Canadian Guider Winter 2019

Canadian

WINTER 2019

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It Starts with Sparks

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Mighty Minds Goes Global

14

Guiding Friendships

23

Unstructured Camps

43

Ranger Service Projects

YOUR GGC

Why Guiding friendships rule Hello Rangers and Guiders,

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here’s just something about the friends you make in Guiding. Bonding over googly eyes and glitter glue.

Giggling as you sing your favourite silly song for the 57th time. Those high-fives when an activity the girls plan goes perfectly. Those shared smiles when activities that don’t turn out quite as planned transform into something unexpectedly awesome.

In this issue of Canadian Guider, we’re highlighting the friendships girls and women forge through Guiding. For many, it starts with Sparks, when five- and six-year-old girls make those first new friends beyond their classrooms or neighbourhoods.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Sparks – yes, it was three decades ago when our youngest members first made their Promise “to share and be a friend.” On page 4, we celebrate this sparkling milestone.

For older girl and adult members, Guiding also provides the catalyst for some amazing friendships. In our Sister Squad section (see page 14), we hear from members who continue to keep their Guiding friendships going strong. Take Shelan Emre and Mackenzie Furey, for example. “We just get each other, and agree how Guiding has been so important to both of us,” says Mackenzie. Shelan adds, “Girls who stay in Guiding often develop close bonds with other girls and with Guiders. Mackenzie and I are proof of that.”

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Guiding provides an environment where girls feel free to talk openly about their experiences, thoughts and feelings – knowing they don’t have to hold back, because they won’t be judged. And beside every Girl Guide is a group of Girl Guides cheering her on, creating a female peer network that will last her a lifetime.

Also in this issue of Canadian Guider . . .

• Self-Care and the Art of Volunteering (page 8) offers some truly doable tips for maintaining balance in your volunteer life.

• Learn why planning (or not planning) an unstructured camp could become a real favourite with girls and Guiders alike in our Outdoor Guider feature, Lighten Your Load (page 23).

• Looking for some winter Ideas to Go? Try the fun activities in Ice is Nice! (page 32), and make a cozy no-knit Girl Guide scarf (see Style It Up! on page 34).

• Rangers from across Canada share their favourite community service projects, in Ranger Round-Up (page 43).

Yours in Guiding,

Krysta Jill Guiding Ambassador CEO, Girl Guides of Canada CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

CONTENTS Features

4 It Starts with Sparks Illustration: ©iStock/ChooStudio

6 Mighty Minds Goes Global

8 Self-Care and the Art of Volunteering 12 Reaching Out in Bangladesh

14 Sister Squad – Why Guiding Friendships Rule

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20 A Personal Journey to Inclusivity

23 Outdoor Guider: Unstructured Camps

26 Outdoor Guider: Nutritious Winter Camp Food

Photo: courtesy Shelan & Mackenzie

43 Ranger Service Projects

And more....

2 Your GGC

10 Social Media Pros and Cons

28 Ramping Up – Girl Guides in Action

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30 Rock Those Cookie Sales

32 Ice is Nice! – Outdoor Winter Activities

34 Style it Up! – Easy No-Knit Girl Guide Scarf 36 A+ Scholarship Applications

39 Goal Setters – Past Scholarship Recipients 40 The 411 on Guider Insignia 46 FYI

Cover Photo: Hannah Kosick

Photo: Coreen Bennett

47 Getting STEMtastic with LEGO®

43 Canadian Guider, Volume 89, No. 1, WINTER 2019 • ISSN 0300-435X Published three times annually (Winter, Spring, Fall)

by Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada, 50 Merton Street, Toronto, ON, M4S 1A3 416-487-5281 • 1-800-565-8111.

Web site: www.girlguides.ca • Email: cdnguider@girlguides.ca • Viceregal Patron: Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada • Chair: Robyn McDonald • Chief Executive Officer: Jill Zelmanovits • Publisher: Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada • Chair, Editorial Committee: Hilary Feldman • Senior Manager, Marketing and Communications: Andrea MacBeth • Communications Specialist: Mary Vincent • Editor: Sharon Jackson • Art Director: Geraldine Withey • Associate Art Director: Ross Woolford • Annual membership fee includes a subscription to Canadian Guider. It is sent free to all registered adult members and Rangers. If you are a member and have an address change please notify iMIS in your provincial council office. If you are a paid subscriber and have an address change please notify the Canadian Guider directly, enclosing your Canadian Guider mailing label if possible. Send changes to Canadian Guider, Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada, 50 Merton Street, Toronto, ON, M4S 1A3, Canada.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada (GGC) recognizes and values the richness of human diversity in its many forms, and therefore strives to ensure environments where girls and women from all walks of life, identities, and lived experiences feel a sense of belonging and can participate fully. This commitment to inclusion means GGC’s culture, programming, and practices encourage self-awareness and awareness of others; room for difference; and environments where girls and women feel safe, respected, supported, and inspired to reach their potential.

SUBSCRIPTIONS RATES: $12 per year inside Canada, $15 to USA, $20 overseas. Single copies $4.25 each. Canadian Publications Mail Product. Sales Agreement No. 40065172.

All submissions to the magazine become the property of Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada unless other arrangements are made prior to publication. Most articles and artwork in this magazine are owned by Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada.

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MILESTONES

It Starts with

Sparks I promise to share and be a friend . . .

There’s just something about Sparks.

Everything these girls do sparkles with that first-time-ever sense of wonder and discovery. And the sparkle has been going strong for 30 years!

Whether they’re earning their first badge, sharing a silly joke, or planting trees in a park, at five and six years old, Guiding’s youngest members are quick to embrace fun, friendship and learning – and to discover their very own personal super powers along the way.

The first Spark units opened in Canada in January 1989 – and for the three decades since, Sparks have pledged, “I promise to share and be a friend.” It’s a pledge that sparkles as brightly today. Helping others and sharing friendship, girls in Sparks embark on an adventure fuelled by their imagination, curiosity and eagerness to learn new things.

Girls are ready to take on the world – and it all starts with Sparks!

Background photo: Christine McGavern Photos clockwise from lower left: Marlene Graham, Sandy Nicholson John Street, Donna Santos Studios, Lorraine Fowler, Aliya Kiani, Jeannie Cosgrove

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CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

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GO GLOBAL

Mighty Minds Goes Global Sharing Mental Health Resources

Photo: courtesy Samantha Shewring

BY SAMANTHA SHEWRING

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“Everything begins with an idea� was the theme of the Market of Ideas conference, hosted by the Association des Guides du Liban (AGDL) in Beirut, Lebanon, last July. Delegates from several WAGGGS Member Organizations explored how one idea can grow and spread with help and support from the global Guiding community.

Two Girl Guides of Canada delegates shared how our Mighty Minds program promotes mental health and wellness.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

I believe that the Canadian representation at the conference may have begun breaking down walls and making connections to foster a future link and partnership between our organizations.

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ased on the theme, Share, Connect, Create, the forum provided a platform to share projects, ideas and challenges, to build global networks, and to create new opportunities for future collaboration.

In addition to the GGC delegation and members from AGDL, the conference brought together delegates from Egypt, Ireland, Oman, Slovenia and Tunisia, as well as members from nine Lebanese Guide and Scout organizations belonging to the Fédération Libanaise des Éclaireuses et des Guides. Each delegation contributed one idea to the conference, and presented it to an audience comprised of Guiding and Scouting leaders and members, and organization dignitaries.

Mental Health — A Global Concern My co-delegate, Janice Noble, and I were proud to present the Mighty Minds program – and it was resoundingly well received. Many leaders commented on their organizations’ lack of available resources and activities supporting mental health, and said how happy they were to see programs such as Mighty Minds made available for youth. Our presentation also sparked a dialogue about the difficulty of addressing this worldwide issue. Some delegates mentioned discomfort in discussing mental health openly, because it is still a very new topic in many countries.

We did our best to reassure them it is completely reasonable to have those reservations, as it is still a difficult topic for many of us in Canada to discuss, as well – but Mighty Minds is working to overcome this barrier. Overall, people walked away from our booth excited to explore the resources we provided and dig deeper into mental health programming in their own organizations.

The Wonders of Lebanon Before and after the conference, the AGDL arranged visits to the famous and historic Cedars of Lebanon, Byblos (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Harissa (home to the Lebanese pilgrimage site, Our Lady of Lebanon), as well as a walking tour of Lebanon’s CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

capital, Beirut. We were always accompanied by members of the AGDL. Having so many women give up their time for us was heartwarming and truly showcased how much members of the Guiding sisterhood care for each other.

Friendships and Connections Several AGDL members at the conference expressed sadness over the number of countries that had pulled out of the conference, due to political differences and issues. The AGDL was very grateful that GGC sent two delegates to participate, and they constantly reminded us of how happy they were that we were enjoying ourselves. I believe that the Canadian representation at the conference may have begun breaking down walls and making connections to foster a future link and partnership between our organizations.

Making these friendships and connections was an incredible experience. As I was getting ready to return to Canada, I went to one last AGDL meeting where they once again expressed how thankful and happy they were to have Canada represented at the conference. I cannot express my gratitude enough to GGC and AGDL for providing me with this opportunity to explore another country, culture and Guiding organization.

The experience reminded me of something former United States President Jimmy Carter once said: “We become not a melting pot, but a beautiful mosaic.

Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” His words perfectly sum up how I feel about the conference and my trip to Lebanon. As individuals, we represented different parts of the world and shared our respective values and program materials. Working together as conference delegates, we created an inspirational mosaic of ideas and connections that transcend any national border or cultural barrier.

Samantha Shewring is a Guider in Edmonton.

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Illustration: ©iStock/ChooStudio

H E A LT H

SELF CARE

AND THE ART OF

VOLUNTEERING 8

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Volunteering is the ultimate feel-good activity. And to maintain that feel-good vibe so we can do our best to help others, we must also look after ourselves.

Even the most energetic of us sometimes find we’re taking on too much or becoming weighed down by a never-ending to-do list. When this happens, it can be impossible to bring the best version of ourselves to any area of life, whether it’s volunteering, career, family, school, or friendships.

The following tips will help you balance self-care with your volunteer life.

The Art of Saying No • Are you a “yes” person? There’s a lot of value in saying yes – it can bring some amazing new opportunities and experiences into your life. But there’s also value in learning to say no, particularly if it isn’t something that comes naturally to you.

• You may find yourself saying yes to requests impulsively, because: – the opportunity sounds interesting – you think you’re the only one who can do it, or that you’re already expected to do it – you want to be seen as taking initiative.

• But if you’re saying yes to projects or tasks you don’t have the time or energy for, you could be doing yourself and others a disservice.

• There’s nothing wrong with protecting your own time and energy by saying no to things that aren’t priorities or that aren’t likely to be fruitful. Not sure how to say no? Try these simple but firm phrases: – “Thanks for thinking of me – I can’t really give this project the attention it deserves right now.”

– “That sounds like a lot of fun, but it isn’t the right fit for me.”

Block Your Time • When you have a mile-long to-do list, it can be hard not to feel like you spend a lot of time spinning your wheels. Where do you even start? When this happens, your to-do list can bleed into every second of your day – which can cause too much mental stress.

• For some people, a simple solution is time-blocking: setting aside certain hours of the day (or days of the week) for family, Guiding, work, school, etc. Example: If something for an upcoming event pops up on a Sunday, it can settle your mind to think, “No, I’m not dealing with that today, because it’s family time. I’ll turn my attention to that tomorrow afternoon when I have some time blocked off for event planning.”

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Be an Asset – But Don’t be Indispensable • It can often feel like you’re the only one who holds specialized knowledge in a unit or council. Who will be able to step in, if you don’t keep doing it?

– This is understandable, but it's healthier if you feel like you can take a step back if you need a break, and that others can cover for you.

• In a unit, this can mean making sure that you and your co-Guiders have some cross-training in each other’s specialties, in case someone needs a night off.

• It could also be a valuable opportunity for girl engagement and leadership. For example, you can mentor Pathfinders and Rangers to try their hand at leading tasks such as camp planning or filling out draft Safe Guide forms.

Community-Care • Community-care goes hand-in-hand with self-care.

It’s important to know that you have Guiding sisters you can lean on.

• Arm yourself with knowledge of who you can turn to for guidance when you're feeling overwhelmed, such as your ACL, DC, AC, etc.

• Maybe your community is your Link unit, your Trefoil Guild, your Guider meet-up group or an online Guiding community.

• Your community can offer advice and provide perspective – for example, if you’re not sure whether to take on a new responsibility or are feeling stressed about a project.

Find Nourishment • We’re all happier when we’re focused on the things we care about.

• While every volunteer task won’t be your favourite, carving out dedicated time for the things you’re most passionate about in Guiding (whether it’s community service, outdoor adventures, training, etc.) is a great way to replenish your energy reserves when they’re feeling low.

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NETWORKS

Social Media Pros and Cons What Girls and Guiders are Saying

BY FELICITY ORTHNER RUGARD

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CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Whether we’re catching up with friends on Instagram, holding a pose on Snapchat, hearing about a camp on Facebook, sharing ideas on Pinterest or making comments on Twitter, our online social lives are huge.

Social media is here to stay – but how do we balance the pros with the cons? ncreasingly there are questions, discussions, debates and even pretty heated arguments about the benefits and drawbacks of online connectivity. Wondering how girls feel about their online lives, we asked Pathfinders, Rangers and their Guiders about the pros and cons of social media. As always, they offered great advice. To quote one girl, “With great social media power, comes great social media responsibility.”

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And then there is the popularity curse. Girls said it can be too easy to get caught up in the online world of likes and followers, advertising, and unrealistic images. These things don’t represent the whole picture of our lives – they’re just snapshots of what we want to project. People who go to great lengths to get a photo in a well-known place sometimes put themselves in danger and inadvertently damage property or natural surroundings. Locations that are widely publicized online can be suddenly overrun with tourists. And, since social media sites can’t be accessed without wifi or a data plan, it can be difficult for some girls to keep up, leaving them feeling left out and somehow “less.”

Misinformation is another huge problem. Now that texting has become a major form of communication, especially on social media apps, it’s important to be aware that what we write can be taken the wrong way, because the other person can’t hear our tone or see our body language. Emojis may be fun, but can also be misleading.

Social Media — The Good

Advice from Girls

Girls and Guiders pointed out that social media is useful for connecting with friends and sharing experiences. It provides important contact for long-distance friendships and conversations. Most girls primarily use Instagram and Snapchat; they may also use Facebook for spreading the word about scheduling and planning for school and extracurricular activities.

Guider favourites include Pinterest, YouTube, and Facebook.

Girls and Guiders agreed that social media can be a good place to start groups for people sharing common interests, including providing safe spaces such as LGBTQ+ support sites. Connecting online is a great way to gain a broader perspective and learn about people who have different interests and views.

It’s also easy to find craft ideas, packing hacks, and other useful Guiding DIYs. Girls said it can boost their self-esteem to post pictures that make them proud and show off their photography skills.

Social Media — The Not-So-Good

The girls we talked to said they try to manage their time to make sure that social media isn’t an all-consuming activity. While online communication via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat may be fun, face-to-face activities with friends are valuable experiences. They also offered practical tips for online safety, including advice to: • make different passwords for different accounts • share passwords with parents (just in case) • keep accounts private and only let people you know in person follow you • block anyone who makes you feel uneasy • report anything you find uncomfortable to your parents • be aware that a lot of information is false, and many photos are heavily edited • try to maintain a healthy perspective.

Girls want their Guiders to know that social media has the potential to be both good and bad. They also feel that Guiders can help them (and other Guiders!) to stay safe on social media and use it to its full potential by discussing the benefits and dangers at unit meetings In a GGC nationwide survey of

Unfortunately, not everything about social media is positive. Girls and Guiders pointed out that it can be used for cyberfullying, and that people who have negative intentions can take advantage of anyone by lying about who they are. Nothing on the internet is private – even deleting a post can’t be guaranteed to keep teens aged 12-17, one quarter of girls other people from seeing it. Anyone who (24 per cent) said they’re treated worse follows you can instantly repost your words and than boys on the internet, including over pictures, or screen cap what you’ve posted. social media. Learn more at: Stress and distractions are other girlguides.ca/LetGirlsGuide challenges. Sometimes we can get so focused on recording a moment, we forget to enjoy it in the present. Some girls we spoke with stopped using particular social media sites because the pressure to reply immediately and maintain constant communication ultimately hindered their friendships, and the urge to keep checking their phones made it difficult to do anything else.

Illustration: ©ShutterStock/Evgeniy Yatskov (edited)

Did You Know?

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Felicity Orthner Rugard is a Ranger in Toronto, and a member of the Canadian Guider Editorial Committee.

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TRAVEL

My

Photos: courtesy Andrea Chakma

Guiding Connections Reaching Out in Bangladesh

BY ANDREA CHAKMA

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One of the best things about being in Girl Guides is you join a network of 10 million girls and women around the world. And you can connect with your Guiding sisters simply by reaching out wherever you travel, whether within Canada or beyond.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

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hen my parents arranged a visit to our family’s village, Rangamati, Bangladesh, I was delighted for many reasons – and high among them was the opportunity to connect with Guiding members there. My mother was a Girl Guide when she lived in the village, and it was because of her experiences there that she enrolled my sister and me in Sparks here in Canada. As I grew older and moved through the branches to Rangers, Girl Guides played a bigger and bigger role in my life, and I wanted to reach out to the Guiding community in Rangamati, where my mother was a member all those years ago.

I spent some time researching on the Girl Guides of Bangladesh website, and connected with the Chief Commissioner of Rangers, a dynamic role model for girls in Guiding in Rangamati, who was not only my mother’s leader when she was a girl, but is also my aunt! After months of planning together, we determined how our meeting day was going to work – beginning with her arrangement to have 140 girls meet me at a local school in the area. It was amazing to see so many girls, all as excited to meet me as I was to meet them.

We spent our time together discussing how Guiding works in our respective countries, playing some of my favourite teamwork games and making friendship bracelets. Some of the girls presented a beautiful cultural program, highlighting various indigenous communities in the area.

At the end of the day, my family and I handed out the gifts we had brought with us for the girls, which, of course, included Girl Guide cookies.

Connecting with my family’s culture and my international Guiding family all at once was a wonderful experience. I made friends and forged memories that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. If you visit a new place in Canada or internationally, I highly recommend reaching out to the local Guiding community wherever you go. You don’t have to arrange a big or elaborate meeting, as happened in my case – you might simply join a unit’s regular meeting or participate in a Guiding celebration, event or camp. Whatever you do, you’ll find new friendships and create lifetime memories of your own – guaranteed!

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

How to Reach Out Use the Guiding websites.

• The WAGGGS website is a great resource to get started. It has a list of all Member Organizations (MOs), so you can check out the website of the MO you’re looking for and also get email addresses and telephone numbers.

• If you’re travelling inside Canada, the GGC national website has website and contact information for all our provincial council offices.

• Ask friends and relatives for help. When I was trying to connect with somebody from the national office in Bangladesh, I asked my mom if she knew anybody who could help, and it turned out she was able to put me in touch with my aunt, whom I never knew was a huge figure in Guiding there.

Once You Connect Make a plan Decide in advance what you want to do once you’re face-to-face with your new Guiding friends. Build in contingencies. It was raining on the day I met with the girls in Rangamati, so we weren’t able to do the outdoor games I had planned. Instead we just did some smaller team building games in the room they had organized for us.

Keep It Simple It’s often the simple things that count. The small one-on-one interactions I had with the girls were in many ways more memorable than the presentations we shared. Sometimes just talking is a great way to connect.

Of course, language barriers can prove challenging, but there are always ways to work around them. I was hesitant to make a presentation to the Rangamati Girl Guides, because I don’t speak the national language, Bengali. However, the Guiders there were happy to translate my presentation, which I did in English and Chakma, a local language in the area that I do speak.

Bring Mementos Bring items to share with your new friends, and include tokens that represent Canada and your province/ territory. I chose Canada-themed pencils and pens, and maple leaf pins, which you can get from your MP’s office.

And don’t forget Girl Guide cookies and crests. Eating cookies and swapping crests are popular with girls in Guiding everywhere!

Andrea Chakma is a Link member in Mississauga, ON.

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FRIENDSHIP

Photos: courtesy Shelan & Mackenzie ; Illustration: ©iStock/slalomp

WHY GUIDING FRIENDSHIPS RULE

Sister

SQUAD 14

Nothing beats the friends you make in Guiding. They change the way you see the world, motivate you to be your best, and give you the confidence to jump into fun new challenges and take on the world. The bonds of sisterhood formed between Guiding members locally, nationally and internationally are pretty magical. Here’s how three groups of Guiding friends keep that magic going strong over time and distance.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Guiding BFFs Mackenzie and Shelan Shelan, from Manitoba, and Mackenzie, from Newfoundland and Labrador, first met at a GGC National Youth Council event. They immediately bonded, and have been BFFs (best friends forever) since then. Here are their thoughts on friendship and Guiding.

Why do you think you clicked as friends?

Shelan: As roommates at the event, we pretty much talked all night. We also bonded by sharing boyfriend stories, and other things about our lives – both funny and serious. We are very similar in our thoughts, goals and values.

Mackenzie: We didn’t get much sleep that weekend. We stayed up late, sharing Guiding stories and funny moments. We both realized how much we love camping and travelling.

You live thousands of kilometres apart – how do you keep your friendship going strong?

Shelan: Since we first clicked at our National Youth Council orientation, we knew we wanted to continue the friendship. We FaceTime regularly, exchange pen pal letters (super fun to open!), and travel together. Next summer, I will go to Newfoundland, and then Mackenzie and I will visit Our Chalet, in Switzerland. She is teaching me lots of Newfie sayings, but laughs at the way I use them in the wrong context.

Mackenzie: After school it’s nice to FaceTime with Shelan about my day and hear about hers. Our moms have also become close friends, and love to travel with us, too. I often think about how fortunate I am to have Shelan in my life. We just get each other, and agree how Guiding has been so important to both of us. I often think about the saying, “Good friends know all your stories.

Best friends have lived them with you.” That is what Shelan and I want to keep doing.

We just get each other, and agree how Guiding has been so important to both of us.

When you do get together, what does a typical Mackenzie and Shelan hangout look like?

Shelan: We talk till late at night, comparing Guiding stories from the week and sharing lots of pictures. We are very similar to other friends, except we live 4,800 kilometres apart. When we do get time together, we have already planned everything we want to do, because we know it is very precious.

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FRIENDSHIP Mackenzie: We love to go out to explore, to eat, to joke around, and to talk about life. We also share crests, sometimes buying the exact same crest for each other. That’s how in sync we are! We tell others that we are real Guiding sisters.

We love to go out to explore, to eat, to joke around, and to talk about life.

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Why do you think you can be your authentic selves with each other – and in Guiding?

Shelan: I can be myself with Mackenzie, because she is supportive, selfless and encouraging. I share ideas for Guiding activities with her first, so she can give me suggestions on how to improve them. I can ask her opinion on an outfit I’m wearing, knowing she won’t just tell me things she thinks I want to hear.

We are both very involved in our community and Guiding, and always seek out leadership opportunities. As for being myself in Guiding, I know I can fail and still survive, which builds my self-confidence – and my Guiders and peers have always been supportive and welcoming, so I feel comfortable and outgoing with them.

Mackenzie: I totally agree! Shelan and I talk freely and honestly to each other, without feeling hurt. When shopping, sometimes I FaceTime Shelan to ask her if she likes

something I’m thinking of buying, knowing she will give me an honest answer. When people ask me why I’m in Guiding, I think, “How much time do you have for my answer?” I guess you have to be a GGC member to truly understand the friendship and happiness that Guiding brings to a girl’s life, and how it’s all about empowering us to be confident and proud of ourselves. Shelan and I understand this.

You’ve both been in Guiding right through Rangers. What do you think makes Guiding relevant to teen girls today?

Shelan: Aside from the amazing opportunities offered in all branches of Girl Guides, our Pathfinder and Ranger programs are tailored to suit each girl’s wants and needs, and we can work at our own pace. We are encouraged to become leaders, and are trusted to inspire younger girls to be the very best they can be. Girls who stay in Guiding often develop close bonds with other girls and with Guiders.

Mackenzie and I are proof of that.

Mackenzie: It’s all the opportunities that Girl Guides offer. Things such as nationally-sponsored trips, scholarships, youth councils and forums give girls the chance to step out of their comfort zones and make new friends. Going to Our Cabaña in 2017 gave me the opportunity to meet girls who share my passion for Guiding. Within minutes of meeting each other, we bonded.

Shelan and I completely agree about this bond, and about wanting to continue in Guiding forever.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Five+ Decades Strong The Juliette Low “Wata Jarobu” Friends

BY KATHRYN LYONS

When she was 15 years old, Tricia Roet was one of two Canadian Girl Guides attending a World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) Juliette Low Seminar at Our Cabaña, in Mexico. That was 1963 – 56 years later, the international friendships she forged there are as strong as ever!

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“We’re All Together Again!”

These Guiding friends call themselves the Wata Jarobu group: Wata from “We’re All Together Again” (a song they learned at the seminar), and Jarobu after Jacarandas, Rosas and Bugambilias (the three dormitories they shared all those decades ago). At the start of each reunion, the “girls” still sing that signature song, and reminisce about their time at Our Cabaña.

In fall 2019, the Wata Jarobus will meet in Canada for the first time. Tricia is organizing the trip, which will include a stop in Ottawa.

While in Ottawa, the group will meet with Tricia’s granddaughter, Pathfinder Ely Toncic, and other Ottawa Pathfinders and Rangers, who will make their own journey to Our Cabaña in 2020. As the friendship torch is passed forward, doubtless some intergenerational connections will be forged in the process.

Kathryn Lyons is a Guider in Ottawa, and a member of the Canadian Guider Editorial Committee.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Photos: courtesy Tricia Roet

he Juliette Low Seminar is WAGGGS’ flagship leadership development event. Running every three years since 1932, it brings participants together from all over the world to develop their leadership abilities, and for many, to form international friendships for life. The friends Tricia made at the seminar she attended included 23 other Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from Australia, Brazil, Finland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Switzerland and the United States.

Over the years, Tricia’s group stayed in touch through personal contact and a newsletter they created for themselves.

In recognition of their 25th anniversary in 1988, they organized a reunion in the United States, and met again at Our Cabaña in 1993. Since then, they have also met in Switzerland, Japan, Australia and, most recently, Italy, in 2013.

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Having a pen pal makes the world a friendlier place.

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Photo: courtesy Laura & Andrea; Background photo: ©iStock/TAGSTOCK1

FRIENDSHIP

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Pen Pals Then and Now Laura and Andrea

BY FELICITY ORTHNER RUGARD

Laura, who lives in Canada, and Andrea, who lives in South Africa, are longtime Guiding pen pals. Here are their thoughts about their 41-year friendship.

Westminster Abbey, where there’s a memorial stone to Lord and Lady Baden-Powell, standing there arm-in-arm with Andrea, I thanked our Founders for this friendship.

Andrea: When we finally met, we chatted and laughed as the good friends we had become over the years. We’d both grown up, studied, married, worked and each had two children – and I realized how similar we are in our outlook on life. And it all began with our girlhood interest in Guiding.

What’s special about being pen pals in different countries?

Laura: You get to understand that, no matter where we are, we go through similar experiences. For me, I also got to learn about South African politics through the experiences of a friend. There’s been a lot more political and social change in South Africa than in Canada. The South Africa that Andrea grew up in is completely different from the one her kids have grown up in.

Andrea: My interest in people from other countries was sparked from getting to know Laura. She generously shared all things Canadian with the inserts and gifts she sent in the mail. She always sent me lovely Guide badges, which adorn my Guide campfire blanket to this day. I am still planning to visit her in Canada one day!

How did your pen pal experience begin?

Are you still in regular contact?

Laura: In the back of the Guiding Handbook there was a page that said we could write in to the national office, and they’d try to match us with a Girl Guide in another country.

Andrea: Our Guider encouraged us to write away for a pen pal, telling something of ourselves, our hobbies and the country we requested. My first choice was Canada, because my dad had worked at the Windsor Star as a young man, and he spoke fondly of Canada.

Laura: Thank goodness for email – it’s so much more convenient than regular mail. In a way, it’s made us better friends, because sharing details about our lives is so much more immediate. And Andrea is often the first person I contact when I need a bit of clear-headed advice.

Andrea: Oh yes! We still share a close, sisterly bond. Nowadays we communicate by email. And Laura and her family came to South Africa in 2009. We had a wonderful holiday together.

How old were you then?

Laura: I must have been 12 at the time, definitely in Guides.

Andrea: I was 12 years old - that was in 1978.

Laura: Oh my gosh, we’ve been friends for more than 40 years!

What was the best part about being a pen pal?

Laura: I loved getting Andrea’s letters in the mail. She had so much to say, her writing was tiny! Receiving her packages was always a treat, too. I use the beaded miniature spear she sent as a letter opener to this day.

Andrea: I felt so special each time I received a letter from Laura.

We had so much in common: same age, both the eldest of three children, both stamp collectors.

What was it like when you finally met in person?

Laura: Andrea was going to her sister’s wedding in Scotland, and I was living with my family in London, England at the time.

I was already planning to go to South Africa to meet with her family at Easter, but this was a good way to meet beforehand.

I remember being so nervous. What if we didn’t like each other, because writing to someone is different from actually being with them. But then we connected immediately. And when we went to CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

What impact has this relationship had on you?

Laura: Having a pen pal makes the world a friendlier place. Plus, Andrea and I share similar values – always a good foundation for a friendship.

Andrea: It is one of those deeply life-enhancing experiences that has grown richer over the last four decades.

Any advice for units trying to set up girls with pen pals?

Laura: It takes time to build up a friendship. Try to find common interests and passions.

Andrea: Prior to the instant communication offered on social media, in our youth, writing with pen and paper required focus and thought, and sharing a photo required getting it developed and printed before putting it in the mail. This meant we only shared a few images, and our words were carefully phrased. Even using social media and email, pen pals today should focus on communicating thoughtfully, both in words and images, to bridge boundaries of perceived differences.

Felicity Orthner Rugard is a Ranger in Toronto, and a member of the Canadian Guider Editorial Committee.

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Photo: Noreen Remtulla

COURAGE

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CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Breaking Barriers A Personal Journey to Inclusivity

BY ALEXIS HOLMGREN

A single voice can sometimes make a difference in the lives of many. Alexis Holmgren is taking action to create spaces for all girls in Guiding. Her awe-inspiring story is proof that girls’ voices matter.

A

few days after my twelfth birthday, my mom had a sudden cardiac arrest.

During the following four months while she was in hospital, I cared for my autistic nine-year-old brother, making sure he got to school, had his lunch, did his homework, and wasn’t left alone. After my mom came home, I also assisted in caring for her as she relearned to walk, talk, eat, and do many other daily tasks. This all happened during my first year in Pathfinders.

In the ensuing months, we learned that the cause of my mom’s cardiac arrest was a rare, genetic heart condition called Long QT Syndrome, and that I had a 50 per cent chance of having inherited it. After months of testing on my own heart, the results were positive. I also have Long QT, placing me at risk for sudden cardiac arrest. Less than a year after my diagnosis, my aunt also suffered cardiac arrest from Long QT. My life had changed forever.

Nevertheless, I was determined to participate in most of the same activities I had before, including Guiding. I wanted to keep camping and going to events. However, I discovered that many people were afraid of the “girl with the heart condition,” or simply didn’t know how to treat me. Some said they didn’t want me to participate in activities that might “endanger” others. They were nervous about the possibility of my automated external defibrillator (AED) posing a danger of electric shock to other participants, especially outside in the rain.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Becoming an Advocate That was when I started to advocate for inclusion. I knew that I needed to change what was happening, not only for me, but for other people who have personal challenges, so that we can have the opportunity to do everything we want to do, and be everything we want to be.

I began by sharing my story with other girls and Guiders, so they could understand how to include girls like me. I created a photo book that I presented to the girls and Guiders in my unit who would be spending significant periods of time with me. It included information about how Long QT impacts my life. In 2016, I travelled to Guiding Mosaic the day before camp started, to share my story with the team of core crew and Guiders, and to answer their questions.

Afterward, a Guider informed me that they learned a lot from my talk, and it convinced them that girls like me could and should attend camps, including large events.

Overcoming Setbacks Shortly after that camp, I was diagnosed with two more health issues – Solar Urticaria, a severe allergy to ultraviolet light, and a joint condition that causes chronic pain and hypermobility (my joints bend much further than they are supposed to, leading to instability, injuries, and falls). These two diagnoses require me to wear special UV-protective clothing, and braces on my ankles, knees and wrists, while also using a cane or walking stick. These new medical difficulties mean that being outside (or even exposed to sunlight through windows), walking, and using my hands for crafts and other intricate tasks have become difficult to impossible. With these added limitations, I was left out of even more activities, because people weren’t sure how they could include me.

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COURAGE I became even more determined to continue my advocacy efforts. When someone approaches me with questions about my medical issues or how they can be inclusive of people like me, I always take the time to have that conversation with them and answer all their questions. I embrace every opportunity to share my experiences, because I believe that these moments are critical to making change, one step and one person at a time. I believe that one voice can truly make a difference.

for them. I brought this issue to the attention of the national travel team – and a few months later when the trips were posted, the line “this trip is wheelchair accessible!” was added to the description of some of them. By using my voice, I was able to help make this change, so that those who come after me will be better informed about accessible activities and trips.

In September 2017, I led a training session for Guiders at a provincial event called Grassroots Huddle. The session, entitled Diversity & Differences, opened a dialogue with Guiders about how they can ensure they are being inclusive when planning camps, activities and events. Participants discussed different issues Guiding members may have that could lead them to feel excluded – for example, financial challenges, allergies, disabilities, mental health problems, nutritional needs and cultural requirements. We brainstormed questions Guiders could ask themselves when planning meetings, camps and events, to help ensure they are being inclusive. With my AED, six braces, a special liquid diet, sunglasses, protective clothing and walking stick in tow, I was able to successfully lead five sessions during the day. The most rewarding moment I have had during my advocacy journey was when a Guider told me that this was the best session on inclusivity she had ever attended.

Recognition

This honour was totally unexpected, and I was deeply grateful, and brimming with pride when I called my mom that night to tell her the news.

Speaking Up – Reaching Out Photo: Noreen Remtulla

I have also used my voice to advocate by speaking up and reaching out, whenever the opportunity is presented to me. Last year, I focused on ensuring international travel was accessible to girls who have disabilities. In the past, the lack of reference to accessibility in the description of trips that are nationally-sponsored prevented me from applying

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My leadership of the sessions at Grassroots Huddle led to my nomination for the Girl Guides of Canada Fortitude Award, by Alberta Deputy Provincial Commissioner Julie Perras, with whom I had planned the event, and Noreen Remtulla, Chair of our Provincial Youth Forum, of which I was a member for two years. At the awards ceremony during our Provincial Annual General Meeting last April, I heard “AED” mentioned – and realized they were talking about me! I was completely surprised, honoured and humbled, when I was called to the front of the room and the award was attached to my shirt by our Provincial Commissioner, Kathy Batty. This honour was totally unexpected, and I was deeply grateful, and brimming with pride when I called my mom that night to tell her the news.

Now a Link member, I have joined the GGC National Diversity and Inclusion Action Group. I will continue to use my voice to advocate for inclusion, because I believe there is still work to be done to ensure that all Guiding members can participate to their fullest in the great things this organization has to offer.

Alexis Holmgren is a Link member in Red Deer, AB.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

OUTDOOR GUIDER

LIGHTEN —YOUR—

Photo: ©iStock/RuslanDashinsky; Illustration: ©iStock/Ma-lina

LOAD Unstructured Camps B Y K AT H R Y N LYO N S

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

23

OUTDOOR GUIDER

Sometimes the best experiences happen when you keep it simple. Here’s how going a little more unstructured at camp might be the perfect formula for creating the ultimate outdoor experiences that both girls and Guiders can get behind.

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h, those amazing Girl Guide camp memories. . . Standing in the middle of a giant pile of supplies and gear. Stuffing one more craft bag into a full-to-bursting car. Running from one meticulously planned activity to the next. Staring down a mountain of jumbled camp leftovers you need to sort and store. . . And then, in a sleep-deprived haze, thinking that, surely, there must be a way to lighten your camping load. There is a way – the unstructured camp.

Photo: Hannah Kosick

Unstructured – Gradually

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If throwing out your camp plan completely is too intimidating, move into the idea slowly. Begin with having just a block of unstructured time at your next camp.

As BC Guider Lisa Thibault says, “Flat and happy in the afternoon, toes up or quiet time – whatever you call it – at any camp, the girls need time to recharge and socialize without structure.” Some Guiders

recommend 60 to 90 minutes of unstructured time for everyone to rest, re-energize and enjoy some time away from a group setting. For younger girls, try shorter and more frequent blocks of unstructured time.

You can tackle an unstructured camp with any age and experience level. Even Sparks and Brownies can appreciate the open-ended approach, enjoying time to explore and play spontaneously. In all kinds of weather, it helps to get outside, where girls can collect nature items to make temporary art. Add some silly games and you’ll be back on track for fun. Just keep some ideas up your sleeve, in case the girls need a bit of direction. Fallback activities can also help adjust the tone of activities, if a cliquey dynamic begins to develop, or if any girls are being sidelined. For more ideas, explore the options in the Camping and the Great Outdoors theme in the new Girls First program.

You can also try a camp where you bring some basic supplies and simply allow the girls to follow their interests. BC Guider Corette Harrington did this and says, “We had some games and crafts as backups, but that was it. Girls played games, read books, spent time drawing – whatever they wanted. They loved it!”

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

We eat

when we get hungry,

sleep

when we get tired,

play, hike, invent games...

Of course, another strategy to lighten the load of planning activities and organizing supplies is to turn over your camp programming to the girls in a way that syncs with their skills and piques their interest. If you have patrols at camp, challenge each patrol to create and lead an activity for the rest of the group. Of course, to maintain necessary control for everyone’s health and wellbeing, just set out basic guidelines that will ensure the girl-driven activities are safe and inclusive for all participants. While they may need some support with brainstorming and planning, the odds are very much in your favour that your campers will happily rise to the challenge. You will have a lot less on your plate, while they take on more responsibility and become more empowered in the process.

Unstructured – Full On! Are you heading off with more experienced campers?

Why not leave all the craft supplies at home, throw out the schedules, and forget about adult facilitation? While you will still need a few camp basics, you can further lighten

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

your load by having the girls brainstorm the menu, help with meal preparation ahead of time, and organize the right gear.

(Check out the Camping Skills Instant Meeting in Girls First for tips.) Ontario Guider and Trainer Carol Law heartily endorses loosening up and lightening the load of planning some camps. “We always have one unstructured camp a year,” she explains. “We don’t take watches or other timepieces. We eat when we get hungry, sleep when we get tired, play, hike, invent games with what we find around us, stare at a square of grass for an hour (amazed by all that we discover there), play micro/ macro, sing ourselves silly, and enjoy sleeping under the stars. This type of camp is what the programming we do at other camps is all about – being able to simply enjoy camping with friends!”

With GGC’s focus on offering opportunities that are girl-driven and girl-led, unprogrammed camps are a perfect fit. Your campers can follow their interests, figure out how to entertain themselves, find independent ways to connect with each other and, of course, develop leadership skills along the way. And, as a Guider, whether you leave a little or a lot out of your camp plan, schedule and supplies, you’re sure to create a lighter and easier camp experience for yourself!

Kathryn Lyons is a Guider in Ottawa and a member of the Canadian Guider Editorial Committee.

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OUTDOOR GUIDER

Fueling Up Nutritious Winter Camp Food

Photo: Van Chau

From snowshoeing and ice skating to nature walks and sledding, girls love wintry adventures, but they’ll burn extra calories keeping warm. So, bring on the cold – just make sure you fuel up with nutritious, tasty, girl-approved winter camp food!

While it’s easy to rely on packaged granola bars, chocolate and other sugary foods, they won’t keep the body warm for long. Balance these simple carbohydrates with longer-lasting energy sources, such as grains, dried fruit, seeds, beans, veggies, pasta, cheese and eggs. Try these warmth producing recipes that, incidentally, you can make ahead of time to lighten your cooking load at your unstructured outdoor adventures and camps.

CHOCOLATE PROTEIN BANANA MUFFINS

These muffins are chock-full of protein and fibre, thanks to the besan (chickpea) flour. This recipe is vegetarian or vegan, depending on the three optional ingredients listed.

• 3 eggs or vegan eggs (such as Ener-G Egg Replacer or flax eggs) • ¾ cup/175 ml sugar • ½ cup/125 ml cup butter, liquified coconut oil or melted vegan margarine • 2 generous tbsp/30 ml sour cream or vegan sour cream (or 2 tbsp/30 ml soy yogurt or silken tofu plus 1 tsp/5 ml lemon juice) • 2 very ripe bananas, mashed • 1½ cups/375 ml besan (chickpea flour) • ¼ cup/60 ml cup cocoa powder • 1 tsp/5 ml baking powder • ½ cup/125 ml mini chocolate chips (optional) 1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tray with paper or reusable silicone cups, or grease well.

2 Whisk the eggs or egg replacer and sugar until fluffy. Add the butter, coconut oil or vegan margarine, sour cream or vegan sour cream and mashed bananas. Mix thoroughly.

3 Sift the besan flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into the liquid ingredients. Stir gently with a fork until lightly mixed.

4 Fill lined or greased muffin cups to the tray brim.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Tip: for younger girls, you can use mini-muffin tins and reduce the baking time to 12-15 minutes.

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CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

HEARTY “CREAM” OF TOMATO SOUP

Enhance this classic comfort soup with some hidden fibre and protein. Vegan and gluten-free, it also can be made with packaged tomato soup (check for gluten-free brands); just blend the soup, water and ½ cup/125 ml beans per 2 cups/500 ml of prepared soup.

• 2 tbsp/30 ml olive oil • 1 onion • 4 cloves garlic, minced • 1 carrot, peeled and diced • 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped • 2½ pounds/1.4 kg tomatoes (or 28 oz /794 g can crushed tomatoes) • 15 oz /425 g can cannellini beans, rinsed • 3 sprigs fresh thyme • 3 cups/750 ml vegetable broth • sea salt and black pepper 1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Wash and cut the tomatoes in half. Lay them skin side down on a baking sheet.

Drizzle tomatoes with ½ tbsp/7 ml of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast for 60 minutes.

2 With 5 minutes left, in a large pot on medium heat, add the olive oil, sauté the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 4 to 5 minutes and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

3 Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant but not burnt.

4 Remove the tomatoes from the oven and stir them into the pot. Add sprigs of thyme and cook for another 30 seconds, until fragrant.

5 Stir in the cannellini beans and broth, reduce the heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

6 Remove the thyme sprigs and puree until smooth, using an immersion blender or in batches with a blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

ALL-PURPOSE MEXICAN STYLE FILLING

Use this filling to make tacos, burritos, chili or taco bowl salads. It’s gluten-free and vegan (but contains soy). It’s also low-cost, can be made in large batches, and freezes well for pre-camp preparation.

• 2 cups/500 ml dry TVP (textured vegetable protein) • 1 tbsp/15 ml gluten-free soy sauce • 2 tbsp/30 ml canola oil • 4 tbsp/60 ml chili powder or to taste (check ingredients for allergens) • 1 tbsp/15 ml cumin 1 Prepare the TVP by mixing with just under 2 cups/500 ml of boiling water in a bowl. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the TVP is rehydrated.

2 Combine the oil, rehydrated TVP, soy sauce, taco seasoning and ¼ cup/ 60 ml of water in a saucepan. Stir occasionally over medium heat until the water is absorbed.

HOT CHOCOLATE PLUS

Staying hydrated is just as important in the winter as it is in summer. However, cold water and other cold drinks will cool you down. Provide warm drinks, such as hot apple cider, lemonade, regular, chai or herbal tea and – most girls’ favourite – hot chocolate.

Better yet, give them hot chocolate plus!

• 2 cups/500 ml instant hot chocolate • 1 box instant pudding (vanilla, chocolate, banana, etc.)

• ½ cup/125 ml powdered whole milk 1 Mix all the ingredients ahead of time and place in an airtight container or bag.

2 Put two or three heaping tablespoons of the mix in a cup.

3 Add boiling water, stir and enjoy.

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LENDING A HAND

Ramping

Photos: Kate Leuschen Millar

Up

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CANADIAN GUIDER

WINTER 2019

Girl Guides in Action B Y T H E 2 6 6 T H TO R O N TO G U I D E S

When one Guide unit discovered that not all stores in their community were accessible, they decided to step up and take action. Here’s how they made a difference by building simple ramps.

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ooking for a way to lend a hand, the 266th Toronto Guides did a walk-about to check out just how accessible our neighbourhood really is. A few places, such as the library and our own meeting space, had permanent ramps offering an alternative to stairways. But as we took a more thorough look around the community, we discovered it wasn’t stairways that were the issue for many local spaces. It was just a single step!

We first noticed this at a popular ice cream shop situated in an older building that has a very high single step in front of the doorway. Small children and anyone with mobility issues clearly had trouble navigating the step in pursuit of their favourite ice cream treats. As we continued on our walk-about, we discovered many other local shops that had the same issue. The buildings were constructed long before accessibility was considered, and redesigning entrances to facilitate people who have mobility challenges is simply too expensive.

Then another discovery on that walk-about sparked our girls’ curiosity and enthusiasm to make a difference in the community.

“I saw a lady in a wheelchair who needed to get into a bank where there was a step, but she couldn’t get in,” said Heather, a first-year Guide. “So, she used a temporary ramp.”

Teamwork and Tool Work The goal of StopGap is to provide free ramps as an incentive to business owners who might not otherwise offer ramp access to their premises. To facilitate this, they reviewed safety and building codes to assure business owners the ramps would meet municipal standards. “We learned from StopGap that ramps must be designed at a specific angle and positioned so there is room for people to walk around them,” said Ethne, a second year Guide. Supported by StopGap’s resources, we pitched the ramp idea to the owners whose premises we identified, and we found two amazing shop owners who accepted our challenge to overcome their single step barrier.

“It took a lot of teamwork to make this project work,” said Heather. “We all helped look for places that would need a ramp,” said Amelia, a first-year Guide.

“We worked together to make the ramps, with some Guides building them and others painting them,” added Heather. In the process, the girls learned to use electric tools, paint rollers, and stencils, and gained a sense of

StopGap Ramps As we continued, we noticed that stores and other locations also featured this accessibility solution – a simple, attractive and highly functional solution. They had a temporary, wooden ramp made to span the gap up into their doorways. The ramps we saw were bright blue, yellow or red and had rope handles on each side, so they could be easily picked up and moved as needed. The bank’s ramp was labeled “StopGap,” signifying it was made specifically for their entry by volunteers of the StopGap Foundation.

The Guides soon saw this as an opportunity for them to help shape our community for the better by building ramps for local shops, and learning the safe use of power tools in the process.

We began this community accessibility project by contacting the StopGap Foundation for help. They provided all the resources we needed, including their Community Ramp Project Manual, detailing all the supplies required and instructions for designing and building ramps, as well as resources about sponsors who might help make the project affordable.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

accomplishment in a job well done. “I liked painting the ramp, knowing that it would be displayed for the whole neighbourhood,” said Juliana, a first-year Guide.

Delivering the ramps to the business owners was also empowering for the Guides. “I enjoyed seeing the expression on each owner’s face when they came out and saw the ramp,” said Heather. “It was great to know that, by providing these ramps, we made a positive difference in our community.”

This article was written by 266th Toronto Guides Guiders Kate Leuschen Millar “Chickadee,” Julie Hamilton “Finnigan” and Heather Makin “Toad,” with participation by Guides Heather, Juliana, Amelia and Ethne.

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Photo: Wayne Eardley

COOKIES

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CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Tips for Older Girls COMPILED BY HILARY FELDMAN

When it comes to selling cookies, Pathfinders and Rangers know how to rock those cookie sales! Their communication and leadership skills, and innovative ideas help them shine and make customer service a breeze. And they know just how much cookie revenues help fund the camps, trips and other Guiding adventures they love.

Here are some tips for older girls and the Guiders who support their cookie sales.

Creative Thinking Ontario Guider Kris McGee has some outside-the-cookie-box sales ideas from girls she’s worked with: • Make a “Get Your Girl Guide Cookies Here” lawn sign and car sign, or use a window writer. (Just don’t store cookies in your car!)

• Wear “Ask Me About Girl Guide Cookies” buttons.

• Sell boxes to businesses as employee holiday gifts, or to car dealerships as gifts for new car buyers.

• Approach a local food specialty shop to advertise “Girl Guide Cookies Now Available.”

• Sell door-to-door on the first Monday of each month. After a couple of months, neighbours will be leaving $5 bills taped to their doors!

• Make a roadside stand.

• For your next flight, wear your uniform and carry a case to sell boxes in the cabin. (Ask the flight attendants for permission, first. They might even help you!) This also works for everyday travel to and from work or school. Always carry a case of cookies.

• Do a public transit scavenger hunt, during which each team must sell a case of cookies.

Community Events In BC, Karen Kielbasa’s Pathfinder unit goes to community events to access a wider audience. These venues offer great places to sell cookies and also to promote local Guiding. Here are some of her tried-and-true selling tips: • Hand out Guiding balloons or stickers to little kids, whose parents may return the favour by purchasing cookies.

• Approach local dignitaries, such as your mayor, city councilors, MP, MPP or MLA. These public servants are well aware of the CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

value of building community and of the fundraising value of Girl Guide cookies – plus they don’t mind posing for those valuable photo ops.

• If you choose to set up your cookies in one place, use colourful, large-print advertising. Vibrant visuals help encourage customers to buy cookies on impulse, and large posters attract drive-by cookie lovers, if they can be easily read at a distance.

Create a sandwich board sign to advertise a cookie sale location, and place it at the nearby intersection. Customers will seek you out – but just make it easy for them.

• Have older girls customize a cookie dispenser stand, converted from a large refrigerator box. This twist on a theme is always an attraction, as people love to buy from a booth. To attract more attention, add touches such as cookie flaps, arrows and fairy lights – the girls will use their creativity and imaginations to attract customers.

Personal Touches BC Area International Adviser Adèle Cooshek recommends the personal touch as a successful strategy for upping cookie sales.

She encourages girls to include pertinent details when talking to potential customers (“Would you like to buy some Girl Guide cookies to support my ____________?”) By filling in the blank with a canoeing adventure, camp, activity or event they want to participate in, or trip they want to take, they give customers a great incentive to buy. Customers often want to hear details about how cookie revenues will be used, and the information helps them connect with the girls and with Guiding.

Local Support During a recent cookie campaign, CBC Radio was looking for some girls to talk about their cookie sales. Pathfinder Charlotte and Guide Rachel responded to a last-minute request and were interviewed by Caroline Chan. The girls constructed a pyramid out of cases. Pathfinder Sophie, who is selling many cookie cases to fundraise for an international trip, put a short article in her local community newsletter to explain why she was selling cookies and where to buy them.

For BC Ranger Sarah, consistency and persistence went a long way when she needed a laptop for high school. “I decided to sell 80 cases of Girl Guide cookies to earn a $250 Best Buy gift card,” she said. “I spent hours standing outside the same store, asking every person who walked by if they would like to buy a box of cookies. When I finished, the restaurant across the street erupted in applause. The staff had seen me out there day after day – and I knew my support group went much further than just my parents and Guiders.”

Older girls are terrific Guiding ambassadors, especially when they tell the public about all the sweet things that result from Girl Guide cookie sales. Imagination, innovative and good-humoured ideas, and determination will get all those cases moving!

Hilary Feldman is a Guider in Vancouver, and Chair of the Canadian Guider Editorial Committee.

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IDEAS TO GO

Photo: Kathryn Lyons

Ice 32

is Nice!

Outdoor Winter Activities

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Looking for a simple magic formula for winter fun? Just take some ice cube trays, plastic containers of various sizes and food colouring — and voila! Girls can create coloured ice blocks for a variety of outdoor winter activities.

TEAM COLOUR ICE CUBE HUNT What You Need

• 12 or more ice cubes each of at least three different colours

What You Do

This activity works best on snow-covered ground.

1 Scatter the ice cubes all around your playing area. It’s okay if the cubes sink a little into the snow.

2 Divide your group into three teams. Assign each team a colour.

3 Teams try to be the first to find all their coloured ice cubes, or to find the most ice cubes in a set amount of time.

4 At the end of the game, everyone can help find any missing cubes.

ICE BUILDING BLOCKS What You Need

• a wide variety of blocks and cubes, of any colour

What You Do

What You Need

• a variety of colours of standard ice cubes

What You Do

1 Fill ice cube trays with water and food colouring. Cover with foil or plastic film. Insert a toothpick in each cube.

The foil or film will hold the toothpick in place while the water freezes.

2 Once they’re frozen, remove the ice cubes and have the girls “paint” on paper indoors, as the ice cubes melt. The paint will be quite watery, so they can easily experiment with mixing the colours.

ICE SUN CATCHERS What You Need

• A variety of large containers such as empty margarine or ice cream tubs, small cups or cans with stones or other items to weigh them down • ribbon or string • coloured ice blocks (optional)

What You Do

This is an ideal sub-zero winter camp craft.

1 Give each girl a large container.

2 Place the small, weighted cup in the centre of the large container.

3 Gather interesting found bits on the ground (small pine cones, winter berries, cedar twigs, etc.) and arrange them in the large container.

4 Pour enough water into the large container to mostly cover the bits.

5 Allow to freeze overnight.

6 When frozen, use warm water to release the ice from the large container and the weighted cup. Thread the ribbon through the hole and hang in the sun.

7 Option: If the temperature is cold enough, instead of using found items from nature, you can arrange some coloured ice cubes in the container and fill with cold water and leave out to freeze. This will only work if the water freezes quickly, but will give the sun catchers a lovely multi-coloured effect.

Photo: Leslie Rennie

1 Pour a little water onto one block and then quickly place another block on top. Hold in place for a few seconds.

2 Working alone, or in groups, girls can stack and build coloured structures.

3 You could also choose to have everyone contribute to one large, collaborative structure.

ICE CUBE PAINTING

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

33

D IEOANS H TO S E CI T E AGDO

Style

It Up! SUBMITTED BY HANNAH BARKLEY

Photos: Hannah Barkley

For Thinking Day last year, we made no-knit Girl Guide scarves. We wanted to create a visual statement, illustrating how the girls can stay involved in this organization forever.

So, in addition to the Guiding branch colours, we included white for Guiders and Link members and purple for Trefoil Guild members.

As the girls worked putting their scarves together, we talked about all the branch activities and adult opportunities Guiding offers. And, of course, since these scarves are so colourful and comfortable, the girls wear them around the community, proudly explaining what they represent to anyone commenting on how unique they are!

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CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

EASY NO-KNIT GIRL GUIDE SCARF

To save time, and for safety, we precut the circles for all the girls, and had the older girls (Guides and up) cut their own fringe pieces. If we had done this craft at a sleepover instead of a meeting, the older girls could have cut all their circles as well.

What You Need

• polar fleece in pink, brown, blue, green, red, white and purple (optional: light blue for the fringe) • scissors • ruler • four-inch circle template (mason jar insert or other jar lid)

What you Do

1 Fold the fleece over so the circle template fits with one side positioned on the fold and the other close to the edge of the upper piece. Using chalk or a fabric pencil, trace the template and cut the circle, leaving two inches of the folded edge uncut. Unfolded, you will have a figure 8 shape.

2 For a younger girl’s scarf cut four figure 8s in pink, brown and blue; two in green, red and white and one in purple.

3 For an older girl’s and adult’s scarf, cut four figure 8s in pink, brown, blue, green, red and white, and two in purple.

4 Cut ½-inch (1.3 cm) slits in each side of the fleece figure 8 approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) in from the edges.

5 Slide the pieces through the slits, and link together to form a chain.

6 For the fringe, cut 10 rectangles measuring 18 inches by ¾ inch (45 cm by 2 cm) from one of the branch colours, or use light blue.

Thread and tie off 5 rectangles through the hole at the end of the scarf. At the other end, cut a new slit and repeat with another 5 rectangles.

7 Wear with pride both at Guiding and non-Guiding events and activities!

18 in. x 3/4 in.

X10

Hannah Barkley is a Guider in South Dundas, ON.

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TIPS

Making the Grade A+ Scholarship Applications B Y C A S S E Y FA L L I S A N D TEAGAN CAMERON, WITH NOREEN REMTULLA

Scholarships, bursaries and awards can make a big difference as you pursue your education dreams. The application process can seem scary, but it doesn’t have to be.

Photo: ©iStock/alvarez; Illustration©iStock/makyzz

Whether you’re a high school student or already enrolled in a post-secondary institution, applying for financial assistance can be not only time consuming but downright daunting. Here are some tried-and-true tips from former GGC Scholarship applicants who have been there, done that – and succeeded!

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1. MAKE A BRAG SHEET.

Start tracking your achievements with a scholarship resume – a brag sheet all about you! Don’t be shy. Beginning with the most current, list your achievements at school, at work and in your community. Document your awards, extracurricular activities and experience, including dates, hours of participation per week, your specific role, and what you learned. With your brag sheet at the ready, conveying your achievements will be a breeze!

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

3. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!

Scholarships, awards and bursaries are available from many sources. Ask friends, family members, counsellors, and colleagues to see if they know of any that are relevant to your needs. Websites such as yconic.com or scholarships-canada.com provide information on scholarships and often have online applications. Connect with your school’s career practitioner or guidance counsellor – these professionals are fountains of scholarship information, and can help you find the ones best suited to you. Guiding also has a myriad of scholarships, so check with your Area and Provincial councils, and girlguides.ca/scholarships

2. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR REFERENCE LETTERS.

Give yourself a break. You can avoid chasing down new reference letters for every scholarship you apply to by re-using them where appropriate. And request a signature, to enhance the legitimacy of the reference for those reviewing your application. Some scholarships require very detailed criteria in reference letters, so you may have to get more specific letters for those applications. When you approach people for references, give at least two weeks’ notice before the scholarship deadline. Supply any specific scholarship criteria and, of course, your brag sheet!

References can come from many people, including Guiders, teachers, coaches and work colleagues.

4. BEGIN EARLY.

Some scholarships require you to apply while you’re still in high school, while others may only apply towards a specific program of study at a later point in your post-secondary education. Each will have a different submission deadline – be on the lookout for them, so you don’t miss an opportunity.

Deadlines approach rapidly, and life can get busy, so make sure to submit each application as quickly as possible. Build in extra time if you have to submit it by mail, and use express postage, which will speed up the delivery and enable you to track the package.

5. CHECK WITH YOUR POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTION.

Once you’ve been accepted to your post-secondary institution of choice, look for financial aid opportunities it might offer. Check your online student portal for links to apply for scholarships directly through the institution. Not all scholarships are limited to applicants who have the highest grades or the most extracurriculars. If you plan on joining any clubs or groups within the institution, if your parents belong to a work union, or if you’re studying in a specialized program, you may be eligible for one of these scholarships.

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TIPS

6. KEEP DIGITAL FILES.

Digital records of your application materials will give you peace of mind. By having several copies of your reference letters, transcript and brag sheet on hand, you can get your applications out the door much more quickly. When you need to access these documents, they’re all in one place, so you don’t need to hunt around. Digital copies are also a must for uploading to online applications or for reprinting. Since scholarships often require information on awards you have received or applied to, a digital list will speed things up. Application essay questions are often similar, so storing essays digitally is a wise practice.

You can use them verbatim, tailor them to specific scholarships, or base your new essays on the themes and contents of the existing ones.

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7. APPLY, APPLY, APPLY!

You can never apply for too many scholarships, bursaries or awards. Your hard work with each application will pay off when your tuition fees don’t drain your bank account while you’re busy studying. Build time into your schedule, and make as many applications as possible, even if it seems tedious or repetitive. You’ll thank yourself later!

Teagan Cameron and Cassey Fallis, university students in Alberta, are 2018 GGC National Scholarship recipients.

Noreen Remtulla, a Guider in Calgary is a member of the Canadian Guider Editorial Committee.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

VOICES

Goal Getters Past Scholarship Recipients Girl Guides of Canada scholarship recipients go on to achieve some pretty amazing things in both their professional and Guiding lives. We checked in with three of these goal getters to find out how Guiding’s support gave them an edge.

Angela Crane

Christina Noel

Hannah Scott

I received a Girl Guides of Canada National Scholarship in 2004, which supported my Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Applied Mathematics and Chemistry at Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador. Following my undergraduate degree, I moved across the country to complete a PhD in Chemistry at the University of British Columbia. I continued to be very active in Guiding, as a Guide Guider, Deputy District Commissioner and Area Program Adviser.

I’m now the First Year Chemistry Program Coordinator at Dalhousie University.

This position combines my passions for chemistry, education, and programming.

I feel incredibly lucky for the amazing support I received from Girl Guides during my post-secondary education, and truly value all the relationships I have built through Guiding.

The support of Girl Guides of Canada, and in particular the National Scholarship program, had a significant impact on my post-secondary education. With the aid of the Col. Karen Ritchie Memorial National Scholarship, I completed a Bachelor of Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia, graduating in 2015.

Today, I work with a consulting company as an environmental engineer, travelling and working around British Columbia and across Canada, helping to make our world a little bit greener by tackling the challenges presented by contaminated sites. I am proud to say that Guiding still plays a huge role in my life – I’m a Brownie Guider and currently the STEM Specialist on the BC Provincial Program Committee.

During my undergraduate degree, I was fortunate to receive National, Provincial, and Area scholarships, which helped fund my Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature with a Minor in Music, at the University of British Columbia.

At the same time, I was the Brown Owl for a Brownie unit. During these years, and especially throughout my literary studies, I became interested in attending graduate school. This year, I’ve relocated to London, England, to pursue a Master of Arts in Shakespeare Studies. I’ve also become a Brownie Guider here! So many opportunities and experiences have opened up to me through the support of Girl Guides of Canada, and I am excited to stay involved wherever I find myself living.

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ASK A GUIDER

What’s That Pin? The 411 on Guider Insignia

B Y H I L A R Y F E L D M A N A N D K AT H R Y N LYO N S

Insignia pins are important symbols for every Guider and GGC volunteer. They represent our commitment of time, talent and energy to support girls, and we wear them with pride. But what exactly do the different pins signify, and how do you display them? Here we break it all down for you.

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New Guider Enrolment Pin If you’re new to Guiding, you’ll receive an enrolment pin after making your Guiding Promise. Enrolment pins are identical for Guides and their Guiders, but not for girls and Guiders in the other branches.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Branch Appointment Pins

You’ll also receive the Unit Guider pin specific to your branch, from Sparks through Rangers. If you work in a multi-branch unit, there’s even a pin for that. Working with Brownies? The Contact Guider gets a Brown Owl pin, while other Unit Guiders each receive a Tawny Owl pin. If you change branches, you’ll receive the corresponding pin. If you’re a Trex Guider, you can wear an Extra Ops pin.

Guide Guider

Pathfinder Guider

Spark Guider

Ranger Guider

TEAM Training Pins

Guiders earn these pins by completing training modules with a Trainer. Depending on your interests and Guiding activities, you can earn a variety of pins, covering administrative roles to camping organization to your work as a Unit Guider. More information is available on Member Zone. Typically, earned pins are provided by the presenter, so the Trainer who verifies your eligibility will also provide the recognition pin. Again, the details vary from place to place, so check with your DC/ACL.

TEAM Training Pin Examples

Brown Owl

Multibranch Guider

Tawny Owl

Extra Ops

Unit Guider Appreciation Pin

At the beginning of your first year as a Unit Guider, you’ll receive a Unit Guider appreciation pin that acknowledges your commitment to work directly with girls in a unit. You only receive it once. Typically, these pins are provided by the next level up in the organization, e.g., by the District/Community for a Unit Guider.

However, supplying them will depend on where you live, so check with your District Commissioner (DC)/Administrative Community Leader (ACL).

Year Pins Team Administration

Team Trainer

Team Trainer Lamp

Team Outdoor Activity Leader

Team OAL Camping

Team Enrichment

Team District Commissioner CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Members receive one of these pins for every year they spend in Guiding, beginning with years spent as girl members. The pins are given out at the beginning of each Guiding year, most often at enrolments. September of a member’s first year begins Year 1.

The member wears that pin for the whole Guiding year. As she enters her second year, the member trades in her Year 1 pin and receives the Year 2 pin, and so on. After 15 years, these pins are given out every 5 years (e.g., 15, 20, 25 and so on). Guider year pins are often provided by the District/Community.

However, in some places, individual units order year pins for Guiders and girls at the same time – to be presented to everyone at enrolment or a similar meeting. Make sure to trade in your old year pin for a new one each year.

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ASK A GUIDER

Honorary Life Award The Honorary Life Award (HLA) is granted by the Board of Directors to adult members. This prestigious award is given in recognition of ongoing, dedicated and long-term service to Guiding.

Global Guiding Pins

Silver Thanks

This pin is reserved for non-members who have been actively supportive, such as your reliable home contact or cookie receiver, or that invaluable parent who came to camp at the last minute. The recipient could even be a local community representative who helped secure a meeting space or a parent who regularly organizes a group uniform order. A Silver Thanks should be ordered by the level presenting it, so it could be the unit, District, Area, or Community.

World Logo Pin This pin features the WAGGGS Trefoil, and represents our membership in the wider sisterhood of Guiding. You can give it to international travellers, on Thinking Day, or any other time to celebrate the global scope of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

Western Hemisphere Region Pin Like the World logo pin, the Western Hemisphere Region (WHR) pin represents our WAGGGS Region, which includes Canada and 34 other countries across North, South and Central America and the Caribbean.

Recognition Pins

You can recognize a great Guider, a Spark, a terrific cookie-seller or a friend of Guiding with some of the other GGC pins available.

Because recognition pins are not official insignia, they can be ordered and distributed by any Guider.

Recognition Pin Examples

Friend of Guiding

#1 Guider

Canadian Friendship

Crossed Flags

GGC Flag

Spark Button

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Gold Thanks

This pin can be presented to any girl or adult member who has made a difference above and beyond. It first must be approved by your Awards Committee, whose members can also provide more information about who orders these in your community. Many other awards also come with insignia pins.

Where to Attach Your Pins

Attach your insignia pins to your Guiding shirt or jacket lapel. Typically the enrolment pin and appointment pins are worn on the left side, and name tags on the right. Your pin tab is a handy place to keep pins, but you’ll need a rotation plan – or more than one pin tab after a few years – as the recommendation is a limit of four pins per tab.

Now that you know what GGC pins represent, why not do some sleuthing with your girls to discover even more details.

You can spot a DC/ACL, Provincial Committee member, Honorary Life member, and much more – just by looking at their pins!

There are many regional, District/Community variations on how pins are distributed and sometimes even in how they are worn. This article is meant as an informal reference in the spirit of Guiding.

Hilary Feldman is a Guider in Vancouver and Chair of the Canadian Guider Editorial Committee. Kathryn Lyons is a Guider in Ottawa, and a member of the committee.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

SERVICE

Ranger Round-Up Suggested Service Projects Photo: Coreen Bennett

BY NOREEN REMTULLA

From community clean-ups to helping the homeless and families in need to sending sanitary supplies to girls and women overseas, Girl Guides love to find meaningful ways to lend a hand. Community service is a central value in Guiding – and service projects provide opportunities for us to recognize and address both local and global issues.

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SERVICE

We asked some Rangers about their favourite service project ideas and how they go about organizing them.

Here’s what they suggested: Tips for Getting Started Part of finding a voice and becoming an advocate is learning how to spot a need, and to develop strategies to address it. The Plan Your Action challenge in Girls First has some great tips for mapping out your service project.

1

Choose Your Passion

Explore what you’re passionate about, to decide what issue you want to take action on. Strategize about how you can support each other throughout your project, whether you’re working independently, with a group or as a unit.

2

Choose Your Action

Learn more about the issue. Why is it important?

Who/what is being affected and how? Who else might have more information about this issue? Brainstorm actions you could take to make a difference. Then choose which one you’ll do for your action project. Remember that you can’t fundraise money for other organizations as a service project. The exception is the Canadian World Friendship Fund (CWFF), which supports the enhancement of the various programs and activities to be carried out by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) internationally on GGC’s behalf.

Photo: Donna Santos Studios

3

Make a Plan

Create a timeline for your project. List the things you’ll need to do from start to finish, and decide what roles each person will play. Then convert your timeline into an action plan! You can include things such as specific tasks, materials you’ll need, key dates, and more. Consider the cost for mailing or delivering your service project. Is this really feasible? Make contact with people who know, to check if your service project is appropriate and actually needed in your community.

4

Make an Impact

It’s time to carry out your action plan! Don’t forget to track your progress and any lessons you learn along the way. Reflect on the impact you’ve made, and celebrate your accomplishments!

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Favourite Projects

Hot Meals for the Homeless

This is a great service project for any age and any time of year.

Older girls can prepare and serve food, making a frontline effort to improve the lives of people who are less fortunate. Younger girls can create decorative placemats, tray favours, or cards, and help set tables and distribute utensils. Don’t forget to help with the dishes, too! Make sure you call ahead to book a date for your unit to participate, and check if there are any age restrictions.

Seniors Just Wanna Have Fun

Arrange a visit to your local seniors’ residence to meet some elders in your community. Share some fun stories. What was it like when they were your age? How did they communicate before social media and the internet? Talk their ears off until you learn one of their family’s best-loved recipes. You can play cards, tackle a jigsaw puzzle, show off your tap-dancing skills, or sing them some lively campfire songs. Call ahead and make a date to get together.

Birthday Party in a Box

Wondering what to do with your empty cookie cases? Each case could become an amazing Birthday Party in a Box for your local food bank. Assign each Ranger an item to contribute: cake mix, cake pan (or muffin tin), icing, sprinkles and candles. Include a pack of blank invitations, party decorations, some directions for simple party games and activities, and loot bags with a few items inside. You might also include a small gift for the birthday child to brighten her/his special day. Feeling artistically inspired?

Decorate the cookie cases in bright colours, write encouraging messages on them, or wrap them in durable party paper. Ask your local food bank what items they need the most.

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Communi ty service is a central value in Guiding.

Girls and women get periods — period! While periods may seem inconvenient, you can give them a positive spin by building a tower out of tampon boxes. At the national Ignite. Inspire.

Innovate. conference in 2016, the purpose of this service project was to collect pads and tampons for girls and women in need. It’s a quick, easy and inexpensive project. It’s also a way to recognize that periods are simply part of girls’ and women’s lives.

Think outside the (tampon) box. Reach out to local pharmacies, stores, or even companies to help boost your collection power.

Contact your local women’s shelter or YWCA to coordinate your donation – after building some awesome towers, of course.

You can also use your sewing skills to make reusable sanitary pads for girls in developing countries. These pads enable them to attend school, rather than staying home during their periods. In one school year, a girl might miss up to 12 weeks of school – that’s a lot of precious education time gone! This loss of education reduces their chances of passing exams and graduating.

Without reusable pads, the cycle of poverty continues. For more information on this project, visit daysforgirls.org and consider inviting someone to your unit meeting to teach you how to sew effective reusable pads.

Bee Hotels

Our buzzing buddies need a helping hand, too. Hundreds of different bee species pollinate plants, including right in our backyards. These bees need safe places to nest every year. A bee hotel can be simple or luxurious. You can use milk cartons and paper straws or wooden birdhouses stuffed with hollow bamboo stems. Integrate a lesson on bees and learn about various species, how they live, and how they help make our flower gardens flourish and our vegetable gardens fruitful!

CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

Sweaters to Mitts

Collect old wool sweaters and turn them into cozy, funky mittens. No old sweaters at home? Try your local thrift store.

Look up some cool patterns online and stitch away. This service project is super easy, and you can donate the mitts to a homeless shelter or street youth program.

School Supplies

Ask your local youth service organization, school board or food bank if you can fill backpacks with new school supplies for students who need some help. Include notebooks, binders, rulers, pens, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, duo-tangs, highlighters, markers, coloured pencils, glue sticks – and a pencil case to hold everything.

Walk for Hunger

With all their cookie-selling experience, Girl Guides are pros at door-to-door sales. Talk to some of your block buddies and encourage them to donate non-perishable food items that you can take to your local food bank.

Take a Book -Share a Book

Create your own free library at work, school or somewhere else in your community. Buy a crate from a dollar store, paint and decorate it, and create a sign for your “Share-a-Book” library. Put it somewhere safe and dry, where people can take and leave books.

Photo: Silvana Metallo

Tampon Tower

Noreen Remtulla is a Guider in Calgary, and a member of the Canadian Guider Editorial Committee.

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FYI

In Memoriam GGC Tributes (June – November 2018) Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada members are frequently recognized in their communities for the wonderful work they have done during their Guiding lives.

As many of them may be familiar to you, we are sharing the following in memoriam announcements: Ethel Backlund, BC Amanda Belanger, ON Irene Bushell, SK Penelope Crane, NL Jennifer Haddow, AB Brenda Knowles, BC Joyce Kolibas, BC Wendy LaBrie, BC Joan McDowell, ON Rose McGowan, ON Valerie Nevermann, ON Charlotte Parry, ON Leslie Rye, ON Margaret Soles, BC Joyce Spence, SK Margaret Standish, BC Johanna Veilleux-Trommelen, ON Anne Walton, ON

Erratum In the article, The Great Unknown – Celebrating Guiding Firsts, in the Fall 2018 issue of Canadian Guider, we regret that we published an incorrect image for Nicole Genge. We apologize to Nicole (pictured here).

Girl Member to Guider

Nicole Genge, Ontario When I became a Guider, I didn’t think there was more I could learn in this new role. After growing up in Guiding, I thought I had the whole thing pretty well handled. But transitioning from Ranger to Guider was a larger jump than I anticipated.

There is a lot more to being a Guider than organizing the meetings. As a girl, I got a taste of leadership, moving up through the Guiding branches, but even being a Girl Assistant could not have totally prepared me for the real deal.

Being a Guider involves so much more – from interacting with parents to cutting out craft parts in advance of meetings to doing a lot of listening to girls and the other Guiders. They have so much to teach me, I realize now I was very, very wrong to not think I could learn so much more by becoming a Guider!

A Tribute Opportunity Supporting Scholarships

Photo: Van Chau

If you, or your unit or your Trefoil Guild would like to make a donation to the GGC National Scholarship Fund in honour of these women, we would be grateful to accept contributions.

For more information, please email us at: lynchc@girlguides.ca

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CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

PARTNERSHIPS

Guiding has always offered opportunities for girls to experiment, design, create and use their imaginations, as they explore the infinite possibilities of science, technology, engineering and math. Now, Sparks and Brownies have a fun new way to expand their engineering horizons, thanks to the support of LEGO Canada.

T

his past fall, Spark and Brownie units across the country received a special Friends building activity edition LEGO set. Understanding the LEGO mission is to inspire the builders of tomorrow, we knew girls would embrace the opportunity to receive this special edition LEGO kit.

Being Prepared Unit Guider Darlene Clark and the Monarch Brownie Unit, in Kamloops, BC, used their LEGO kits to create a truly unique unit experience – in typical Guiding fashion! The Girl Guiding motto “Be prepared” inspired an interesting meeting, during which the CANADIAN GUIDER | WINTER 2019

girls used LEGO pieces to design and build houses, while also learning about emergency preparedness.

During the devastating BC wildfires in 2017, Kamloops became a core evacuation centre, and Girl Guides there took note.

“Guiding offers an opportunity to use events such as the wildfires to teach girls about preparedness, resilience and recovery,” said Darlene. “We combined our LEGO kits with the free Masters of Disaster Program package offered by the Province of BC, to create an informative meeting that addressed these issues.”

After discussing how to prepare for a natural disaster and how girls can ensure their homes are safe, the girls built houses with their LEGO kits and role-played what they can do in their communities during natural disasters. They experimented with different ways they can keep their houses safe in the event of a wildfire, such as encouraging their families to keep their yards clear of combustible materials – especially dry leaves.

Partnership Opportunities GGC’s partnership with LEGO presents a great opportunity to inspire a STEMtastic unit meeting. And, with the success of the Sparks and Brownies LEGO meetings, GGC is excited to work on creating more partnerships that will offer one-of-a-kind opportunities for us to be a catalyst for girls empowering girls.

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Photo: Donna Santos Studios

Getting STEMtastic with LEGO® Bricks

Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada, 50 Merton Street, Toronto, ON M4S 1A3