Girl Guides of Canada

Girl Guides of Canada Guides du Canada
File:Girl Guides of Canada logo.svg
Headquarters	Toronto
Country	Canada
Founded	1910
Membership	116,206
Chief Commissioner	Myrtle Corkum
Affiliation	World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
Website http://www.girlguides.ca

Girl Guides of Canada - Guides du Canada is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started in 1910 and was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) in 1928. As of 2006, the association had 116,206 members.

History

Mary Malcolmson organized the first Canadian Girl Guides Company to be officially registered in St. Catharines, Ontario; their registration is dated 1910-01-11. A park in St. Catharines was later named for Mary Malcolmson. Other Guide Companies were registered later in 1910 in Toronto, Moose Jaw and Winnipeg. The First Toronto Company held the first-recorded Girl Guide Camp in Canada on the banks of the Credit River in June 1911. By 1912, the movement had spread to all parts of Canada, and had become so popular that on July 24 1912 Agnes Baden-Powell created Lady Mary Pellatt "Chief Commissioner of the Dominion of Canada Girl Guides". Many Guide events were held at Lady Mary Pellatt's home, Casa Loma, in Toronto. It is now a tourist attraction with a special Girl Guide display. In 1917, the Canadian Government passed an Act of Parliament approving the Constitution of the Canadian Girl Guides Association as it was then known.

In 1918 Newfoundland's first Guide Company was formed, even though the Province did not become part of Canada until 1949.

The Salvation Army adopted Guiding as part of its program for girls in 1937 when it became officially associated with the organization. Although the Army disassociated itself from the program in 1998, it continues to offer a form of Guiding to its girls.

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Badge issued for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation

The Canadian Girl Guides Association changed its name in 1961, again by Act of Parliament, to "Girl Guides of Canada-Guides du Canada".

In 1962 "Les Guides Catholiques du Canada (secteur français)" became a member of Girl Guides of Canada. This organization had originally been active only in the Province of Quebec but over the years had developed a small membership in other provinces. It had its own program, uniform and administration but acknowledged the Chief Commissioner of Canada as the head of Guiding in Canada and had membership in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. In 1992 "Les Guides Catholiques du Canada (secteur français)" became a separate, unaffiliated organization known as "Guides francophones du Canada". In 1995, they became officially affiliated with Girl Guides of Canada-Guides du Canada again, as "Guides francocanadiennes". This affiliation ended in 2006.

Program

Girl Guides of Canada is the largest organization for women and girls in Canada.. The membership is organized into different groups according to age. These are Sparks (ages 5 and 6), Brownies (ages 7 and 8), Guides (ages 9 – 11), Pathfinders (ages 12 – 14), and Rangers (15-17+) .

There is also a program for girls who, for whatever reason, are not able to physically attend unit meetings. They have memberships called (Lones) that allows them to carry out the program of their branch by correspondence.

Two of Guiding's newest initiatives are Extra Ops and Trex. These programs are for members who have more specific interests (i.e: Camping or Hiking), Trex and Extra Ops programs are generally adopted by girls who are already a member of a branch of Guiding.

Adult women (18+) are welcome in the organization as Leaders or Guiders. There are also places for volunteers in Public Relations, office jobs, and other important facets of the organization. A program for women ages 18-30 called "Link" is in place for young women who wish to retain or establish their ties with Guiding but who may not be able to give of their time to the extent of being a Guider. However, Link members can sometimes be Guiders or will hold other positions within the organization as well. Link members choose to meet when convenient to do so and will often participate in various Guiding events.

Adult members over the age of 30 have the option of becoming Trefoil Guild members. A woman can opt to be a member of the Trefoil Guild and participate in other roles within the organization. Trefoil Guild groups usually meet once or twice a month, and often participate in various Guiding events. Many Trefoil Guild members are senior citizens, some of whom have decades of Guiding experience.

Sections

Sparks

The Sparks program is for five and six-year-old girls. Their program is called "Go Sparks Go!" Sparks participate in a wide variety of activities with other girls of the same age. The Sparks uniform includes a pink shirt with the Sparks promise, "I promise to share and be a friend", printed on it. Sparks have the chance to work towards nine "keepers" (badges). The nine "keepers" are:

• Being a Spark: These activities introduce girls to the Sparks program and include learning the Sparks promise, singing songs and participating in an enrollment ceremony.
• Being Me: This keeper involves helping the girls discover themselves and reinforcing friendship.
• Going Outside: these activities take the girls into the outdoors. They will explore the great outdoors while learning about their natural environment.
• The World Around Me: This keeper focuses on increasing the girls' awareness of Guiding in other countries.
• Being Healthy: This keeper promotes positive body images by learning to take care of you body and staying healthy. This includes eating well and getting lots of exercise.
• In My Community: This keeper allows Sparks to explore their community and local institutions such as schools, libraries and fire halls.
• Exploring and Experimenting: These activities allow girls to look beyond their immediate environment and discover new and exciting things.
• Going Camping: The goal of this badge is to introduce concepts of independence and outdoor living to the young girls.
• Brownies and Beyond: These activities let Sparks learn about the Brownie program before advancing to a new unit.

Sparks wear their enrolment pin and these badges on a sash.

Brownies

Brownies are 7 and 8-year-old girls. Brownies aim to develop a sense of identity and a positive relationship with others by participating in a varied program of activities. Uniforms used to be brown but were updated to orange and navy blue. Their program is called "Brownies Can Do It!" Brownies earn "keys" by completing the badges that are related to that program area. hello ppls

Guides

Guides are girls between 9 and 11 years old. Guides are encouraged to do service projects to help their communities. Guides learn about people in other countries and are encouraged to discover and explore issues which are important to them. There are four program areas: You in Guiding, You and Others, Discovering You and Beyond You. The program is called "Guides on the Go" and was first distributed in 2006. Girls can earn their Lady Baden Powell Award, the highest achievement a Guide can earn, as well as many different "interest" badges. Uniforms are blue.

Pathfinders

Pathfinders are girls between 12 and 14 years old. They focus on community service, leadership and camping. Girls can also earn their Canada Cord, the highest achievement that can be earned throughout three years. Their program was revised and the new edition was released in 2006. It is called "Listen, Learn, Lead, Live!" Uniforms are green.

Rangers

As of September 2008, girls between the ages of 15 and 17 (or older) are known as Rangers. The new Ranger program is very flexible and allows members the opportunity to pursue the areas of Guiding which are of interest to them (such as camping, working with younger members, community service, etc).

Rangers plan and lead their own activities. Adult leaders are there for guidance, but it is the Rangers who are responsible for planning and executing their activities. The Rangers color is red.

Awards that can be earned while in Rangers include the Girl Guides of Canada Chief Commissioner's Awards, the Cookie Campaign Challenge Pin, the Ranger Service Project Pin and the Commonwealth Award. The Chief Commissioner's award has three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The Chief Commissioner's Gold award is the ultimate award a youth member can earn as a member of Girl Guides of Canada. Rangers can also earn the Ranger Certificate for being an active unit member and the Junior Leader Certificate for helping with a younger branch of guiding.

Adults

Adults involved can be a leader in a unit or they can choose to be a member of Link or Trefoil Guild.

Principles

The Guiding movement is based on the principles outlined in the Promise and Law. Every guide makes this promise when she is enrolled.

Promise

I promise to do my best,
To be true to myself, my God/faith* and Canada;
I will help others,
And accept the Guiding Law.
*The word God or the word faith is chosen according to each girl's own personal convictions.

Law

The Guiding Law challenges me to:

• Be honest and trustworthy
• Use my resources wisely
• Respect myself and others
• Recognize and use my talents and abilities
• Protect our common environment
• Live with courage and strength
• Share in the sisterhood of Guiding.

Girl Guide Cookies

Girl Guide Cookies are an honoured tradition in Canada. They were first baked by a Regina, Saskatchewan Guide Leader, Christina Riepsamen, in 1927. They were sold door-to-door for 10 cents a bag of 12 cookies as a means to earn passenger rail fares for a camping trip to a lake. The sales were brisk, requiring extra batches to be baked to meet demand. It was then adopted as a simple way to raise money for uniforms and camping equipment.

In 1929, the National Headquarters began selling the cookies across Canada. Girl Guide cookies have gone through many recipe changes but the goals remain the same. Girl Guide cookies today are the largest fundraiser and are used to help support the girls in their program and activities.

There are two different cookie campaigns. One in the fall, and the other in the spring. The fall cookies are the chocolaty mint cookies similar to the Girl Scout Thin Mints cookies. The classic vanilla and chocolate sandwich cookies are sold in the spring.

See also: Girl Scout cookie

External links

• Official website Template:En icon Template:Fr icon