GOLDen hearted Miriam!

Favourite guiding moment?

The promise ceremony for Guides in Guyana GOLD 2013! The girls came to training sessions and at camp, at the end of our three week stay, they wanted to be part of Girlguiding. They made their promise in the rain forest between the most incredible torrential downpours and under a canopy of parrots. I felt so proud to be part of such an amazing organisation.
It is a memory that will stay with me forever!

Why do you volunteer?

I love passing onto my Guides the skills and experience gained from Girlguiding volunteers and through Girlguiding opportunities. It is so much fun, a great talking point, gives you skills for life, new friends, and even world travel!

I have been a member of Girlguiding since Rainbows but I tagged along to things when I was much younger, because my Mum has been a leader for many years.
Girlguiding has been a constant in my life despite moving around the country and I am now leader of 36th Stephenhill Guides in Sheffield. Over 2 years we have grown from 16 girls to 36. I have recently done my ‘Going Away With Licence' and I have just received my five year service badge!

What is special about Girlguiding?

The people! I have been inspired by so many people in Girlguiding…
LEADERS: My first international experience ever, I had only ever been to Wales and had never been on a plane!
SNOWY OWL: Still sends me updates, really cares about what I am up to and also helping me fundraise!
MUM: Always on the phone to give support and last minute planning ideas- particularly when I am trying to plan Guides five minutes before girls arrive!
GOLD FRIENDS: My Guyana team and leader, current and past GOLD coordinators who believed in me, GOLD 2016 leaders, my GOLD Aruba team; I cannot wait to share this adventure with you!
GUIDES: Showing why Girlguiding is special! We always have fun, even after all day in the library revising. You inspire me to be a better leader and remind me not to take things too seriously.

Why did you apply for GOLD?

I heard about GOLD when Judy Ellis, one of Shropshire’s old County Commissioners and Grandma of GOLD, explained the wonderful work that has been done over the years. I met several GOLDies who were so enthusiastic about their experiences of sustainable development with girls and young women overseas that I was inspired to apply to INTOPS (now Go for GOLD).

How do you balance studies and Guiding?

Being a student Guide leader is hard but helps you to break the student bubble. You can get caught up in student life and it is refreshing to do something different, it enables me to explore parts of Sheffield and build new connections that I would never have found as a student.
I am training to be a Speech and Language therapist at the University of Sheffield and have lots of placements, assignments and exams. I'm as organised as possible and super flexible with plans. My housemates are great; helping with cutting out and providing packed teas when I don’t have time to pop home before Guides.
I think my Guides value the fact that I am a student; I have been asked about University life, and hopefully, I am breaking some of the parent’s stereotypes of students too!

What has been the toughest bit about GOLD?

In Guyana I was super sleep deprived, covered in mosquito bites, sun burnt and very hot. After an intense day of training that hadn’t quite gone to plan, all I wanted to do was sleep/ have a little cry. I then broke a chair (by accident) and it all got a bit too much. After ice cream, a bit of singing and relaxation I felt much better and turned a rubbishy situation into a great one…. our training the next day was fabulous!

What has been the highlight of GOLD so far?

I have really grown in confidence through GOLD. Starting as a nervous 17 year old who had never really travelled, knowing little about anything outside of the UK, I now truly feel part of a global organisation. I have Guiding friends from all walks of life who are passionate about changing the lives of girls and young women by providing them with a unique girl only space.
I have the confidence to say yes to exciting opportunities, like leading GOLD Aruba!

What have you learnt at GOLD that you have shared with your unit?

“Don’t sit next to Fred”, “Toaster, Microwave, Elephant” and “Fox and chicken”; fantastic games taught to me by the wonderful Clare, from Guyana 2013. My Guides absolutely love them and at least one of them is played every week!

GOLD? What is it and why do we want to tell you about it?

What are you doing?

GOLD is an Overseas Guiding project linked with development that usually lasts 5 years. A team goes overseas for 3 weeks each year, delivering training in a country that has requested our support. In our case, Aruba needs help becoming a full member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts – WAGGGS. We will also be focussing on growing Guiding in Aruba and raising the self-esteem of all the women and children we engage with.

Why are you going?
We applied along with a few hundred other girls who are currently active in Girlguiding in the United Kingdom. After written application in July, intense selection weekend in October, we found out we’d been selected in Dec 2015. Once selected, you are matched to a country based on your personal strengths and experience. It is a really incredible feeling to have been selected!
 

Why do you have to fundraise so much?

The project costs include; flights, key equipment, uniform, resources, and travel costs for all briefing weekends, where girls travel from all over the country to meet and plan training for our expeditions. If you'd like to sponsor us, or run our fabulous badge pack, we'd love to have your support!
 

 

Who are you going with?

It is an opportunity for adult women all over the United Kingdom, and this year there are girls from a wide range of areas, including Scotland, Wales and Guernsey. Team Aruba 2016 is made up of representation from the following areas:

 

          Hertfordshire          Sheffield          Guernsey          York          Halifax          Chesterfield

 

 

Involved in Guiding already and aged between 18 and 30 years of age? Why not apply to GOLD 2017!

http://new.girlguiding.org.uk/latest-updates/opportunities-with-girlguiding/gold-2016-1 

 

Alexandra's GOLDen Journey!

How did you get into Girlguiding? 

Lucky enough to grow up overseas,  I didn't  know what Girlguiding was about until my late 20s, while studying for my professional accountancy exams. Caroline, also studying, was telling me about her amazing adventures with her guides!
My first night was a combined section comic relief Danceathon! I love dancing, had a great night, and got my First Badge! It was great to see girls interacting across the ages, having fun and keeping fit.

I've just had my 1st Guide Anniversary and hope to finish my LQ this year. What a fantastic year it has been: Flip Flop Fling, canal adoption programme, safe space training, The Big Gig, Remembrance parade, and World Thinking Day sleep over.

What do you think is special and unique about Guiding?

I love that girls can be children and enjoy the adventure that entails, in a safe environment where they are encouraged to be confident and question the world around them. There is pressure for children to grow up fast but my unit love camping, so we take every opportunity to go, as the girls become more self reliant and confident, face new challenges and support each other to overcome fears.

Any favourite moments or memories?

We ran a Remembrance day sleepover and 2 serving female soliders ran command tasks and spoke,  followed by an interactive session with our local female vicar. It was great to see the girls interested in how different jobs can impact the world around them and give them inspiration be their best.

Why did you apply to Go for GOLD?

I was recommended to apply for GOLD, I had never heard of it. When I started researching, I was fascinated!. My impression of Guiding was a local focus, however this focus on local communities is worldwide.

Having always been involved with charity work, and in China teaching and working with migrant families, I was curious to see how a Guiding project could bring about sustainable community development in exciting locations.  I am excited to see how the team can help the Guiding community in Aruba develop in the years to come.

How do you feel about the upcoming expedition?

With excitement I can only count the days till third briefing weekend when we will start planning our programme- when the project will become very real indeed. The thrill of landing in a new country is one of the best feelings, you never know what you will experience and how you will be challenged!

Sunflower Steph's Road to GOLD!

Having been involved with Girlguiding for 22 years, Steph, or Sunflower to her Rainbows, is a passionate advocate for Girlguiding and the positive impact a girls-only safe space can have on the millions of women that are engaged with Guiding globally. Everywhere in the world is an opportunity to make new Guiding friends and there is a unique friendship between guiders that lasts a lifetime!

It is this passion and enthusiasm that Steph is most looking forward to sharing with the Aruban women that we will be working with this summer. The highlight for Steph in all these years with Girlguiding was to achieve the Queens Guide Award, although there are so many fantastic experiences to choose from!

So to better introduce Sunflower Steph, here is her road to GOLD:

‘My Girlguiding life started at the age of 6, when my mum was asked by a fellow church member to help set up a Rainbow unit, as Brownies and Guides were already established.
From Rainbows, I continued on to Brownies  and then to Guides where I completed my Baden Powell Award (highest award available to a Guide) enjoying the camps, crafts, games and meeting lots of new people.

Following a year out due to shift work, I returned to complete my adult leadership qualification at the Guide unit I had attended.  After completing my ALQ I was very keen for a new challenge, with a bit of website surfing I found out about the Queens Guide Award.  The Queens Guide award was definitely a challenge, seeing myself and 3 willing friends walk 50 miles over 4 days while learning about Guernsey history; focussing on the German occupation and liberation in World War 2.  I also travelled to Sri Lanka as part of my award to help at two preschools that a Guernsey charity has supported since the tsunami hit in 2004.   On completion of the award I travelled to London where it was formally presented by Gill Sloecombe, Girlguiding Chief Commissioner.

The journey continued with the role of Guernsey International Adviser and it seemed the best way to advise others of places to visit and to teach others about WAGGGS was to experience it myself! First on the list was Sangam in India where I celebrated the 47th birthday party, visited and helped at the mobile crèche community project and was part of a team organising activities and crafts for 100 visiting children from the neighbourhood.  Next up was Our Cabana in Mexico where I saw the Giant Monarch butterfly migration, celebrated World Thinking Day and was part of a team running activities for the local community to visit the centre.  I then ventured to Pax Lodge in London where I joined other Guernsey leaders and multiple teams from across the UK to play live Monopoly.  Last but by no means least, Our Chalet in Switzerland, the oldest of the WAGGGS World Centres, where I joined a team of leaders from across the UK and Europe to prepare Our Chalet for the next season with lots of cleaning.

Having visited all the World Centres - excluding the newest Kusafiri in Africa, I began speaking to all the Guiding members I could about travel opportunities available in Girlguiding and that's when GOLD grabbed me.  I attended the selection weekend, which although exhausting was amazing, however, had no confidence that I would be offered a place.  Then mid-December I received the email that caused great excitement- I'd been offered a place on 2016 GOLD Team Aruba.

And here we are, let the adventure begin!’

We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know Sunflower Steph and perhaps you are interested in finding out more:

What is the Queens Guide award?

What is OurChalet?

What is OurCabana?

What is Sangam?

What is theleader qualification?

Interested ingetting involved with Girlguiding locally? You never know where it might lead you!

Striking GOLD with Girlguiding

In early December I received an email at work that made me squeak and jump out of my seat. Fortunately, the office was empty and I was able to express a huge wave of excitement without any restraint! I'd just been informed that I was one of six women who had been selected to take part in year 1 of a 5 year Girlguiding project based in Aruba.


This is the first blog post of what will in time become many, so now seems a good time to briefly explain my route to GOLD and the path that led me to this incredible opportunity!


As a child, my sisters and I weren't able to join any clubs, we simply didn't have the money. Dance classes and lessons for musical instruments were just things that other people did. This meant my first experience of Girlguiding was at Secondary School where two close friends were Guides and had weekly meetings that they sometimes mentioned at school. I can only really remember feeling a bit jealous that they had something that bonded them closely, something I didn't understand and wasn't a part of.



Many years later through my work in the not-for-profit sector I was asked to present a cheque to a local Rainbow Unit (5-7 year old girls) and I could never have imagined that it would become a visit that would have such an impact on me for the years that followed.


I presented the cheque and stayed for the full meeting. I was incredibly impressed by the supportive atmosphere that was created by the leaders and was overwhelmed by one little girls revelation to the group when they each shared something that had happened to them in the week.

'I got my hearing aids!'

It was wonderful, the group listened carefully as Sky our unit leader explained to the girls what a wonderful thing this was to have happened and then asked the girls to cover their ears and uncover them again to demonstrate how much louder things sounded- all of this helped them to understand why it was important not to be too loud as it would sound much louder through the little girls hearing aids. What really impressed me, was that each girl in that room would never be intimidated by a hearing aid in the future, they understood what it did and why it was such a positive piece of news to share. I truly believe the world needs more of this kind of friendly and safe learning space.


At the end of the session I had laughed, played, and shared the experience with the girls and I felt curious about getting more involved. It took me a few weeks to strike up the courage to ask if they would want me to help with anything because I didn't think that I would have anything to offer them! When I did speak with Sky, she put my mind at ease and assured me that they always needed volunteers and would love to have me back for more sessions. That was the start of the journey and almost three years on I have completed my leadership qualification, have 11 badges, and Sunbeam is my Rainbow Assistant Leader name.


In three years, Girlguiding has become a crucial part of my life. Girlguiding for me is a non-judgemental, supportive environment that is good for my overall wellbeing and helps to support girls through all the stages of growing up. To be able to switch from work mode into my Sunbeam role on a Friday afternoon does me so much good! I cry with laughter and glow with pride watching our girls grow and develop.






It wasn't until I had settled into the unit that I began to realise that Girlguiding is ultra-local, but locally focussed for 10 million women across the world. These links mean that there are so many opportunities for adults in Guiding to grow and develop and learn more about this wonderful world we live in. I applied for the first ever 'Go For Gold' selection weekend in 2015 to be in with a chance of being selected for an international development opportunity. After being offered a space through a reserve list, participating in one of the most fun and challenging weekends I've ever experienced, and waiting for almost 2 months, I received the email to say I had been selected to be part of Team Aruba 2016.




So here we are, planning for a journey that will be full of adventure and that will be one of the most significant and character defining opportunities of my life. I'm filled with such excitement for the months ahead and look forward to sharing the journey as it unfolds!