of school. As a leader, you’re actually helping shape girls into successful women.”

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

-William Arthur Ward

Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 21–27, a great time to say thanks to girl leaders and troop volunteers.

Consider saying thanks by creating an item from the Pinterest board below, or by sending a handwritten note.

Has a troop leader or other adult working with girls in your service unit gone above and beyond to engage or keep girls engaged while implementing the Girl Scout Leadership Experience? Recognize that outstanding volunteer with the Volunteer of Excellence Pin. An adult volunteer can be nominated for a formal award by a parent or girl.

Mary is the owner of TempForce, a metropolitan staffing boutique. Her connections with the Minnesota Recruiting and Staffing Association (MNRSA) and The Woman’s Club of Minneapolis proved invaluable to the success of the Centennial event. Her business and networking expertise brought together more than 200 Girl Scout alumnae.

“She’s just an exceptional volunteer,” says River Valleys staff member Stephanie Klenk, “She brings an unparalleled touch of class and grace to everything she does.”

This article is adapted from the CRAVE Cares feature in Minnesota Monthly. Photo credit: Minnesota Monthly.

During Skylar’s first year of Girl Scouts, Jamison did everything he could to help her earn badges. During her second year, one of Skylar’s troop leaders stepped down. Jamison jumped at the chance to become the new leader of Troop 13594, and with the approval of all parents, joined Dawn as a co-leader of the troop.

“The girls have done a great job accepting me,” says Jamison. “I believe that Dawn and I create a great dynamic environment for the girls.” Jamison’s background is in sports, the outdoors and astronomy, and tries to incorporate those skills into activities for the girls.

Jamison took his love for sports and the outdoors to camp last summer. “After clearing it with my daughter that I wouldn’t embarrass her, I took a week off work and attended Camp Elk River,” says Jamison. Before attending camp, he made sure the girls learned basic camping and outdoor skills to take with them. During their week at camp, he helped wherever he could.

Already excited to attend camp again this summer, Jamison describes it as, “A week’s worth of time off work on a vacation has no value compared to a week being at camp with the girls.”

Jamison balances his time between work and being a troop co-leader and treasurer for his Osseo service unit. It’s all worth it though. He reflects, “If I want her to succeed in life, it makes sense that I’m there for her now.”

In addition to Girl Scouts, Olivia is involved in an organization called Partnership for Change, which focuses on the prevention of chemical use. Incidentally, her leader at Partnership for Change recently formed a new Girl Scout Daisy troop and asked Olivia to help lead it. When she was asked to help lead the troop, Olivia couldn’t have been more excited to work with the young girls and share her own Girl Scout experiences.

“She knew I was really involved in Girl Scouts because in the past I brought cookies to our meetings to sell,” explained Olivia. “She asked me if I would help lead her troop, and of course I said yes!”

Olivia wears her vest to the meetings and the girls are in awe over the number of badges and patches she has. She explains to them what they mean and the fun things she has done to earn them. “When they see me at their meetings and I share all the cool things I have done, I hope it encourages them to stay in Girl Scouts longer,” says Olivia.

Another skill Olivia hopes these girls are learning is the confidence that comes from participating in the Cookie Program Activity. When she was younger, Olivia says that she was very shy and got nervous talking to people. After going door-to-door and selling cookies, she has learned how to interact with people and now feels like she can talk to anyone. Her Girl Scout Daisy troop is now participating in the Cookie Program Activity this year and is having a lot of success.

After the cookie season, Olivia wants to focus on her Girl Scout Gold Award. She has yet to settle on a project, but she will no doubt earn her award and have another experience to inspire her Daisy troop.

Some of her most memorable moments in Girl Scouts were attending the National Convention in Texas and representing the Peacepipe Council twice at Macy’s Training Center in New York for NASA trainings. She was also selected to attend a training at Goddard Space Center in Maryland that helped her start up space activities for the council.

As a leader in Girl Scouts, Gerri has learned a great deal over the years. She is currently taking education assistant classes at Ridgewater College, where she regularly applies skills and experiences from Girl Scouts. She looks forward to working in a school system, which will allow her to continue to work with children.

Participating in Girl Scouts as an adult has been incredibly satisfying for Gerri. She has enjoyed watching girls mature and grow up and share special experiences with them. She hopes to continue as a leader for many years to come, because she feels just as young as the girls when she’s working with them.

It is Gerri’s hope that the girls she works with will take their Girl Scout memories with them, particularly the outdoor activities, and share them with the next generation as she has.