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These young Girl Guides tried out the task of ironing clothes the old fashioned way, during the annual Thinking Day at Bayview Public School. The Girl Guides celebrates 100 years in 2010, with heritage as focal point of this year's learning. Even 100 years after its founding, Girl Guides is a popular organization around the world.
EMC News - It's been a lot of badges, and even more cookies on the road to this year's celebration, as the Girl Guides organization celebrates 100 years. To recognize the achievement, the Ottawa south group got together for a Thinking Day event recently, aimed at heritage and friendship.
Lord Baden-Powell, who came to Canada the same year, started girl Guides and Girl Scouts in England in 1910.
"He set up a Boy Scouts assembly in early 1910s and girls showed up dressed in different pieces of their brothers uniforms so he decided he should do something for the girls," said Lynn Kaplansky, Sparks leader. "He called them guides, some are now called scouts and in some counties in the world the groups are co-ed."
Shorty after he created the program for girls and boys it sprouted up in different parts of the British Empire at the time, including Canada. The first Canadian group was formed in St. Catherines, Ontario.
"Lady Pellatt really got things going for Girl Guides in Casa Loma, a place near Toronto," she said. "It was her residence and she did a lot of guiding so even today there are permanent guiding displays on the site."
When guides first started Lady Pellatt invited some 250 girls and their leaders to her house. They received tours of the conservatories, stables and were served tea in the palm room. From that point on, many rallies took place at her house along with curling tournaments in the winter.
Currently Ms. Kaplansky and her south end girls are part of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. There are more than 145 countries involved, including over 10 million women and girls. She has been involved in the group for 30 years as a leader and was a guide before that.
On February 23 the girls, who are from the Riverside Park, Hunt Club and Uplands neighbourhoods, took part in a Thinking Day event at Bayview Public School. The national Thinking Day is on Feb. 22 however due to planning restraints the south-end girls celebrated the following day.
"February 22 was picked because it was Lord Baden-Powell birthday," said Ms. Kaplansky" In various places, either just the single unit or groups of units get together and do something special to remember the past and to think about the world."
This year the group had a heritage theme to coincide with the 100th anniversary. They played games from the past and made small toys resembling those children used to play with.
Even after 100 years Girl Guides is still going strong, maintaining the same basic goal, to help children gain self-confidence and self assurance.
"In the end our girls are tremendous leaders and have self-reliance in themselves as well as the ability to do different thing things and a drive to try new things," the local leader said.
This year's event saw approximately 100 girls gathered, with smiles and laughter filling the room. The turnout itself is a symbol of how strong the draw to guiding remains, organizers said.
"That's not bad considering what kids have to pick from these days," said Ms. Kaplansky. "Enrolment comes and goes and it depends on the evolution of the area. Ours is an older area, so it used to be huge but it dropped and now it's picking back up a younger families move back in again."
The group will be holding a few more events throughout the spring and summer to celebrate the 100th year. One national event will take place on Parliament Hill in mid May and currently about 1200 people are registered for it.
"I think it shows it does have something that appeals to all ages because we are still here," Ms. Kaplansky said.
The Girl Guides program is for girls between the ages of 5 and 17, at which point the girls can return as a leader. |
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