Moving onwards and upwards

Moving between sections is a key point for girls in their guiding journey, and is a time where they’re particularly likely to leave. We know you want your girls to stay in guiding for longer. So we’ve put together some ideas that can help, tried-and-tested by other members, whether you have five minutes or an hour to spare.

If you have five minutes

• It can be hard to walk into a room full of strangers or leave behind a group you know and love. Give girls moving up a lovely goodbye, and make sure those joining get a really warm welcome. Lots of girls join guiding to make new friends, so why not set them up with a buddy? Make sure the buddy is able to look after your new member and involve her in all the activities. 
• There are lots of fun ice breaker activities you can bring into meetings, like the “2 Truths” game where girls tell the group two truths and a lie about themselves and the group have to guess which is the lie. These are great when your girls are coming back after the holidays or new girls are joining.

If you have half an hour

• Emails are great for keeping in touch with other volunteers, but sometimes you can’t beat a face-to-face catch up. Use some time at a district or division meeting to talk about why and when girls are leaving their units, and how you can help your girls stay in guiding for longer. Check out our handy tools to look at how girls move in and out.
  

If you have an hour

• Girls love trying something different and going on adventures. Get your unit involved in planning their programmes a term ahead, so they know all the fun things they’ve got to look forward to.
• Need some inspiration? Girlguiding Ulster organised activities aimed at older Guides, such as upcycling and pyrography, so girls could try something exciting that they wouldn’t experience outside of guiding. Give some of these winter warmer activities a go.

If you have all day

• Last year we funded a series of volunteer and girl retention projects. We’ll be sharing stories, resources and top tips from these throughout 2018. One project, run by Girlguiding Scotland, saw volunteers sharing their adventure skills and camping know-how with newer volunteers. It helped to build their confidence to run a wider range of activities that the girls in their units will love. 
• It’s easy to share your expertise, learn a new skill or try something different with your unit. You’ll find advice and guidance on everything from pioneering to going for a walk in our Activity finder.

Keen to try more ideas? Check out our section on Helping girls move section for more great resources.

Have you got a great idea you’d like to share with other units? Let us know on  Facebook  and Twitter .