Volunteer

For my Guiding Challenge, 'Volunteer', I've have taken on the new role as a writer for Girlguiding North West's, 'The Guiding Vibe'. https://www.girlguidingnwe.org.uk/danielle-sutcliffe/ - You can read my posts here!

The Guiding Vibe is an online space where Girlguiding Members aged 14 to 30 can share written pieces which can inspire other members! Writers can share anything from their Girlguiding experiences all the way to fun seasonal recipes to get you through the Winter! As a writer you can also gain blogger badges along the way, for blog posts 1, 3, 5, 10 and 15, you can earn the badges below!

Below you can check out the blogs I've written for my Queens Guide Award, click on each image to be taken to the GirlguidingNWE Guiding Vibe web page.

How Girlguiding Helped me Find my Path

A blog post about how Girlguiding gave me the opportunities to fall into a career I love, as well as helping me find confidence!

How to Celebrate World Book Day with your Unit

A blog post with ideas on how units can celebrate World Book Day!

How to Get Ready for an 18 to 30 Residential

A blog post about how to prepare for an 18 to 30 residential away from home, from discussing the pre-trip plans to what to pack!

How you can Celebrate the Kings Coronation

A blog post about how your units can celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty the King, King Charles III, on May 6th 2023!

The Commonwealth Award

A blog post about Girlguiding's Commonwealth Award!

The Inspire trip to Italy, 2023

A blog post about the first Inspire trip to Italy!

Cumbria South's 'Twinkle for Heather' Challenge

A blog post about Cumbria South's new challenge badge, 'Twinkle for Heather'!

Fundraising Ideas

A blog post with ideas on how to Fundraise!

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Reflection

Describe your activity or role.	For my Volunteer section of Guiding Challenge, I took on the role of writing for Girlguiding North West England’s ‘The Guiding Vibe’. An online blog which allows Guiding members from the region to share their interests and experiences in and out of guiding.
Why did you choose it for this section?	When I began writing for The Guiding Vibe, I was still working towards the old syllabus, and it was originally for the Service in Guiding 4 section. When I switched to the new syllabus for my award, I found that this element would still work for the Volunteer section, taking on a new volunteer role at a different level in Guiding. The Guiding Vibe was working at a regional level.
What have you learnt from the activity or role?	During my time writing for The Guiding Vibe, I hit the target of creating 8 blogs. The main element that I have learnt/gained from taking part in this role, is it has helped me with my writing skills and communication. I have been able to take my time to create blog posts which have been able to communicate with other Guiding members over the internet. I’ve been able to research different topics and write about my experiences with Guiding, which has been really exciting.
What core skills have you developed and how?	Resilience: Not applicable  Teamwork: Not applicable  Leadership: Not applicable  Communication: Communication has been a skill I’ve been able to work on whilst writing blogs. Communication with people over the internet can be challenging and being able to be clear and understandable. In the past, my English skills haven't always been the best, so I feel I’ve been able to develop my skills in writing over the few months I’ve been working on this section. Independance: I’ve been able to take charge of what I write and come up with new ideas to share with members which has been really exciting. Being able to be independent in this role has been interesting, usually with Guiding, it is a team effort, but this has allowed me to make more decisions and come up with new ideas that I think are of interest to other people, its allowed me to take an independent approach to what I write.  Reflection: I’ve really enjoyed working with Malika as a writer for The Guiding vibe, I’ve felt confident in what I’ve been able to write and share through the role.
What would you change or improve on if you did this activity again?	I’ve decided to continue with the role to continue to collect The Guiding Vibe badges, and my aim is to write 15 blogs to complete the role fully. With this, I can continue to work on skills I think I’ve been developing over my previous blog posts. I have 7 more post ideas to come up with. One post I am hoping to write is about travelling with Sangam in India and hopefully inspire others to go on more Girlguiding Internationals.
If applicable, how has it made a positive impact in Girlguiding	I think my role has made a positive impact on Girlguiding as I have been able to share ideas and advice, from ideas for activities to run in units to how to prepare for an internationals. I’m hoping some of those skills I have learnt from my time on Guiding can help others feel confident if they're just getting started in their roles and maybe need support with ideas.