Michelle Wood and Katie Haigh recognised as inspirational role models

Katie Haigh (second from the right) and Michelle Wood (third from the right), alongside Guiding Idols from the same County, and Region President Suzie Reynold (right)

Girlguiding volunteers Michelle Wood, from Shawclough and Katie Haigh from Heywood, received an unforgettable surprise when a group of girls and young women recognised them for their volunteer efforts.

Michelle, a Brownie Leader at 32nd Rochdale Brownies (based in Rochdale Town Centre), and Katie Haigh a Brownie Leader with 1st Heywood Brownies (based at Crimble Croft) have recently been named as two of 83 ‘Guiding Idols’ in Girlguiding North West England – a new campaign led by the regional charity to recognise its volunteers for their efforts.

Girlguiding North West England members were asked to nominate a Guiding Idol – a volunteer that they felt was an inspirational role model.

Following the nominations, a youth panel of girls and young women, aged seven to 14, were tasked with the difficult challenge of selecting nominees from each of the charity’s seventeen guiding counties.

The youth panel announced that they had selected 83 volunteers from across the North West and that each Guiding Idol would be invited to attend a special celebration afternoon on June 7th 2015 at Girlguiding North West England’s Region Headquarters in Preston.

The event included thought-provoking activities, a candy floss machine for the Guiding Idols and an afternoon tea with a twist.

Amid the celebrations, Michelle received a Region Thanks badge from the Region Chief Commissioner, Julie Bell, and had yet another surprise when a plaque was unveiled in the Region Headquarters’ garden – a memorable tribute that named all 83 Guiding Idols for their achievement.

Michelle said: “Being chosen as a guiding idol for girl guiding north west England was a honour and I felt privileged to be selected by the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides. It was a fantastic day celebrating with other idols from over the north west.”

Katie said: “I was really shocked at being nominated, my fellow Leader Diana Kilduff supports me especially with my disability, and enables me to be a Leader - without her I simply couldn't do it. It was a fantastic honour and lovely surprise.

"The event was very nice too, with lots of lovely food and drink and crafty things to do, ending with the unveiling of the plaque. We also received special badges too, which now have pride of place on my uniform."

Julie Bell, Region Chief Commissioner, said: “Once again, we’ve had a fantastic response to the Guiding Idols campaign and we’re looking forward to doing it all over again next year. We wanted to thank our volunteers for all the hard work and effort they put into Girlguiding and with the support of our young members, we’ve been able to celebrate our amazing volunteers in a really memorable way.”