We were so inspired by the winners at the recent Haslemere Volunteer Awards that we were keen to find out more about the incredible work that they do to help others within our community. With over 40 years of volunteering experience under her belt, it seemed only fitting that we started by chatting to Helen Meekins. Helen runs the Chiddingfold Brownies as well as having been Girlguiding Haslemere District Commissioner and currently Girlguiding Haslemere Division Commissioner. The word ‘inspirational’ can be banded around too often but Helen is, without doubt, one inspirational lady.

Helen grew up in Chiddingfold and, like her mother before her, attended the Brownies and Guide units in the village throughout her childhood. Interestingly, her mother had arrived in the village as an evacuee. There was already an existing Brownie unit when she arrived but, due to the influx of numbers, a second Brownie unit was created. Existing girls attended the first group and evacuees the second…

Whilst Helen definitely doesn’t claim to being a model brownie – she reminisced about how she would always spend the 2 pence they were meant to keep in their pocket for an emergency phone call on sweets before she even made it to the brownie meetings each week – she, nevertheless, loved her time there. And, despite not being able to resist the lure of the sweetie shop, she was clearly a Girl Guide others would look up to, well deserving of the Queen’s Guide Award that she achieved. This is the highest award girls can work toward in guiding.

Whilst not wanting to give away her age, Helen started volunteering officially aged just 16 when she became a Young Leader at Chiddingfold Brownies. The initial motivation to start volunteering with them was, quite simply, to ‘give back’. Incidentally, Helen’s sister Sue who runs both Chiddingfold and Haslemere Guides, is just as passionate – she has stacked up 50 years of service. To have over 90 years of volunteering between them, these two sisters are a formidable force of good!

At the age of 19, when the Brown Owl left, Helen filled her shoes taking over as Leader for the Chiddingfold Brownies. Several years later in 2016, Helen took on the additional role of District Commissioner. And most recently, in 2023, she then became Division Commissioner. These are significant roles – just in Haslemere district alone, there are 2 Rainbow, 4 Brownie, 3 Guides and 1 Ranger units. Multiply this across several areas including Haslemere, Godalming, Hambledon, Elstead, Farncombe, Milford and Witley and you get a sense of the workload involved.

For Helen, both the Division and District Commissioner roles provide an opportunity to also help the adult volunteers. Helen is clearly passionate about people. Yes, she has a love for helping children, but she also gets immense enjoyment and satisfaction from supporting adults. She enjoys mentoring new leaders and is just as passionate about developing confidence in them as in the children that attend her units. ‘Leaders grow in confidence just as much as the children sometimes,’ she told us. Not surprising, perhaps, when they have the opportunity to achieve qualifications in anything from first aid to canoeing.

What struck us most during our conversation with Helen was the enormous enthusiasm she has for Girlguiding. Forty years of voluntary service has certainly not diminished her love for this organisation. We can confidently say that she is as passionate today as she was back in the 1980s when her volunteering started.

Following a slip of the tongue on our part, Helen was at pains to correct us on some of the misconceptions that still surround Girlguiding. For one thing, many don’t realise that they’re a charity and that they rely on donations to continue the good work that they do. And many assume that it’s a Christian organisation when it isn’t. In fact, they celebrate all cultures equally with the prime focus on teaching compassion and understanding.

But the biggest misconceptions come by mixing up Girlguiding with Scouting. These are two completely separate organisations. Whilst both are youth-focused organisations, founded by Robert Baden-Powell and his sister Agnes, and promote community and skills building, they do differ in membership. Scouts welcome both boys and girls, but Girlguiding remain solely for girls, offering a safe space for them to build confidence. In Helen’s words, ‘Girlguiding gives girls a girl-only space for them to be themselves.’

Scouts are sometimes perceived to be more heavily orientated towards outdoor, survival type adventure but, from speaking to Helen, this is definitely not the case. Years ago, Girlguiding definitely did offer more traditional activities once associated with girls alone. But times have changed. We were amazed by the range of activities her Brownies can now enjoy. And perhaps this is more the case in Haslemere, in large part due to Helen. Helen grew up on a farm and relishes the opportunity to teach girls how to light fires, create dens or tie knots.

There is nothing she loves more than taking the girls camping or on residential trips.  Helen and her team often offer opportunities to enjoy a night (or more) sleeping under the stars to get used to being away from home. Units have a County campsite at Tilford which Helen describes as, ‘a little piece of heaven’. It certainly sounds like it – the units can enjoy grass sledging, boulder climbing, bug hunts and RSPB  projects here and, on a clear night, they’ll enjoy gazing up at the Milky Way and spotting the many constellations in the night sky.

Particularly touching was hearing about the work Chiddingfold Brownies did around Remembrance Sunday. So that the girls really understood the meaning behind this day and the poppy that is worn, they visited the local churchyard, tidied the war graves and researched those who had died in the war. They went away and created some beautiful stones, adorned with poppies which sit on the graves today. No doubt, this experience will leave a lasting memory on those who took part.

With 36 badges to work towards in total across 6 themes (Know Yourself, Express Yourself, Have Adventures, Be Well, Take Action and Skills for my Future), the programme is certainly diverse. No two weeks are ever the same. From making camp fire biscuits, to pond dipping, to learning how to properly address envelopes, to team games, to mastering essential first aid…. There truly is something for everyone. Not to mention trips to the theatre, Air Hop, Wild Wood or Ninja Warriors.

Whatever the activity, they are all aimed at building confidence and independence. Helen told us,‘I just want to the girls to have fun, to challenge themselves and for them to walk away saying, ‘Yes, I did that.’’ And the girls are also being taught the importance of community. Litter picking and charity fundraisers for organisations such as Cancer Research, the Haslemere Food Bank and The Firefighter Charity, are just a few examples of how the girls are instilled with the importance of helping others. Parents, too, see the difference in their daughters after time spent at Brownies. One told Helen, ‘We are blown away by what you’ve taught our daughter.’

Given the hours Helen has dedicated to the Girlguiding over the past forty years, it would be easy to assume that Helen didn’t have other commitments. Far from it. Helen has worked throughout this, first in the NHS, then at Liphook Infant School and most recently at a local garden centre. She has also been raising 2 sons with her firefighting husband (who is also a volunteer at a local scout group).

How she has managed to juggle work with the huge volunteering commitment for over 40 years was beyond us. Helen herself isn’t quite sure how she has juggled everything either! ‘I don’t know how I manage to do a full-time job with all the work involved in Girlguiding’ she chuckled. ‘I love sharing my knowledge with the girls and for them to get skills for life out of it,’ Helen told us. And she knows the difference that it can make – year after year, she sees the confidence of girls blossoming thanks to the activities they enjoy.

More recently, Helen has not had the easiest of journeys. Having been diagnosed with tonsil cancer in 2024, she has had to undergo intense treatment. But even that didn’t stop her helping others. When, for a six-month period, she was unable to attend the Brownies in person due to having radiotherapy treatment and recovery time, she still found herself completing risk assessments for her brownie leaders from her hospital bed at the Royal Surrey in Guildford.

Alongside Helen’s passion for the Girlguiding, the other thing that is most striking is her modesty. We lost count of the number of times she told us, ‘There is no I in team.’ She could not have emphasised more strongly that what she does is only made possible by the team of volunteers around her. As a general rule, Girlguiding units find that few volunteers stay in role for a long period of time. Perhaps it’s testament to Helen’s leadership that the leaders she works with often buck this trend. In fact, in Girlguiding Haslemere district, many leaders have accrued over 20 years’ service.

But they are always looking for more help. Helen is definitely a big cog in the Girlguiding wheel, but she was at pains to point out that there are plenty of small cogs that make this all possible too. As she put it, ‘Not everyone is as nuts as me!’ Even if you can just come along for one session to teach the children one particular skill, that is helpful. Or perhaps you can help with fundraising, uniform sales, IT or putting together the accounts. Whatever skill you have, or whatever you’re interested in, we’re pretty confident that Helen will put your talents to good use!

The good news is that all of the local Girlguiding units currently have spaces. COVID had a huge impact on the local groups and, for whatever reason, numbers haven’t yet returned to pre COVID levels. In short, if you or your child has ever been curious about what Rainbows, Brownies or Guides offer, now is the time to try it out. With the range of activities they offer, Girlguiding also offers incredible value for money, costing approx. £60 per term, this includes all weekly activities. Camps and trips do cost extra but Helen will work with families who are struggling to afford these excursions to ensure that they’re accessible to all.

Having spent a couple of hours in Helen’s company, we can’t encourage you enough to let your daughters give this a try (or if you’re aged between 4 and 18 and reading this yourself to head along and give it a go). Helen’s enthusiasm is infectious and, judging by some of the stories and images she shared with us, that rubs off onto every single one of the girls within the local Girlguiding units.

Within Girlguiding there are various sections organised by age. Each offers tailored activities to empower girls. Rainbows covers those aged 4-7, Brownies 7-10, Guides 10-14 and Rangers 14-18.

For more information on all of these, please contact Helen at divcommhaslemere@hotmail.co.uk. Alternatively, you can register an interest to join or to volunteer at:

www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-for-parents/register-a-child

www.girlguiding.org.uk/get-involved/become-a-volunteer/register-to-volunteer