Today’s post is by Guider Stephanie, who shares her thoughts about how much time she dedicates to Guiding, and why she does it. This post was originally published on Stephanie’s personal blog Life of a Twingle Gal, Monday, February 13, 2012.
A special thank you to Stephanie for granting us permission to repost here for all to enjoy!
——————————————————–
It’s Monday…again. I don’t mean that the way it sounds though. I actually like Mondays. The start of another week. The kids are at school and I can enjoy quality time with my daughter “Pickle”. It won’t be long before she’s in school full-time herself and I’ll be back at work.
Right now, I fill my days with reading, crafting and just “playing” with Pickle. Of course, there are moments of housework and meal preparation to break up the day; but, I enjoy my special time with my littlest and last child.
If Pickle is co-operative, I can usually find an hour or two to blog or prepare for my weekly Girl Guide meeting. I know I’ve mentioned before that I volunteer with Girl Guides of Canada/Guides du Canada. I work with Guides, girls aged 9-11 and I’m the Community Guider of PR for my area. It’s a rewarding and challenging role; but, I love it.
Contrary to popular belief, I don’t get paid for my time as a Guider. I do it because I enjoy it.
I’m often asked why I work with kids when I have three of my own at home. The honest answer is that I like what I do. These girls offer me physical, emotional and mental challenges that I don’t necessarily get at home. I also love being able to introduce them to things that they might not otherwise get to experience.
“Like what?” some of you might think.
Well, for starters, Guiding offers girls a safe environment to be themselves. It is an all-inclusive organization that focuses on empowering girls to be and do anything they want. There are many girls who want to try new things; but, don’t out of fear of being made fun of by their male classmates, family or friends. Guiding gives them a way to try these things, without fear of judgement. Guiding also runs a girl-centred program. We get the girls input into everything we do. For example, this week we are having a Valentine’s Day party…and the girls planned the whole thing. They only thing I need to do is buy the few needed craft supplies and snack. They will decorate, organize the games, crafts and snack and essentially run the whole meeting. As Guiders, we are there to simply provide guidance when needed. Allowing the girls to plan and run meetings gives them self-confidence, teaches them leadership and tells them that we believe in them and their abilities. How many other organizations do that?
I firmly believe in the Mission and Principles Guiding has set forth and I’m proud to be a member. I hope that my other daughter “Pretty”, and eventually “Pickle”, will share my enthusiasm for Guiding someday too.
– By guest blogger Guider Stephanie. Read more by Stephanie on her Life of a Twingle Gal blog.
Leave a Reply