Last fall I had the opportunity to facilitate a conversation with a group of Girl Scouts who were preparing to work on their Gold Award, the highest honor they can achieve. We talked about what philanthropy meant to them and I led them through an activity to help them think about the impact they want to make in the community.

One of the young women I met was Rachel Bend, a senior at Monterey High School. She caught my eye again when I saw her on the news promoting the Girl Scouts One Warm Coat Drive over the holiday season. Rachel has been in the Girl Scouts for 10 years and plans to continue as an adult scout to help younger scouts and start new troops. We sat down this week for an interview.

Deborah: How do you define philanthropy?

Rachel: Giving because you want to, not because you have to. Doing it because it makes you feel good.

D: Tell me about the different ways you’re involved in philanthropy.

R: I try to volunteer as much as possible. I help with my orchestra on weekends and doing my Gold Award project with my music program. So far I’ve gotten 30 hours of volunteer work and I still have 10-20 hours to go.

D: Tell me more about your Gold Award project.

R: I am organizing all the music in the Monterey High band room—finding out what we have and don’t have and putting it on computers for them to use in the future. [Students] will be able to check out music like in a library and teachers will know what they have and don’t have. Usually students will take the music and won’t give it back and the teacher forgets to collect it. By putting it on the computer, it’s a more accurate way to find what’s missing and who has what.

D: Tell me more about what the Gold Award means to you.

R: It’s a step up into the real world. This is the final stage of Girl Scouts. I still get help from my mom and teachers, but it’s mainly me working on it. It makes me feel good to do something for my school that also helps my Gold Award.

D: Anyone else you volunteer with?

R: I’ll volunteer sometimes with the SPCA when I have time. I’ll drive out to Salinas and clean pens, take dogs out for walks, and play with the cats, get them exercise. It’s all stuff that I like. I also help with the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Getting to drive a golf cart and possibly see celebrities is pretty fun.

D: I saw you around the holiday season on TV. Tell me more about the One Warm Coat Drive.

R: It’s a coat drive for adults and kids, a local event. All coats collected stay in the community. They don’t go to San Francisco or Oakland. They stay here and in Salinas. First we take them to Country Club Cleaners and they clean the coats. Then they distribute them to Dorothy’s Place in Salinas and the Boys and Girls Club in Seaside.

D: How many coats did you collect this year?

R: 1,394

D: That’s incredible. Have you done this before?

R: Yes, I think this is my eighth or ninth year doing it. Last year we collected 1,165 coats.

D: Are they mostly new coats or are people bringing new coats?

R: It’s a variety. Some people buy coats. One time this lady went into Macy’s and she came out with a brand new $100 coat and donated it. There was another time a couple years ago that a guy was walking by and he gave us the jacket off his back. This year my mom got a grant for $500 from Salinas Valley Business Women’s Network and we were able to purchase 26 coats ranging from children to adult [sizes].

D: It’s inspiring to see someone walk by and take the coat off his back isn’t it?

R: Yes, and it was a nice leather coat too. It was a big bulky leather jacket.

D: Who are you engaging in your philanthropy with?

R: Usually it’s either my mom or my friends. Next week, my friend Ciara and I are going to Pebble Beach to help with the Pro-Am. My friend Nick is helping with the music program at my school. I don’t usually do it alone. I have some friends go with me.

D: Who initiates the volunteering?

R: Usually it’s me saying, “Hey, do you want to come?” And they say, “Yeah, why not?” We usually end up having a fun time and saying, “We should do that next year.” Like the Jazz Festival, I do that with my friends Ciara and Melisse and Sarah every year. We have a contest to see who can sell more programs.

D: What do you do with your mom? Is it different from what you do with your friends?

R: I usually go to the SPCA with my mom. She likes helping too. I usually do the SPCA and beach clean ups with her.

D: Who would you say influences you in your philanthropy?

R: My mom. She does a lot of volunteering. She recently volunteered her time to talk to my art portfolio class about her career as a graphic designer. I thought that was really cool.

D: That’s a great example of philanthropy. Not everyone thinks about that, however it’s a great way to give time. All parents can come talk to their kid’s classes. How else would you say your mom influences you?

R: She has her drive to go and do something. If she’s given a project to do she works non-stop until it’s done.

D: What are the skills or strengths that you bring to your giving?

R: I am a leader. With my Gold Award project, this was all leadership. I had to put together the dates. I had to talk with my teacher about doing it and I had to get people to volunteer. And if they didn’t show up when they said they would, I got on the phone and asked where they were. I’m pretty straightforward. I ask people, “Why aren’t you here when you said you would be?”

D: Tell me more about what you like best about giving?

R: It’s the feeling of being able to help someone who needs it the most. They may not even realize they need it until you help them. At the SPCA, they have so many pets and so much to clean. Just being able to say that I can do a load or two of wash for the dogs’ blankets. Or I can clean a couple pens. It helps the staff because they don’t always have time to do that.

D: Any other ways that giving makes you feel?

R: Tired.

D: Why?

R: Because you’re doing a lot of work. It’s good in the end because you get to work and then you get tired and then you get to sleep well.

D: If you could fulfill a philanthropic dream, what would it be?

R: To go to other schools and help them with their music programs and help them organize. I’d love to go to other schools to do that because I know my school isn’t the only one to have lost music.

I was so impressed by the numerous volunteer opportunities that Rachel has engaged in over the years. It also struck me that at 17 she has found something she’s passionate about—music. She’s now been playing the cello for five years. And she has this desire to give back to an organization that’s provided her so much—Girl Scouts. She’s got a bright future ahead!