Fun use for Cookie Cases: I have an idea for promoting cookies from my unit, the 1st Sidney Guides. The girls were enthusiastically selling cookies one day at the local mall and one of them put the cookie case on as a coat. She punched out the bottom of the box and slid it over her head. We then brainstormed ideas how this could be used and 'voila', our Christmas parade decorations were created. The girls decorated the bottom of each empty cookie case by hanging ribbons, bells and bows from the bottom and put ribbon straps at the top. Our Guide unit made the boxes and because some of our girls were too big to wear the boxes, they gave them to Sparks and Brownies who were also walking in the parade. We sparkled and shone and got a lot of attention! Watch for pictures coming soon.
Submitted by Carol Whitehouse, 1st Sidney Guides

Clip art of Sparks: These clip art images were illustrated by Kay St. Denis, Mid Island Area, and can be used for newsletters, colouring pages, flyers, etc. Thank you to Kay for 'sharing and being a friend' by donating her wonderful illustrations to the Guiding community!
Singing Sparks (jpg)
Giggling Friends (jpg)
Spark Hallowe'en (jpg)

Nature walk colour cards: It can be fun to get paint chips and have the girls look for the colours when they are out for a Nature Walk, or you can make your own! You'll need: recipe cards (3x5 or 4 X6), scissors and crayons or markers. Cut each end of the cards into three points (VVVV) like zigzags (for Sparks and Brownies, I would do this ahead; for older girls, it depends on the  time you have available). Then tell the girls they need to colour one point green, one point yellow, and they can pick the other four colours. If you do a sample it will be easy for them to see what to do. Have the girls put  their names on their cards.
Then dress for the weather--coats, hats, as needed--and head outside for a walk around the block. The girls try to spot all the colors on their nature card. Older girls could write the item they see beside the colour on their card. It is easy to find lots of spring flowers in the colours used. If you wanted to do this in the fall, you might choose orange and brown as your  specified colours. Have fun on your nature walk!
Submitted by Karen Griffiths, Provincial Camping Committee

Idea for bridging meetings: In our small town, all three levels of Guiding (Sparks, Brownies, Guides) meet in our community centre on the same night at the same time. Sparks and Brownies share the upstairs from 6 to 7pm and Guides are downstairs from 6 to 7:30. We have many sibblings in Guiding here, and the parents love the one place, one time dropoff. One Spark and one Brownie join the Guides for the last half hour of their meeting. Maybe this will work in your town!
Submitted by Barb Grant, 1st Crofton Brownies, Mid Island Area

Search & Rescue website: Check out the Government of British Columbia Search and Rescue's Adventure Smart website for lots of information about safety in the outdoors. See their 'Kids' section to play the interactive 'SARvivor' game.
Submitted by Karen Griffiths, Provincial Camping Committee

Here's an idea for district meetings: Have each unit take turns bringing refreshments and doing the openings month by month. One idea is to use the four World Tour books for a different theme each quarter; do one activity from it as a taster, or work on one binder all year long and complete the Challenge. For information on the World Tour books, see your district commissioner or international adviser or program advisers (and be sure to visit our district resources page for more resources that are available in your district).
Submitted by Karen Griffiths, Provincial Camping Committee

Here's a craft to collect pennies for the Canadian World Friendship Fund. You will need empty 40g tea canisters, scotch tape and Guiding images wraparound sheets (pdf - each sheet has five different designs; note cut marks). See before and after photo. For my unit, I printed and cut more sheets than there are girls so there were lots of designs for the girls to choose from. Girls can colour or draw their own images, or leave them plain as they wish. Finished containers are can be used for collecting pennies or for storing beads, paper clips etc.
Submitted by Kate Hill, Lougheed Area

The Third Alaska Brownies, Alcan District, Peace River Area, held their Advancement Ceremony recently. The Brownies were watered, sprinkled with good turns and given lots of sunshine to grow. With all the good care from their Leaders and friends, the Brownies grew bigger and stronger as they learned new skills, games and songs. Soon they outgrew their pots and were transplanted in a new garden – Guides! Ceremony adapted from the original written by Sheri Thompson and posted by Susan Grist.
Submitted by Clara Skauge Peace River Area PR Adviser

While working on program, the Burnaby Heights Rangers did Challenge #13, which reads: Brainstorm ways to promote membership in the Girl Guides of Canada-
Guides du Canada and share them with your Council. See their great ideas!
Submitted by Maryann Brock, Provincial Membership Adviser

Here are some great new Grow Guiding ideas from the areas:
East Kootenai: We've had one Pathfinder Unit that meets monthly on a sleepover (girls take turns planning) and complete their program that way (with work done between meetings by the PFs). Worked really well and allowed the girls to take part in the sports, etc., that make regularly attending a weekly or biweekly meeting difficult. Easier on the leaders too! Otherwise we're pretty traditional.

Vancouver: We're trying something new this year with a "Taste of Guiding" event for new adult members. It is geared towards people who MIGHT be interested in Guiding, but want more info before they commit. It will be a fun evening with the highlights of our program (led by Trainers and Advisors). I'm currently inviting adults who come through the 1-800 line, and am hoping that the info we provide about the branches will help them to find the best position possible. I think we'll move forward with the paperwork (which can be somewhat intimidating) once we've had that initial meeting.

Vancouver: We have a set of Saturday units, Sparks through to Senior Branches, who all meet at the same time, and in the same location.  From what I've seen, their bridging and member retention are excellent! We also have a Pathfinder unit that will continue to meet every couple of weeks over the summer (but they've been running all school year as well).
Submitted by Maryann Brock, Provincial Membership Adviser

Here's a great new Guiding inspirational ideas game. Cards can be printed and cut out. Great to use at Guider meetings, camps, trainings, etc. Game will inspire players to contribute ideas on where to find tools and resources, how to increase Guiding's visibility, and more! See Guiding Game Cards (pdf).
Submitted by Sarah Beairsto, Provincial PR Committee

Here's a fun new tool: A Guiding-themed placemat. At the recent Lougheed Area Guider Appreciation Night, each Guider was given one to take home. In the three blank boxes were lists of local places in the community where Guiders could hand out or post Guiding promotional tools, such as brochures, flyers and posters. The placemat can be used for other Guiding purposes too, such as camp placemats, posted announcements, etc. See Guiding-Theme Placemat/Poster (pdf). Prints on 8.5 x 14 inch paper.
Submitted by PJ Borghardt, Provincial Camp Adviser

Here's a great new idea: the Guiding history game. Written by Susan Walter, one of Lougheed Area's "Guiders on the Go!", it's loads of fun, easy to play and the questions can be modified for all branches. See Guiding History Game (pdf). Note, must be printed back-to-back; cut out along the dark lines and fold along the light lines.
To play, cut out the questions, fold so that the Trefoil is at the front and seal with paper clips, then put them in the centre of your group. Then, in 'round robin' or 'buzzing in' style and using buttons as tokens, take turns randomly choosing questions and answering them. Once you're finished a question, put it back in the middle; that way, when the question comes up again, the girls will remember the answer. After a few rounds, they'll be amazed with how much they've learned! There are lots of options for prizes--one idea is to have small prizes (balloons, pencils, etc.) for all the girls. When we learn together and have fun, we're all winners!
Submitted by Lorraine Walter and Susan Wilson, Lougheed Area's "Guiders on the Go!"

Project G.O.! is a project sponsored by BC Parks, short for Project Get Outdoors, and is aimed at getting youth outdoors. There are excellent resources on their website: Project Get Outdoors--BC Parks.
Submitted by Adele Cooshek, BC Provincial Camping Committee

We had a really good Pathfinder meeting last night. It was based on Oxfam's 'Hunger Banquet' (see: Oxfam's Website for instructions, scripts, etc.). Here's how it worked: We told everyone that we were having a special 'World Dinner' at the next meeting, and we would provide the food, so they were not to eat dinner before they came.
We arrived a half hour early to set up a fancy dining room table, complete with china, candles, and wine glasses. As the girls arrived for the meeting, they randomly drew a coloured card. If they picked 'High Income' (15%) they sat at the fancy table, 'Middle Income' (25%) went to a crowded table with no place settings, and the 'Low Income' (60%) sat on the floor. The organizers read out a script which explained the event and gave some facts about world hunger and food distribution in the world. Then we fed the ladies at the fancy table. They got a nice meal: salad, pizza, juice and cookies for dessert. The girls at the crowded table had to go line up and get a paper plate with rice and beans, clean water and an orange. The girls on the floor got a piece of lettuce with a scoop of rice on top and a small glass of 'dirty' water (I dipped a tea bag in it briefly, before coming to the meeting). It took some time for it to sink in...this was all they were getting. We discussed it after the meal was over. We also held an auction and gave proceeds to the CWFF. It was very powerful; several girls were quite surprised. All the girls thought it was a good exercise!
Submitted by Crystal Boser, Lougheed Area

Here's a quick and easy way to help girls to learn (or reinforce) the Guiding Motto and Promise & Law. This sheet of scenario stickers has lots of fun scenarios which the girls can use in 'sharing time' or to act out. In my Unit, we put each of the stickers on index cards and then had girls decorate them. Then I put each in a small Ziplock bag so we can reuse them later. They're great to take to camp or pull out any time you need a quick 'no-prep-required' activity. Scenarios are written for Guides but can easily be modified for other Branches. Uses Avery #5160 labels.
Submitted by Kate Hill, Lougheed Area.

Here's a great way to record what your unit does year to year: In your planning calendar or record-keeping, use a different coloured pen for each year. It will help you remember what you've done, what you need to do, and so on. It really works!
Submitted by Marsha Richie, Provincial PR Adviser.