Girlguiding Glasgow turns 100

Girlguiding Glasgow has served the city and its members for the last 100 years.

The charity has been, and continues to be, vital to young people and their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Girlguiding offers girls and young women a wide range of opportunities to try new experiences, learn new skills and grow in confidence.

The volunteer organisation had a year packed full of exciting and engaging activities and events planned to celebrate the centenary but with current restrictions in place due to the global pandemic of Covid 19, Girlguiding Glasgow has postponed events until it is safe to come back together.

The County has repositioned their 100th Annual Review with an online video going out on Girlguiding Glasgow’s social media channels. The video includes a look back at a Girlguide from each decade across the last 100 years and tells the story of what kind of world they lived in and what their Girlguiding role involved.

The video inlcludes two girls from the Shawlands.

Jennifer, who was in the Guides in the 1980s, lives in Shawlands with her mum, dad and her little sister. Her dad has just finished working as a joiner on the SECC development and was grateful to get free tickets for UB40, one of the first gigs held in the venue. Jennifer has been a Guide with Girlguiding Glasgow for a few years now and loves all the opportunities she has had. A few of her highlights so far have been attending a special service for World Thinking Day at Kelvinhall. She could not believe it when her leader told her there was over 2000 Girlguiding Glasgow members attending, the same year, 1985 she attended a special County camp at Achachairdeis to celebrate the site turning 21. She met lots of new friends and loved all the activities. Her little sister has been very jealous of all the adventures Jennifer has had with Guides so she was very excited to have recently joined the first Rainbow unit in the city which has started in Queen’s Park although Jennifer has tried to tell her she is not big enough to come camping with her just yet! At School Jennifer is studying for her O’grades and is keen to go to college and study fashion and design. If she is not at Guides Jennifer can be found roller blading in the park or watching her favourite films Gregory’s Girl or ET!

Next up is Emily who was paer of the Girl Guiding movement from 200-2013. Emily lives with her Mum in a house in Shawlands. For her birthday she was given a laptop and connects using Wifi to go online and chat to friend on Facebook and twitter. She enjoys spending a lot of time on her mobile phone texting friends. At the weekend she likes to spend time with her dad. Emily’s big cousin, who is her Guide leader, told Emily and her friend about when she was a Brownie and attended Girlguiding Glasgow Brownie’s 90th Birthday at the Science Centre and all the fun they had. The girls were now on their way to Glasgow Royal Concert hall to join thousands of Girlguiding Glasgow members celebrate the Girlguiding Centenary which units across the County celebrated for an entire year. Emily was part of the County launch event at Kelvingrove Art Galleries and Museums the year before. Emily renewed her promise at 20:10 20/10/2010.

As well as speeches from the County Commissioner and the County President, there will also be the chance for Rainbows, Brownies, Girlguides, Rangers and adults to renew their promise.

As part of their annual review, Girlguiding Glasgow has celebrated its incredible volunteers with special doorstep presentations to show the charity’s appreciation for their hard work and commitment. This year, 104 individuals received awards ranging from 5 to 50 years voluntary service accumulating in an astounding 1475 years of service this year alone. It is thanks to their dedication that Rainbow, Brownie, Guide and Ranger units across Glasgow are able to meet on a weekly basis and take part in all the benefits that guiding as to offer.

County Commissioner for Girlguiding Glasgow, Jill Elborn said: “I want to say a huge thank you to all Girlguiding Glasgow volunteers who were recipients of a Long Service Award. They have helped thousands of girls enjoy new experiences, make new friends and discover their potential. Our volunteer’s endless energy, enthusiasm and commitment has been especially valued over the last few months when we have been required to retrain and upskill to deliver the Girlguiding programme in new ways in order to remain connected.”

Girlguiding Glasgow Guide leader Elaine Riddick said: “I’m extremely proud to receive my 30-year Girlguiding Long Service award. Volunteering for Girlguiding Glasgow is such a rewarding experience and it’s been wonderful to work with so many young women and girls over the years and see them gain new skills, grow in confidence and have fun. Volunteering has opened up so many fantastic opportunities for girls to enjoy new experiences, use their voice and be a powerful force for good in their communities.”

For over 100 years guiding has made many positive differences in communities right across Scotland. While groups are no longer meeting face to face, the charity’s volunteers are committed to deliver guiding in new and innovative ways so that they can continue to keep connected and empower girls and young women.