“It is with profound sadness that we at Girlguiding have learned this evening of the death of our Patron, Her Majesty The Queen. Our deepest sympathies are with the Royal Family at this very sad time.
“Her Majesty The Queen had a long association with Girlguiding throughout her life. She first joined Guides in 1937 at the age of 11, alongside her sister Princess Margaret, who joined Brownies. As a member of the 1st Buckingham Palace Guides, she took part in camping trips and earnt badges in swimming, first aid, interpreting and horse riding.
“The Queen’s extraordinary devotion to public and voluntary service began long before her reign. In 1946, as a Sea Ranger she joined the crew on a training ship at Dartmouth and performed duties such as scrubbing down the decks. The same year, she was made Chief Ranger of the British Empire.
“In 1953, the year she succeeded to the throne, Her Majesty the Queen became Girlguiding’s Patron. Over the years thousands of girls and young women across the UK and overseas have worked hard to achieve their Queen’s Guide Award, the highest award available in guiding. Our programme of badges and activities has changed since 1937, as the world and lives of girls have changed – but the fun, friendship and adventure that the Queen enjoyed in guiding is still enjoyed by thousands of girls and young women in guiding today.
“Throughout her life, The Queen embodied the spirit of guiding. Every day she kept her promise to do her best, live according to her beliefs, and to serve people. Her dedication and service as the longest-reigning monarch has inspired all girls and young women in guiding to serve their communities across the UK and beyond, a legacy our members will continue to uphold in her honour.
“We’re honoured and hugely grateful for the support and friendship she bestowed on Girlguiding as our Patron. We join the nation in mourning the loss of a truly inspirational Guide, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”
Angela Salt OBE, CEO of Girlguiding, Catherine Irwin MBE, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Amanda Medler MBE, Chief Guide
Hello everyone,
September is almost upon us, it is a time of many new beginnings; new girls, new members, and even new units. If like me, you are a leader who had intentions of doing so much planning over the summer and now found that the summer has gone, and the intended planning hasn’t happened, but have enjoyed a break perhaps and taken part in lots of guiding event activities etc! The new term awaits. I’m looking forward to getting back to our guide meetings discovering what the girls have been doing over the summer and discovering what badges I need to order! I know that guiding hasn’t stopped over the summer, many girls and leaders have been on camps, holidays, trips, and outings which have offered great opportunities. I know that many units have been away during the extreme heat we have experienced and perhaps we are now looking at additional items on that lengthy risk assessment, when we take our girls away! But we can be prepared, as the saying goes.
So back to new beginnings, as well as familiarity and routine. I really like the return to unit meeting with the renewed sense of excitement, welcoming new girls and discovering how our unit will develop over this autumn term. I look back to when introduced our current programme, and how quickly the guides just pick up what’s needed, when it took me (and I’m sure I’m not alone), a while to get my head around things! It is great when you open up the UMAs and Skills Builders and see how these link across the programme and the badge, plus the additional activities we can plan around these – bringing so much diversity with our offer.
Our region Super Rainbows event is nearly here! And it is fantastic that we’ve had so much interest and engagement from our Rainbow units. I look forward to seeing and hearing all about the adventures and fun the Rainbows will be having when taking part. We have also this time, reached out to Rainbows members on the waiting list, and been overwhelmed by the response. A huge thank you to the team who have worked hard putting this together, our region delivery team and volunteers working together as on to ensure its all planned and delivered on time. So, to everyone taking part in our region Super Rainbows event, explore the box of activities, have fun, and have a super time!
Keep Smiling
Tracy
Hello! I’m Kate, a Guide Leader from Essex South East. I’m also a Peer Education Coordinator, an Inspire Champion… and I’m running the Marathon for Girlguiding.
I applied to run the marathon for Girlguiding because I had such incredible experiences as a young member (from volunteering abroad to being part of the British Youth Council). I would love those opportunities to be available to even more girls and young women. As a volunteer, I also enjoy seeing girls grow in confidence, develop skills and try new things.
I’d known that places in the London Marathon are hotly contested, so I didn’t expect to get a spot. When I got the call to say I’d been selected, I was excited about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After almost two years of lockdowns, I was ready for 2022 to be a year of new adventures! Although I was nervous about the prospect of raising £2,000 and running 26.2 miles, like many of us in Girlguiding, I’m not afraid of a challenge. If you think you’ve got what it takes, you can apply for the 2023 London Marathon now.
Training
This will be my first marathon, so after accepting my place, I found a training plan on the London Marathon website, designed for beginners. It turns out, training is no walk in the park (even if sometimes it involves a run in the park!). Just a couple of weeks in, I started having pains in my knee that I’d never felt before. There were days when I wondered how I would ever run 26 miles, when it hurt to run just one. Fortunately, by incorporating different exercises into my routine, I’ve strengthened my legs and it’s now less painful. I learnt the hard way that when training for a marathon, it’s not only about running. Varied exercise, hydration, sleep and diet are all crucial.
The Team
The great thing about running the London Marathon for Girlguiding is that you get to join a team. Runners for Girlguiding are added to a WhatsApp group, and it’s been lovely to celebrate each other’s achievements along the way. On difficult days, it’s also reassuring to know that I’m not alone in my aches and pains.
To add to this, we have a sponsor – the awesome Anna McNuff. If you haven’t heard, she ran 100 marathons barefoot in aid of Girlguiding! We were lucky to get a video from Anna early on, with practical tips, which really motivated me to train. We also had a Zoom call, where Anna gave us more advice, and her enthusiasm reminded me why I’m doing this – to support the amazing work of Girlguiding.
Fundraising
I have a fundraising target of £2,000, and at the time of writing, I’m just over halfway there. My most successful event was a scavenger hunt in London that I organised for Guides in my division. I was really fortunate to have supportive Leaders around, who were willing to give up their Saturday to make the day possible. I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported my fundraising so far!
I designed a badge for the scavenger hunt too, and I have several left – if you would like to buy any for your unit, please email me. I can also share the pack of instructions that I created, so you can follow along for a pre-planned day out exploring London.
How you can help (for FREE)
I would be hugely grateful for any contributions via my JustGiving page, to support Girlguiding UK, the charity we all know and love. However, if you are not able to donate, you can help for free, by sharing my JustGiving link. You could also sign up to easyfundraising, and when you do online shopping, I can get a donation, with absolutely no added cost to you.
Thank you for your support!
Hi all,
Friendship and fun outdoors, is where the last few weeks have taken me. I know many of you will have been away or planning to go away with your units and enjoying those special times!
I recently attended Suffolk counties leaders day held a Hautbois, it was great to see many leaders enjoy activities on offer and enjoying catching up in the lovely surroundings. The sun was shining, and it was lovely to meet leaders from the county. This week, I have also been to Bedfordshire County camp, held at Shuttleworth, and was made very welcome by all. Camping is great fun and I know the hard work leaders put in to make it all happen. For a weeks camp, there is always the day when we say “No more, I’m too tired for this” and then we girls have so much fun and enjoyment, we do it all over again! So thank you to you all for that extra commitment in many these events happen.
Many of units will be attending Lincolnshire Poacher next week and I will be there for the day on Wednesday, so please come over and chat if you see me. I’m at another camp the following week ‘East meet West’, our two Cambridgeshire counties joining together for a Camp and day activities too. I will there Thursday evening and looking for to seeing everyone.
In this month’s Discover and Grow, you may have seen the focus on celebrating friendship, and recognising the International Day of Friendship, where we celebrate the friendship between countries and cultures, building bridges and breaking down barriers. Guiding gives us so many opportunities to make new friends and some friendships that last a life time. In this way, guiding is a very social organisation to belong to.
We also make memories, I went to see Gang show 90 at Hammersmith Apollo earlier this month. Well done to all those members from our region that took part. It was a great show and reminded me of the good times I had taking part on Peterborough Gang show for many many years. One of the traditional Ralph Reader songs takes me back to friendship and memories . With these words,
“We’ve been making memories we are very smart
Well take each little memory and lock in pocket of your heart “
Fun, friendship and making memories is what we give our members, and that includes us as adult volunteers. So take time to catch up with friends and make more memories.
Take care, keep smiling,
Tracy
