Today we have another great guest post about a Guiding experience. What post would you like to share with us? We’re always happy to hear from girl and adult Members, volunteers and supporters!
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When I joined Guiding as a first-year Guide, I was super excited to make new friends, do crafts and have exciting adventures. For me it was a place I could get away from my other social circles and not be judged. I didn’t know anyone in the Unit before I arrived and I wasn’t unhappy with that. My mom was not a leader. In fact, she was rarely part of my Guiding world aside from some carpooling, helping with a meeting here and there and a big commitment when we welcomed girls from Honduras to Quebec and invited some of them for a homestay.
I’m not suggesting that there’s anything wrong with moms and their daughters doing Guiding together – in fact I think it’s a wonderful way to recruit new leaders. But I was just as happy with my mom staying out of that part of my life.
After I turned 18, I became a Guide and Pathfinder leader in Quebec, but sadly had to leave to head to Guelph, Ontario, for university one year later. I met some incredibly welcoming leaders there and joined a Spark Unit, later switching over to Guides and Pathfinders, but dearly missed my Guiding community back home.
They were a bit short of leaders so when my mom mentioned last year that she wanted to do something new, I said “Join Guiding!” Although we have been leaders in different districts, in different provinces, it has been great watching her discover the joys of the Guiding world as I once did. It always warms my heart to hear the other leaders saying how much they enjoy having her around and how grateful they are for her help. We have been able to share programming ideas and I am very proud to say that after spending a year as a non-member volunteer she is becoming a leader! I can’t wait to return home and make Guiding our mother-daughter thing!
It’s great to look to moms of girls when recruiting new leaders, but why not look to your own family as well?
By guest blogger Elizabeth. Elizabeth is currently living in Beijing, China, doing a six month internship at an eco-lodge but is looking forward to heading home to Montreal for her fourth year as a leader.
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