Did you know that a donation to United Way of Greater Williamsburg of $20 a week provides one full year of positive role modeling and opportunities for building leadership for a troop of 10 girls “at risk" through the Girl Scouts Scouting Program?

The Girl Scout Council of the Colonial Coast is a United Way partner agency.

 

Meet Claudia Christner

  

Caring About What Matters . . .

 

Claudia with some of the Girls Scouts from troop 1392
For most of us, summer brought Monet landscapes - green fields, blue skies, a Crayola box of living colors - but not for Claudia Christner who is among the fifty thousand Americans who loose their sight each year, many from complications from diabetes, Claudia is finding life much different this summer, her first without vision.  Claudia misses driving the most. Last February she relinquished her license and lost the sense of independence that comes with it. Once an avid reader, she now must rely on free books on tape from the Library of Congress. But there are aspects of her life that will never change, her determination to be the best mom possible to her two teen daughters -- and her love for Girl Scouting. I think you have to have a purpose in life, Claudia said. Girl Scouting is mine. I believe I’m here to effect change for girls not only for my two daughters, but for every girl I have the opportunity to work with in Girl Scouts. Claudia is a lifetime Girl Scout. She joined the organization as a girl in a troop led by her mother.  We were a military family, and Scouting was very important to us, she said. I have two sisters and two brothers all were scouts. Scouting was the one thing I could count on when we moved to a new place. I was a shy kid, and Girl Scouts was the only thing that I knew I had in common with the other kids. No matter where we moved, I was always part of something in the new place.”

 

Claudia has been a Girl Scout leader for 13 years, starting her volunteer career as an assistant leader while she was in college. When her eldest daughter was born, her first words to her husband were: I've got a Girl Scout! She continues to lead a troop in Williamsburg for Cadet and Senior Girl Scouts. Her daughters are members. They, and others in Troop 1392, have taken on more responsibility. Claudia has concentrated on things she still can do. I've found that the phone has become an extension of my body, Claudia said. I had to give up training for the Girl Scouts when I lost my license, but I'm finding that I'm helping out in other ways, like making calls to girls and volunteers, helping organize events and acting as a consultant for new leaders.”  Last fall, Claudia helped her girls organize a citywide collection for the USO bereavement center after 9-11 that became the troop's Girl Scout Silver Award project. This year she plans to be there for the girls working towards their Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. I've noticed that I am making a difference, Claudia said. I've been able to get more adults involved as volunteers. They see me still doing this job and see how I'm having an effect, and it makes them think twice before saying no. I wish more people would say yes and see what I see in volunteering.

 

Please visit our Donations Section to find out how to contribute to the United Way of Greater Williamsburg.

 
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