Scouts to 'pay it forward' during Good Turn Week

Sarah Savic Kallesoe has been a Scout since she was six, following in the footsteps of her father.

The Burnaby Rover Scout has long believed in the Scout'score values ofcommunity service,generosity, and being kind others.

Starting April 29,Kallesoewill bespreading good deeds duringScouts Canada's Good Turn Week an annual eventwhere Scouts take on differentacts of kindness and participate in community-building activities.

"It's about the idea of giving to others without the expectation of having it returned to you," she told host Gloria Macarenko on CBC's Our Vancouver.

Some of the events inVancouver include an umbrella-sharing project near the Commercial and Broadway SkyTrainStationand a clothing drive at Oppenheimer Park.

Life as a Scout

Kallesoe, 20, saidGood Turn Week embodies the spirit thatScouts exhibit year round, oftenin other parts of the world. She's already been to Guatemala, Panama, Switzerland, and will be in Norway and Iceland this summer, and has participatedin numerous community service projects abroad.

Kallesoe was a volunteer outdoor guide in Switzerland, training Scouts from all over the world."My group had someone from Panama, from Canada, from Trinidad and Tobagoand Belize."

She credits the Scouting movement with helpingher to move outside her comfort zone,take onnew skills, and meet new people.

"In the beginningit's very frighteningbecause there is a lot of language barriers. But once youget passed that, you feel really at home."

Good Turn Week

While adventure is an important part of Scouting, Kallesoe saidcommunity service is fundamental.

This year, Scouts Canada has more than 30 community service projects nationwide as part of Good Turn Week. Eight are in the Greater Vancouver Area.

Kallesoeplans to clean up litter from the QuarryRock trailnear Deep Coveand hopes the public will take notice.

"We invite other people ... to join usand to be inspired bythis idea of paying it forward," she said.

"We have such a beautiful province but it will only stay beautiful if we work together to keepit clean."