Episode 4 - Let's Hike Up to Our Chalet

High up, high on the mountain is where we take our podcast this week!

Nestled in the Swiss alps, Our Chalet is Guiding's first World Centre. It is a place where members of the sisterhood gather to spend time together, share their cultures and experiences, explore the local area, lend a hand in the community, and gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the international sisterhood.

Opened on July 31, 1932, Our Chalet has been a pinnacle location throughout Guiding history. It played an important role in WWII by reuniting refugees with lost friends and family, hosted the first Juliette Low seminar, welcomed Guiding friends and family, and played host to over 33,000 guests by 1972. Many modernizations have been added to the property, including the construction of a new chalet-style house for accommodations and conference facilities and a refurbished dining hall.

Have you visited Our Chalet, or another World Centre? Let us know what you loved the most from your experience in the comments below.

Did you know that Our Chalet has a cat on staff?! Her name is Skippy Storrow, her last name being a nod to Our Chalet founder, Helen Storrow.

This week's program topic is on first aid. Marissa recounts the various first aid courses she has taken, including a babysitting course from her pre-teen years, as well as her weekend treating instructor Jeff, and HAL (a computer programmed training mannequin). Taryn tells us about how she spent her weekend supervising the training of guiders and girls in wilderness first aid. It was a very long one (as was this episode), as you may be able to hear from her weary report of the weekend. Nevertheless, it was very successful and we're very proud of our girls for successfully completing the course and tests set out before them.

Did you know that Elizabeth Warren was a Girl Scout leader? She even took on the role of Cookie Chair for several years! She is a big believer in cookie sales and loves how it empowers girls to take responsibility and learn new skills such as accounting, money management, and professionalism. Elizabeth is also a strong advocate for girls in leadership and encourages them to take on volunteer roles in their community.

Watch Elizabeth's interview with current girl scout, Amaryllis, to learn how Guiding & Scouting helps women succeed and how you can take on a leadership role in any situation.

As you may know, Elizabeth also has a long and successful career in politics and law, focusing especially on middle-class families and how to help them with financial burdens that typically stems from exorbitant healthcare bills.

And what better way to close this episode than with a tune that comes from high up, high on the mountains. As you may have guessed, our campfire song this week is Our Chalet.

The song is a nod to the founders, and refers to purpose and significance of a place that every guide can call home. Listen to the full song now.

If you haven't done so already, listen to this episode now by visiting our podcast page. New to the podcast or missed out on an episode? You can catch up now - we're on all of your favourite podcast apps (Spotify, Apple, Google, Anchor, etc.). Subscribe so that you're the first to know when new episodes come out, and send us some love with a like, comment, or 5 star rating. This lets us know that you're listening and loving it!

Follow us @guidesown on Twitter and Instagram for podcast news, discussions, and snippets from behind-the-scenes. If you'd like to contribute to an episode of Guides' Own, send us your ideas for topics, program, campfire songs, etc. via our Contact page.

We wish you good guiding,

Taryn & Marissa