CARSTAIRS-DIDSBURY - Despite many other activities and distractions for youth, the Girl Guides organization remains popular for young females, say officials.
Several members from nearby groups were on hand in Didsbury at last week's Country Christmas selling the ever-popular cookies as well as beef on a bun.
Tasha Bischke, district commissioner for Num Ti Jah, which covers from Bowden to Carstairs and west to Cremona, said the fundraising went well.
"We're fundraising for our district camp, which is coming up in March," said Bischke. "We're doing that at Camp Velacqua in Water Valley. We've got a mixture of Girl Guides out here from our units in Carstairs and Olds."
Although the only two Girl Guide units in the region are in Carstairs and Olds, Bischke says they have girls that drive from different areas to attend.
"We cover all the way," she said. "We have, say, girls from Sundre that go to Olds because there are no units in Sundre, and we have some that drive from Didsbury or Cremona to Carstairs. Right now, in Carstairs we have approximately 17 Sparks, 25 Brownies, 16 Girl Guides and two Pathfinders. In Olds we have nine Sparks, 13 Brownies, 15 Guides, 12 Pathfinders and five Rangers."
The ages for Girl Guides range from five- and six-year-olds in Sparks right up to and including 15- to 17- year-olds in Rangers, said Bischke.
Bischke said the Guides are all about building programs based on the interests of the members.
"It's all about finding what you want to do," she said. "We're doing a new program. It's called Girls First. You get to find what you are most interested and we look into that and do what they want to do. If they like singing the most we'll add that to the program; if they like camping, we'll do that."
Bischke said registration for Girl Guides is open year-round. Anyone interested can go online to the girlguides.ca website.
