Girl Scouts is all about the girls, there’s no question about that. But how do you continue to learn and grow to better serve the girls in your Girl Scout community? Girl Scouts of Western Ohio offers training and enrichment opportunities for our volunteers in a variety of ways, from digital formats to evening gatherings to camp overnights. Here are just a few examples of the types of opportunities we have and why you may want to join in on the next opportunity!

Training refers to required learning necessary for a particular role (Troop Leader, Troop Assistant-Cookie Manager, etc.) or a specific topic, such as Troop Trip Training, Lodge Camp Training, and Troop Camp Training.

Enrichments, on the other hand, are learning opportunities that are not required, but will definitely give you some more tools in your belt regarding a specific topic.

Conferences are typically an all-day or overnight affair and offer a variety of topic sessions.

The Benefits of the Different Learning Formats

Webinars, Webcasts and E-learning. Online learning opportunities are free, convenient, and fairly short. You can attend from the comfort of your couch, sneak them in on your lunch hour or view them from anywhere you have internet access. Webinars and Facebook Live have the added benefit of allowing you to get answers to your questions in real time, but even if you don’t make it, we record and share our webinars to view at a time that works best for you. We cover a wide variety of topics to ensure you have the tools and resources you need at your fingertips. Head to our website for all of the available online learning opportunities.

Enrichment Events. These are not required, but will give you some additional tools to help support your troop or Girl Scout community. They typically run no more than a couple hours on a weeknight or weekend, making them fairly easy to fit into your week. Sometimes these are offered by your Service Unit and sometimes they are hosted by staff and are focused on one, maybe a couple of topics using the Cooperative Learning and Learning by Doing Girl Scout processes. The goal is to connect with your fellow Girl Scout volunteers, learn something new, and get your questions answered in person.

Conferences. Events like this are typically an all-day or overnight experience just for adults, making them a fan favorite! There are a wide variety of topics to choose from, lots of opportunities to connect with fellow Girl Scout volunteers, a focus on hands-on learning, and plenty of time to just enjoy yourself. Many of the events even give you a chance to explore and experience camp. We already mentioned Girl Scouts is for the girls, but at these events, the focus is on your experience!  With Girls Scouts being girl-led, that means we as adults don’t necessarily get to do the things we would like to do, but conference give adults a chance to build their own “girl-led” experience.

Why GSWO Volunteers Love Enrichment Events and Conferences

Melissa Moody had no hesitation when we asked her why she loves attending volunteer conferences. “By attending adult programming, we are better equipped as leaders to (a) share skills with our girls and (b) remember what it’s like to struggle with techniques (like knots), which will help us better relate to our girls as they learn new skills. It’s also a great way to meet other leaders that can become mentors (or who we can become mentors to).”

Marianne Britt Duvendack appreciates just getting to sit back, relax and enjoy the experience.

Laura Nermal Diltz is a fan of connecting with the Girl Scout community and appreciates being around “people who understand you”. She also loves learning new skills and “most importantly getting to actually do the fun stuff instead of just teaching it!!”

Like many others, Melissa Schindler  appreciates the chance to get away, spend time with friends, make new friends, let loose, have fun and best of all, camping (in some shape or form)!

We love this testimony from Denise Cross, “I love it because I never got to be a Girl Scout as a kid. This is my Girl Scout experience. I love doing and learning with my troop, but getting to learn and hang out with awesome Girl Scouts my age is even better.”

You can find volunteer learning opportunities of all types in the Program Adventure Guide, on our website, gswo.org, or check with your Service Unit. We hope to see you at our next event!