For over 7 years the property has been condemned and unusable as a meeting point, its an eye sore to the local residents and its meant that all Ammanford Rainbows (Aged 4-7), Brownies (7-10), Guides (10-14) and Rangers (14-18) have been separated into many different halls across Ammanford, and we feel its about time we got a new building to help create consistency for our young girls.
Girlguiding has officially been a part of the Ammanford community since 1927, with our leaders seeing children who’s parents also passed through the doors! As you may know it is a charity, and is run by volunteers. Through fun, friendship, challenge and adventure we empower girls to find their voice, inspiring them to discover the best in themselves and to make a positive difference in their community. In a world of uncertainty Girlguiding helps girls with confidence, mental health support and inclusion.
Our girls come from various backgrounds and upbringings, some are young carers, adopted, fostered, suffer with various ailments, mental health disorders or additional learning needs (ALN), but for the few hours a week that they attend our meetings they can leave all those labels and troubles at the door and just be children again. For all our guides we aim to offer a safe space for them away from social media and encourage them to be the best version of themselves by helping one another and supporting their local community.
*In a study of 15,000 UK secondary schools it was confirmed that children are finding life hard and that girls were more than twice as likely than boys to suffer mental health problems by the time they were 18! Over 80% of girls hide their distress, compared to 60% before the pandemic the study said. Last year, the NHS said that one in six children aged 5-16 identified as having a mental health disorder.
Manchester university conducted a study of 40,000 teenagers which revealed that 22% of girls and 7% of boys reported emotional difficulties with contributing factors being social media and lack of sleep.
Our Aim is to give our girls somewhere that they can call their Girlguiding home, a consistent and safe place - We feel its time to bring all our units together again, under one roof!
We would be grateful for any donations or gifting of support or trade services that we will need to make this project a success.
If you are willing to assist us in fundraising such as a sponsored race, shave your head, company charity donations etc then please get in touch with us [email protected]
Thank you!
*(Source:https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2022/03/inside-the-mental-health-epidemic-among-teenage-girls)