Happy Father's Day!

When Jad Domachowski’s daughter, Alexandra, joined Girl Scouts three years ago, he knew from the start that he wanted to be involved. Initially, he volunteered with Troop 508 in Virginia Beach in order to spend more time with Alexandra, but once he got involved and got to know the girls and parents in the troop, he was eager to take on a bigger volunteer role. He officially registered as a Girl Scout and is now a proud member of Troop 508.

Jad cherishes the time that he has to spend with Alexandra. His career in the Navy affects the time that he has at home, whether he is deployed on a ship, in the office or traveling for training missions. Girls need, and want, their dads in their lives just as much as their mothers, and Girl Scouts provides opportunities for Jad and Alexandra to try new things, meet new people and have fun together.

“Girl Scouts has allowed me to spend more quality time with my daughter,” Jad said. “We take part in enriching and productive activities that teach life skills with other girls and their parents.”

For both Jad and Alexandra, Girl Scouts has been a great place to meet new friends. They also really enjoyed building a car together to race in a powderpuff derby, putting their engineering and design skills to the test to build a wooden racecar. They have had so many fun experiences that Jad’s younger son can hardly wait to be a Boy Scout and will be when the school year starts.

Before taking a break for the summer, Jad, Alexandra and the rest of Troop 508 will be working on a community service project in support of Operation Smile. They are also exploring cuisines from around the world, taste testing new dishes as each troop meeting.

Girls need both women and men to show that they can be anything they want to be—from athlete to astronaut, from CEO of their own business to CEO of their own household. In fact, studies show that if we want girls to view themselves as strong, self-reliant and resilient, it is essential that the men in their lives—fathers, brothers and other caring adults who help mentor her—show her that they view her in this way. As a dad in Girl Scouts, Jad is playing an important role in Alexandra’s life, as well as in the lives of her fellow troop members, to help them believe in themselves.

Girl Scouts is in need of women and men volunteers to be a part of the organization and help build the next generation of go-getters, innovators, risk-takers and leaders. Girl Scouts offers both short- and long-term opportunities for caring adults to make a difference in the lives of girls. For information about volunteering with Girl Scouts, visit www.gsccc.org.