Cubs/Beavers or Rainbows/Brownies?

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Hi! My 16 year old daughter is doing gold dofe and is looking to volunteer with scouts. Which one would you say is the most interesting to volunteer in? I am looking for more information on what you actually do at both rainbows/brownies and cubs/beavers. Thanks x

I would say depends what her interests are.
Cubs/scouts have a bit more emphasis on outdoorsy stuff.
Brownies are a bit more varied with more of a mix of outdoorsy stuff plus crafts, baking, games etc

Both my girls have been in Beavers, Cubs and Scouts so can't comment on Rainbows/guides but some of the activities they do at Scouts are road safety, CPR, life skills eg cooking and loads of camps which include outdoor activities like zip lines & rock climbing it is very practical and like the other poster said very outdoorsy. On another note the bonds my daughter built with the younger volunteers was so strong they make such a difference to the young people

I'm a Rainbows and Brownies leader. The programme is quite varied. We cover different themes each week and a mix of activities that follow those and usual games and stuff. So might be building dens, making a campfire, toasting marshmallows, lending how to put up a tent (for the camp theme for example). Rainbows is a bit more chaotic as the girls are only 4-7, Brownies requires a bit less herding cattle!

Some units do activity weekends away once a year or so where the girls do stuff like rafting, abseiling, treetops obstacle course, etc. And we try to arrange trips to local places in the community.

It's such a rewarding thing to do, and I'm sure your DC will be welcome anywhere!

Our unit is pretty active, we try to do a mix of stuff to suit all the girls. But all these groups are pretty dependent on the unit leaders. Some are obviously better than others!

In my experience as a longtime Guiding member, married to a longtime Scouter and with kids in both, Brownies and Rainbows can and do everything that Cubs and Beavers do, and possibly more.
My kids have done Archaeology badge (Brownies) and Cycling (Brownies and Cubs), camping under canvas including all the climbing, zip lines, caving etc (both) craft, art and creating (both) dance and acting (both) science (both) and loads more.
I will say that cubs scan be LOUD, so much more boisterous than Brownies though they are by no means quiet and timid.
I would say look at the badge syllabuses on the Scouting and Guiding websites, and visit a group of each before deciding.

First up, Rainbows/Brownies aren’t Scouts, they’re part of Girlguiding (Scouts and Girlguiding are and have always been completely separate organisations though with common roots and aims and collaborations).

Both are brilliant and offer a wide range of activities across things like outdoor adventures, lifeskills of all kinds, service in the community, creative activities, first aid etc etc. It is absolutely not the case that Brownies is all about crafts while Cubs is all about adventures, but in both organisations, groups will vary a bit depending on the volunteers who run them.

One thing that’s different is that Beavers/Cubs have both boys and girls while Rainbows/Brownies are all about empowering girls through lots of fun in their own space. So if that’s important to your daughter, or isn’t, it may be something that she considers.

Another thing to understand is that her choice may in any case be limited by what opportunities there are locally to volunteer as a 16yo in either organisation. It may be that they’re absolutely champing at the bit for the help, or it may be that they’re at capacity.

It all depends on what her interests are. I found Rainbows/Brownies less outdoorsy, more crafty while our Beaver and Cub packs where DD volunteers are a lot more physical groups.

But it also always depends on who is running it and what they offer. Lots of things depend on how many other volunteers they have and also the skills of the leaders.

She may need to be prepared to get rejections if they have enough DoE volunteers from their own ranks, our Explorers are quite busy volunteering with the younger groups and I know that one of DD's friends only got her volunteering spot at Brownies because she is a Ranger herself.

I would contact both and see which has availability on the day she’s free.

I run a brownies group and get far more applicants than I have places.

they do similar things, though our brownies is much more organised!

As a longtime member and later leader in both, they are similar, but slightly different - but so much really depends on your actual pack/den/group and its leaders. As there is such a range of things to do but what leaders are interested in doing and how much equipment they have or can access has a big impact on what actually gets done.