Girl Guiding UK

Girl guiding UK is the country's largest girls’ voluntary organisation with approximately 575,000 members and with over 60,000 trained leaders. It has been running since 1909 and over the last one hundred years it has helped and affected millions of girls’ lives.

Guiding was set up in 1909 by Olave Baden Powel, the wife of Robert Baden Powel, the original chief scout, and his sister Agnes. The organisation was set up to give girls a chance to do the activities that boys were allowed to do in the scouts. Over the years more organisations for both younger and older girls have been set up, (Brownies, Rainbows and Rangers) so that guiding can be enjoyed by all ages of girls. Girls can now join the organisation at the age of five and never leave!

Since 1909 Guides have spread around the world and now there are 145 countries which have some form of guiding organisation available to the girls of that country. There are four world centres where any girl from any part if the guiding organisation can stay as part of a large group or as a small unit. These places are: Pax Lodge, London, Our Chalet, Switzerland, Our Cabana, Mexico and Sangam, India. These four centres are the main locations of the WAGGS movement (World Association of Guides and Girl Scouts) which provides a link between every Guide and Girl Scout in the world. The WAGGS movement enables any member of the organisation to attend any international camps at any of the four world centres or at another site anywhere in the world. 

As a Guide, girls can participate in award schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s award or the Queens guide award, take part in camps in the UK, abroad with either their own unit or as young ambassadors for the guiding movement, take part in community events or charity events or just simply have fun with friends! Camping is a main attraction to guiding as many groups may go on small unit camps to a local site or to a district camp. Other opportunities range from international camps within the UK to International camps abroad in countries like Iceland and Denmark. This can be a once in a lifetime opportunity which is only available in the guiding organisation.

Any girl who is in the organisation in the UK learns about working as part of team, how to respect others and helps tackle different issues in either their community or the world. This can be done as part of challenges set by the guiding organisation on a national scale or as part of an individual units work. As well as these opportunities Guiding UK is a place where girls can get together and chat, play games and do activities of their choice. Generally, Guides is a place to have fun.

Within guiding girls can help out with younger girls and become young leaders. This is a great experience for anyone and makes guiding feel incredibly worth while. Whatever girls do in guiding they always have brilliant opportunities and best of all make many new friends.

 For more information on anything take a look at: http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/

By Penguin17