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 (+p&p) for the girls who bring a friend and those that join them for the meeting. 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 (see toolkit - coming soon)
- 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 (see toolkit - coming soon) and be ready to answer questions at the end of the meeting. Be sure to look out for new GO enquiries
