New Girl Guides group in Bristol
It has been started by development worker Stacy Pritchard who wanted to help girls build their confidence by trying new challenges and making new friends.
Stacy, 26, from Emerson's Green, has been working in the area for more than a year under the Guides' Switch programme which was set up with lottery money to take Guiding to needy areas.
She started by forging links with youth and community groups to find out what young girls needed.
And then she started laying on Guide-themed activities, which included going away on activity weekends and meeting guides from other units.
Stacy said: "Every week, we have had about a dozen girls attend, and overall about 40 girls of diverse heritage, who would not necessarily have thought of joining Guiding, have been able to experience what the movement has to offer them – fun, friendship and challenging activities in a safe, girl-only space.
"It has been a long process but now, not only are the girls very keen to join, but their parents have seen the benefits and are now involved as group helpers and supporters."
Lorna Lee, guide commissioner for Bristol North East, said: "The opening of the Switch group at Easton has had a very positive effect on local Girl Guiding. A few months after Switch group started, two volunteers from the black community came forward wanting to open a Brownie pack, so we opened one at the community centre and the numbers are growing nicely.
"This is a reversal of the downward trend in the local area where we were closing units due to the lack of numbers."
Stacy said: "I think it works because we've gone about it in a flexible way with our taster sessions to provide them with what they want and deal with the needs they face.
"When the girls started coming to the sessions, they were very shy about joining in and taking part.
"But their confidence has really grown and they've all made some great friends."
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