What it’s like to be a Girlguiding volunteer: Hannah’s story

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a Girlguiding volunteer?

Well, Hannah, our resident marketing Gen Z guru, (who loves nothing more than slaying her to-do list and living her best coastal girlie life) spent two days volunteering and camping with her local Girlguiding group. 

At Fluid, we give our team two paid volunteer days a year so they can go and do good. We want to encourage our team to get involved with raising funds or volunteering for causes or charities that they feel passionate about, especially when it’s so close to their hearts. 

And, for Hannah, that looked like volunteering with Girlguides.

What’s Girlguiding?

Girlguiding is the UK’s largest youth organisation dedicated completely to girls. Through fun, friendship, challenge and adventure they empower girls to discover the best in themselves and to make a positive difference in their community.

Hannah’s Girlguiding weekend

How was your weekend camping, Hannah?

“All three days were pretty jam-packed! 

We spent Sunday playing water games, finding our inner artists with some nature crafts, and then getting into the camping zone with an awesome campfire in the evening.

The theme of our camp was ‘Adventurers’, so on Monday, we took the girls on a day trip out to the snowsports centre in Plymouth. Here, the girls spent the afternoon pushing themselves outside of their comfort zone by trying tubing and tobogganing! We followed this up with singing songs around another superb campfire in the evening.  

On our final day, after taking the tents down, we built some bug hotels (which definitely put my DIY skills to the test!) and played some more water games.  

Before we knew it we were tidying up our campsite and sadly heading home.”

What was the highlight of your weekend?

“The highlight for me was definitely Monday evening, when the girls sat us down to perform a sketch they’d been working on. 

Every day on camp, we filmed little ‘#CampNews’ videos to send to the girls’ parents, to keep them updated with what they’re up to whilst we’re away. 

On Monday evening, the girls took it upon themselves to orchestrate a full news show, complete with a starting jingle, background dancers, and the two oldest girls yelling ‘Action!’ and ‘Cut!’. 

It was so lovely to watch them all having fun and being creative together, especially after such a long day!”

What did you learn from this experience?

“The girls teach me a lot every week - they even try to teach me all of their Gen Alpha slang so I stop embarrassing them (who knew ‘slay’ wasn’t cool anymore?!). 

But, I think the main thing I learnt at camp was about resilience, and the importance of just continuing to show up and try. 

There were plenty of moments that pushed the girls out of their comfort zones - the blaring heat, the activities at the snow sports centre, the lack of sleep - but they met every challenge with a smile on their faces, and just tried. And, I think a lot of the time, that’s all you can do!”

If you could describe your weekend in three words, what would they be?

“Hectic, tiring, but a whole lot of fun! Sorry, that’s not three words, but I can’t just choose three - it was that amazing!”

Do you enjoy volunteering with Girlguides?

“I do! I help out in the Rainbows section (4-6-year-olds) and the Guides & Rangers sections (10-14 & 15-18) of my local unit every Tuesday after work. It’s a long day - I leave my house for work just before 8am, and head straight to the local village hall as soon as it hits 5pm. It means I don’t get back home till about 9:30pm, but I wouldn’t change it for the world!”

What’s your favourite thing about Guides?

“No two sessions are ever the same! We’ve got a really lovely unit - both in terms of leaders and girls, so we always have a lot of fun whatever we do.”

What advice would you give to someone wanting to use their Fluid volunteer days?

“Do it! This is the second year I’ve used mine and I’ll never regret it. I chaperoned my Guides when they volunteered at the Royal Cornwall Show last year, and I had a lot of fun then, too. 

The days can be harder than your average work day, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a great feeling to be able to give back to your community, and - hopefully - leave a positive impact on someone’s life.”

Make every moment monumental

We’re here to help you and our team dream big. 

Whether that’s through meaningful merchandise or helping the communities we love, just like Hannah. 

We’re all about making a big, beautiful, positive impact whenever we can! 

Are you ready to make your brand stand out? Book a meeting with one of our expert merchandise consultants today.

You can also check out our other volunteering stories below.