Flinders Region Girl Guides have helped Townsville girls grow into community-minded
Empowering girls and young women to grow into confident, self-respecting and responsible community members is at the core of the Girl Guides.
Townsville
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Empowering girls and young women to grow into confident, self-respecting and responsible community members is at the core of the Girl Guides.
The Flinders Region Girl Guides promotes how to survive and thrive with girls aged between five and 18 years old.
The club has been kicking along for more than 50 years in Townsville and is broken down into six regions with collectively 200 Girl Guides.
Regional manager Doree Hartley has been a member of the Girl Guides for more than 30 years with 11 years’ service to the Flinders Region.
Ms Hartley first joined the club as part of the parents group after her daughter became a girl guide and progressively became more involved with the club.
The Girl Guides has proved invaluable for Ms Hartley’s own personal growth and development while helping out with planning the program and leading activities.
Ms Hartley said she enjoyed teaching the girls how to be “community-minded people” as a leader for the younger girls.
“I get a lot of enjoyment being out of the being with the girls and watching them grow from six years old to when they leave my group at 10 years old,” she said.
The girls head out camping at Bluewater three times a year for two nights where they enjoy some fresh air while having fun on the flying fox, low ropes and practising archery.
Ms Harley said the girls had the opportunity to create new bonds and memories on the camps.
“The biggest reaction is if we go on a big camp, the stories they come back with and the people they meet and the friendships they make they are learning to mix with a lot of people is great,” she said.
“It is getting the girls to think outside the box and not just be on their computers and to get outdoors and be active.”
The club is active in the community being involved in ANZAC DAY and assisting the Queensland Women’s Country Association.
Ms Hartley said the skills a young girl learnt at the Girl Guides had helped save her father’s life.
“We had one girl, her dad was choking and she was 11 years old and she got up because we had done first aid with her and she knew exactly what to do,” she said.
Originally published as Flinders Region Girl Guides have helped Townsville girls grow into community-minded