Lead by example is the favorite motto of Sara Gasper, Brownstown.

It comes as no surprise that when her daughter began her Girl Scout journey as a Daisy in Troop 77313, Sara joined up with her. Sara has embraced multiple volunteer roles over the years, including Troop Leader/Co-Leader, Troop Product Program Manager, Volunteer Toolkit Champion and Welcome Champion.

“I wanted to be a volunteer to give the best experience for my daughter,” she says. “I wanted her to see how being a Girl Scout can help her grow into a strong, empowered woman.”

For Sara, a former Girl Scout herself, volunteering allows her watch to keep tabs on how all the girls have grown and come into their own courage, confidence, and character.

“It’s great see how they all gave such individual personalities and can still come together as a troop,” she says.

Taking trips

She also loves all the different trips they went on that tested their troop togetherness, like when they went to the Toledo Zoo sleepover or camping.    

Her goal is to have a fun, exciting and action-packed rest of the year for her troop, she says. Her other goal is to watch her daughter go on her first sleep away camp on her own.

“Sure, there is a lot of work involved in planning the trips,” she admits. “But the memories and rewards make it all worthwhile.”

Cookie fan

Another favorite part of being so involved with the troop is being able to see the girls grow with confidence in math, sales skills and social interactions.

“I was delighted to see my daughter come out of her shell during cookie booths,” Sara said. “With all the unique personalities and imaginations on the troop, it was great to see them all come together and succeed.”

Sara looks forward to setting more positive examples not only to her daughter, but many other Girl Scouts through better experiences and projects.

The work is hard, but very rewarding when you see the girls become caring young people.

Sara Gasper