I’m a leader in Girlguiding. We show girls from 4 to 18 a world of possibilities — big and small — where every girl can laugh, learn and have adventures. For some it’s the thrill of a first try; for others it’s songs round a campfire, the buzz of a new badge, or coming home exhausted and full of stories. Guiding is whatever a girl needs it to be: a relaxed all-girls space to get creative, explore, gain confidence and — most of all — have fun. For more than 100 years, girls in guiding have stepped into their brave space at their own pace. We know the barriers girls face. We work to remove them, keep costs low, and make sure every girl belongs. None of that happens without an army of volunteers.
I followed in my mum’s footsteps — quite literally. She set up and ran the Brownie unit I now lead. Watching the weekly adventures she created (often on her own!) was my inspiration. There was never any doubt I wanted to be like her. She’s still involved, over 40 years of volunteering and counting.
I started helping the moment I was old enough. I worked my way from Guide helper to Young Leader, then qualified as an adult leader at 18. So yes, it’s now well over 20 years (but who’s counting?). I’ve always been anchored to my “home” Brownie unit, but I’ve helped at several others and even took on a new one while at university in Bath because I missed the weekly guiding buzz.
Behind the scenes I’ve worn many hats: leadership mentor for new volunteers, residential adviser supporting leaders to take girls away, county rep on the region awards committee recognising special achievements, Division PR & Comms rep, and a shift volunteer helping to run the Milton Keynes Volunteer Guide Shop. My newest role is in the Bedfordshire Inclusive Guides & Rangers unit — supporting girls with additional needs to access the same programme, build independence, and enjoy every opportunity in a way that works for them.
People sometimes talk about volunteering like it’s a chore. For me, guiding is my hobby. It’s how I relax, where I have fun, and where I’ve made many of my closest friends. I can’t imagine not doing it — how would I fill the time? The real motivator is simple: the smiling faces and rapid-fire chatter as they run out to their parents, desperate to tell them what we did this week.
Have my reasons changed? Absolutely. At 18, I was desperate to be “the boss”. I thought I knew everything. Years later I can admit I didn’t (still don’t!), and there’s always more to learn. That’s part of the joy — there are still so many opportunities to discover. Now, my purpose is clearer: create a space where a girl can thrive. Watching them grow in spirit and confidence is a privilege. I’ll support families to overcome perceived barriers — financial, inclusivity, anything practical — so a girl can join and stay. The only thing I can’t fix is the waiting list. We need more volunteers in any capacity to open more places.
Guiding has connected me to the community in so many ways. We’ve welcomed hundreds of girls — and, by extension, their families — through our doors. We stay visible locally: annual carol singing at the retirement village, litter picks around the estate, fundraising for local charities. We link with secondary schools too, offering teens the chance to complete the service section of their Duke of Edinburgh Award. They gain leadership skills and a lot of laughs; most stay on as Young Leaders because they don’t want to leave.
Some connections are extra special. Five of the leaders in my Brownie unit today used to be my Brownies. Just as I grew up to lead alongside my mum, they’ve come back to give the same joy to a new generation. They joined us at seven, flew the nest, then got in touch to help as Young Leaders and now continue as adults. I’ve watched them grow into confident young women who are invaluable to the unit — and dear friends who were first on the dancefloor at my wedding.
I’m also lucky at home. My husband doesn’t bat an eyelid as the garage acquires another bag of Brownie supplies. He checks before throwing away anything that might secretly be earmarked for craft, has done all his training so he can step in on trips, and tolerates my expensive badge addiction — diligently hunting new badges for my camp blanket in every tourist shop we ever enter. Friends and colleagues are forever asking what we’ve been up to, and a few have been roped in. My son accepts that this is what Mummy does. He went to his first Brownie meeting at a week old and came every week until I could get him into Scouting. He still helps when he can. I hope, as my mum did for me, I’ve made volunteering feel like second nature.
There have been challenges. Covid was unprecedented. We moved online, ran Zoom meetings (including a Zoom sleepover), and I did distanced drop-offs of badges and craft packs across Milton Keynes. Many felt volunteer fatigue; I found it gave me purpose. Parents told us we’d been a lifeline for their girls, which confirmed we were on the right track.
Finding enough adult help can be tough. I’m currently supported by a strong team, but there were times we were desperate for more regular pairs of hands and couldn’t find them. People say they work, have families, care responsibilities — don’t we all? (Some Brownies do seem to think we live in the cupboard between meetings…)
Money is a constant puzzle. We’re determined to keep guiding low-cost. We charge just over £3 per meeting on average, making us one of the lowest-cost activities around. Before we spend a penny on activities, we pay rent and the annual census (Girlguiding membership), which can leave less than £1 per girl per week. Now you see why I’m precious about “recycling”! Many families are under pressure, and, growing up in a low-income household, I’m acutely aware of how it feels to want opportunities for your child. If a parent is worried about costs, we help discreetly — payment plans, subsidies, applying for grants. I will never charge an adult for volunteering if I can help it; if someone is giving their time (and booking annual leave for a residential), charging them on top doesn’t compute — and I won’t pass it to parents either. So, I’ve become a dab hand at grant writing, we claim Gift Aid, and we’ve built a relationship with a local business that donates “dress-down day” collections. It all helps.
Inclusivity isn’t negotiable. If a girl has additional needs, we adapt. If my unit isn’t the right fit, I’ll work with parents and other teams to find the right space. We support multiple neurodivergent Brownies, each with her own needs, and have navigated complex medical conditions (I’ve done extra training with the district nurse and can now dose insulin in a dark queue at Legoland), severe allergies (we set up a separate mobile kitchen on camp to avoid cross-contamination), and tech-triggered alarms (one Brownie’s seizure alarm kept going off — turned out she was waving her hands with delight on her first ever rollercoaster).
Then there are the myths:
- “Didn’t Guiding stop in the ’80s?” No. Over 300,000 girls and young women take part today, supported by around 70,000 volunteers — and there are tens of thousands on the waiting list. We need more adults.
- “You have to be Christian.” No. Guiding welcomes all faiths and none. Many units meet in church halls because the rent is affordable.
- “Guiding is just craft; Scouting is the adventurous one.” Not a chance. Adventure is any exciting, unusual experience — different for every girl. If my Brownies ask to do it, I’ll try to make it happen. We’ve been boating, climbing, on zip wires, swimming, horse-riding, to theme parks; we’ve slept in shark tunnels, next to penguins, in museums, a climbing centre, a soft play, and outdoors under the Perseids. We cuddle snakes. We build fires and cook on them. I once wore a top that said “Girls Can Do Anything”; someone said, “You don’t really believe that, do you?” She picked the wrong person.
There have been proud moments: receiving my Queen’s Guide Award at the Houses of Parliament (the highest adult award you can work towards), being nominated by parents to walk the Leicester Square red carpet at a national leaders’ celebration, and pulling off big events for hundreds of girls. Things don’t always go to plan, but with a strong volunteer team the girls never need to know the scramble behind the scenes.
The most rewarding part? The girls themselves. Hearing from a parent about the difference Brownies has made. Watching confidence bloom. One of my autistic Brownies arrived non-verbal, curling up in the corner and refusing to join in. Brownies became her “happy place”. She now chats my ear off about Harry Potter and Lego — and she ran a whole meeting with her friends to complete her Gold Award. There aren’t words for what that feels like.
Has guiding changed me? It’s more that it’s grown with me. When you’ve been in it most of your life, it becomes second nature. But the skills it’s sharpened are huge: teamwork, leadership, organisation, inclusion, budgeting and accounts, risk assessment, first aid, large-scale catering — and yes, I can start a fire with a flint and a packet of Doritos. It sounds a lot; I never imagined I could do all this. But with support, breaking things into steps, and a bit of guiding grit, you surprise yourself. Plans will go sideways; with confidence and friendships, you’ll still deliver something spectacular.
Will I continue? Absolutely. If I stopped, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. I’m always hunting for the next adventure: unusual sleepovers (shark tunnels, penguins, theme parks, museums), or the simple magic of a starlit field. I can’t wait to see where we go next.
Thinking about volunteering? Give it a go. We’re grateful for any contribution. You don’t need to live and breathe guiding like I do. Some volunteers just join weekly meetings (not every week — that’s okay). Others help with accounts or admin because 40 Brownies charging round a hall isn’t their idea of fun. No offer is too small. Guiding is inclusive for leaders too — all ages, all levels of mobility and health. You’ll make friends, share ridiculous laughs, and open doors you didn’t know existed. I’ve travelled with strangers linked only by guiding and returned with lifelong friends. One of the best things about this movement is you can go almost anywhere in the world, find someone connected to guiding, and know you’ve found a friend.
Girls can do anything. And so can you. Join us.
