When it comes to recognizing the ongoing commitments of GSWPA’s volunteers, we asked our staff who know best—the Volunteer Support Specialists at our council. These staff are in the front row watching our volunteers plan events, offering help whenever it’s needed, and cheering them on. During National Volunteer Month, we will feature highlights from our Volunteer Support Specialists that celebrate volunteers throughout GSWPA.
Troop 16412 – Service Unit 2606 Norwin
Westmoreland County
Denise, who is a teacher, has gone above and beyond to keep her girls engaged throughout the pandemic on Zoom. She found both inspiration and partnership with the Norwin Public Library. The community partner was doing all kinds of fun and engaging virtual programs for youth last summer. Denise got inspiration from those and recreated them as part of her troop meetings—including introducing the girls to a dogsled musher! The girls also worked on the My Family Story badge with some help from the librarian who met with the girls virtually. The troop’s Zoom meetings have been very well attended and the 18 girls never want to miss one!
Service Unit 3642 Grove City
Mercer County
The service unit partnered with their neighboring Girl Scouts in Service Units 1601 (Wilmington) and 3657 (Commodore Perry) to work together to create a holiday video to send to all of the senior living facilities in their areas.
Troop 16292 – Service Unit 5804 West Jefferson Hills
Allegheny County
Junior Troop 16292 has been meeting virtually–they even had a virtual cupcake war! The leaders kept the troop moving through the pandemic by celebrating World Thinking Day, working on badges, and selling cookies. The girls voted to use their cookie proceeds for a troop camp, which all of the members are looking forward to!
Service Unit 3616 Millcreek
Erie County
Service Unit Manager Amy provided a virtual opportunity for the Girl Scouts in her service unit to learn them how to make bread. The session was two parts. First, the girls learned about ingredients and how to make the bread. Once it was in the oven, they took a break. The group then came back together when it was time to take it out of the oven. Amy also provided a recipe for soup to go with their freshly baked bread!
Service Unit 1603 Scrimshaw
Beaver County
Michelle Gould and Teresa Sullivan are troop leaders for Girl Scout Troop 50551 in Hopewell. These leaders have done a great job keeping their troop busy this past year with virtual and in-person meetings. They recently accepted a new girl to the troop and she was so excited to go on her first outing to Artsy Doodle in Beaver with the other girls. They have done booth sales, they work on badges, and they take trips when possible. “We just want to give them a big shout out for all they do!” said Paula Cribbs, GSWPA Volunteer Support Specialist.
Service Unit 2632 Petroleum Valley
Butler County
“This service unit has continued to keep the girls meeting and offered other outside activities—you can’t stop Girl Scouts! Their Facebook page is consistently loaded with activities that the girls have been enjoying. It’s great to see the girls having fun amid the pandemic.”—Beth Ostrosky, GSWPA Volunteer Support Specialist
Happy National Volunteer Month!
Check out this video message from the staff at GSWPA.
Looking for more ways to celebrate our volunteers?
👉 Volunteer Appreciation Resources
GSWPA 