Revelstoke Girl Guides celebrated a July tour across Europe, bringing home memories and a presentation to thank the town for its support in fundraising for the trip Wednesday, Oct. 15 at the Knights of Pythias hall. Sharing pictures from Spain, France and Switzerland some of the troop members and guiders shared highlights of hiking, kayaking, touring historical buildings and meeting with other Guide troops from around the world.
Planning for the trip started on International Women’s Day March 22, 2022 with some of the 11 trip attendees as young as nine years old when the idea was first pitched.
Through bottle drives, movie nights and other fundraising opportunities, the Revelstoke Girl Guides were hard at work to make the trip a reality. Over the years, the troop has created partnerships around the community that Michelle Cole, Revelstoke Girl Guides leader, thinks will continue to serve the local troop.
“We needed to do a lot of that initial relationship building for this trip. I think a lot of the initial work is done and it’s going to help the next time.”
For Bridget Johnston, Revelstoke Pathfinder, traveling through Europe was the highlight of years of work to fundraise for the trip.
“It was suddenly tangible, all this work we’d done for years,” she said.
While some members were focused on the sights and history of the cities they visited and others more interested in exploring day-to-day life, the group was full of stories to share. Johnston noted younger members seemed a little overwhelmed at times, but years of skill building and planning kept things going smoothly.
“I think there’s always going to be a lot of smiles looking back,” she said.
Guests at the presentation joked who would now bus tables at events like the Business Excellence Awards, but Cole said planning for the next international trip isn’t entirely out of the picture and serving the community is still a core part of Girl Guides.
“We’ve definitely done that for years and years. There probably isn’t anybody who’s gone through Girl Guides who hasn’t done dishes sometime. So, we will still be here,” she said.
While Cole does encourage a couple of years to process the grand adventure before planning the next one really picks up, she still wants the Revelstoke Girl Guides and other organizations in town taking advantage of traveling opportunities.
“I want them to remember the courage and knowing they can stretch out of their comfort zones from this trip,” Cole said.
In the meantime, the troop recommended exploring what’s offered locally. Traveling through different mountain ranges throughout Europe gave Johnston an appreciation for home.
“I encourage traveling, but I’m also encouraging enjoying what you have here,” she said.
Revelstoke Girl Guides thanked the following supporters along with everyone in the community who bought cookies and laundry soap, as well as donated bottles;
Absolute Contracting, Apex Janitorial, Austin Luciow, Carol Thorson, City of Revelstoke Employees, City of Revelstoke—ReDi Grants, Community Connections Revelstoke Society, Cronometer, Deborah Beattie, Family of Ray Cretelli, Flying Arrow Productions, Indigenous Friendship Society of Revelstoke, Jill Zacharias, Knights of Pythias, LFI Farmer’s Market, No-Host Bazaar, Parks Canada, Revelstoke Accommodation Association, Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce, Revelstoke Community Centre, Revelstoke Community Choir, Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation, Revelstoke District Credit Union, Revelstoke Museum & Archives, Revelstoke Bottle Depot, Revelstoke Legion, Revelstoke Mountaineer, Revelstoke Rod & Gun Club, Revelstoke Senior Citizens Association, RSS Grad Class 2023, Revelstoke Softball Association, Revelstoke Youth Soccer, Revy Outdoors, Royal Bank—Revelstoke branch, Screen Smart, SD 19—Columbia Park School, Sue Scribner.
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