Positive attitude and energy is hallmark of Girl Scout leader
PELHAM, NH | Ashley Lebel’s days and nights are filled with children. She has three of her own, runs a child care business, and leads a Girl Scout troop of Daisies and Brownies. Her energy and enthusiasm for volunteering to help girls is recognized by Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, naming her Volunteer of the Month for March.
“Ashley began a year ago with Girl Scouts and jumped in head first,” said Stephanie Romero, membership support specialist with GSGWM, the council serving New Hampshire and Vermont. “She is always there when anyone in our community needs her. She is truly a breath of fresh air.”
Despite only being in her second year as a Girl Scout troop leader, Lebel has already become a community product sales coordinator – she helps other troops to stay up to date and get cookies out to their Girl Scouts during the annual Girl Scout Cookie sale as well as other goodies for fall product sale.
“I said ‘I’m here to help,’” said Lebel. “It’s not much more than what I would be doing anyway, selling cookies, picking up cookies.” It’s a way to grow more and do more, she said.
Her Girl Scouts are busy now with cookie booth sales, decorating their booth with different themes each week.
“We are selling cookies, they enjoy it,” she said. “Last year we only did a few (booths). This year we feel like we know so much more.”
With their cookie earnings, Lebel hopes to take her Girl Scouts on adventures like trips and campouts. “I’m very adventurous, outdoorsy, and like to do different activities,” she said. Her troop has already had the experience of an overnight campout at the Pelham town beach, complete with campfire and cookout. “I joined Girl Scouts because I wanted to meet more people, explore the world!” she said.
She is planning to take her Girl Scouts to a derby race, building their own cars, as well as making a visit to the Apple store at the mall in Nashua to earn their computer expert badge. “We’ve done a lot of badges,” she said, with Daisies earning many of their “petals,” the equivalent of a badge for the youngest Girl Scouts, those in kindergarten and first grade. She and her troop hosted a Halloween party for the Pelham community in honor of Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low, who was born on Oct. 31 – all planned and carried out by her girls.
When she’s not leading her Girl Scouts, Lebel runs Trails to Learning, an in-home child care business. She and her sister have run the child care preschool business for more than five years, and they hope to expand to offer an infant and toddler program.
Even though Lebel said she was nervous about becoming a Girl Scout troop leader, she said she knew it couldn’t be that different from all the child care she was already providing. “Children are a big part of my life,” she said. “I’m doing it for all the girls who need a troop leader. I get to be more social and grow as a person myself. I learn when I work with the kids.”
Ashley Lebel is just the kind of G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader) that her Girl Scouts can look up to and is helping her girls unlock their potential and make the world a better place. Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains is proud to name her our Volunteer of the Month.
About Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains: Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains is recognized throughout New Hampshire and Vermont as a leading expert on girls. Our Girl Scout Leadership Experience is a one-of-a-kind leadership development program for girls, with proven results. It is based on time-tested methods and research-backed programming that helps girls take the lead—in their own lives and in the world. Through our exciting and challenging programs, Girl Scouts not only participate but also take the lead in a range of activities—from kayaking, archery, and camping, to coding, robotics, financial literacy training, and beyond! Serving more than 10,000 girls throughout New Hampshire and Vermont, girls discover the fun, friendship, and power of girls together. Visit www.girlscoutsgwm.org.
