Volunteer Awards

Recognize a volunteer or community member/organization who has made a significant impact in girls' lives with an award. Nominate a deserving volunteer today. Nominations are reviewed and, if selected, presented at our annual Adult Award Ceremony.

View the complete Girl Scout Volunteer Award Guide here.

CONGRATULATIONS VOLUNTEER AWARD RECIPIENTS!

It is with great pleasure that we announce our latest Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest Volunteer Award recipients. Thank you for your inspiration!

At GSDSW we know how hard every volunteer works towards furthering our mission of building girls of courage confidence and character who make the word a better place. Since 1912, Girl Scouting has been led by volunteers that continue to inspire girls, adults and their communities.

“To be inspired is great, but to be an inspiration is an honor.” - Juliette Gordon Low

RSVP for our virtual Ceremony of Honors, June 12, 2021, 10 AM MST - 12 PM MST here.

Award	Name
Appreciation Pin	Allison Herman
Appreciation Pin	Angela Olley
Appreciation Pin	AnnRose Howard
Appreciation Pin	Audrey L. Curry
Appreciation Pin	Brennis Gantz
Appreciation Pin	Christina Arditti
Appreciation Pin	Elizabeth Limon
Appreciation Pin	Jacob Chavez
Appreciation Pin	Janai Rogers
Appreciation Pin	Joanna Arriola
Appreciation Pin	Katie Craven
Appreciation Pin	Molly Wegner Couder
Appreciation Pin	Monica Varela
Appreciation Pin	Sonja Gardinier
GS Support Award	Kenneth “KC” Green
GS Support Award	Krissy Rumpf
Cookie Champion	Danielle Green
Cookie Champion	Lisette Gonzalez
Cookie Champion	Rosa Arzavala
Outdoor Enthusiast	Selena Solis
Volunteer of Excellence	Jeanette Skow
Volunteer of Excellence	Margo Trevino-Torres

Volunteer Awards

In order for an individual to be considered for a volunteer award three unique nominations from three different people must be submitted to council using the form below.

SUBMIT VOLUNTEER NOMINATION

Troop Awards

The Honor Troop serves as a guide for troops to ensure a well-rounded year of Girl Scouting. Use this as a tool to lead your troop successfully and ensure girls are exposed to diverse girl-led leadership opportunities.

Honor Troop Application

Service Unit Awards

The President's Award serves as a guide for Service Units to ensure a well-rounded year of Girl Scouting. It recognizes the efforts of a Service Unit moving its assigned area toward the achievement of our council goals.

Community Awards

Community Thank You Award recognizes any community member or organization that has provided a one-time or episodic service to Girl Scouts.

Community Partner Award recognizes any community member or organization that has provided superior contributions to Girl Scouting over an extended period of time.

SUBMIT COMMUNITY AWARD NOMINATION

Membership Numeral Guards & Volunteer Years of Service Pin

The MEMBERSHIP NUMERAL GUARD recognizes any Girl Scout member for his or her years of membership in 5 year intervals. Years may include combined girl and adult membership years. Years do not have to be continuous or consecutive.

The VOLUNTEER YEARS OF SERVICE PIN recognizes volunteers in Girl Scouting for their active volunteerism in 5 year intervals.

These pins are offered freely to any deserving adult member or volunteer within our council compliments of Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest.

REQUEST NUMERAL GUARD AND/OR VOLUNTEER YEARS OF SERVICE PIN

The President's Volunteer Service Award

Girl Scouts of the Desert Southwest is proud to be a certifying organization of the President's Volunteer Service Award (PVSA).

The President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) recognizes United States citizens and lawfully admitted, permanent residents of the United States who have achieved the required number of hours of service over a 12-month time period or cumulative hours over the course of a lifetime. Please make sure you track your hours and submit to info@gsdsw.org by the first Monday in April. Below are the various categories of the Bronze, Silver, Gold awards available.

Volunteer Eligibility

United States citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e., green card holder)
Must be at least five years old
Completes eligible service within a 12-month period (for annual Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards) and over a lifetime (for Lifetime Achievement Awards)

Eligible Service:

Unpaid acts of volunteer service benefitting others
- Service through National service programs that provide a stipend (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) may count towards the Lifetime Achievement Award*, but not for the annual Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards)
- Travel stipends, transit/parking passes, membership passes, expense reimbursements, and other nominal volunteer support do not impact service eligibility

Eligible Service does NOT include:

Donating funds
Political lobbying (Non-partisan voter registration is an eligible activity)
Religious instruction
Conducting worship service
Proselytizing
Volunteer service performed as part of court-ordered community service
Serving only family members

Hours Required to Earn Awards in Each Age Group

Age Group	Bronze	Silver	Gold	Lifetime Achievement Award*
Kids (5–10 years old)	26–49 hours	50–74 hours	75+ hours	4,000+ hours
Teens (11–15)	50–74 hours	75–99 hours	100+ hours	4,000+ hours
Young Adults (16–25)	100–174 hours	175–249 hours	250+ hours	4,000+ hours
Adults (26+)	100–249 hours	250–499 hours	500+ hours	4,000+ hours

* The Lifetime Achievement Award is not available to be awarded at this time.

Note: As of May 2019, PVSA no longer offers volunteer account creation and volunteer hours’ tracking to individuals. Please use this spreadsheet to track your hours, and once complete send it to info@gsdsw.org by the first Monday in April for recognition.

Informal Ways to Thank Volunteers

Giving and receiving recognition is an important component of any volunteer experience. A card from the girls, a handmade gift, an e-mail message or a surprise party are informal ways to say “thank you” to adults in Girl Scouts.

View the complete Girl Scout Volunteer Award Guide here.

Congratulations to all of our past GSDSW Adult Award Recipients. For a comprehensive list of all past GSDSW Adult Award Recipients, 1975-2020, click here.

Not sure how to wear your awards? Click here to see an example of an adult Girl Scout uniform.

Questions? Contact us at info@gsdsw.org or 915-566-9433.

2020 Volunteer Spotlights

Thank you to all of our volunteers who help create girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Each month we would like to shine the spotlight on our dedicated volunteers in our council! Know someone who goes above and beyond for our Girl Scouts? Submit a nomination at info@gsdsw.org.

May - Ruben Limon: Reuben has been a Girl Scout Volunteer for three years and is a dedicated troop leader. His daughter, Sophia, is the main reason he joined Girl Scouts but quickly learned that he truly believes in building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.

"I believe in empowering our daughters with the strength to not only survive in the modern world, but to grow, thrive and prosper both emotionally and physically," says Reuben. The one thing Reuben always looks forward to in Girl Scouting is the large events where girls can meet and socialize with other girls from different service units. He is the true representation of being "Man enough to be a Girl Scout."
June - Brooke Upchurch: Please join us in congratulating Brooke Upchurch as this month's Volunteer Spotlight. Brooke has been a volunteer with Girl Scouts for 7 years and is on her 4th year here with GSDSW. She, along with the other volunteers in Alpine, has helped to grow her troop to 25 girls and 16 adults! She leads the Juniors in their multi-level troop. During the quarantine, they have stayed active by encouraging the girls to participate in Council-led virtual badge earning activities and holding their own virtual meetings for their Girl Scouts to earn planned badges. For the Juniors in their troop, they select the badge they want to work on and meet via Facebook Kids video messenger. For the Daisies and Brownies, their leaders posted the steps on their private Facebook page. The Girl Scouts and their parents are then posting videos and pictures of them completing their badge work. Brooke truly helps to make the world a better place and we are lucky to have her! Thanks Brooke!
July - Tammie Peterson: Tammie Peterson has been a Girl Scout since she was a Junior in the late 60s or early 70s. She started again when her girls entered first grade in the 90s while she was pregnant with her fourth child. Everyone thought she was crazy when she signed up to be the leader at the recruitment but she continued on to become a service unit manager until 2002. Two years ago she found her way to the Desert Mountains Service Unit in Alamogordo, NM, and since then has been the Service Unit Manager. This year she also started a Cadette Troop to help fill a need for older girls in Alamogordo. Her favorite thing to do with Girl Scouts is camping and she helps organize a campout every year for her service unit. When speaking about camp Tammie says, "I've laughed and cried, sang and danced. I've learned new things about girls, the world and myself." Tammie is a prime example of a Girl Scout and we are SO lucky to have her! Thank you Tammie!

August - Celia Darbonnier: Celia has been a Girl Scout volunteer for seven years. With a desire to help her daughter come out of her shell, she began her journey as a Girl Scout parent volunteer. The next year her younger daughter wanted to join Girl Scouts too, so Celia stepped up as a troop leader. Since then she has kept her troop going year after year, even after the recent birth of her youngest child. Celia has a huge heart, is a determined learner and asks for help every time she needs it. She takes the time to take all the trainings available, attends service unit meetings and learns more about Girl Scouts each year. Thank you for leading our Girl Scouts and being a dedicated Girl Scout volunteer.

September - Danielle Green: Danielle Green is a wonderful troop leader to a multi-level troop in Midland. She has two girls in Girl Scouting and is always willing to help where needed. She has worked to keep her troop involved during the pandemic by creating porch pickups for the girls with activities for different holidays and occasions and working on a contactless bridging ceremony where girls were honored for all of their achievements this past year. Without Danielle, Girl Scouting would not be as visible in the Midland community as she is always finding ways to get involved in the community and create partnerships. She is always willing to help with a smile on her face.

October - Krystan Tjarks: We are honored to celebrate Krystan Tjarks for 45 years of Girl Scout membership. We asked Krys to describe to us what Girl Scouts means to her after all these years. Please read her answer below and join us in expressing a heartfelt Girl Scout thank you to her for all her service to Girl Scouting.

“Girl Scouts means not being afraid to do and conquer skills that I may not have learned without good role models. Girl Scouting is lifelong friendships, and fun. Sleeping overnight in various places in a tent, on the ground in the rain, on a platform with no screens. Hiking in a swamp with a white t-shirt, not being afraid to tip a canoe and fill it with water and turn it upside down in the middle of a lake. Cooking over an open fire or in a box for breakfast lunch and supper. Honoring our flag and country with ceremonies, and learning silly skits and songs. Girl scouts is my life. I think it always will be.” – Krys Tjarks

November - Geriann Green: Geriann Green is a true “Green blood” Girl Scout Volunteer. She is the Midland Service Unit Manager, helps run a multi-level troop in Midland, as well as train and mentor volunteers as an Adult Learning Facilitator. She is always willing to help and lend her expertise of many years of Girl Scouting. Geriann has earned the GSDSW Council Appreciation Pin, Honor Pin and Outdoor Enthusiast awards. She is a wonderful volunteer, a helping hand, and Girl Scouts is lucky to have her!

December - Lori Villanueva: As a girl, Lori was a brownie. She wanted to get her twin girls involved and became a leader in 2017. After tirelessly approaching her twins' classmates mothers at various birthday parties to ask if they'd be interested in having their daughters join the troop their troop formed and has been high-achieving ever since!

Troop 52554 has participated in Wreaths Across America at Ft. Bliss National Cemetery, visited Central Fire Station #1, supported our very own Daisy at the Cystic Fibrosis Walk, placed flags on Memorial Day at Ft. Bliss National Cemetery, has had members of the troop selected to represent GSDSW at the Girl Scout Week Proclamation at the El Paso City Council Meeting, in 2019 they provided 51 Salvation Army Angel gifts and this year will provide 44 Salvation Army Angel gifts just to name a few activities. They earned the Honor Troop award at the August 2020 Ceremony Of Honors and are continuing their Girl Scout journey by holding monthly virtual meetings.

When speaking about her troop’s successes she said: "The combination of EVERYONE makes the troop run so smoothly that it's been a joy to be a part of helping the girls. Every single member of our Troop family adds something unique that has helped us move forward while living and representing what Girl Scouts stand for. We started out trying to get eight (8) girls to join the troop and before the first meeting we had 15 through word of mouth. Now there are 21 Girl Scouts in our Troop 52554 family."
January - Misty Frank: Please congratulate Misty Frank as our January 2021 Volunteer Spotlight. Misty is a volunteer out of the Fort Stockton Service Unit. She helps volunteer with her daughter’s Senior Girl Scout troop. She has always helped within the Service Unit but just recently took roles on the SU Team as a Communications and VTK Champion team member. She has been volunteering in Girl Scouting since 2015 when her daughter was in 5^th grade, and was a part of Girl Scouts as a girl, from a Brownie to a Junior. Misty is always a smiling, friendly face and a helping hand. She loves watching the girls grow and mature, and become their best selves! Girl Scouts is very lucky to have her!
February - Lisa Rodriguez: Congratulations to our Volunteer Spotlight for the month of February 2021 - Lisa Rodriguez! Here’s a little more about Lisa. Lisa was born and raised in Wisconsin, joined the United States Marine Corp in 1991, moved to Minnesota when she left the Marine Corp and worked as a retail store manager for 20 years. In July 2016, she moved to Carlsbad, NM. Her daughter Christina, and she joined Girl Scouts in October 2016, with her youngest daughter Lillian, joining soon after in May 2019. Lisa has been their Troop Leader, the Service Unit Treasurer and Cookie Coordinator for the last two years. Lisa volunteers with Girl Scouts because she likes the safe environment it creates for her girls and others. She also enjoys how it allows girls to be themselves while trying new things. “There is no judgement and they can feel empowered to step into being a leader. Thank you for letting me be a volunteer!!” No, thank you, Lisa!