Navy lieutenant speaks to top local Girl Scouts about service in Afghanistan

CHESAPEAKE — Navy Lt. Monica Frey fondly remembers her time as a Girl Scout in Hampton Roads. It was through Girl Scouts that she first felt called to serve others – a calling she has followed into her career in the Navy.

“I learned early on that there are many people in need, many people who are too proud to ask for help,” said Frey. “Through Girl Scouting, I learned the importance of reaching out to those in need.”

On April 30, she returned to her Girl Scout roots to speak at the 2011 Girl Scout Gold Award Celebration, a program honoring 38 local girls who have earned the highest award in Girl Scouting, the Gold Award. To earn the award, girls must put in over 65 hours of service towards a community project of their creation. Only 6 percent of Girl Scouts in grades 10 - 12 earn the award nationwide. Girls who do earn the award are eligible to enter the four branches of the United States Armed Services at an advanced level and salary.

Frey shared with the Girl Scout Gold Awardees parts of her journey from a Girl Scout making small changes to help her community to a Navy lieutenant making major improvements in a foreign country. As a Girl Scout, she remembers visiting nursing homes and cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. As a Navy lieutenant in Afghanistan, she organized soccer clinics for Afghan girls and started a special outreach effort to collect clothing and toys for Afghan women and children in need.

“I think the Girl Scouts would be proud of my service to Afghan women and children,” said Frey. “I think they would be even more proud to know that it was the Girl Scout values instilled early on in my life that have inspired me throughout my military career to serve my country and those in need.”

Some of the Girl Scout Gold Award projects honored at the celebration included a teen suicide awareness program, a food pantry set up for students who might not get meals on weekends and a reading program for underprivileged children.

For more information on Girl Scout Gold Awards and volunteer opportunities, visit www.gsccc.org or call (800)77SCOUT.