“I love Girl Scouts! It is a place where girls from every walk of life can come together and be themselves. It was my passion growing up and continues to grow stronger.”
As a Girl Scout from grades K-12 in Portage through the former Talus Rock Council, Sandra Coffee has earned both her Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards, is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts, and has been a volunteer for a combined total of seven years—this year being her eighth. She started as a camp counselor and first aider at Camp Conshatawba, helped a Cadette troop in college, and then took a break while relocating and growing her family. In addition to being a troop leader, she is also a service unit manager and cookie chair for her service unit in Westmoreland County.
When asked what her favorite Girl Scout memory is, she replied, “I have so many! My newest and probably my favorite for life is from our camping trip in February. It was late at night and the fire was starting to die down. The girls were laying on their mats giggling for what seemed like hours. Nobody said anything, it was just a group of girls enjoying their weekend together.”
Her favorite thing about volunteering with Girl Scouts is watching girls grow and find themselves. If girls have learned anything from her, she hopes it’s to be kind and give with your heart. “There is always somebody out there who needs you,” she said. “Find them and help them in whatever way they need.”
Her advice for new volunteers is to take it slow. “Everyone wants to start doing the big fun things that they see the older girls doing right away or have big, elaborate meetings,” she said. “Ease into it and get to know your girls and what they like to do.”
Something she wishes everyone knew about being a volunteer is that it isn’t always easy.
“You sometimes pour your heart and soul into something that just flops. There will be times where you need to sit down and think about why you are here and what keeps you going and that’s ok.”
Even through the challenges, Sandra says Girl Scouting was her passion growing up and continues to grow stronger through her experience as a volunteer.
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