Power Volunteer by Victoria

Power Volunteer by Victoria - April 2022 Scholarship Essay

I am a power volunteer! From volunteering at the Hudson Valley Balloon festival to the Valkill Medals ceremony, I have spent hundreds of hours sharing my time with the community. Most of my volunteering hours have sprouted from Girl Scouts. After being a girl scout for eleven years, I have spent many years serving the community, small or large. Over the years, I have played many roles. Starting from a babysitter to being able to escort important guests. I have volunteered at many places.

I became involved in community service and volunteering through Girl Scouts, my church, and my community. These places help me get involved in community service because they give me so many opportunities to help those around me. I have been in Girl Scouts since I was in first grade and I have been going to the same church for as long as I can remember. Through Girl Scouts, the experiences that I have gone through are ones that would have been impossible without the organization, and the impact on the community is amazing as well. I have been able to teach young girls many important skills, and I have learned some along the way as well.

Girl Scouts introduced me to volunteering, but I loved it so much I now volunteer for many other organizations. Ever since I started to volunteer, volunteering has always been a big part of my life. I became motivated to volunteer after I realized how happy it made others, but I never stuck to just volunteering for one activity. In the Girl Scout Law, I am taught to be a sister to every Girl Scout. This taught me that you need to treat all humans as equals. I have volunteered for my Girl Scout service unit, the National Parks Service, my town, with veterans, and for the people of the New York Hudson Valley through my church. Volunteering is important because everyone could always use help. I have been a sister and a role model for other scouts. I have made meals for the homeless and played with children at the local battered women’s shelter. Volunteering is important to me because it helped me build character. I have learned many new things, such as how to cook or launch a hot air balloon, and have met countless wonderful people, like some of my best friends that I met at a volunteering camp.

Since 2018, I have volunteered for over 300 hours, so you definitely need time for volunteering. For each event, the tasks I have been assigned have varied, therefore changing the difficulty level. Over the years, I have done things as simple as handing out flyers to mothers who want to learn more about Girl Scouting, to escorting important persons to their seats at the Valkill Medal Ceremony. I have worked with many types of people, ranging from younger girls looking to earn a badge at an event, or the elderly at nursing when I volunteer with a camp I go to over the summer. I have worked with many different organizations, such as the National Parks Organization, Luna Fest, as well as Girl Scouts and my local Church. After many years of volunteering, I have had many challenges. There have been many instances where I was confused, or if I was unsure of how to speak in front of others, which has always been hard for me, but I’ve always figured it out or asked for help. I have worked alongside many others such as fellow Girl Scouts, others in my church’s Youth Group, or people that decided to volunteer for the same events as me. Sometimes working with people is tough, but it is an important skill and I am glad I have learned that working with people is a part of life.