What's Your WHY?
BY: Gina Garitson
Summertime is in full swing! Yeeeaahhh!!! I hope you, and your Girl Scouts, are embracing all that summer has to offer – camp, sunshine and warm evenings with ooey gooey s’mores (of course)! Enjoy this time; soon the days will begin to shorten and we’ll be back to school and back to more adventures with our Girl Scout sisters.
I am looking forward to our next season of Girl Scouting! It’s our troop’s SIXTH year together and my first year serving as Creekside’s Leader Support Manager. Creekside’s Service Unit Team has been working together for the past several months to put together a calendar of exciting events and relevant programs to support our Girl Scouts and adult volunteers. To learn more, join us for our first monthly volunteer meeting of the 2019-2020 year on Thursday, September 19th!
As the summer lingers on, and we each begin to prepare for the next season, I am encouraged to consider the “WHY” of Girl Scouting. I am a planner and I spend a lot of time thinking about the “what” and the “how” of getting things done; but sometimes I forget about the “WHY.” I recently attended a business conference and was reminded of the importance of “Starting with Why” in our endeavors (see the Ted Talk or read the book, both by Simon Sinek). Since that time, I have been thinking about my “WHY.” Why Girl Scouts for my daughter? Why do I want to serve as a Girl Scout volunteer? Why do I do what I do?
The Importance of WHY
In Simon Sinek’s talk he covers the importance of starting with WHY and keeping it at the center of your organization; WHY instills purpose within us and inspires those around us. In Girl Scouting this is especially relevant. Girl Scouting (like most things in life) can be hard. The girls get squirrelly, they get moody and inconsistent; there can be conflict and situations that are difficult to navigate. In those moments (when you’re tired and it’s messy - literally and figuratively), we must have our WHY close. Understanding WHY we are Girl Scouts, and WHY we volunteer, is essential to our longevity as individual members and a movement.
That being said, your WHY may be different than mine and that’s okay. Whatever inspires you, and provides purpose in Girl Scouting, that is your WHY – keep it close and revisit it often!
My WHY!
WHY Girl Scouts for our Daughter?
When our daughter started Kindergarten we chose Girl Scouts for her because:
We wanted her to have an avenue to build her own network of friends
We wanted her to have character building influences and activities
We wanted her to learn to serve her community through volunteerism
WHY am I a Girl Scout Volunteer?
Volunteering with Girl Scouts allows me to spend time with my family while I am giving to my community.
The girls – it has been an absolute joy watching the girls grow, develop and mature over the past five years. I consider it a privilege to cheer them on in their successes and support them in their struggles. I look forward to being there as they continue to grow into powerful and confident women.
Volunteering with Girl Scouts is my personal “activism” – investing my time and talent into the lives of girls (in my troop and beyond) is the best way I can enact long-lasting change in my community. As a Girl Scout volunteer, I have the opportunity to influence the leaders that will shape the future. That is my WHY.
What is your WHY?
Gina Garitson is the Leader Support Manager for Creekside Service Unit (SU 324).