Contacting volunteers, parents and carers

As a Girlguiding volunteer you need to make sure that you use people’s contact details appropriately.

You must only contact people using their contact details listed on Girlguiding’s online platforms. You can contact other volunteers directly through GO by clicking on the Directory button and searching for the person you want to contact.

When contacting others, make sure to only share appropriate personal data. Find out more about sharing personal data.

Using email

One of the most common ways you’ll communicate with others in Girlguiding is by email.

Our collecting, using and destroying personal data page has a list of rules you must follow to make sure you’re collecting personal data safely and securely.

Don’t forget to use the BCC field if you’re emailing more than 1 person so you don’t share anyone’s personal email address.

You might want to have a separate email account just for Girlguiding.

• It will help you to keep information about your private life separate.
• It may make a data breach less likely. It decreases the risk of accidentally using the wrong email address and sending an email intended for a volunteer or HQ to a family member or friend.
• It makes it easier to quickly find emails relating to Girlguiding. This’ll make responding to requests for access to personal data, like subject access requests, less time-consuming. The HQ data protection team will support you to handle these requests, but you’ll be responsible for searching through all your emails.

When using email as part of your volunteering role, you must:

• Use an email account only you, or other volunteers with the same level of access to personal data, can access. This is to make sure both your own and other people’s personal data stays safe.
• Never use an email account you share with family members. This is a data breach, as they’ll have access to personal data they shouldn’t.
• Make sure no one can access your email account, even accidentally. If you have a shared device, make sure the password for your email account isn’t saved automatically and always log out after using it.
• Avoid using a work email account for your volunteering role, especially when sending emails about anything sensitive or confidential, like a safeguarding concern or bank details.
• Follow the digital safeguarding procedure when contacting young members.

We don’t recommend using a shared email account that other volunteers can access. This is because of the risk of a data breach taking place. But we understand there may be some circumstances where you think the benefits of sharing an account outweigh the risks.

If you decide to have a shared Girlguiding email account, you must follow the rules below to minimise the risks.

Back to top

Using social media, including WhatsApp and Facebook

Another common way of communicating with volunteers, parents and carers is through social media. Not everyone will be comfortable or have the technology to communicate in this way, so make sure you offer other ways as well.

Before setting up a group, here are a few things you need to think about:

• If it’s a group for parents and carers, make sure to only include those listed as a contact on Girlguiding’s online platforms. If a parent or carer asks for another family member to be added to the group, make sure there’s a practical reason for this. For example, Grandma might need to be in the group if she’s in charge of drop-off and pick-up.
• What information will you share in this group? Will it just be for sharing important updates about unit meetings? Or will you also share photos and videos?

Make sure you’re only sharing things that are appropriate for group members to see.

When you set up your group, let volunteers, parents and carers know that:

• They can choose whether to join the group or not. You can explain the benefits, but you can’t add them without their consent.
• Other group members may be able to see their contact details or other information. They should check the privacy and security settings of their account before joining. They can leave the group at any time.
• They shouldn’t share personal data if they don’t want others in the group to see it.

Make sure it’s a closed or private group, so only you can add people. You should know who everyone is, and remove people when they shouldn’t have access anymore, for example if a girl or volunteer leaves the unit.

For more information check out the using social media procedure. The communicating with young members online procedure must be followed when contacting young members.

Back to top

Managing a newsletter and other mass communications

In your role you may be sending volunteers and parents or carers newsletters or other mass communications. This could be done using email platforms like Outlook, Gmail or Mailchimp, or on social media.

When sending newsletters and other mass communications you must:

• Use BCC for email addresses. This protects individual email addresses from being shared.
• Use an up-to-date list of emails downloaded from Girlguiding’s online platforms, and delete old lists regularly.
• Send marketing and service communications separately. You can find out what this means below, or email us at [email protected] if you need more guidance.
• Only send marketing emails to people who are on the marketing list on GO.
• Include an option to opt out in any marketing email or communication. This could be a sentence at the bottom explaining how to unsubscribe from receiving marketing emails. For example: ‘If you no longer want to receive these emails, please log on to GO and update your marketing preferences.’
• Only send information about fundraising to those who’ve agreed to receive fundraising communications through their marketing preferences on GO.

Back to top

Change log

• October 2025 – new version published.

Back to top