About Mary Ballard

Mary Ballard is an active Ambassador Girl Scout in the Northwest Florida Girl Scout Council. Going on her 12th year in Girl Scouts she has enjoyed being an active participant in making her communities a better place. Some of her favorite community service projects have included:

• Building a native plant garden (to reduce water usage) at her school

• Bringing potted plants to nursing home residents to help clean the air

• Teaching others in the community how to crochet plarn (plastic grocery bags made into yarn) into mats for the homeless

• Making toys for shelter animals

• Playing music for nursing home residents

• Mentoring a Brownie troop

• Teaching a camp Skills on how to tie knots

• Teaching outdoor skills to youth in the community

• Trash pick up events at the beach, in the woods, along roadsides

• Serving food to the homeless

• Organizing donations for thrift stores

• Cleaning animal shelter pet cages

• Petting animal shelter rescue animals for socilaization

• Helping at the local senior center pancake breakfast

• Organizing files and cabinets at schools

• Make shoes to send to Africa

• Make filament holders for fishing line

• Make fleece blankets for pregnancy centers

• Make Chemo kits for children in cancer centers

• Make a meal for a friend undergoing surgery

• Color pictures and send drawings to nursing homes

It has been a pleasure doing community service through the years as a Girl Scout, a 4-H member, as a Pi Theta Kappa member, and as a student, as a youth group member. No matter what group I am serving with, it always brings me and those I serve indescribable joy. I hope that you can find that joy by finding the right volunteer job for you! May you become a life-long volunteer!