Girl Scout Leader Fired For Vigil Honoring Deceased Girls, Mother

GREEN BAY, WI — Girl Scout mother Elizabeth Steffel held a fundraiser for the three Girl Scouts and scout parent who were killed when they were struck by a pickup as they picked up trash Nov. 3 in the Chippewa Falls area. Steffel said she was fired from her job as Girl Scouts leader because she held the fundraiser.

According to multiple reports, Steffel, a leader of Girl Scout Troop 4029 in Green Bay, was suspended from her role Monday by the Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes Council.

In early November, Steffel worked with Wisconsin troop leaders to set up a fundraiser for the families of those who were killed. “We also wanted to do something that would honor them or that would memorialize them, because this is big,” she said in a WBAY report. “They died while doing service. Girl Scouts is all about doing service to others and helping the community, and they died doing that.”

Local Girl Scouts leaders, including Steffel, created a special merit patch, held a candlelight vigil and raised money that was hand-delivered to the families of those who lost loved ones on that day, according to reports. Steffel’s fundraiser was posted on Facebook and gained attention from people around the world.

“I posted about it online, and suddenly I was getting messages from people in Texas and Canada and Oklahoma and Tennessee who thought it would be nice if we all did it at the same time,” said Steffel.

But all was not well, especially with Girl Scout leadership.

Steffel said she went into work on Monday and was called into the Girl Scouts office for a meeting with the organization’s human resources staff. Steffel said she disagreed with leadership about where donation money should go. Steffel indicated she was frustrated that donations going to the Girl Scouts would not end up reaching the family. The Girl Scouts lamented that they could not control funds raised outside of their authority — yet presumably under their name.

When the two sides could not agree, they agreed that Steffel would be let go.

In a statement released Monday, the council said:

“Several individuals started GoFundMe pages or ‘passed the hat’ to collect funds for those impacted by the tragedy. As a non-profit organization we did not establish, manage or direct the use of any of these funds. These efforts are led by individuals who are free to make their own determinations on how these funds are used. At no point do we direct the use of these funds. If an individual chose to donate to our organization in honor of the impacted troop or girls, those funds are segregated to support our Council’s efforts in delivering the Girl Scout mission to girls in the Western Region of our Council, specifically the Chippewa Valley.”

Steffel said she’s been devastated by the controversy that has taken place since the tragedy, adding that she is no longer part of her Girl Scout troop and does not know the fate of her former troop, which included 50 girls, many of whom are at-risk students.

“People I do not know are attacking me and my intentions. Others whom I do not know are vehemently defending me. I don’t understand any of this. I am not a person who likes attention. I am not a person who likes anger, violence, arguing, slander etc. Seeing all of these things happening because of what is happening here in Green Bay is breaking my heart more than it already has been over the last 24 hours,” Steffel wrote on Facebook Monday.

“On Wednesday I was pulled into the GS office to discuss the Vigil’s while at work for my contracted job,” she continued. “I was told that the vigils and patch were hurting the families. I said that if this is true please have whoever is being hurt reach out to me. I was torn. I wanted to believe my council, but I was also getting the exact opposite message from people affected by the tragedy.”

The Tragic Crash

Lake Hallie police Sgt. Daniel Sokup said 21-year-old Colton Treu of Chippewa Falls was driving his black Ford F-150 pickup truck when he veered on Highway P, crossing a lane and ending up in a ditch just before noon on Saturday, Nov. 3. Authorities later said that Treu had been huffing chemicals just before he got behind the wheel.

According to multiple reports, the girls were fourth-graders at Halmstad Elementary School in Chippewa Falls, and were taking part in a highway cleanup project for Girl Scout Troop 3055.

Authorities in Wisconsin said 9-year-old Jayna Kelley and 10-year-old Autumn Helgeson, both of Lake Hallie, and 10-year-old Haylee Hickle and her 32-year-old mother, Sara Jo Schneider, all died in the crash.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

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