Blizzard member becomes National Spokesperson for Girlguiding

I was recently appointed as a National Spokesperson for Girlguiding.  I have had many amazing experiences with Girlguiding.  One of my favourites was being on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour to talk about ‘Hear Our Voice’, then being presented with the badge by Baroness D’Souza, Speaker of the House of Lords.  

I was invited back onto Woman’s Hour to talk about the 2015 Girls Attitude Survey.  I have grasped every opportunity which Girlguiding has given me, including attending a debate at the House of Lords on whether 16 and 17 year olds should be able to vote, as well as attending Girlguiding LaSER’s ‘Explaining Campaigning’ event at City Hall where I learnt a lot about campaigning.

I was delighted to be part of a huge debate hosted by the English Speaking Union in the House of Lords chamber on ‘Increasing Diversity in Parliament’.  This was an incredible experience, plus I met some great, like-minded people.

I am looking forward to helping at ‘Use Your Voice 2016’, Girlguiding LaSER’s Democracy festival, part of The Senior Section Spectacular celebrations.  I am extremely grateful for the amazing experiences and the opportunities which Girlguiding provides, which stand out and make people listen.

Rebecca addresses the Chamber at the House of Lords

Rebecca de Vanney (15)

Blizzard Senior Section

Cooking Up a Storm

Blizzard Senior Section opened in Feb 2015.  The idea was to provide the Guides who were 14 with the opportunity to join the next section within Guiding and to reach out to those who had left us. Whilst there are other Senior Section groups in the area, the girls were used to attending Guides on a Monday night, plus there was space available at the venues, plus leaders keen to facilitate the group, so it made sense to open a new group.

A scoping exercise was carried out, whereby all those who had left Guides in the last year and were 14 or over were contacted. Local Young Leaders were also invited to come along. Together with the 14-year-old Guides, a group started to evolve.

The idea was to provide an opportunity for members to follow The Senior Section programme, which is a diverse, personal development programme which individuals tailor to their own interests.

The first meeting involved a lot of games, food and chatter, with the group discussing what they wanted to call the group and what the broader aims were.  It was attended by a mixture of current and former Guides, local Young Leaders and friends, all of whom were keen to find out more about joining The Senior Section.

We'd put together a display of resources to show the breadth of opportunities for members of The Senior Section, which include Look Wider, a wide-range of qualifications, opportunities and a lot more.  

The first suggestion for a name was 'Athena', but I pointed out that there is a Senior Section with that name elsewhere in the County. We considered 'Card Factory' and 'Clintons'.

One particular name evolved from the discussions - "blizzard". A blizzard is strong and has direction.  It cannot be stopped.  And so it was born - '1st Chislehurst "Blizzard" Senior Section'.

The idea of this blog is for Blizzard members to share what they are doing with Blizzard, whether as a group or as individuals. We hope that it will inspire you.

In the last year, Blizzard members have been to Parliament, been to national Girlguiding events, tried self-defence, bowling, ice-skating, Go Ape, signed up to do DofE, become Young Leaders of various local groups, helped run local events and much more.

Thanks for reading - keep checking for updates!