A Grande Prairie resident is passing the torch after spending the last three years as the National Youth Commissioner for Scouts Canada. 24 year old Kaylee Galipeau, who is originally from Edmonton, has been volunteering with Scouts for more than a decade. She says the organization has opened a lot of doors for her and for so many other young people like her.
“We’re primarily a leadership organization. I’ve had real opportunities to be a leader in my community. We don’t believe that young people are the leaders of tomorrow, they are the leaders of today. From the time I was young there have been age appropriate opportunities for me to lead and to have hands on experience all the way through the program.”
The position of National Youth Commissioner is the highest youth volunteer role in Scouts. Galipeau says since starting with Scouts at the age of 5, it has impacted her life in enormous ways.
“I can’t say I would be who I am or where I am today without scouting. Scouting is so much more than a week night activity. Scouting is a journey where young people are given opportunities to lead in real situations where they are going to build skills that will help them for the rest of their life.”
During her term as commissioner Galipeau says she was kept busy with about 20 to 30 hours a week of volunteering, managing other youth leaders, preparing budgets, and serving on the National Leadership Team. She says she is now looking forward to getting more involved with local Scouts groups.
“This role was a really large time commitment in addition to my regular job, so I wasn’t able to be as hands on with any of our local groups as I would have liked, but now that things are winding down I’m looking forward to some of the groups here.”
Galipeau has been living in Grande Prairie for the last year and a half and is currently working for the city’s Crime Prevention program.
The role of National Youth Commissioner will now be handled by 22 year old Caitlyn Piton of Maple Ridge, British Columbia.