Holiday Brownies

An interesting opportunity came my way recently. Our county has been running a Holiday Brownie scheme for a few years now and they are looking for new leaders to help out over the summer this year so I have put my name forwards as a potential leader, depending on what summer job I get over the holidays.

The holiday brownies are a unit for girls who are currently on waiting lists for Brownie units in the area and are unlikely to get a place soon, if ever, due to the long waits in the county (even though we have many units). They meet over the summer for 3 days, non-residential, at our local campsite and do different activities which lead to them making their promise as a Brownie on the final night. This then means that they can operate as 'lone girls' and can attend various events which do not require them to be attached to a specific unit and can achieve badges by themselves. On top of this, the unit is entirely run by student guiders, some of whom have their Brownie ALQ and others of whom want to gain it. It is co-ordinated by a non-student, but all the activities are run by the students, to give them experience in running larger scale events than a single meeting and also to give those of us who can't guide at university a chance to put our good ideas to use! The unit also meets occasionally in other school holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, for an afternoon of craft or a trip to the panto so the girls don't lose interest and feel like they have regular contact. You can read more on their blog.

They have also set up a 'virtual Brown Owl' scheme where students can become a Brown Owl for a few girls and then Skype or phone them once a month or so to find out how they're doing and give them inspiration for badges and other activities. 

The unit has been meeting for a couple of years now and this year I was approached to be part of it as I am now a student. I hope that I can persuade whoever I end up working for over the summer to give me a few days off to help with this (if it's not a weekend) because I think it is a brilliant idea and I would love to help move it forwards.

I will provide updates on this as and when I know more details but hopefully, come summer, you should see some posts about it.