Take part in Action for Change

Action for Change gives girls the skills and confidence they need to take on the world

03 June 2019

“Action for Change has given me the confidence to stand up for what I believe in”

Action for Change gives girls and young women aged 14-25 in guiding the skills and confidence they need to take on the world. From body image to mental health, participants in our Action for Change programme have made a real difference on the issues that matter to them.

Applications to be a part of Action for Change are open until 21 July. You can be a participant and run your own project, or you can apply to be a network coach and support young women to achieve their goals.

Here’s what a former participant and network coach had to say about the impact they made through Action for Change.

Former Action for Change participant Elinor, Leader at 5th Newport North Brownies

I wanted to take part in Action for Change as I felt it was a really good opportunity to take action on something I cared about.

My project was called ‘Where are the Women?’ and aimed to get 500 girls to take part in a STEM-based activity over the nine-month period. I created a selection of fun STEM-based activities that could be sent to local schools and youth groups to inspire the girls to try something new. I also attended two Girlguiding Cymru events and two Girlguiding Gwent events, to promote the activities available within the challenge pack.

My network coach kept in regular contact to offer advice and guidance on where the project was going. It meant I was able to set realistic goals to ensure I was keeping to my original plan.

Action for Change has given me more confidence to stand up for what I believe in, in both work and home situations. It has also helped me build up a better support network within Girlguiding. And if I were to sum it up in three words? Empowering, impressive, opportunistic.

My advice to anyone considering Action for Change is to go for it! It doesn't have to be a massive project, as even the smallest campaigns can make a big difference.

Former network coach Bethan Lorde, assistant leader at 15th Cardiff Guides

I applied to be a network coach as it seemed like a really good opportunity to meet lots of other people in guiding and to expand my skills, like communication and teamwork

I supported my participant team by arranging to ring or Skype each of them bi-monthly to keep us both on track with what we were doing. I also set ‘soft’ goals for them to try to achieve by the next phone call. We were also given a toolkit to help us, which was great as the participants were already prepared and ready to be accountable for their own work as they knew what was expected of them.

One of my best moments of being a coach was finding out Elinor had held a huge, successful event and was able to get some of the younger members of guiding involved with STEM activities.

If you’re looking to apply, make sure you’ve got the time to commit and you’re ready to brainstorm lots of different ideas, as you never know what projects you’ll be supporting. But it’s well worth it!

Take part in Action for Change

Through our Action for Change programme, girls and young women gain the skills to change the things they really care about. 

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