An Ayrshire Guide unit is being supported by a Scottish Government-funded programme after their meeting venue suffered a fire. 

1st Hulford Guides met weekly at Hurlford Church until it caught fire in April. Four Scottish Fire and Rescue units were sent to tackle the blaze. Nobody was injured. It was considered a “safe space” for the girls to meet, learn new skills and be themselves. The unit now meet at a different church – but it’s much more expensive. Since the fire, the unit has been receiving support from Generation CashBack – a Scottish Government-funded scheme which aims to offer opportunities for disadvantaged young people. CashBack is delivered in partnership with Girlguiding Scotland, Boys’ Brigade Scotland, Scouts Scotland and Youth Scotland. 

Unit leader Louise Crichton said: “Our venue has recently caught fire and we’re unable to use it. We’ve been unable to go in and get our resources and we’ve not been able to meet in our meeting place. The hall no longer has a roof, electricity or water, and we won’t have the option of returning until at least next year. Hurlford and Kilmarnock have a pretty severe antisocial behaviour problem. There have been situations with Stagecoach and the police are involved regularly, including maintaining a presence in Hurlford in the evening. We can’t meet outdoors due to antisocial behaviour, and during outdoor guiding we had to call the police to the park. Last year we went down to the local river and got rocks thrown at us. The girls have grown up in the area so have grown to expect it. [Guiding] is a safe place where they can be themselves and not have to deal with the antisocial kids. We have a few girls from different secondary schools so they’re meeting friends outside of their immediate area. They’re also making friends of different ages which is making it easier for them to move up to high school.” 

The unit has also made strides to become more girl-led, with Guides able to deliver their own meetings and choose the activities they do. “This is an outcome from the last time we did Generation CashBack,” Louise added.  “In the evaluation there was a question about ‘would you like to improve your leadership skills’ and almost all the girls ticked yes.” 

Girlguiding Scotland’s CashBack development officer Anna commented: “The CashBack project at Girlguiding Scotland aims to give girls safe spaces where they can do new things and have fun with friends. The loss of their safe space will have been really scary for some of the girls in the unit, and we’re pleased to be helping the unit to replace their lost belongings and keep a sense of consistency for the girls. It’s amazing how quickly the volunteers have found a new meeting place and kept guiding going!” 

Find out more about how CashBack can help your unit.