November Volunteer of the Month: Colleen Allen
November Volunteer of the Month: Colleen Allen
Girl Scouts across New Hampshire benefit from this volunteer
November 01, 2025
BENNINGTON, NH – Girl Scouting has been part of Colleen Allen’s life from the time she was a small child. She has gone on to contribute her time and talent to Girl Scouts in Bennington and Dunbarton as an adult. Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, the council serving Girl Scouts across New Hampshire and Vermont, has recognized Allen’s dedication by naming her its Volunteer of the Month for November.
Allen, 40, of Bennington, leads Troop 20889 in Bennington, a group of 14 girls in Grades 4-6, and is also a co-leader for Troop 60248 for five Girl Scouts in Grades 8-12. And if that’s not enough, along with being in charge of Girl Scout Cookie sales for these troops, she is also leading a small troop of Girl Scout Daisies and Brownies in Dunbarton, with the hope it will grow and other more local parents can take over. That’s a good 45-minute drive for Allen, but worth it for her niece, who is in the troop. She also helps other troop leaders in her area as a volunteer support coordinator.
“Colleen Allen is invaluable,” said DeeDee Rice, membership finance specialist with the council. “Her leadership, dedication, and enthusiasm have been instrumental in supporting volunteers and ensuring that the girls and adults in her community have meaningful and memorable experiences.”
Rice notes that Allen’s commitment extends beyond her own community, working as a camp counselor at Camp Kettleford in Bedford, starting the new troop for her niece, and organizing the first-ever bridging and awards ceremony for Girl Scout volunteers in her service unit.
“Colleen’s commitment to the Girl Scout mission makes her an exceptional volunteer and a wonderful role model,” Rice said.
Allen was also recognized as a Volunteer of Excellence in 2019, an award given to volunteers who have performed beyond the expectation of their position and have supported the council’s mission delivery goals.
For Allen, it’s all about providing opportunities to her Girl Scouts that they wouldn’t get from school or home, along with teaching them the skills to earn badges and do good in their community. Six of the Girl Scouts in Troop 20889 recently earned the Girl Scout Bronze Award, the highest honor for those in Grades 4 and 5, for weeding and planting new vegetation at the VFW hall where they meet. She said they love to go camping and plan to go horseback riding later this month.
Prior to her time in Bennington, Allen led a troop in Alaska, having enjoyed working at Girl Scout camp.
“I wanted to get involved with Girl Scouts,” she said, “so I tried being a troop leader for the first time.”
Now that she’s here in New Hampshire, she’s making sure her daughter, an 11-year-old Cadette, is getting the full Girl Scout experience along with the others in her troops. She encourages parents in Dunbarton with girls in kindergarten up to second grade to consider joining her troop there, too.
“We’re working on earning all the Daisey petals (the equivalent of badges),” she said, “learning the Girl Scout Law and Promise.”
Her older Girl Scouts like to come along to the meetings, where they have the chance to earn their Junior Aide Award for helping the younger Girl Scouts.
Caregivers can get a lot from Girl Scouts, as well.
“It’s friends for myself,” she said, “and then I get to watch my daughter gain some leadership skills, and she seems to enjoy having me there, so it’s one-on-one time together.”
She credits her mother for signing her up for Girl Scouts when she was in kindergarten and honored her request to spend a week at overnight camp when she was just 7 years old.
“Girl Scouts shaped my life,” she said. “I even went on to earn a BS in Adventure Education because of a passion for summer camp and the outdoors. I'm a lifetime member and see myself continuing well beyond when my daughter is grown.”
Camp became a huge part of her life, spending 19 summers at Camp Hoffman in Rhode Island. She’s also a Gold Award Girl Scout, earning the highest possible honor for a Girl Scout in high school. She would like more people to consider the benefits of Girl Scouting.
“I think Girl Scouts is a place for girls to learn leadership skills outside of their family, in school, and have new experiences, and make friends with girls from different areas,” she said.
Volunteers are the heart of Girl Scouting and Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains is proud to call Colleen Allen its Volunteer of the Month. Learn more about Girl Scouts and volunteering opportunities at www.girlscoutsgwm.org.
We Are Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. To join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, visit girlscouts.org.
Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains serves girls throughout New Hampshire and Vermont through volunteer-run troops, events, and virtual programs. Visit www.girlscoutsgwm.org to learn more.
