Adult leaders are needed to revive Girl Guides in Fort Macleod.
The COVID-19 pandemic shut the program down and leaders are needed to provide the opportunity for girls.
“We always are looking for more leaders,” Chinook West District Commissioner Bev Burton said. “When we have more leaders we can have more girls in the organization.”
Girl Guides provides girls aged five to 17 years the opportunity to try new experiences, challenge themselves and build confidence in a safe environment.
The 97,000 Girl Guides members across Canada are grouped according to age: Sparks (five to six years); Embers (seven to eight); Guides (nine to 11); Pathfinders (12 to 14) and Rangers (15 to 17).
“We’re hoping to get the units up and running,” Burton said. “There have been Guides in Fort Macleod for decades so we’re hoping to get that back up again.”
Burton said the job of the leader is not onerous. Sparks and Embers leaders, for example, spend one to two hours preparing for the weekly one-hour meeting.
“There is a lot of support that is available for those who want to be Guiders,” Burton said.
The Girl Guides offer leaders training that helps with programming, leadership, administration and more.
“We have a lot of support for women so they’re not just left out on their own,” Burton said.
It is not necessary to have been involved in Guiding as a youth in order to become a leader.
Leaders do not have to have children in the program either.
“Anyone who is interested can look at this,” Burton said.
Burton came to Girl Guides through her mother, who was involved in the program for years.
Burton went through the entire program as a youth, continued as a Guider and moved up to do work on the administrative side.
The program has provided many opportunities for Burton, who lives in Pincher Creek.
“A huge part of it was having a chance to meet with other girls, have fun together, and a lot of skill building,” Burton said. “Even though we were having fun, we were learning skills.”
Those skills range from learning to tie knots to wood-working, to camping and outdoor survival, and much more.
“There’s a lot of things that we learned but it was done in a fun environment,” Burton said.
Girl Guides took Burton as a youth to Costa Rica to do an eco study, and as an adult to the organization’s world centres.
Girl Guides has also helped Burton with personal development as an adult.
“Confidence-building is a big part of it,” Burton said. “There’s a huge amount of skill-building as an adult, transferable skills that I can also use in my profession.”
The application process involves completing a form, a police record check and an interview to determine the applicant’s areas of interest.
Leaders, who must be 18 years of age or older, also take risk management training.
Being a leader in the Girl Guides offers many rewards.
“The girls are just amazing to work with,” Burton said. “It’s fun to come to every meeting. The girls are great. To see them grow, that’s so fulfilling.”
Anyone interested in volunteering as a leader in Fort Macleod can contact Bev Burton at anychinookwestdc@girlguides.ca. More information is at www.girlguides.ca.
Bev Burton is Chinook West district commissioner for the Girl Guides. The organization is recruiting adult leaders in Fort Macleod.
