By Stephanie Froese

Girl Guides defies declining membership trend

Oct 27, 2011 | 5:12 PM

Many people think of camping and crafts when it comes to Girl Guides and this week, girls and women had a chance to see what else is involved in the organization.

Prince Albert’s Guide, Brownie, and Sparks groups hosted a Try Guiding Week as a chance to try out the program without making any kind of commitment.

Megan Kiffiak is a Brownie, part of a group of seven- and eight-year-olds that invited new girls to try guiding this week.

“You get to do crafts, you get to have snacks, you get to play games and you get to sing a lot of songs and you get to go to camp.” she said.

Kiffiak said sometimes she talks to her friends about what she has learned and, “they think it’s kind of cool.”

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This is her third year in the organization, but she can still remember something she learned on her first day, something that is almost a rite of passage in Girl Guides: how to tie the scarf around her neck into a square knot.

At 19 years old, Lindsey Gyoerick and Alicia Vandale are first time leaders in Prince Albert this year.

Vandale said growing up being involved with a program like this has given her a lot of confidence.

“It’s a really safe environment for the girls to try new things without the fear of being judged, so it was really good for me to grow and become my own person,” Vandale said.

Gyoerick had similar sentiments when she reflected on her 15 years involved with the organization.

“It’s made me a better person in just wanting to help kids and wanting to just lead and have fun. I’ve met some of my best friends in Guiding,” she said.

There was a time, starting in the 60's, when membership for Girl Guides Canada reached more than 200,000.

Then, just before the turn of the millennium, Girl Guides along with other similar organizations saw a decline in membership.

Over the past couple years numbers have leveled off around 90,000 and in some areas of the country have actually started to rise again, said Barbara Wilson, manager of adult member support for Girl Guides Canada.

Saskatchewan is one of those areas and saw a 2.3 per cent increase in membership from last year —in Prince Albert’s district, numbers have been on the way up for a few years.

“We’ve been steadily increasing every year,” said Alison Gillespie, the deputy commissioner for Evergreen district, which includes Christopher Lake, La Ronge, Birch Hills and Wakaw.

There were about 140 girls enrolled in the district this year.

“I think more and more people are finding that guiding offers things that nothing else does in the city with just the variety of experiences and exposures and we’ve been steadily increasing in this town and in this entire district for several years now,” said Gillespie.

For more information people are encouraged the Girl Guide Hall at 764-7342.

sfroese@panow.com