Appeal to help soon to be homeless Girl Guides group

The 9th Smethwick has struggled through the coronavirus pandemic, losing numbers and not being able to meet, and has now found its home Akrill Church is closing down and being put up for sale.

The troop, which runs Guides, Brownies, Rainbow and Rangers groups, is now putting out an appeal for help for a new home where it can meet when restrictions are lifted.

Debbie Jewell, who is a Guides captain and runs the whole group, said the news of the closure was very hard to take.

She said: "We've worked very hard over the years to maintain the building and help with all the refurbishment works and for this to happen is soul-destroying.

"It's been a tough year for everybody and we've had such healthy numbers over the years, although we've lost a lot through not being able to meet, so this is like the straw that broke the camels back.

"Guiding has been at Akrill Church since 1929, the Brownies were celebrating their 90th year and the Rainbows had been there 30 years, so we're losing a lot of tradition."

Mrs Jewell said the troop was looking for a similar type of venue to Akrill Church and said it should be big enough to allow all the groups to meet on the same evening.

She said: "It would mean that a Rainbow could look across and see what the Brownies were doing and think that it looks like fun and that could mean she wants to be a Brownie next.

"Brown Own Jayne Dean and I have got more than 40 years each in guiding and we are hoping to continue doing it to give girls an experience outside of the family home and school.

"There's also the financial implication for any new venue as we've never had to pay rent and we need to find a place that we can afford going forward."

For Jayne Dean, getting a new venue will help to bring the troop back together after so long away.

She said: "I want this very much as the last 12 months have been very difficult and while we've been able to hold it together with Zoom, I want to meet face to face again.

"Like Debbie said, we've lost a lot of numbers over the year and it's important for us to get back to a normality and find a new home."

To contact 9th Smethwick about any potential venues, email Debbie Jewell at debbiejewell22@yahoo.co.uk