Stacy Duffy is named Volunteer of the Month
CONCORD, NH – Girl Scouts in Troop 10162 are always active, earning badges, doing community service, taking trips, and just enjoying their friendships. Stacy Duffy, one of the leaders of this group of Girl Scout Cadettes in eighth grade, makes sure they have the best experience possible. Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, the council serving girls across New Hampshire and Vermont, has named her its Volunteer of the Month for September.
Duffy, 44, of Concord, has mentored this troop of eight Girl Scouts since they were in first grade. Even though she’s “super busy,” she makes time outside of her full-time job, Comptroller of Financial Systems and Operations at the New Hampshire Liquor Commission to make sure they have opportunities to spread their wings.
“I volunteer because I feel it’s important for these kids to have these outlets so that they can grow and learn new things outside of school.” she said.
“Stacy is enthusiastic about troop travel and has taken her troop camping at White Lake State Park in New Hampshire and will be taking them to Orlando, Florida, in October of this year,” said Kerry Zaimes, volunteer support specialist for the council. “The girls worked together to come up with possible locations and activities, then they made a list and voted! They learned to cooperate with each other when planning out details. Stacy is easy to communicate with and has been ahead of the curve when it comes to getting all the required travel documents into council on time!”
The girls have been saving their money, and learning to adjust their goals and expectations over the past few pandemic years. They gave up a plan to visit a dude ranch in upstate New York due to COVID-19, and now look forward to their trip to Florida.
Now that the girls are old enough to babysit, they are working on their first aid badge and have completed their babysitting badge, said Duffy. Many of them earned the Girl Scout Bronze Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout in grades 4 and 5 may earn, and now some are actively working toward their Silver Award, for girls in grade 6-8.
“My daughter is working on hers with another girl in our troop at the Pope Memorial SPCA,” she said. “The SPCA here in Concord has dog trails that they use to walk their dogs, and they were in dire need of repair. So they went in and they widened the trail, they placed old logs to mark the trail, they’re making trail signs, and some dog beds, and a whole bunch of stuff. We also have at least four to five other girls working on their Silver projects right now.”
The troop has often completed Girl Scout service projects, which include toiletry bags for those experiencing homelessness, flower gardens for their elementary school, and picnic tables for outdoor classrooms.
“They did refillable water bottles one year,” she said, “where they designed water bottles, and then they presented them to the different classrooms, and gave each student at the school a water bottle, so that they could cut down on plastics. So that was a big project that they did, when they were in third grade. So that was cool.”
Duffy relies on the help of community volunteers and her co-leaders, as well as the girls’ parents to make all this happen.
“We have really good parents in our troop,” she said, and her team meets ahead of meetings to plan and make sure that everyone is ready to go.
Duffy also serves as the community product sales coordinator for 13 troops in the area for the Girl Scout Fall Product sale, which is a program to provide troops with the funds to do activities. They sell chocolates, nuts, magazines and other items to get off to a good start.
Duffy also volunteers for her son’s BSA Troop. He is a Life Scout working toward his Eagle.
She encourages anyone thinking of volunteering for Girl Scouts to do so.
“I just like to help,” she said. “It’s for them. It’s fun to see the changes from when they were younger.” She sees their growth and watches them blossom.
“We did zip lining one year at a Girl Scout camp, and one girl was afraid of heights,” she said. “And to see her conquer her fear and do just a little zip line, it was fun to see that. All the girls cheered for her. It’s nice to see how the girls are so different, but they get along. We have a diverse group, but they all support each other. They may not hang out at school, but at Girl Scouts they’re all best friends. And just to see that is kind of fun.”
Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains appreciates all that Stacy Duffy has done for her Girl Scouts, and is proud to call her our September Volunteer of the Month.
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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.
