Rainbow or Brownie helper

Unleash your inner leader and share all the amazing things about being a Guide by becoming a Rainbow or a Brownie helper.  

What’s it all about?  

You’ll be part of the unit leadership team, along with the adult volunteers and young leaders, and will get to support the Rainbows or Brownies and have fun as part of the weekly meetings. 

What will I do? 

First, decide which age group you’d most like to help with: 

• Do you want to inspire our youngest members (aged 4-7) to get messy and sticky, and bring lots of fun and energy? Then being a Rainbow helper would be a great role for you. 
• Do you want to support older girls (aged 7-10) to develop their love for adventure and challenge and help them to find out about Guides? Then being a Brownie helper would be the perfect role for you.  

Not sure which age group works for you? No problem, you can visit a couple of groups and see which you enjoy most!  

You’ll get to do tons of exciting things: 

• Lead games 
• Help the Rainbows or Brownies complete activities from the Girlguiding programme 
• Run activities 
• Listen to the Rainbows or Brownies and share their ideas with the rest of the leadership team 
• Welcome new girls to the unit 
• Tell the Rainbows or Brownies all about the great things you get to do in Guides, to inspire them to become Guides when they are older 
• Attend trips, events, sleepovers and holidays 
• Watch girls grow in confidence as they try new things 

You can also have a special badge to wear on your Guide uniform.  

Who can do this role? 

Anyone who is a Guide (aged 10 or over) can volunteer to be a Rainbow or Brownie helper. It’s an important way for Rainbows and Brownies to see how much they can get out of Girlguiding. So you need to be able to regularly attend Guides to be a Rainbow or Brownie helper and share the fun you’re having.   

You don’t have to have been a Rainbow or Brownie yourself. You can join as a Guide and then also volunteer as a Rainbow or Brownie helper.  

What do I get out of it? 

It’s great fun! You can laugh, play games, get messy, try new things and create amazing memories. You get to spend time with some brilliant younger girls who’ll inspire you and help you grow.   

You’ll get to develop lots of great skills like: 

• Communication  
• Working with others 
• Confidence and leadership 
• Planning and organising activities 
• Running games and activities 
• Speaking in front of a group 
• Patience and understanding of others 
• Keeping yourself and others safe 

How will I get the right skills?  

You’ll get an introduction to your role and the unit to help you get started.  

Because you’ll be in a leadership role, you’re part of making sure everyone feels safe. We’ve got some great activity sheets to help you understand how to keep yourself and others safe. You should complete the sheets in the first few weeks after you start your role.  

Sign up and what happens next 

Interested in being a Rainbow or Brownie helper? Great!  

Speak to your Guide leader and they’ll help you get started. If you already know which unit you want to help with, let them know and you can jump straight in.  

If you want to be a Brownie helper at your previous Brownie unit, it’s best to have a gap of at least 4 weeks before returning to help make the change a bit easier.  

Once you know which unit you’ll be volunteering with, arrange to go along and see what you think!  

More opportunities 

If you enjoy volunteering, you can become a young leader once you’ve turned 14 and finished Guides. You can carry on helping with the same Rainbow or Brownie unit or try a different unit.  

If you’re 13 and starting your Bronze DofE Award, you can use your time as a Rainbow or Brownie helper towards the volunteering section of the award.