West Yorkshire Girlguide leader's care home initiative

Frances Needham

On the day headlines announce, 'Girlguiding redesigns uniforms to put focus on 'self-expression and confidence', we report on an initiative encouraging Girlguides to visit a local care home.

Frances Needham has recently completed the Anna Chaplaincy training and is a prospective Anna Chaplain from Holy Trinity Meanwood in Leeds. She wrote to tell us about her work with the Girlguides:

'Older people who become more frail and find themselves needing to move into care homes suffer many losses, not only the loss of their home, neighbours, friends and pets, but they also experience the loss of their regular activities and hobbies too.

As well as being a Licensed Lay Minister,  I am also a leader with Girlguiding. Following a request from a local care home for contact with community groups,  we have taken our Guides and Rangers on  visits to the  people in the care home, to sing Christmas carols and take Christmas cards,  and also to sing campfire songs and talk about Guide activities.

We were thrilled to find that there were several ladies who had been  Guides and Brownies and also Guide and Brownie leaders, and they were very excited to see us.

On one occasion we dressed the girls in uniforms  from the  past, and this triggered so many happy memories. There was lots of discussion about what uniforms the girls were wearing and what the residents wore when they were Guiding members, the activities done now and in previous years, and the badges they used to wear. The girls talked about going to camp, cooking on fires and sleeping in tents.

Each time we have been the girls have recited their promise and sung Guide Taps, with many of the ladies joining in with tears rolling down their cheeks as they attempted to stand or sit in their chairs and sing along with us.'

'These were such very special moments with many memories made, and both the girls and the residents loved it. We are planning to go again in the near future and to try and encourage other Girlguiding units to visit too.'

Frances Needham

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