Like so many volunteers in Bradford West Gwillimbury, Joanne Guay found her volunteer ‘vocation’ through her kids.
Both sons were in Scouting, soon joined by her daughter. “I had one in Scouts, one in Beavers, one in Cubs,” Guay said. “I was doing the ‘Mom’ thing.”
And like so many other moms of kids in Scouting, she found herself stepping up to volunteer, helping out when needed – and eventually becoming a Scouter herself.
“The Beaver Scouters at the time were a riot,” she said. Beavers are the youngest Scouts, ages five to seven – an age that Guay has always enjoyed.
“The energy and the excitement! They start out scared, and hiding behind mom,” she said. After a few weeks, “they’re running in, they don’t want to go home."
Although her own kids moved on in Scouting, Guay continued to work with Beavers. “I never left,” she said.
She has had fun introducing the young Beaver Scouts to volunteerism, especially after Scouts Canada announced the new North Star Award – the highest personal achievement for Beavers.
Guay encouraged her Colony to think about all the ways that volunteers impact their daily life, and engaged them in activities that included volunteering at Wishing Well Animal Sanctuary, making "Birthday Bags" filled with party items for clients of the food bank, and participating in the annual Kids Run for Nature at Scanlon Creek Conservation Area.
"It was pretty eye-opening for them," Guay said - focussing on the importance of volunteering. "I think it's important that the kids see and hear that."
She was especially happy with the Beavers' involvement in the Kids’ Run for Nature, which raises money for the World Wildlife Fund.
“Our whitetails (third-year Beavers) supported it the first year,” she said. “It was a nice tie-in for Beavers, because part of their promise is to ‘take care of the world’.”
Guay has also played a role in training new Scouters, and new Group Commissioners, helping the volunteers understand both the responsibilities and the opportunities of being part of the Scouting organization, and find their way in Scouting. Recently, she offered a training course in York Headwaters Area.
She has run camps for up to 150 people, Area Camps for Beavers, and helped out at SLS Algonquin Camp – running the kitchen for a few years, and serving as camp registrar for several years.
A recipient of the Scouts Canada Centennial Medal, Guay has also done a lot of “liaison stuff,” working with school boards, the Town, and various committees – “all the tasks people didn’t really want to do.”
Scouting is not Guay’s only area of volunteerism. At work, she was certified to run the Health and Safety Committee. At her church – St. John’s Presbyterian – she continues draft of the church bulletins.
But it’s Scouting that has always captured her heart. “There are some amazing Scouters, who are in it for the right reasons – they’re in it for the kids,” she said, and set an example with their leadership and volunteering.
As for what she gets out of Scouting? It's watching kids discover themselves through Scouts. “When you see them come out of their shell, it’s amazing – when you see them grow.”
