By AMANDA GIBB
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the formation of the 144th Toronto Brownies of the Girl Guides of Canada.
To commemorate the anniversary, there will be an event at Birch Cliff Public School at 1650 Kingston Rd. The celebration will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 19, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Connie Miller has been leading the group of Brownies since 1994 after her group got too big and was split respectively into the 122nd and 144th Brownie Groups.
“I’m the original leader for this group. It’s been 25 years now. Though all told, I’ve been doing it for 50 years now in guiding,” said Miller.
Every year, girls aged 7 and 8 in the area become Brownies, a program that encourages girls to develop their own personal identity, and gain valuable skills that allow them to grow and use in their lives.
It also teaches girls to be involved in their communities through weekly meetings, outings, projects, and special events.
Miller said that she loves working with the community and a rewarding part of being the leader is presenting the badges to the girls when they complete a challenge.
“Our teamwork together, I love it. I just love to see their faces, especially when I present the badges to them, they’re just lit up,” she said.
Miller and her Brownies do many activities and outings in the community, and she organizes special events like going camping three of four times a year.
“The girls are great. They change from year to year, we get different girls and we do a lot,” said Miller.
The celebration at Birch Cliff P.S. serves as a reunion for all of the girls who have been apart of the 144th Toronto Brownies over the last 25 years.
“For all the girls that were a part of our unit, they’re going to come back and see pictures of everything that we have done,” she said.
Miller said that she ordered crests to mark the occasion that she made up herself.
“I’ll have other girls that are in our unit now setting up, like doing a campfire, and doing a bit of what we do in our program,” she said.
Miller said that although she knows former Brownies have moved on, many girls want to come back to be at the reunion.
For more information about the Girl Guides of Canada, please visit www.girlguides.ca/web/GGC
Did you enjoy this article? Become a Beach Metro Community News Supporter today! For 50 years, we have worked hard to be the eyes and ears in your community, inform you of upcoming events, and let you know what and who is making a difference. We cover the big stories as well as the little things that often matter the most. CLICK HERE to support your Beach Metro Community News!
