By Throughout National Volunteer Month, we are celebrating the women and men who inspire our Girl Scouts every day to reach their full potential, find their inner G.I.R.L., and try new experiences. Our volunteers are G.I.R.L.s themselves: Risk-taker Priya Bradfield is a Senior troop leader and the Canyon Star Service Unit manager—even though she wasn’t a Girl Scout growing up. She is also a 2018 Appreciation Pin recipient. Priya shares her volunteer story with us.
How did you become involved with Girl Scouts?
I became a leader when my daughter and her three best friends in second grade couldn’t find a troop with enough openings. My older son’s best friend’s mom was also a leader (she was Canyon Star’s service unit manager too) and so she mentored me and helped me get started. My troop is now in ninth grade, and I still have two of the original four girls in the troop. Those two girls have earned their Bronze Award, their Silver Award, and are now going for their Gold Award. I’m still a troop leader but now also Canyon Star’s service unit manager.
Describe a specific experience where you realized you loved being a Girl Scout volunteer.
I think the first time that happened was when my daughter and her troop earned their Bronze Award. They took on the task of painting a giant 40-foot mural at their elementary school and it took them many more hours than just 20 [the minimum for completing a Bronze Award project]! The mural was designed by one of the teachers at the school and Lowe’s donated paint—and we spent at least two weeks after school ended in June just painting that mural. It’s still there today. I am a teacher at the school so I love walking by it and seeing my daughter’s name on it with our troop number!
Besides becoming an amazing role model for girls, what are some of the other rewards or benefits you’ve received as a volunteer?
I’ve met some amazing women and men who are volunteers in Girl Scouts and who are now dear friends. Either they are troop leaders, cookie chairs, or volunteers for our service unit. I’ve gotten to know their children as well, who are amazing girls and young ladies who take the Girl Scout Promise and Law into their hearts and use it in their daily lives.
When people think of volunteering for Girl Scouts, they often think of troop leaders only. Tell us more about volunteering as a service unit manager.
I don’t think anyone who knows me would be surprised about this, but I do love being the service unit manager and helping other troop leaders. I love mentoring them, welcoming them into the Girl Scout family, and making sure they know that they are valued and not alone in their struggles as leaders. To me, that’s the best way I can support other volunteers. It is so important to be a part of a community and to know that when you need it, there is help and understanding. Our service unit has grown a lot in the last few years and I love seeing my more experienced leaders step up to mentor and offer advice to newer leaders. It’s gratifying when I see a troop succeed in something or share a favorite field trip or event with others.
How have you encouraged your own Girl Scouts to be Risk-takers (entrepreneurial, daring, confident)?
My troop is a pretty amazing group of six girls who pulled a lot together as Cadettes for their eighth grade bridging trip to the Grand Canyon in April 2017. We spent the week of spring break exploring Flagstaff, Sedona, Grand Canyon, Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, and then back home. The girls planned that trip, saved their fall product and cookie earnings, and raised money through World Thinking Day events in seventh and eighth grades to completely pay for that trip for six girls and three leaders—including travel, entrance fees, gas, lodging, food, and a few souvenirs, too. And, we even made our own “Girl Power” T-shirts!
Priya became involved in her service unit first as a fall product chair, then cookie chair, and has served as the service unit manager since 2014. She is also a member of the Cookie Program and Adult Recognition Go Teams.
Want to inspire the next generation of female leaders with like-minded peers? Learn how you can serve as a Girl Scout volunteer today.
Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles 