Glasgow Guides volunteering to give younger members ‘incredible’ opportunities
Girls from a Guide unit which is supported by a Scottish Government-funded programme have been stepping up to volunteer in order to give younger members “incredible” opportunities.
The 282nd Glasgow Guides are hoping to encourage Rainbows and Brownies from their local community to make the move up to Guides and continue their guiding journey by telling them how much fun they will continue to have and that it’s not as daunting as it may seem. The unit is supported by Generation CashBack, a Scottish Government-funded scheme which aims to ensure young people from areas of deprivation can benefit from youth work opportunities. CashBack is delivered by a partnership involving Girlguiding Scotland, Boys’ Brigade Scotland, Scouts Scotland and Youth Scotland.
Almost all the Guides in the unit are dipping their toe into youth volunteering and are supporting young members to learn new skills, understand their value and become positive influences. Anna, CashBack development officer for Girlguiding Scotland, said: “Almost all the Guides in the unit help at Rainbows or Brownies, with some helping at more than one unit. This started when one girl was nervous about leaving Brownies (she is autistic and struggles with change), so leaders suggested she helped with Brownies to make the move smoother. It meant that she could still see her Brownie leaders and have the familiarity whilst dipping her toe into being a Guide. Three years later she’s still at Guides! The other girls became interested in this so also started helping. It was made clear to that it was an option for all the girls and a voluntary role so no one had to do it. Some girls stop and start in the role as suits them so it’s very flexible – and all the girls love it! It’s providing our younger members with incredible opportunities. It’s encouraging them to move up to Guides as they have been telling the Brownies about how great Guides is and how much fun they’ll have when they move up. We’ve seen the girls grow in confidence since they’ve started volunteering and it helps foster a good sense of community.”
Volunteering is at the heart of Girlguiding Scotland, with the charity being powered by 9,000 volunteers. Not only does the organisation provide a space for adult volunteers – it also supports young people to take part volunteering so that they can gain skills that will help them in later life.
Carly, a Guide with the unit in Glasgow, volunteers with Brownies and helps them with games, writing and drawing. She said: “I wanted to start helping because I felt like it was really interesting because then I get to know about them and what they do. The hardest part is when we’re setting up a game and none of them can decide who’s going to be it. The best part is helping them set up games, learning all of their names and seeing them run about and have fun.”
Mia, who helps out with both Rainbows and Brownies, commented: “I really like working with kids. I enjoy watching Rainbows learn new things and make friends and watching Brownies have fun. I’d like to be a leader in future.”
