Jasmine Stanley, a history and English senior, is the founder of Campus Girl Scouts at UNF. CGS at UNF is a group of adult volunteers who work with girl scouts in the Jacksonville and Gainesville area. They have helped girl scout troops make a film about bullying and even teach them the ins and outs of college.
Q: Why did you think it was important to bring Campus Girl Scouts to UNF?
A: The Girl Scouts of the USA have been restructuring the organization to be more relevant to a diverse group of members especially focused upon our tradition of building female leadership. One in 10 girls in the nation is a Girl Scout. One of the challenges at the national level is retention of girls as they become older and have more activities available to them.  GSUSA  has as initiative to recruit volunteers in the 18-29 age range.  Preteens and teens have made statements saying that they want more volunteers who are closer in age to them, who understand what they are going through because the young adult volunteers just went through it. I wanted a chapter of Campus Girl Scouts at UNF because UNF has unique resources such as the fact that we are located on a nature preserve and our new Student Union.  I knew that other UNF students were looking for ways to become involved in the community and work with younger kids.
Q: What are some of the major projects Campus Girl Scouts has done on and off campus?
A: We have hosted camping events at our local camps called Autumn Harvest, Survivor Camp and Outdoors Skills Weekend.  Autumn Harvest has a theme that changes every year. Last year, was focused on cooking skills. The girls learned how to cook on open fire, food safety, and new recipes. Then they had an Iron Chef challenge where they competed. We also mentored a troop of teens who were our assistants for the weekend.
Survivor Camp is for older teens and Outdoor Skills Weekend is for younger teens. They cover the same outdoor skills, but Survivor Camp ends with a competition.
At UNF, we have hosted College 101 where we gave teens an idea of what it’s like to be an independent student; budgeting, choosing classes, eating on campus, what a dorm room looks like and what activities and organizations are available.
Q: How has being and adult girl scout affected the lives of you and your other members?
A: Being a Young Adult Volunteer encourages you to think about yourself as a role model for younger girls and also as a professional when dealing with older Adult Volunteers.  You learn how to manage time and resources effectively, plan events, recruit and market.  Volunteering as a group helps because everyone can share their talents and experiences.  Through Campus Girl Scouts, I have become a member of the GSUSA National Board Leadership Lanes and certified to teach kayaking at resident camp.
Being a Young Adult Volunteer expands your professional network. Many business and government leaders have been involved in Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts.

Q: Tell me about the process of being selected as one of five National Young Alumnae Volunteers. What did you do in New York and what are you continuing to do as a volunteer?
A: The National Board Leadership Lanes is a new program that began in 2009.The National Board of Directors of GSUSA and Headquarters Staff created it to address the need for direct girl interaction and consultation for the new program initiatives of GSUSA. NBLL includes the National Young Women of Distinction who have earned  recognition for their Gold Award projects. The Gold Award is the highest award of Girl Scouts and is the equivalent of the Eagle Award in Boy Scouts. Only ten NYWD are chosen each year. The other National Girl Consultants have leadership experience, a strong academic background, and a strong commitment to the organization.
My first term was in 2009 and I was asked to serve again for 2010. I mentor the NGC and assist the headquarters staff. Every month, we attend online workshops to update our progress in our projects. Our projects range from designing new programs, to improving marketing to specific groups of our membership. My main focus is upon recruiting more Young Adult Volunteers especially college students. In August, we travel to New York City to visit with our staff partners. We also give a presentation to the members of the National Board of Directors and have a dinner with them.

Q: What are the major plans that CGS has for the upcoming school year?
A: One of our major plans is to recruit more Young Adult Volunteers for the Gateway Council. Many of our members have graduated or will be graduating. One of the most challenging aspects of being a club on campus is the high turnover due to transferring and graduating students. We are looking for students (both male and female) who are interested in working directly with young girls. You do not need to have experience in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, we will train you. You also do not need to have an interest in camping or the outdoors, there are many areas to volunteer such as history with the San Augustin Day, communications, marketing, fundraising, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). We also recruit for paid jobs at camp every Spring semester.
To contact or join Campus Girls Scouts at UNF email cgsunf@gmail.com or visit the CGS at UNF blog at www.cgsunf.blogspot.com.