Becoming a Brownie leader

[AChickenCalledKorma]

Have got to make a decision about whether to volunteer to help keep DD2's Brownie pack running. Long story short - one uniformed leader leaving - the other needs at least one uniformed person to help run it - no-one available locally to step in.

I have experience working with children of Brownie age and could, in theory, do it.

On the other hand, I am massively busy at work (part time, but occupies all school hours) and already have two quite major voluntary roles, also with children. I'm really not looking for another commitment.

Can anyone help me understand what I would be letting myself in for, in terms of what you have to do to get into uniform? Doing the actual meetings isn't necessarily the problem, but I really need a realistic view of what else goes along with it.

Brownie leader for 5 years here, started in near enough the same circs, and would say it has a huge deal to do with how organised you mind being and how reliable other volunteers will be. If you have people you can rely on to help with organising activities, ordering craft stuff/badges/whatnot then it shouldn't be a huge problem - there aren't that many district meetings (although the weekend activity stuff can sometimes rack up) and the paperwork for training isn't particularly arduous. But if you have little support from others in the group it can become so draining, that's why I had to finish, I was virtually doing everything myself.

I'm a Beaver leader, so similar but not quite the same. I'd say that the meeting night takes up 2 1/2 hrs (tidying, setting up, getting home again) for a 1 1/2 hour session. I spend about another 1/2 hour to 1 hour doing paperwork etc.

I don't do loads of weekend stuff, I need time at home with DS.

I think how long it take depends very much on how many people you have helping you and how much they are doing!!

In theory you could end up doing some or all of the following

• planning for meetings (2-3 hours once a term maybe)
• organising a meeting (depends on the meeting, may be anything from 5 minutes to 2 hours)
• keeping accounts
• managing joining lists
• answering parents queries
• attending meetings at higher level (normally couple of hours once a term)
• planning for joint meetings between various groups

I think on the most succcessful teams this lot is shared out. Maybe if you said it averaged at an hour a week on top of the meeting, this wouldn't be far out? But it is really up to you how much you take on.

TBH with a new volunteer I really wouldn't expect much of them in the early days other than helping out at meetings and maybe starting to run activities while they got a feel for what was involved. So it depends how desparate your brownie pack is for more help ...

I am a leader who relies on a couple of others who are in the same boat as you. Your potential availability is very welcome but do not get sucked in more than you want to be. It is the nature of volunteering that there is always too much to do and too few people. Just turning up for a weekly meeting and going for first aid training is a great help. As long as you feel able to say no when it doesn't suit you, then go for it!

I used to run a brownie company, long ago.

I found it was thinking of activities, on a very limited budget, which was the really time consuming bit. The web would have helped enormously.

Not that it would be quicker, you can get lost in Pinterest forever, but the activities would be more fun.

However, I was a Brown Owl before children. I moved and gave up when I had DD1.

If you have DCs you absolutely need, DH or granny to cover if your own DC is ill etc.

I never went back because I have two DDs 3 years apart.

DH couldn't guarantee being back to look after the too young/too old for brownies sister and it's not fair to drag them along.

I'm a Brownie Leader - and love it. It's important that you feel you can get on with the other Leader though.

We arrive 30 mins before our Brownie meeting starts, and leave about 15 mins after it finishes. The girls do all the tidying and cleaning up before we do our goodbye routines, but we stay on to chat and plan the following week's activities.

We have a planning meeting about once per term, outside of the unit meeting, but tbh, could probably do this by email just as easily - we like the excuse of meeting in the pub!

How involved is your DDs unit in activities and events at District/County/Region/National level? This will all be extra time, on top of the weekly unit meetings that you might get sucked into. We do a couple of these events a term, at least. And a unit sleepover for either one or two nights each term - a trip such as PGL, or something else once or twice a year, the odd church service or other community event, etc etc.... it all mounts up.

There is a fair bit of admin to do before these trips/events, and also generally, from week to week keeping track of what badges girls have, who's paid subs, who's going on what trip, doing the accounts etc etc.

You can be as involved or not as you want to be. I imagine just turning up for weekly meetings would be a great help to the current Leader, anything else you do to help would be a bonus.

Happy to discuss more if you'd like to PM me.

This is all really useful stuff - thanks! The other leader is someone I've know a long time who I would be very happy to work with. And she is a SAHM of secondary-aged children, who is happy to do a big chunk of the work. But there is clearly a need to have someone else who is entitled to run meetings if there is clash with a school event or something.

What you've helped me understand is that I would need to define very carefully how much "extra" stuff I'm able to do. Shopping for resources, preparing crafts etc is part of what I already do for my other voluntary roles, so that would be fine. Lots of District/weekend events would not be fine!

My only other child is older and able to be at home alone, so barring sickness that's not an issue.

And thanks Middleagedmotheroftwo - think I'll arrange coffee with the other leader and pick her brains, but I may come back to you to sound things out!

HTH

I'm on the facebook groups for guiding and you can get some great ideas there.

I probably put the most work in but I work part time compared to the other leaders but we do share the work load.