Girl Scouts of Colorado is celebrating extraordinary volunteers throughout the state in honor of Volunteer Appreciation Month. Sheri Coy of Hesperus in the Southwestern CO region is a shining example of the wonderful role Girl Scout volunteers play in the lives of girls and our community.
GSCO asked Sheri to answer a few quick questions about her volunteer experience. We hope you find her as inspiring as we did.
Why did you become a Girl Scout volunteer?
I have a daughter and we moved to a new place where she had to make new friends out in the country. I came across Girl Scouts at her then school and saw it as a great opportunity for her to make new friends and experience new accomplishments that she does not learn from just going to school. I put her in the group and started to volunteer as a way for us to spend time together and make lasting memories.
Tell us about your different volunteer roles as a Girl Scout.
I currently volunteer with being the leader of our troop. I have also been a troop cookie manager, as well as active in our service unit. I volunteer with the cookie program, organizing a place for delivery and troop breakdown of cookies. I try to get as much opportunity as I can to give my time to the benefit of the girls.
What have you learned as a Girl Scout volunteer?
This question is very complex. I have learned so much about personalities, and scheduling, as well as conflict resolution, and fun enriched challenges. Everyday I feel I learn something new within all Girl Scouts has to offer. Implementing badges and teaching our multi-troop with many levels has challenges of its own. I have built lasting friendships from endeavors that the girls and I have learned through. I have learned things that as a girl growing up I didn’t have the opportunity to learn, money management, relationships, decision making, as well as life lessons.
What do you hope girls have learned from you?
I hope the girls learn how be true to the Girl Scout Promise and Law, build lasting friendships, and to make the world a better place, as well as have enrichment skills to last a lifetime. I want them to be proud of themselves and enjoy life to its fullest. I want them to know they make a difference and to have the confidence to do it.
How has your experience as a volunteer helped you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)?
As I sit here, I am seeing that I started with G.I.R.L. backwards, lol. I became a leader of a wonderful troop and had to take risks with the girls to help them to learn. I became a innovator with the STEM movement and then on to a go-getter. This year during cookie season, we all took a risk to better our cookie sales by innovating a sales pitch. We took all the cookie flavors and put them in a dish filled with epoxy resin to set in front of the cookies on our booth. Our hopes were that it would be eye popping and grab the attention of the customers. Long story short, it worked! It was our most talked about part of the program, and next year, we plan to enhance it more by tweaking the corks we noticed from a first draft project. That used all aspects of G.I.R.L.
Want to nominate a volunteer for Girl Scouts of Colorado to spotlight? Please email Public Relations Director AnneMarie Harper at annemarie.harper@gscolorado.org.