Volunteers’ Week 2026: Fiona
To celebrate Volunteers’ Week 2026 (1st – 7th June) we’re spotlighting volunteers in different roles across the city. If you’d like to give a shoutout to one of Girlguiding Edinburgh’s volunteers, you can post your personal thanks on Girlguiding Scotland’s Thank You Wall.
Fiona – Leader and mentor
The roles I hold within Girlguiding Edinburgh are leader of 4th South Queensferry Brownies and stand-in leader for the South Queensferry Guides, but I will help with all sections when needed and if I can, which I have been doing for over 10 years. I have been mentoring for Girlguiding Edinburgh since the new leader training qualification came into practice, as well as being part of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Team for about 1 year and a half.
The reason I volunteer for Girlguiding (GG) is that when I was growing up, Girlguiding was somewhere I didn’t need to be classed as different, and I was accepted for who I was. When I am volunteering with GG I feel inspired to encourage the girls to be who they what and have experiences that matter to them and I try to offer them as many of the experiences that I had as a Brownie and Guide that made me to want to share these through volunteering. The skills I have developed through my time in Girlguiding has strengthened my skills which I use when volunteering in my local community.
Fiona and her Brownies.
I was a Brownie and Guide in the Cramond district of Edinburgh, which I really enjoyed and my leaders at the time inspired me to continue and to be a young leader and ranger and then go on to start my leadership qualification with my old Guide unit. I left for a while, and when I moved back, lo and behold, there was a notice in our church service sheet looking for leaders, and I returned to Girlguiding Edinburgh, where I finished the leadership qualification and have stayed for over 10 years.
I have a few favourite memories from Guiding, my first one is going to an International Camp in Sherwood Forest, meeting loads of people and being away with girls that are still friends today, another memory I have is taking my unit on trips such as County events and days like Glasgow and seeing their excitement and their enthusiasm, developing friendships and being where they come out of their shells and I get to see a different girl from the unit meetings.
I feel people should volunteer for Girlguiding Edinburgh as it is something for girls to be girls; however, they still get the skills for life, and units are where no one is compared, and everyone has a smile, even on a couple of hours sleep or a bad day, a unit of girls can cheer anyone up.