Girl Scouts and Amani ya Juu

Most of us know of the Girl Scouts for their most excellent cookies such as the crowd favorite thin mints, and for their outdoor education programs. But how much do we really know about the Women of Girl Scouts?

On March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia,  a women by the name of Juliette Gordon gathered with 12 young girls for an official girl Scouts meeting. Juliette wanted opportunities for young girls to help them develop holistically. She felt they would best achieve this by taking them out of the house, and bringing them into nature.

Global Girl Scouting continues the vision by promoting goodwill and friendship among the world's children, leading them, in turn, to work toward world peace.

Looks like Girl Scouts and Amani ya Juu have a lot in common! Recently we interviewed one of our favorite volunteers, Elena Schwed, who works for Girl Scouts, about her volunteering experience with Amani.....

How did you get connected with Amani ya Juu?

Sarah Sanford whose daughter works with the ladies in Amani; we both work at Girl Scouts and she asked if anyone was interested in helping out.  I responded :) 

What would you say to the women who produce our products at Amani centers in Africa? 

Great quality products and the workmanship is phenomenal.

What would you say to others considering volunteering?

It’s easy peasy :)

Do you have any tips for volunteers (general stuff party ideas, activities, food, etc)? 

I have a wide variety of options.  Neighborhood watch group, parties, work, and I give platelets and take the goods to Blood Source.  I pretty much take them everywhere and am not afraid to ask anyone.  The worse that happens is they say, no.

What is your favorite part about volunteering? I get pretty excited when I am showing off all the beautiful wares.  The fact that everything is handmade is fantastic. No two items are the same :)

How many sales have you done?

I have received 2 boxes but have had about 8 sales.

Amani loves our volunteers. There are several different ways you can Volunteer depending on your location and availability. If you would like to volunteer by throwing a box party check out our FAQs to get yourself more familiar with just what all they entail. Then contact our volunteer coordinator at ambassador@amaniafrica.org. 

If you live in the Chattanooga area and would like to help out at our warehouse contact Carrie at shopchatt@amaniafrica.org.

Or, if you happen to find yourself in Africa, please visit our Contact page to locate the information for the Amani center you wish to visit.