"Volunteers in a High Capacity Council"



Yesterday was a busy day in my world. Spring is a dozen plus United Way applications, all different, all wanting the same or similar information in different ways for our 39 counties in central and western Oklahoma. From the smallest to the largest, each volunteer committee panel takes their jobs very seriously, so each includes an opportunity to meet with members of a review committee all who have a lot of questions and are earnestly trying to understand what we do and what our program is all about. United Way, all 15 different and separate 501c3's with their own boards and own ways of work, make up 6% of the total budget of the Council. We are grateful for our own volunteers who join in the process of meeting with the panel and answering questions. We are grateful for the volunteers willing to spend an afternoon sharing the impact that Girl Scouts has made in their lives to people who make decisions about how money is allocated through United Way.



Since the merger (actually before it), we have been moving at warp speed. Everything needed to happen yesterday. The staff we have assembled is a conscientious bunch, all passionate about the importance of reaching more girls with the quality leadership program of Girl Scouts. We are hard on ourselves, as many successful women are, and sometimes, equally hard on each other. I dream some nights just about wanting to take a day off, but always in the dream something new lands on my desk or on my calendar. As a group, we each see the many opportunities for Girl Scouts to grow and connect to more girls and their families, but time and money are often barriers.



We are so incredibly grateful for our program volunteers. In the new high capacity Council, we are asking the questions of how to help our volunteers feel empowered to help us create this new high capacity council. Women in Oklahoma with even a tiny bit of consciousness, realize it is a man's world here and most of us are just stubborn enough to believe we can change it for ourselves, our daughters, our granddaughters. Oklahoma women have gone on to be strong role models in our country. We're currently looking for ways that volunteers can organize more effectively, is the Service Unit the right way? We are asking ourselves and volunteers: what do volunteers need? We are asking ourselves and volunteers, what creates a healthy community for girls and for ourselves? I've begun, with Susan Bohl, our Chief Operations Officer, some lunches and coffee meetings to ask our volunteers active in Service Units these questions. Let me know if you have some ideas.