For Leader Bonnie Leposa, Girl Scouts is a lot more than just playing games and doing crafts. It is about helping to craft the leader of tomorrow from the children of today.

Leposa, of Bradford, has spent the last 25 years helping to shape the lives of young women as a Girl Scout Leader. During her multi-generational tenure, she has helped to mold these young people into confident, caring and compassionate leaders in their own right.

But, funnily enough, the longtime scout leader wasn’t a longtime Girl Scout.

“I was in Brownies for a year, and I hated it because we did the same thing every meeting: we would come in and do a craft, then we would play a game and go home,” said Leposa.

“I tried to make sure that what I did with my troops was more varied, so I can hold the girls’ interests,” she laughed.

Leposa, also the children’s coordinator at the Bradford Area Public Library, was drawn back into Scouting after she became a mother.

“I wanted the opportunity to experience new things with my daughter and Girl Scouts offered us that,” Leposa said.

“I could see the value in it more as a parent,” she added.

Over the years, she has taken troops on many trips, including to New York City.

“This was some time ago, but we saw ‘Phantom of the Opera’ when we were there,” Leposa said.

Another memorable trip was to Harrisburg, where the ladies toured the state Capitol and state museum.

But throughout the years, the volunteer work the Scouts have been a part of is what has stuck with Leposa the most. It is from these moments that she draws some of her best memories of being a Scout leader.

“The things that we have done personally that I get the most enjoyment out of are definitely the community service activities,” Leposa said.

“I really like to keep my troops busy and involved in a variety of community projects,” she added.

Leposa reflected on one charity drive held in conjunction with a local church, where the girls raised money for the Nothing but Nets Program (a United Nations program now called United to Beat Malaria.) The program raises funds to purchase mosquito nets for those who are in need in third-world countries.

“They distribute the nets and the children will put them over their beds while they sleep so they won’t get bitten by mosquitoes and potentially die of malaria,” Leposa said.

Each net costs $5, and Leposa’s troop that year was able to raise and donate $500.

“It was wonderful to be able to gather those girls up afterward and tell them that they had saved the lives of at least 100 children with their efforts,” Leposa said. “It was a pretty cool moment; one that I will never forget.”

The Era’s Less Fortunate (ELF) Fund is another charity that has been supported by Leposa’s three troops in the last four years.

“We have purchased a tree and everyone has gotten together to make handmade ornaments; then we donate them to the ELF Fund,” Leposa said. “For the last four years in a row we have made over $1,000 for the ELF Fund.”

She has found that the girls are affected differently when they have a hand in raising the money themselves, rather than just asking their parents to donate and support the program.

“When we sit down and make the ornaments they are physically doing something for someone else and that makes a bigger impact on them,” she added.

The ladies also host their annual Fill the Cart event.

“Over the last 4 years we have collected probably 6,000 nonperishable food items for the YWCA food pantry,” Leposa said.

Some other charities that the girls support are the Bright Alternatives Center and the SPCA.

For Leposa, that spirit of giving is really at the heart of what the Girl Scouts are all about.

There are a million activities that young people can be involved in these days, but Leposa would argue that the world needs Scouting.

“Scouting is unique because you are learning new things, developing social skills, problem solving skills, learning to work with different types of people who are different ages — the list just goes on,” said Leposa.

“Kids can take the things they learn from doing badge activities and really figure out what their values are and help grow their character,” she added.

These days, some of the girls who were in Leposa’s first troops are mothers old enough to have daughters in the Scouting program themselves.

“They have gone on to become teachers, speech therapists, nurses, beauticians and more that you can’t even imagine,” Leposa said.

“I am just as proud of them as I am of my own kids; they have really gone on to do some great things,” she added.

Anyone looking to join the Scouting program can learn more on www.gspa.org where they will find links to either volunteer their time or register as a Scout.

“We are always in desperate need of reliable adult volunteers,” Leposa said. “It is a great way for moms to get to experience a variety of things with their children and stay involved in their children’s lives.”

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