Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast to Honor GE Healthcare for a Decade of Volunteer Commitment

Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast (GSWISE), an organization that works with community volunteers to provide girl-centered leadership experiences for members ages 5-18, will honor GE Healthcare with its first ever Corporate Leadership Award at the GSWISE annual meeting in Milwaukee on May 15. GSWISE initiated the Lighting the Path Leadership Award this year to recognize a corporation that reflects what Girl Scouts stand for — helping people at all times and modeling for girls the importance of service.

The award is being presented to GE Elfun, a society within GE that focuses on volunteerism and community service. For the past 10 years, GE Healthcare employees and retirees who are part of GE Elfun have organized a day of service at two Girl Scout camps in Southeastern Wisconsin. This year, about 200 volunteers worked at Silverbrook Program Center in West Bend and at Camp Winding Rivers in Neosho preparing the camps for use this summer by painting, fixing, cleaning and doing yard work.

“We are especially pleased to present our first Corporate Leadership Award to GE Healthcare. We can’t begin to thank them enough for their contribution of thousands of hours of volunteer time and expertise to Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast,” said Dennis Block, Senior Vice President of Property Strategies at GSWISE.

During the past 10 years, more than 1,200 volunteers have contributed nearly 9,000 volunteer hours. Project leader David Mehring puts in at least 80 hours per year planning and organizing volunteers for the event.

“The Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast and GE Elfun have a unique relationship. It's so much more than just buying cookies from your niece or co-worker's daughter, and much more rewarding,” said Milwaukee GE Elfun Chairperson Diana Kuehl. “A lot of sweat equity has been invested over the years, but when you consider that thousands of Girl Scouts have enjoyed the summer season at these camps in the last 10 years it seems all worthwhile.”