Volunteer Essentials

Volunteer Appreciation

Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri places a high value on recognizing the adults who make a difference in girls’ lives. Appreciation for their contributions are expressed in many ways to recognize individuals, in or out of Girl Scouts. Awards and earned recognitions provide a means to acknowledge individuals, troops, neighborhoods and districts for their unique service.

The Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri Adult Recognition Program reflects: • Quality of accomplishment as the primary determining factor in recognizing adult contributions • Impact on girls as the leading measure of quality • Acknowledgment of many kinds of contributions (time, talent and treasure) • Support of the Girl Scout mission through policies and procedures outlined in Volunteer Essentials • Understanding and practice of inclusive behavior What recognitions can do: • For the Adult Girl Scout: Recognitions help the individual appreciate her/his own accomplishments and the worth of their position as a part of the Girl Scout Movement • For the Troop: Recognitions for parents at the troop level build a base of support for the girls in the troop • For the Neighborhood: Recognitions can be part of neighborhood traditions and contribute to the continuity of Girl Scouting • For the District: Recognitions acknowledge the hard work of the “behind-the-scenes” volunteers who keep the system working The names, descriptions and criteria for neighborhood-level recognitions, district-level recognitions, Council-level recognitions and national-level recognitions can be found on the Council website in the Adult Recognition Handbook, girlscoutsem.org/adultrecognition . Completed recognition packets are due to Council in February each year.

All volunteers are encouraged to make submissions for the Adult Recognition Program.

Volunteer Appreciation Week Volunteer Appreciation Week—the third week in April—is set aside especially for you. Girl Scouts pay tribute to the volunteers who help girls make the world a better place. The week centers on the long- standing National Girl Scout Leaders’ Day (April 22).

Being a Girl Scout Volunteer 31