Girlguiding Leicestershire providing fun and adventure

Girlguiding is well placed for what the 21st Century has to offer

Girlguiding Leicestershire provides fun and adventure for: 6190 young members in 423 units with support from 1834 adult volunteers. 

With units for all sections (Rainbows are 5-7 years old, Brownies are 7-10 years old, Guides are 10-14 years old and Rangers are 14-18 years old) situated throughout the Fosse107  area then wherever listeners live we should be able to welcome them/their daughter to join us. There are a range of different types of units which meet locally including:
•    Weekday units where meetings are held in the evenings on a weekly basis,
•    Weekend units where meetings are held during the weekend on a weekly basis, 
•    Monthly units where meetings are held once per month but for longer periods of time.
•    Holiday units where meetings take place during the school holidays only, in full day sessions. With the total time over the year being roughly equal to meeting once a week. 

If units (or spaces) are not available locally to someone then we will happily give support to open new ones.

            

Girlguiding gives girls a space just for them

We're girls only. That means girls feel free to be themselves. Our girls get to score goals at football, go bouldering or simply play the games that they enjoy most. We give girls somewhere they can talk openly about what affects their daily lives and get support from other girls like them. Girlguiding leaders not only undertake regular first aid and safeguarding training, but also attend trainings relating specifically to the age group of youngsters who they choose to volunteer with so that they feel confident supporting them. Having a place where they know they won't be judged by anyone helps girls grow into confident women. With Girlguiding our young members know that their peers and leaders are there to support them along every step of the way. 

Girls speak, then we listen and act

All girls in Girlguiding get the chance to choose what they do - from Rainbows picking activities, to members of The Senior Section sitting on our Council nationally. Arguably the most powerful achievement for a young member in Guiding is to learn to believe in themselves. At their regular meetings, girls take part in activities related to what matters to them such as our Free Being Me body confidence badge that can be delivered by fully trained peer educators who are also young members of Girlguiding. In contrast another of our popular resources is the Amey Engineering Challenge which has encouraged girls to engage with subjects that they would shy away from at school for fear of the reactions of their male peers there. There is also a range of social action initiatives from tackling period poverty to participating in charity challenges for Macmillan Cancer Support and Save the Children which are supported by our units each year. 

Girls don't stand still, so neither do we

Throughout our history, Girlguiding has evolved as the needs of girls have changed and has recently undergone the biggest ever overhaul in the charity’s history, revamping its iconic badges and activities to create a program for #EveryGirl. In total more than 800 new badges and activities have been designed to equip girls and young women with the skills and experiences they will need in order to thrive, succeed, make change and be happy in the modern world. Girls can choose to work towards interest badges such as Construction, Vlogging, Media critic, Inventing, Navigator, Animation, Craftivism, Mindfulness and Women’s rights with other activities including First aid, Survival skills, DIY, Money management plus Campaigning skills. 

Fosse107 listeners may be surprised to learn that Girlguiding runs giant music events, just for our members, like the BIG GIG and our girl-only festival Wellies and Wristbands. Lots of local Guides, Rangers and Young Leaders are already booked to take part in these events later this year… 

Whoever you are, wherever you're from – all girls are welcome

At Girlguiding, we give all girls an equal sense of belonging. All members are invited to make their Promise to 'be true to themselves and develop their own beliefs'. Girlguiding welcomes girls from every faith – and no faith. We want to welcome more girls so we're reaching out to new communities throughout Leicestershire and surrounding counties.

Listeners wanting their daughters to join in the fun with Girlguiding should visit:
https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-for-parents/register-your-daughter/

Many of our units do have spaces for more girls to join but there is a waiting list across Leicestershire County of 1655 girls so, although we currently have almost 270 volunteers who are going through safeguarding checks in order to work with our young members, we still need more adult volunteers to come forward.

Listeners wanting to join in the fun themselves by volunteering with Girlguiding should visit:
https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/get-involved/become-a-volunteer/register-your-interest/ 

If you want to chat with someone about our flexible volunteering options then please email: Lisa.Bouskill@girlguiding.org.uk