CHANGING THE WORLD

changing the world logo

Girlguiding UK has teamed up with 19 charities to provide its ½ million members and volunteers with a challenge of Changing The World in the lead up to Girlguiding’s centenary year in 2010. The Changing The World challenge was officially launched by Girlguiding UK’s President, Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex on 23 September 2008.

Changing the World will be Girlguiding’s biggest-ever community action challenge to date as it aims to encourage every member to get involved by a combination of raising awareness, taking direct action or fundraising for a selected charity.  The challenge will last for one year running from September 2008 to August 2009. The project will see our 70,000 members in Scotland support causes such as helping runaways and street children, building a girls’ school in Liberia, learning about HIV/Aids, working with vulnerable or disadvantaged children, preventing bullying and tackling climate change. Just think what can be achieved by Girlguiding members over the course of one year!

Changing The World partners are: Asthma UK, Barnardos, Book Aid International, British Red Cross, Camfed, Crisis, Friends of the Earth, Girlguiding UK overseas branches Associations, Help the Hospices, Kidscape, Mental Health Foundation, National Deaf Childrens Society, Plan UK, Railway Children, Save the Children, Unicef UK, WaterAid, WWF and Woodland Trust.

Each Changing The World partner has created a unique project for Girlguiding Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Senior Section girls to take on over the course of the year. The Girlguiding girls themselves will choose the partners they wish to support and the way they want to deliver support.  In return the girls and volunteers will receive a special Changing The World badge to mark their achievements, and the satisfaction that each of their small contributions has collectively made a bigger difference in the world!

Since the start of the Changing the World community action campaign in September 2008 Girlguiding members have:

  • Raised a ¼ million pounds
  • Made 11,000 friendship pledges
  • Planted 65,000 trees
  • Sent 11,600 books sent to Africa
  • Lifted 3,000 Nepalese out of water poverty

and more than 6000 girls have learnt skills to deal with an asthma attack. These are only a few of our achievements. This is just the start. Our community action campaign lasts until August 2009!

Please see below a selection of what the press has to say about Changing the World.

Amongst the 100s of exciting projects, Changing The World will see 1000s of girls:

  • Taking a pledge to say no to bullying
  • Launching their own businesses to raise funds for disadvantaged children
  • Singing for change to bring clean water to villages in Nepal
  • Receiving 'humanitarian passports' as they learn essential skills for an emergency
  • Planting tomorrow's forests
  • Collecting socks for the homeless
  • Going green and becoming a climate champion

For further information about the Changing The World challenge please visit www.girlguiding.org.uk/changingtheworld