April was National Volunteer Appreciation Month, a month of awards and recognition honoring volunteers, from those who are the boots on the ground to volunteer managers who inspire and mentor others on their community service journey. Beth Gamba of McLean had witnessed the volunteer work of McLean resident Linda Kuzmack as a Girl Scout leader for over twenty years. The mission of Girl Scouts is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.

"[Kuzmack] creates opportunities for McLean-area Girl Scouts to develop a service process much deeper than tallying service hours. Kuzmack shows them how to consider the community's needs before students brainstorm ideas for volunteering," Gamba said.

Gamba said Kuzmack's leadership stands out because it became a multi-generational, welcoming Girl Scout alumnae. Kuzmack conducted her first volunteer project with McLean student volunteers in 2000. Kuzmack and another troop leader, Linda Walsh, have adult daughters who are now Girl Scout Troop Leaders for their daughters’ troops. According to Gamba, three generations of Girl Scout volunteers serve simultaneously.

During service unit meetings, Kuzmack guided the young scouts in brainstorming to identify a need, create the implementation workflow, and execute the service project. The scouts learned how to establish a responsibility-empowering loop. Over late winter and early spring of 2025, Kuzmack was at it again, guiding Girl Scouts from multiple troops, two from Kent Gardens ES, Troops 50131 and 55033, and one troop from Falls Church, 50219. They worked to create a March 31 science day of service at Stanton Elementary School in D.C. The Girl Scouts planned a science day they would manage at the D.C. school. Walsh has supported Kuzmack’s connection with Stanton for decades, including the twice-yearly Day of Science at the D.C. school, which helped the young scouts discover how to "be the change." 

 Kuzmack started a service initiative at the school 25 years ago. Over the years, Girl Scout troops under her wing have brought their need-based ideas and implemented them at the school through their original service unit plans.

Current and former scouts, their families, and the principal of Stanton shared their thoughts about Kuzmack's two decades of volunteering. Her efforts led to Girl Scout service projects at Stanton, which benefited those students and the scouts by expanding their public speaking, mentorship, and leadership skills. Such encouragement and how Kuzmack presented the units led scouts to continue volunteering throughout high school, college, and beyond.

Linda Walsh, McLean: "I've worked with Linda since our kids were 6 years old. … Our daughters and granddaughters have continued to serve. … Kuzmack has fostered a passion for community service, inspiring volunteers to return year after year, even after their high school graduation."

Chuck Marks, McLean: "My family got involved with the McLean Girl Scout service unit 15 years ago. We valued Linda's continuity year after year, which permitted my children to see the benefit of repeated commitment to [the] community. We've been impressed by the quality of the projects Linda helped children plan."

Sophia Hobson, 5th grade, Kent Gardens E.S., Troop 50131 McLean: "The present occasion is my first time volunteering on this project. I was nervous, but I also felt confident afterward."

Abby Nguyen, 4th grade, Kent Gardens E.S., Troop 50131 McLean: "I'm volunteering here for the second time.”

Clara Marks of McLean, a college student, began volunteering with Linda Kuzmack in 2016 when she was 10, during Science Day at the school in D.C.: … I gained a lot of public speaking, mentorship, and leadership skills."

Allen Richardson, principal of Stanton Elementary School in D.C.: "Ms. Kuzmack is a beloved partner to our school … Kuzmack's consistency year over year generates authenticity, reinforcing service as an important everyday way of seeing the world around us."