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A Brownie Update
Sep. 4th, 2020 05:06 pmGirlguiding HQ said, about a month ago, that outdoor meetings could go ahead, so long as a very long risk assessment was completed. Since this was during the school summer holidays we decided against it. Not only that, but while it would be suitable for those with nice areas to meet in, the space we use for outdoor games isn't away from the general public at all, which makes running activities safely quite difficult, when the girls need to socially distance. Before, with games they'd all be close together which was easier, but even then we'd had to rethink the week the fair was set up nearby.
However, we've now been told we should be receiving guidelines as to running indoor meetings - hooray! Although how complicated that will be is another matter, so potentially we can start back, possibly with a smaller group at the beginning of October.
We've also been told that the money we will need to pay to HQ as the annual subscription will still be due in full, despite being unable to meet for a whole term. This is a major issue for us, because unlike some units in more affluent areas, who continued with online meetings and charged subs for the summer term, and those who asked for donations, we haven't taken any money in. Annual subscription to HQ per girl is almost exactly the same as our unit termly subscription, so it's clear this is a problem. Though we're no longer deemed to be a deprived area, many of the families will have had reduced income due to Covid, so it would have been unrealistic for us to ask for support.
Which means I am about to try applying for grants for our unit to see if we can get some external support. We shall be getting up and running in some way, but it would be nice to think we didn't have to worry about whether we can afford any activities.
However, we've now been told we should be receiving guidelines as to running indoor meetings - hooray! Although how complicated that will be is another matter, so potentially we can start back, possibly with a smaller group at the beginning of October.
We've also been told that the money we will need to pay to HQ as the annual subscription will still be due in full, despite being unable to meet for a whole term. This is a major issue for us, because unlike some units in more affluent areas, who continued with online meetings and charged subs for the summer term, and those who asked for donations, we haven't taken any money in. Annual subscription to HQ per girl is almost exactly the same as our unit termly subscription, so it's clear this is a problem. Though we're no longer deemed to be a deprived area, many of the families will have had reduced income due to Covid, so it would have been unrealistic for us to ask for support.
Which means I am about to try applying for grants for our unit to see if we can get some external support. We shall be getting up and running in some way, but it would be nice to think we didn't have to worry about whether we can afford any activities.
