Supporting young women to do their best

Posted on June 28, 2012 in General, Youth

"I promise to do my best."

With those words every young woman in the Guiding movement embarks on a lifelong character-building exercise which includes a respect and appreciation for the natural environment.  This leadership training often takes place at Camp Olave which is a Girl Guide camp located at Roberts Creek on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. There are 15 campsites and cottages on 56 hectares of forest and wilderness, all situated around beautiful ocean beaches overlooking  the scenic Strait of Georgia.

The beginnings of Camp Olave demonstrate amazing tenacity on the part of early guiders.  In February 1930 the former assembly camp of the Rat Portage Lumber Company was purchased. Through many difficulties and much fundraising, the camp was owned free and clear in 1935. Originally the camp consisted of Rose and Brock Cottages, stables made of huge logs and a sunken wharf. Today's Camp is an amazing teaching and learning resource for girls and guiders which is irreplaceable.

Camp Olave is managed and cared for by the Camp Olave Management Committee and its subcommittees of dedicated site managers. This camp has served young Sparks, Brownies, Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers and their Leaders for more than eighty years.
Through the assistance of a generous donor, the Camp Olave Endowment Fund was created at the Victoria Foundation in 2011 to preserve Camp Olave for generations of young women in British Columbia who will continue to benefit from this tremendous resource.

Guiding in Canada celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010 and the organization will continue to offer leadership programs to young women for at least another 100 years. Camping is integral to the program and it is vital to preserve Camp Olave for those young women who will follow.

If you are interested in helping to preserve this resource and experience for young women in British Columbia, please consider a contribution to the Camp Olave Endowment Fund at the Victoria Foundation. Online donations can be made through the foundation's portal at CanadaHelps. Select "Camp Olave Endowment – Girl Guides" from the fund designation dropdown box or write "Camp Olave" in the message/instructions box.

This post was written by Linda Reid, MLA for Richmond East and Deputy Speaker of the House. She was a Brownie, Guide, Ranger, and Brown Owl of the 126th Vancouver Brownies and is now the mother of a Girl Guide.