Growing guiding with friends
Bring a Friend
Looking at ways to recruit more girls?
Bring a Friend is a good way to invite girls' friends to a unit meeting to experience for themselves what it is like to be part of the Girlguiding family with all the fun, activities and friendship which are at the heart of our ‘Girls can do anything’ mission.
We want more girls to experience the non-stop fun, learning and adventure that Girlguiding offers. A place where girls can make new friends, learn all kinds of new things and be themselves. Whether you run a Rainbow, Brownie, Guide or Ranger unit, you simply decide with your girls on a date and the activities which will really show friends what Girlguiding has to offer.
There is a free badge available for the girls who bring a friend and those that join them for the meeting (the only payment required is for postage). If you hold a Bring a Friend meeting, please get in touch to let us know how you get on. We’d be pleased to receive any ideas for further activities or guidance we can share. Please contact the region team at info@girlguidinglaser.org.uk. Below are some ideas and a toolkit with simple templates to help you plan a Bring a Friend unit meeting.
Plan a Bring a Friend meeting
- Introduce the idea to your girls to gauge interest, talk about ideas for activities they would like to do with their friends, and agree a date
- Communicate with existing parents, let them know what's happening and the date, and send them the digital invitation and meeting information to pass along. If using printed invitations alongside, give these to your girls to give to their chosen friends
- Collect RSVPs, send and collect consent forms for visitors
- Finalise your numbers and order your free badges ready for the meeting
- Make a final plan of activities, including reviewing your unit meeting place risk assessment, e.g. more girls may mean you need to think about how you use your meeting space
- Have fun and enjoy your Bring a Friend meeting!
- Send a thank you to the parents of the girls who visited and be ready to answer questions at the end of the meeting. Be sure to look out for new GO enquiries
Activity ideas
First, ask your unit what their favourite activities are and for ideas of what they'd like to share with their friends. Here are some ideas:
- Girls introduce their friends to the group and say a bit about why they are friends and the things they like to do
- Girls draw a picture of their friend and the other way round
- Make friendship bracelets to give one another
- A Warm Welcome (Rainbows - UMA pack 6)
- Sole Mates (Brownies - UMA pack 9)
- Try some of region's favourite games
First, ask your unit what their favourite activities are and for ideas of what they'd like to share with their friends. Girls can plan their own evening and allocate tasks in patrols or small groups. Here are some ideas:
- Make friendship bracelets to give one another
- Balancing Buddies (Guides - UMA pack 10)
- Balloon Frenzy (Guides - UMA pack 10)
- Hello my Fabulous Friend - (Guides UMA pack 3)
- I’m Good Thanks (Guides - UMA pack 9)
- Man on the Moon (Guides - UMA pack 7)
- My Support Chain, No Doubt (Guides - magazine July 2022)
- Think and Throw (Rangers - UMA pack 5)
- Try some of region's favourite games
Volunteers can also take the opportunity to invite a friend to a unit meeting to see volunteering in action, with all the engagement, fun and activities that make volunteering with Girlguiding a rewarding experience. And of course, you and your friend are eligible for a badge, too!
If volunteers' friends are under 18 and interested in being young leaders, just be sure to collect consent forms.
Toolkit
Suggested text:
To spread the word about <section>, we're having a Bring a Friend meeting on <insert date>. Please speak to your daughter about a friend of <section> age she would like to invite who is not already in Girlguiding and pass along the following invitation to their parents. Thank you for your help in showing other girls and parents the fun we have at <unit name>!
Use the following graphic and suggested text for digital communications. WhatsApp is a really easy way for unit parents to share with other parents or Rangers to share directly with their own friends. Parents can add their own note or personalise as they like.
Bring a Friend Whatsapp Graphic
<Unit name> is holding a Bring a Friend meeting on <date> at <timings> at <location>. Come along to experience the confidence, fun and friendship <section> enjoy! To sign up, contact our unit leader <name> at <add registration details, e.g. email address> by <deadline>. [For Rangers only: If you are under 18, please copy in your parent or guardian.]
A simple card to use if digital doesn't suit or your girls would like to personalise something for their friends.
Follow up with the parents of the girls who came along with this suggested text:
For Rainbows, Brownies and Guides:
Subject: Thank you for joining us at <unit name>!
Dear parents,
We were really pleased to welcome your daughter to our <section> meeting on <date>. We hope she had fun and is enjoying her new badge. If she'd like to earn more badges, have even more fun and experience all the adventure and activities <section> has to offer, we'd love her to join us as a member of our unit.
We currently have <spaces> available for now/next term [delete as appropriate] and you can sign her up www.girlguiding.org.uk/joinus. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best wishes,
<unit leader or team>
For friends of Rangers - if you've collected their emails - copying in their parents:
Subject: Thank you for joining us at <unit name>!
Hi friends of Rangers and parents,
Thank you for joining us at our Ranger meeting on <date>. We hope you had as much fun as we did and are enjoying your new badge. If you'd like to earn more badges, have even more fun and experience all the adventure, activities and opportunities Rangers has to offer, we'd love you to join us as a member of our unit.
We currently have <spaces> available for now/next term [delete as appropriate] and you can sign up www.girlguiding.org.uk/joinus. Please let me know if you or your parents have any questions.
Best wishes,
<unit leader or team>
For more help and guidance on recruitment, check out our growth and retention area and, for more ideas, the One More Girl pack from Girlguiding HQ.
Order your badges
These badges are for the girls who bring a friend and those that join them for the meeting. Badges are free, just pay postage. To make sure these badges reach as many girls as possible, please only order what you need.
Order your free badges