The Echuca Girl Guides celebrated their first Junior Paden Powell Award for their unit in over a decade. Hailey Sutton, daughter of unit leader Rachel Sutton, was the awardee at the June awards night.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
Six years after nearly disbanding, the Echuca Girl Guides are celebrating a booming membership and their first Junior Baden Powell Award in 10 years.
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At last month’s Girl Guides’ award presentations, Hailey Sutton, 11, was awarded the esteemed Junior Baden Powell Award, marking the first time in a decade a girl from the branch had achieved this.
The JBP is the stepping-stone award leading to the prestigious Baden Powell Award, named in honour of Lord Robert Baden-Powell — the visionary founder of both the Scouting and Girl Guides movements worldwide.
It is earned by completing a self-led and self-chosen challenge.
Hailey began her JBP journey two years ago, working her way through a broad range of guiding activities — from promise and law, traditions and community service, to outdoor skills, world Guiding, the patrol system and leadership development.
She said she almost completely gave up, taking a break from completing the JBP for a while.
“It got really hard at one point and I quit — but I went back to it,” she said.
“I’m feeling great because I've been wanting to finish it for like ages, and now I’ve finally done it.”
Hailey said she was now looking upwards at the next milestone, the Baden Powell Award, with hopes of eventually achieving the highest honour in Guiding, the Queen’s Guide Award.
Her mum, Rachel Sutton, who is also the sole leader of the Echuca Girl Guides, was thrilled for her daughter.
She said it had been an honour watching her Guiding journey and keep working at her JBP, and hoped to be able to award more JPBs to other girls rising up through the ranks.
The unit has come a long way since it nearly folded in 2019, having more than doubled its membership in the years since.
The revived Echuca Girl Guides made a fresh start in 2020, holding their very first meeting online via Zoom at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guides Vidhumi Karunanayake, Sadie Dobell, Ellie Harris and Trinity Lyons were awarded Bronze Endeavour Awards at the presentation night.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
When most community groups were finding it hardest to meet, Ms Sutton’s group of Guides adapted to the conditions and thrived.
From arts and crafts to games and cooking, the Guides threw themselves into everything they could manage virtually.
The unit only grew when the girls moved back into the hall for in-person meetings, and the unit now has about 22 girls signed up.
Alongside Hailey's achievement, five other girls received their Bronze Endeavour Award — a significant halfway milestone on the path to completing the JBP.
Ms Sutton said these achievements were a testament to how far the Guiding group had come since restarting in 2020.
“It’s only because we’ve been able to establish the unit and get it to a stage that we can focus on these bigger badges,” she said.
“That’s what this program is all about — getting the girls to know that there’s a safe space where they can be empowered and be challenged.”
The Echuca Girl Guides warmly welcome new members and are always on the lookout for volunteers to help keep the group running. If you'd like to get involved, reach out via email at rachel.sutton@guidesvic.org.au
Guides River Region manager Leigh Younger, Hailey Sutton and Rachel Sutton.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
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