Valerie Jones has been a Girl Scout troop leader for about eight years. She has been a troop leader for Daisies, Juniors and Cadettes, and she has served on the 100th Anniversary Taskforce and as a national council delegate and adult trainer. Through her experiences, she has seen the positive impact the Girl Scout Movement has had on the girls she has led.“I believe Girl Scout is for all girls and women, young and old. We foster self-worth and leadership skills, while giving the support needed to be successful,” she says. “We teach our smallest Daisies to make friends, be helpful and explore the world around them. We teach our oldest Ambassadors to stand for what is right, to make good decisions and become the leaders that will forever change the world. It is very fulfilling to be a part of an organization that has such a positive impact on girls and women.”
Valerie says that being a Girl Scout volunteer is one of the most rewarding and best decisions anyone can make. As an adult volunteer, she has had the opportunity to experience things that would not have been possible otherwise.
Because of her involvement with Girl Scouting, she has slept in total darkness deep inside a cave, worked in a soup kitchen, camped with Native Americans and dances in their pow wow, seen the White House’s Oval Office, survived in the wilderness, cried with girls at the Vietnam Wall, cooked biscuits in a cardboard box, flown down a zip line, learned to ice skate, rafted whitewater, made friends from around the world and more.
Valerie’s own daughter became old enough to join Girl Scouts about three years ago, something her daughter had been waiting on for quite some time. Since then, she has been able to share in Valerie’s excitement and adventures, and Girl Scouting has become a special bond Valerie shares with her daughter.
“Though uniforms and handbooks have changed a bit since Juliette’s time, our guiding principles have remained the same,” she says. “We will continue to push forward by developing new programs, remaining current on the issues and keeping up with technological advances. All the while, we will raise our Girl Scout Sign, say our Promise and live by the Girl Scout Law.”
