Revitalizing the Hazelwood and Churchill Guide District

A few years ago the Hazelwood and Churchill District was holding on for dear life.

The Leaders knew that Guiding offered so much to so many people. But the challenges were more than low, continuously changing membership within the District.

But how to revitalize the membership that was experiencing low energy levels which in turn created more problems such as a sense of uncertainty. People were busy.  In this area family commitments, job and TV held peoples attention so adding to these was a major want. Finding the “sell” feature a major challenge.

One major challenge was the major gap in Leadership of the actual District.  The position of Region Leader was  filled. The only person at the time in the District able to take on the position of District Leader was impressed with the new Region Leader. So  this leader put her name forward and was voted as District Leader.

The challenge was to overcome the negative people factors and somehow bring out the best in people. Effectively setting up and developing a management system that was functional, rewarding and manageable, but owned by the people involved directly with the Hazelwood and Churchill Guide District was achievable, but would take time. was time going to be an ally… a good question posed that needed answers quickly. Then came the changes on a management level within the District.  The changes needed to come in but they the changes also needed to be understood well by all and actually supported.  Guides Victoria began handing over the reins to the Younger adult members around 2000.  These members were assisted in there management skills , supported and encouraged with making a go of it. So the Gipps Guides are among other team members creating intergrated Subcommittees and getting on with ‘it’. One such subcommittee is the Jump-Rope-for Heart activity one.

The management of the District was formalised so that  SWOT’s and Risk analysis had to be done. Through District Leaders meetings items discussed previously were formalized.   The District assets were relooked at. For in stance how was the lease on the Hazelwood South Hall  and the challenges associated with this hall  and its maintenance an asset?

There is so much to offer the members within Guiding that each Leader was given a job to do meaning that each leader is asked to organise one event, service or activity. Different lists were drawn up and a selection was offered. There are different levels of activity available.  Some are aimed at families, others at the District team,  Full member ship that may be Leaders, Unit Helpers and Youth or just at the Youth Member Level.

In order to achieve the challenge give she must work with a sub-committee. reporting to through either the District Leaders or team meetings or the Gipps Guides meetings. Effectively shortening the duration of both minutes taken along with the meetings length while widening the scope of the meetings. Updates and reports to be channelled through the ours2share.wordpress.com medium.

The sub committee may consist of outside members of Guiding. May be male and female.  Even belong to other organisations.  What is to be recognized is that no one person has all the skills or networks needed. Active participation does not require tons of effort.  Just a marshaling of other peoples skills and a guidance of the delegation required. There three things are achieved.

A) the public become aware that Guiding in this District is not ‘dead’. Indeed is again beginning to flourish.

b) People gain skills and knowledge and thus self esteem levels grow.

c) Membership levels increase. Participation levels increase. Sub-committee assistance is easier as when something is alive people want to help and getting involved is helping.

d) The positive energy being directed into making things happen within the District feeds off each thing that happens. When things happen members do not feel that their input is down graded.  Uplifting occurs on many levels.

The District management was to change.  Rather than have a District support group a District Team was created.  The underpinning idea was to have positive adult input into the Guide District management.  The basis of which is that adults are the ones that okay a Youth Members Application to join Guides. If the adults in the community actually got to know who the Leaders  less negative ‘Word of Mouth’ publicity would occur.  Instead the interest in being a member of the District team would create a positive impact within the community.  The District team would organize various activities and events for other members within the community and as a level of Guiding within the District may also assist with other actual District events, service and events that families within Guiding were attending. So we started by once again having Jota/i, parades, family BB’s there.  But was this enough with the changes near the hall coming.

Logically where would the Youth Members go once they were adults.  It had been observed by the District Leader that once an eleven year old Guide had the idea formed that there was nothing after, except being a Leader, so negative concepts had a place to take root.

Concurrently, as there was a need for the District Team, there was also a need for the Olave Program to be revitalized as well.  The registered local Olave Program was known as the Gipp’s Guides. A nucleus of adults formed, a calendar was worked on, positions were worked towards. There are subcommittees being formed that deal with Uniform fundraising, jump rope for heart through the Gipp’s Guides and involving the wiser community. Members of the Gipp’s Guides are actively learning about management of people, committees and bring out the best within people as they are involving themselves in the District Sub-committees such as the Morning Tea Sub-committee. Learning by doing.  When and if these Gipps Guide’s are wanting to move into other fields or become involved with committees in either Guiding on other levels or in their wider community they will have set standards and management tools already learned and practiced. The rational of which is that in aiming for a certain set standard and achieving tangible outcomes will bring about a sense of achievement, public awareness, positive energy and pride.

The District membership had to grow. Some of the team members, leaders and the Gipps Guides brought other people into the District. Members may have had children, nieces, aunties and friends, some of which were females.  Those girls who were five and over have joined into the Youth program side of Guides.  Some of the members have answered there call to become trainee leaders.  Others have joined into the District team.  Offering help and assistance as their time, qualifications and paper work allow them to participate. Thus supporting their own partners, family members and definitely their daughters within this District’s Guiding.

So far the outcomes are supporting  the Districts objectives and five year plan.

A major challenge for the District Leader and Leaders was the revitalisation of the Youth Members thought towards themselves, their abilities and thus what and how they had belief in their actual programs.  Having the support of others on the District , their Parents and family members helped.  But what about their friends and peers. The main obstacle was the belief that other organisations were better was held by many in those organisations.  This was a good thing for those organisations but the influences on our District was negative.  So ownership in many small areas is a major tactic tool for advancing the Hazelwood and Churchill Guide Districts Youth Program.  Through the acceptance of ownership other things had to be understood.  Gaining this knowledge bases includes governance, making decisions, patrol system, traditions, having a voice, being creative in their approach to challenges, brainstorming, mind mapping and seeing things through til the evaluation.  Accepting things may not go well this time but theres other benefits that occur.

Choosing governace

Governance is about having the choice to choose, then knowing what to do with this choice.  All levels of Guiding are shown different processes for the same thing.

The 7 to 9’s are called Dolphin Patrol.  We already have the Koala Patrol for the 10 to 13’s.

We played Hop-Scotch. And we did some more of the Columbia badge.

Some more Guide revieved their sashes and some badges.

There were
Special Badges – 100 year celebration, Jota/Joti,  2 round badges called Build a better World, Discover your Potential.

Some Guides got their Explore: Freiendship badges.

We are nearly finished some others too. They are

Explore: Our World, Life Skills,Guiding, Outdoors, Arts

Some have started their Explore: Faith Awareness and their Explore: Health and Fitness and Science and technology badges.

And we have also begun the :
Challenge Badges: Girls, Rope, Food, Fire, Hands, The Arts.

Theres one called the Bridges over to Argetina and we have started that too.

Such a variety of things goes into Guiding.

Guiding provides a range such a variety of things to do that what the programs actually have included into them is as varied as the both the members, the families and the outside world have influences upon the choices of activities.

For instance when a group of Guides or Leaders are heading towards a badge or qualification there are always others who, once their interest is sparked will challenge themselves to widen their horizons as well.  Other who for their own reasons go along for the ride, and still others who ‘put up with it’ so that the more interesting (to them) stuff can be done.  This ‘get in there together’ is part of being a team member, supporting others and they in turn support you.

Because of copy write laws the syllabus of each badge, award etc can not publish.  However when there are a collective of people of different ages, skills level or a variety interests being satisfied in order for that person or group of people to achieve an overall objective then different things can pop up as challenges to different people.  In short with one overall objective there are many jobs to be done.  Each job has a variety people working at different levels to finish the ‘job’ and to collectively achieve the objective.  Along the way those who already know what needs to be done in one ‘job’ may either be showing someone else, or themselves doing another job and being shown by someone else.

Learning one skill can be utilised in may different ways.  We’ll pick on ‘food’.  There are a wide variety of tasks involved with ‘food’ where both the theory and practical emphasis changes depending on the outcome.

Alright.  Food and water is in themselves part of survival.  Over a extended period of time when a Guide learns about food she learns the safety measures with food ( cleanliness, personal hygiene, cooking, storage, carrying, presentation, carrying, washing up, putting away and even choosing the food types to suit the occasion, age range, religious and dietary requirements.}

Then there’s the deciding what to have, organising the menu, suiting the occasion to the menu and the activities, raising the money for, purchasing, storage, preparation, presentation, consumption of, removal, recycling.

The ‘Food’ theme may be used towards different size and complexity of activities. Starting with just having a cooking time in the Guide Program, discovering culinary items of interest and foods from other countries, becoming aware of the multicultural input back into this county, developing a culture with guiding itself, being aware of the Four World centers, being aware of the pioneering women in History, Guiding history, Guiding ways of the future, catering for a fundraiser, a dance, a BBQ, a cookout challenge, water activities, a penny hike, …. and so on,  These smaller activities will lead onto more comprehensive objectives. Which may include… an end of year Formal meal, an overnight stay, a camp, going away on State or International camps, helping with Patrol Service activities, being part of a World Wide service activity, [ Clean Up Australia, Kiribus Bus, East Timour, national and international disaster relief teams..] and the lists just go on.

Once the interest is sparked the future may have a direction. Wow.

No, ‘Food’ does not stop here.  There are other things to consider like the jobs connecting with the above linking words.  An obvious one is leadership for the activity. Leadership is learned, practiced and known about by watching and helping others with their leadership rolls.In essence Leadership boils down to encouraging others to willingly help get the job done, while collectively forefiling needs and desires.  On a three tier level these needs and desires are your own, their own, these who attend, those who obviously benefit.  Since everyone in these levels are ‘stake holders’ then an experienced adult Leader is capable of covering all these levels with the help of her team.

Now that how food may slot into the weekly or overall Program chosen by the Guides themselves.  However there are both tangible and intangible small stepping stones are available to the members that mark each Guides progress.

Most often the skills learning when doing one thing are brought back into the guiding Program at a greater depth of knowledge practice along with a wider variety of interests being sort to be done.    While in Guiding there are many ways of widening the interest range of the Guiding members.  in itself just the broodning and deepening of the interests, skills and knowledge basis of the members within Guides is a factor of why there are a variety of things that goes into, and come out from, Guiding.

Overnight stay.

WHAT PARENTS NEED TO KNOW,,,,,,,,, THAT THE GUIDES HAVE PLANNED TO DO leading up to April 8/9th 2010..

1. Over night stay  starts 1pm on the 8th and finishes 1pm on the 9th April 2010.
2. The Hazelwood South Hall is at  790 Tramway Road, Churchill.
3. Cost: $200.00 per participant.
4. Theme: Food and Exploration of the Four World Centers.
5. Participate in the pre-camp /over night activities where able in a District, Unit or Patrol Activity situation.
6. Overnight stay colors organised.
7. The overall Program is comleted.
8. Sleeping accomadation:  Self standing tents …erected inside the Hazelwood South Hall. District owns these tents.
9. Kit list  to be printed out for next week. Guides to get used to packing their own bag please.
10. Each Guides own camp teddy not to be any bigger than the width of her hand.  Space on/in her kit bag is at a primium.
11. Guides have worked out the duty rosters.
12. Menu has been organised.
13. First aid kit has been sorted out.
14. Program been organised (yes) and is full of potential activities.
15. Guides Promise to be made
16. Older Patrol to meet at Churchill Shopping center for Quarter Master shopping list requirements.
17. The Objectives of the Food and Four World Centers Overnight Stay.
18. The Evaluation of the Food and Four World Centers Overnight stay.
19. Evaluation of the Hazelwood South Hall
20. The outcomes of the Food and Four World Centers overnight stay.