Brownies... Questions re cost etc.

provista_2

Well done for letting your daughter get involved.
Both my daughters have been through Brownies and guides and are now in Rangers and are young leaders in Brownies.
The opportunities open to them are brilliant. My eldest (17) went to Japan last July with Guides.
Uniforms are not needed for a few weeks and are good quality so get a size bigger and they will last.

PasturesNew

I did Girl Guides. They had a bin of 2nd hand stuff for people that couldn't afford the uniform.

I remember I got the GG book, but never went on any outings. I don't know if they had them or if I just didn't go as we couldn't afford it. But I liked reading through the book. I did a couple of badges too, some are for wealthier people, but there are lots you can do without any real cost (e.g. tying knots, all you need is a bit of string for that one). I didn't do the cooking one, for example, because that was costly (ingredients).

morg_monster

Hey I realise this has gone down the board now but just wanted to add my 2p, I'm a Brown Owl at a Pack in central London. We have a pretty diverse bunch of girls and many are from single parent families or low income families or both (a couple come from a household where no-one works). Uniform-wise, we only ask that they purchase a Brownie T-shirt which is about £5 and if they can't even manage that we are usually able to find one somewhere they can have free. They pay a joining fee of £15 which covers the cost of the brownie books, badges and a nice yellow box to put them in! Our subs are £17 a term which includes the yearly census (the "insurance" another poster talked about) - you need to find out whether your daughter's subs will include this or not as it can be a nasty shock if you didn't realise. Having said that, being in a relatively poor area, the tag line of our division is that financial issues should be no barrier to girls taking part in Brownies, Guides, etc etc. So I have girls who pay half subs, or occasionally no subs when needed. One particular thing that helps for us is that we don't have to pay rent for use of our hall! Hurrah! Trips etc are usually extra BUT I always make sure they are reasonable cost-wise and again there is still flexibility. We fundraise like mad every year to help fund Pack Holiday and get generous donations from local companies, which means that most of our girls get to go away for 3 or 4 nights in the summer for about £50 cost to parents; and there are again trusts available to fund places for girls who cannot manage that.

If you live in a fairly diverse area like a city or something the Brownie leader SHOULD be sensitive and flexible, but if you are in a more affluent area they may just not realise that some people need the extra help. Don't be scared to ask. Brownies is fantastic!!!! I loved it as a kid and I LOVE seeing my girls having as much fun today as I did 20 years ago...

renowen

I also used to be a Snowy Owl and just want to echo what others have said.

Rainbows/Brownies/Guides etc are not about profit at ALL they are about allowing young girls the chance to meet up, have fun, socialise and learn life skills, its more impoartant that your child has the chance to take part, that whether or not you can afford to send her If you are having trouble dont be afraid to let the leaders know, they will most certainly be able to help you out

I hope your daughter enjoys being part of the guide association, I did, my sister does and when they are old enough I hope my own daughters do too

bubbles1984

Hi, As a former Brownie Guider and current Guide Guider it may be worth speaking to the Guiders at the unit. We offer second hand uniform to our girls with a deposit which is paid back when they leave. This means that they can get a larger top when required. Also in our area all parents can get 10% off uniform at our local depot which is held monthly. The benefit of this is that whilst you get the discount our division also gets money which is used to fund an activity centre nearby and so reducing fees fo camps etc.

I know this is getting a bit long but I would like to say that as someone who has been a member of GirlguidingUK since the age of 5 (I left at 21 but came back at 22!) I think it is an amazing opportunity for girls. Also this is possibly the best time to join, With the Centernary celebrations coming up from September (believe me some of these look awesome and I wish I was 8 again) and the Changing the World projects being done at the moment.

Bunny200

Just slightly OT for all the Brown Owls etc, I've been trying to find information about Rainbows and have found it a nightmare to get hold of the right person to get DD daughters name down. To the extent that its spured me to put her name forward for Brownies (7 in Dec) as I'm not sure she'll get into Rainbows before then. By point is that I've been actively searching for the information, eventually finding it, buts its been hard work with lots of dead ends, is there any way more information can be put forward on the web for individual meetings as it was very hard to find that info out. I've found my info now but just want to highlight that there might be many other parents out there struggling like I did!!

northernrocknufc

I run a Rainbow unit and we do get a few girls from the guiding website. We frequently pop posters in the local schools & leisure centres.

Is there no girls in your daughters school in a Rainbow unit? Other than that use this online form and someone should get in contact with you in a few days.

rainbows

scottishchick27

northernrocknufc wrote: »

I run a Rainbow unit and we do get a few girls from the guiding website. We frequently pop posters in the local schools & leisure centres.

Is there no girls in your daughters school in a Rainbow unit? Other than that use this online form and someone should get in contact with you in a few days.

rainbows

This link didn't work for me but I googled Rainbow and the area I live in and found our local website. It didn't have much information but when I emailed them within a couple of days I got a reply about when and where meetings were held.

hermoine_2

Good luck, we have waiting lists in our area which run into years. We came to live in South Glos and I was advised it was too late to put my DD name on the waiting list as it would not be possible to offer her a place before she went to guides. We moved here when she was 9 though.

Always loads of Brownie stuff on Ebay or ask at your local pack for outgrown uniform.

H

Bunny200

northernrocknufc wrote: »

I run a Rainbow unit and we do get a few girls from the guiding website. We frequently pop posters in the local schools & leisure centres.

Is there no girls in your daughters school in a Rainbow unit? Other than that use this online form and someone should get in contact with you in a few days.

rainbows

I used the online form, thats what led me off on wild goose chases, I seem to live on a division boundary so got information about a different division. In the end one of the mums who's daughter goes to the group put DD name down for me! Got there in the end but would be great if there was list of all the groups and their locations, times, contacts etc on the website, I guess there a vaild reason for this otherwise it would have already been done....