Helen’s story

Helen Williams, 24, volunteers with the Girl Guides in Clydach where she has been an assistant Guide Guider for several years.

“I first got involved in Guiding when I was eight and I joined the Brownies. As I grew older I became a Guide and as part of the Baden Powell award I undertook a ‘service flash’. The service flash involved helping out with a local Brownie unit for several weeks and I became hooked. I finished Guides when I was 14 and continued to help with the Brownies, becoming a young leader and later an assistant Guide Guider.

I volunteer for several reasons. I really enjoyed myself as a Brownie and a Guide and had a fantastic experience. I had the chance to do so many different things, to meet so many different people and make a lot of friends. I want others to have the same opportunities as I did, and I want them to enjoy it the way I still do. There’s nothing like seeing the girls enjoying the activities; smiling, laughing, making new friends and becoming more self-confident.

As a Guide Guider, I’m involved in organizing activities for weekly meetings and helping the Guides organize themselves. We try to give the girls as much responsibility as possible and we encourage them to decide and plan what they’re going to do themselves. This means we sometimes spend most of our time encouraging them to work as team to come to a joint decision.

When you’re talking about five or six teenage girls agreeing on the same thing, this can be easier said than done! I have also taken advantage of my own strengths when organizing activities. I have organized a football themed evening and have taught the Guides some French and Spanish!

I volunteer regularly for a couple of hours a week during term time and occasionally an additional evening or day for special events, plus one or two weekends away a year. In my Guide unit we are lucky to have several leaders, so if someone has another commitment one evening we can work around it. I find that you get out what you put in. If you spend more time planning activities, they seem to turn out better!

Volunteering is a great opportunity to develop new skills, meet new people and gain career ideas. Guiding has helped me become more confident at public speaking. It has definitely developed my problem-solving skills as you can guarantee the activities won’t always go to plan. It is always something I can talk about in an interview and it is great for providing useful examples of how I’ve managed different situations. I know for certain that it impresses employers.

I won’t say that volunteering is always fun. I don’t think anyone would enjoy cleaning muddy showers after 80 Guides had showered and changed there following an incredibly muddy assault course! Seriously though, there are times when it is more challenging. I find that I need a break between work and Guides to be able to fully commit myself to the meetings. However, unfortunately this doesn’t always happen and on those occasions the Guides can try my patience. They are teenagers after all and I am only human! But it doesn’t bother me enough to not want to volunteer. I do enjoy it. I feel that it has helped me develop many skills and I would certainly recommend volunteering to anyone.”