Over the last year, our Guiding units have thoroughly come back to full strength in Crown Park. With lots of unit’s planning great activities and undertaking residential trips to make up for so much lost time during Covid.
We’ve had 6th Wortley Brownies attend PGL at Winmarleigh Hall and 6th Wortley Guides went to camp at Brownsea Island. Hunslet Brownies had 5 days at Woodbank Activity Centre in Knowsley Safari Park grounds and 3rd Middleton Guides and Hunslet Guides went to Wellies and Wristbands at Waddow Hall! 3rd Middleton Brownies and Rainbows visited Waddow Hall for Magic and Mayhem while 3rd Middleton Guides went to watch the netball at the Commonwealth Games.
We’ve attended local events to promote Guiding in south Leeds with our information stall, designed to attract both volunteers and new young members.
We both celebrated the Queen’s Jubilee and observed her death with celebrations and tributes to her life. Lots of units planned platinum jubilee celebrations, had tea parties and completed the platinum challenge by lighting beacons and taking the opportunity to cook outside.
Many of our girls have obtained their Bronze, Silver and Gold Programme Awards, which is fantastic! We have one Brownie in particular who only needs to obtain one more interest badge and she will have completed them all!
Thank you to Olivia Clark at 51st Leeds who sang and danced for 2 hours at a local egg hunt last spring, raising £40 for the Ukraine appeal. This activity also went toward her campaign badge. Also a big thank you to 3rd Middleton who held a Quiz and cake night raising £410.00 split that between Ukraine appeal and Comic Relief.
Finally, a big thank you to all our Leaders and volunteers for all you do to keep Guiding alive in Crown Park.
Pamela Clark
Division Commissioner Crown Park Division
Calling All Parents!
“In Girlguiding Leeds there is something for everyone whatever their age or ability. We want to help the girls and young women of Leeds become their own person, to learn to make their own decisions; discover their true potential and achieve far more than they ever expected.” Louise Flynn, County Commissioner
Volunteering with us isn’t just about campfires and helping girls to get their next badge – although those are special moments that we all share. It’s about empowering girls and young women and giving them the opportunity to experience new things. It’s being a role model and helping girls to realise their full potential. It’s about sharing and developing your own skills too.
Working with young people and other volunteers helps develop valuable, transferable skills like event planning, time management, leadership and budgeting.
You choose the volunteer role that matches your skills and time. Then we’ll help you build skills with training opportunities suited to your role that make your CV stand out. Take our leader development programme, become a trained first aider or get qualified for outdoor activities such as climbing and kayaking.
How can you get involved?
There are many ways you can get involved with Girlguiding. You might want to have adventures with girls, support other volunteers, or just help when you can. Whatever you’re looking for, we’ve got the role for you!
Since the update in August 2021 a lot has happened at Robin Hole.
First, thank you to all the volunteers who have come along and given their time to making the site look brilliant. The building and grounds look amazing.
Inside, the lodge has been decorated from top to bottom! There have been new blinds installed, all the tables replaced, and the multi-coloured stools are now painted a uniform blue. We’ve even added a lovely new portable unit for merchandise, a number of new notice boards and all the pictures have been re-framed.
The biggest change is in the kitchen refurbishment, which is now completed and looks fantastic. This alone will be appreciated by our community for years to come.
Outside, we’ve been hard at work making our outside space more comfortable! Work has been done on the land drains so the flushing toilets and outside sink in the camp shelter can be installed. There has also been lots of work done on the trees, which was especially important following storm Arwen.
Officially, bookings are now open! We’re looking forward to a great year of making memories for our members.
Budgeting in Tight Times
With the energy and fuel costs on the rise, this next year is likely to be difficult for families and units. It is important to look at your budget for the next year and plan ahead.
As an example,
A unit of 12 girls, with weekly rent of £15, providing no more than 2 programme badges per term would need to charge £31 per term (x3 times a year) just to stay afloat and pay subscription. That does not take into account things like: subscription for leaders, consumables, programme resources, equipment insurance, uniform, mileage ….
Units are advised to have a reserve of 3-6 months funds in the bank or enough to cover subscription for everyone so that the unit can continue to run if the income doesn’t match what was anticipated. Being a Girlguiding volunteer should not impact on your personal finances, no one should be propping up their unit from their own funds. It is important that the costs of running the unit are accurate so that a crisis can be prepared for and prevented.
Here are some things to consider when planning ahead:
Annual Subscription – is the unit going to cover the cost in subs or will families be asked to pay part or all of it? If you decide to charge families directly give them as much notice as possible as well as the opportunity to spread the cost.
Rent – Speak with the management of your venue to see if they are planning a change in rent. Do you have the space to offer more places for girls? Bigger units are more financially viable as the cost is spread. Can more than one unit meet at the same time in your venue to share the cost?
Badges and programme resources – Can the unit have a core stock of things like badge books to be borrowed or used in unit time rather than everyone needing their own copy? Do units in your division share resources, particularly as there is a lot of overlap between sections in the skill builder levels. If you need specific items to complete UMAs and Skill Builders why not borrow the Adventure Boxes from County. Share resources with other units and ask on social media for donations of paper and pens
Uniform – Can you set up a swop-shop within your division for second hand uniform or a local Facebook page for parents to share donations of uniform to new girls?
Gifts – Giving gifts can set a trend that not everyone can follow, unintentionally leading to embarrassment over personal circumstances. Try to keep in mind that the experience we offer is the gift, and promote that within your unit.
Girlguiding UK has a helpful budgeting tool that you can find on the link below;
Currently scheduled for Oct. 16th and Oct. 17th, 2021 at Shine in Harehills (https://www.shinecollective.co.uk/), the days are filled with lots of sessions that we hope that our volunteers in Leeds will find useful. County days are for members of Girlguiding Leeds to catch up, learn new skills and meet new people.
You don’t need to book or stay for a full 2 days. Instead, feel free to just “drop-in” and pay us a visit between 10-4 each day. We’d love to know if you are coming so if you wouldn’t mind telling us on EventBrite it would be a big help! Some sessions are limited in capacity, so take a look at our bookable list below and sign up if you are interested.
Along with just popping in and enjoying some good old fashion face to face chatter, we have a series of sessions that have limited space. If you would like to book into a Craft Inspiration, Art Therapy, a Yoga class, Safe Space or any other training, the links below will help you quickly do this. A full schedule can be seen at the base of this article or downloaded here:
This is a one hour workshop is available both Saturday and Sunday at 10, 11:30, 1:30 & 3:00. These sessions are limited to 15 people per session.
Need some new craft ideas? During the session, volunteers can try out some crafts to take away. There’s something for you and something for you to do with your girls. Attendees will be able to try all the crafty activities on offer.
How to Book:
These are available to book on EventBrite. Choose the link for the day you would like to attend below. Once you click on the “Register” button, you’ll be able to add the Craft Sessions as an Add-On to your booking, just scroll down the list.
This one hour workshop is available in Saturday only at 10, 11:30, 1:30 & 3:00. These sessions are limited to 8 people per session.
The Wellbeing Team has arranged for a children’s art psychotherapist to help you with art techniques that can be used with the girls in your units to help promote wellbeing of young people. You’ll experiment with art techniques that help you express emotion!
How to Book:
These are available to book on EventBrite. Choose the link below. Once you click on the “Register” button, you’ll be able to add the Art Therapy Sessions as Add-On to your booking, just scroll down the list.
This 45 minute session is available on Sunday only at 10:00 & 1:00. These sessions are limited to 12 people per session.
This session is aimed at volunteers who want to give yoga a try. It’s a gentle session aimed at beginners. Come get comfy and relax!
How to Book:
These are available to book on EventBrite. Choose the link below. Once you click on the “Register” button, you’ll be able to add the Yoga for Volunteers Sessions as an Add-On to your booking, just scroll down the list.
This 45 minute session is available on Sunday only at 11:15 & 2:15. These sessions are limited to 12 people per session.
This session is aimed at volunteers that would like to gain some skills in teaching yoga at their unit meetings. We’ll concentrate on how to use yoga and mindfulness with young members.
How to Book:
These are available to book on EventBrite. Choose the link below. Once you click on the “Register” button, you’ll be able to add the Yoga for Young People as an Add-On to your booking, just scroll down the list.
This 3 hours session is available on Saturday from 1-4 and Sunday from 10-1. There are limited spaces available.
Girlguiding requires that at least one leader (and ideally the whole team) for each unit MUST have a Safe Space Level 3 (SS3) certification. Furthermore, there must be someone present at every meeting who has SS3! This requires renewing every three years, so it’s worth having a quick check that everyone in your unit is up to date. If they are not, then join us at County Day. By the end of 2022 it is likely that all members will require this.
How to Book:
You can book on the Girlguiding Leeds website in the events section. This training is free.
This 2 hour session is available on Saturday only from 10:30-12:30. This session is limited to 15 people.
This is for qualified leaders who would like to gain their GAW licence. This session will give you a solid overview of what is required and get you started on the journey to completion.
These are 2 hour sessions available on Saturday & Sunday from 10:30-12:30 and 1:30-3:30.
During these 2 hour blocks, LQ Mentors will be available to sign-off modules for Leaders in Training. You will need to bring your paperwork and evidence with you. Please book the block you intend to show up. You are unlikely to need the full two hours with a mentor, but we want to make sure that we have enough mentors on hand to help everyone who turns up.
How to Book:
These are available to book on EventBrite. Choose the link for the day you would like to attend below. Once you click on the “Register” button, you’ll be able to add the LQ Sign-Off as an Add-On to your booking, just scroll down the list.
Yup, it’s here, Girlguiding Leeds merch! Need a pen or a notebook that let’s everyone know you are part of Leeds? We’ll have these plus a number of hoodies and fleeces that can tried for size and ordered. You can see the new clothing line in the suppliers online shop:
And finally, here is the full itinerary of events so you can see it in on place!
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