1-7 June every year is National Volunteers Week and we like to make our volunteers feel a little bit special. Here's a short video we put together to share with the world what we do!

Our Annual Review of 2017 took place at The Pavillion in Cheltenham where we tried a new style of event; an afternoon tea! We were joined by Leaders & Commissioners from across the County as well as our Region Chief Commissioner, Carole Pennington, our Region President, Ruth Sara, and a variety of dignitaries and special guests.
 
Visitors had the opportunity to view a variety of displays from Divisions, County Events, International trips, etc. before we joined together in the main auditorium to celebrate everything that we have done in Gloucestershire in the last year. We were delighted to award Sue Cooper from Cheltenham our Uniformed County Award, Wendy Lewis and Linda Raggett, both from the Forest of Dean, with a Non-Uniformed County Award, as well as a Walking Level 1 and Peer Education Bronze Award. Carole Pennington also presented Belinda Murphy with her Queen's Guide Award.
 
Below are the presentations we gave at the event, one is a general Annual Review 2017 and the other focuses on the fantastic Rainbows 30th Birthday Celebration Day held at Deer Park last summer. We were also able to take some photos of today's proceedings.
Enjoy!

Our County Outdoor Residential Team put together a fantastic weekend for Brownies and their Leaders. The idea behind the camp was to give units who don't have the skills or knowledge to camp to come along for a weekend at Deer Park, to learn new skills and prepare them for camping in the future and for the Brownies to complete their Brownie camper badge.
The camp was a a mix of traditional camp activities and our fabulous on-site activities. The Brownies and Leaders will helped with all aspects of camp life and had a fantastic time!
Thanks to the ORA Team

Our Annual Review of 2016 took place at All Saints' Academy in Cheltenham where we were joined by Leaders & Commissioners from across the County as well as our Region Chief Commissioner, Carole Pennington, and a variety of dignitaries and special guests.
 
Visitors had the opportunity to view a variety of displays from Divisions, County Events, International trips, etc. as well as browsing some fundraising stalls to support future International Experiences. We then joined together in the main hall to celebrate everything that we have done in Gloucestershire in the last year. We were also delighted to award Sarah Norton from Wotton-under-Edge our County Award, Jeannette McGhee from the Forest of Dean and Ann Jackson from Cheltenham a Thanks badge for all their efforts in getting Go ready to migrate to the new system as well as Long Service awards and a Trainers pin.
 
We would like to say a particular thank you to Louise and Ella, two of our Senior Section members who went to Finland in 2016 as part of a Region International trip, who gave a presentation about their trip.
 
Below are the presentations we gave at the event, one is a general Annual Review 2016 and the other focuses on the fantastic Senior Section Spectacular events which our County members took part in, both on a County level and beyond.
Enjoy!

We received this lovely letter of thanks from the Mayor of Gloucester

District and Division Commissioners from across the county come together at the Girlguiding Gloucestershire Commissioner Conference to share ideas and learn new skills to help them in their roles. Several new commissioners were also presented with their badges by the County Commissioners - congratulations!

County Commissioner, Anne, says "It was fantastic to see so many of our Commissioners coming together. Lots of fun was had as well when they joined in with my Hippopotomus game! Thank you to each and every one of our Commissioners across the County for the vital role they play in helping us to Be Our Best."

The Adult Support Team, County Commissioners and our hosts in Mid Division welcomed over 70 Leaders to Sir William Romney's School in Tetbury for a day full of fun and friendship. Oh, and little bit of training along the way!

On the 12th of September 2015 our County Commissioners accompanied six of our amazing Leaders to the Region's Compass Award celebrations. These Leaders were nominated by their peers for the award because of the great Guiding they are delivering to girls and the support they offer to other Leaders in many, many ways.

Claire Gibbons
Claire has been a Leader since 2001. During that time she has been a Rainbow Leader, a District Secretary and District Commissioner for Stroud Town District. Currently Claire is a Brownie Leader, Division Section Adviser, ID Verifier and District Administrator. Claire is also a Mentor for new Leaders.

Claire runs a popular Brownie Unit which enjoys a wide range of fun and meaningful activities. In 2014 Claire organised the Division Big Brownie Birthday trip; this was a hugely enjoyable event for all the Brownies and Leaders in the Division. Claire is also supporting a Rainbow Unit that was at risk of closing.

Claire is an excellent role model for Guiding. Her mentoring skills that she uses with Leaders going through both the Leadership Qualification and the Going Away Licence are so supportive and encouraging. She is a huge asset to both the District and Division. Claire is certainly deserving of this award to recognise her commitment and dedication to Guiding.

Kate Badge
Kate has been a Leader for 18 years. Kate was a Brownie Leader and is currently a District Commissioner and Rainbow Leader in Gloucestershire County. Kate is also responsible at Division level for the allocation of new Leaders and is a Mentor.

Kate has always provided solid and helpful advice when faced with unit level challenges. Kate knows exactly what is needed in each unit to ensure that there is good Guiding practice in place. She regularly supports the Leaders to achieve what is necessary to ensure quality Guiding is provided for all the girls. Kate willingly takes on new initiatives and somehow manages to get all the Leaders on board, even the most reticent.

Kate inspires Leaders in the District to move forward with Guiding, She always finds the time to help and support others. Kate has the girl’s best interests at heart and brings the District together by putting on District events and encouraging newer Leaders to help organise these events. She was strongly recommended for this award.

Susan Simpson
Susan has been a Leader in Gloucestershire for over 35 years. During that time she has always worked with the Brownie Section but currently holds the additional roles of Division Outdoor Activities Adviser and County Adviser. Susan has also been a District Commissioner.

Susan works with Brownies in one of the more deprived areas of the County and works extremely hard to ensure the girls have a varied and enriching Brownie Programme. Susan sees each girl as an individual and provides them all with experiences and opportunities for personal growth. Susan works tirelessly in Inclusion and ensures that all girls and adults are included in all activities from holidays to roller skating. In her role as an Inclusion Adviser Susan works hard on educating all Leaders to ensure all girls are included.

Susan is a very committed Leader, she has dedicated years to ensuring the girls that she has in her Brownie Unit gain an excellent Guiding experience. Alongside this Susan works hard to support both local and County Guiding in any way she can and is definitely deserving of this award.

Margaret (Ann) Bailey
Ann has been a Leader for nearly 40 years. During that time she has been a Senior Section Leader, Brownie Leader, District Administrator and Division ID Verifier. Currently Ann is also a District Commissioner for Pitville District in Cheltenham Division.

Ann runs a very successful Brownie unit where her programme is varied and excellent in quality. Ann supports all her Brownies in a very caring way and was involved in planning events for the Brownie Birthday in the Division, which were extremely successful.

Ann’s unique contribution to Guiding is however demonstrated in her role of organising the placement of students into local units. Ann liaises with all the Division units to find out who needs help. She attends the Fresher’s Fayre to advertise Guiding and speak to students that may be interested in helping with Guiding whilst at University and co-ordinates the placement into units.

Ann is very keen to support the Growing Guiding initiative and her work with the students is one way of showing this. Ann’s tireless commitment to Guiding across the whole Division and producing Leaders for the future has resulted in many units getting the additional help they need to enable them to flourish.

Louise Dembny
Louise has been a Leader in Nailsworth Valley District for 20 years. During that time Louise has been a District Commissioner and worked with all sections of Guiding. Louise is currently a Leader of Rainbows, Guides and Senior Section as well as being a District Assistant.

Louise works tirelessly for Guiding. She was running a successful and full Guide unit when the need arose for a Rainbow unit; Louise stepped in and opened a Rainbow unit and a few years later a Senior Section Unit as well.

Louise’s units are always near capacity and the girls enjoy weekly meetings, trips out, residential experiences, fundraising activities as well as supporting District events.

Louise is an active member of the Church as well as working full time, coping with a family, and helping elderly neighbours.

Louise is inspiring with the tireless energy and time that she gives to Guiding and others in her life. She is unflappable whether it comes to coping with a wood fire in the woods to doing teas at the local church. Louise offers huge support for others and has kept in contact with a local Leader who has been in hospital long term, with regular visits to take her out for a change of scenery. Louise is passionate about the ethos of Guiding which runs through everything she does and she is thoroughly deserving of this award.

Lorraine Wells
Lorraine has been a Leader for 20 years in Girlguiding Gloucestershire and has always run a Brownie Unit. Lorraine has also run a Rainbow unit for the past 9 years and is a Division Mentor.

Lorraine runs both Brownies and Rainbows every week with a full programme of activities for the girls. Lorraine organises regular trips, residential experiences and visits. The girls come from an area where fundraising is often needed, so this is also part of Lorraine’s many talents ensuring that girls do not miss out on the opportunities offered. Her caring manner and individual attention to each girl ensures they have the opportunities they need for personal growth. During a period of health problems she continued to support the other Leaders in the unit and even attended a residential with bandaged feet!

Lorraine is a selfless and caring person and puts the needs of others before her own. Lorraine mentors and supports new Leaders encouraging them to take on roles that they are comfortable with. Lorraine has an unwavering commitment to Girlguiding and richly deserves this award.

For more information on who may be eligible and how to nominate someone for a Compass Award, visit the South West Region website.

Following the success of Dursley District's 'Time For Tea' challenge the same team have put together 'The Far Away Challenge' which is based on a set of books by Enid Blyton. It is set to send you on magical adventures above the clouds and the possibilities of lands you could visit are endless. It is perfect for a residential or for your regular unit meetings. You can download the challenge pack and badge order form from their website.

Thanks to everyone in the county who supported us with Time For Tea and we look forward to seeing your photos of 'The Far Away Challenge'.

To download the resource and for details of how to order badges please visit the District's website

A huge congratulations are in order for Jen Wallace and Kate Fleming who are 2 of the first Leaders to receive the SW Region's new Young Guiders' Award. Well done to them both. Looks like the Brownies agree that Kate deserves it!!

For more information on who may be eligible and how to nominate someone for a SWIYG Award, visit the South West Region website.

It's Volunteers Week and we'd like to take this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to all our volunteers in Gloucestershire who support us in a variety of ways every week. Have a pat on the back, you lovely people!
Here are a very small selection who chose to tell the world via social media why they volunteer with Girlguiding.

This weekend, leaders have been training other leaders in all the skills they will need to take girls away overnight in the outdoors. Providing a safe space to enjoy the delights of pitching tents and outdoor cooking is just one way our volunteers enrich the lives of girls. Well done to all of those who gained modules for their qualifications over the weekend.