The organisation will be celebrating its 100th birthday in 2010 and is keen to continue for another 100 years or more in providing a safe space for girls and young women at the most formative time in their personal and social development.

Girlguiding UK has over half a million young members aged between five and 25.

The Scottish division - Girlguiding Scotland - is the leading Scottish voluntary organisation for girls and young women, with 70,000 members from the Borders to the Shetland Isles.

In Angus alone, in 2006, there were a total of 1444 people involved in Guiding - 369 Guides, 571 Brownies, 273 Rainbows, 171 adult leaders (including Commissioners), with the remainder being young leaders and Rangers.

Nationally, one in four eight-year-olds is a Brownie and almost half of all women in the UK have been involved in Guiding at some stage in their lives.

There has never been a better opportunity for females young and old to join up with their local unit, whether it be in the Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Senior Section or as a leader.

With the organisation continuing to grow and expand into a more diverse and cultural 21st century model its role in society becomes ever more relevant.

To coincide with the centenary celebrations the association is already well underway in sending out a clear message of its objectives which include - to position Girlguiding UK as a modern and progressive organisation demonstrating its relevance in the 21st Century to the outside world; and to celebrate the success and achievements of Girlguiding UK to current and past members and friends of the movement.
What is clear, however, is that the general public has an outdated understanding of Guiding.

In order to address this, the movement is actively promoting its values across the board, with key messages on its identity including its commitment in providing a safe girl-only space, to remain relevant to today's girls, to actively promote equality and diversity and to give girls and young women a voice.

For too long now the contrast between public perception and what Girlguiding really is all about has been vastly conflicting.
With the common perception of Guiding believed to be that it is predominantly white, middle class and Christian, the organisation is stressing its actual identity as being modern and striving for diversity, racially, ethnically and religiously.

In the run up to the 2010 celebrations, the next two years look set to be very busy indeed so now is the time to get involved and be part of the centenary plans.

The plans include the following:-

Heritage Story Gathering: a story gathering/oral history project enabling girls and young women to collect memories to show how Guiding has changed individuals' lives. The memories/stories will be entered into a database on the internet and developed into a searchable resource.

Girlguiding UK: Changing the World - a community action challenge aimed at providing a wide range of opportunities for Guiding members to make a difference locally and globally.

Launch Events 2009: The launch of the centenary will take place during the weekend of September 4 and 5, 2009.

Members will be invited to pop along and commemorate the girls who attended the Crystal Palace rally on the first weekend of September 1909 when girls turned up to a Scout rally wanting to be Scouts!

These events and many more are being run by the movement over the next two years, providing a fun-filled, social and exciting opportunity for girls and women of all ages.

Girlguiding in Angus covers all the major towns, including Forfar, Arbroath and Montrose, with Brechin and Kirriemuir particularly keen to attract members.

The groups and their ages are as follows - Rainbows, five to seven years; Brownies, seven to ten years; Guides, ten to 14 years; Senior Section 14 to 25 years.

The orgainsation is keen to stress that any adults interested in joining up to become a leader do not require to have been a previous member.

So, if you want to help out, why not join the more than 80,000 trained adult volunteers already giving their time to Girlguiding UK.

Anyone interested or who would like more information should contact:-
County secretary, Mrs Jillian Orr, County Office, Forfar Guide Centre, The Myre, Forfar DD8 1 AZ; email goosieoffice@btinternet.com; or the County Commissioner, Mrs Carol Edwards, 24 Mallard Drive, Tayock, Montrose (tel: 01674 672055).