Trip of a lifetime
Bridgewater Pathfinders embarking on 10-day trip to five European countries
Thirteen 2nd Bridgewater Pathfinders in their early teens will discover that March Break 2020 will mark a significant milestone in their young lives when they embark on a 10-day trip of a lifetime to five European countries: England, France, Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Pathfinders are part of the Girl Guide organization, where girls progress by age from Sparks to Brownies, to Guides, to Pathfinders, then to Rangers, the oldest group of girls.
One of the Pathfinders looking forward to the experience is Emily Varner, 14, a Grade 10 student at Park View Education Centre, and a junior firefighter with the Dayspring and District Fire Department.
“The farthest I have travelled is Toronto to visit my cousins, so I can’t wait to visit all the places in Europe, the new experiences, the food, and spending time with the other girls who helped fundraise,” said Varner. “When I come home, I will probably see things here in an entirely different light.”
For 15 months, fundraising has been almost a full-time job for the 13 girls, their families and the three Pathfinder leaders who will accompany the group of closeknit girls to Europe.
Fundraising efforts have included bottle drives, sea glass mosaic workshops, barbecues, breakfast with the Grinch, scallops raffle, gift card auctions, lotto tree, ice cream scooping, grocery bagging, spaghetti dinners and, of course, cookie sales. The national fall cookie sale will commence in October.
A supper is in the planning stages, as well as two more snowman sea glass mosaic workshops in November with Tammy Bonin, a local artist who donates a portion of her fee to help fund the trip.
“When we booked the trip, it was a pretty scary commitment,” said Sandra Johnston, a leader with the 2nd Bridgewater Pathfinders.
“In reality we were looking at a small group of girls from Bridgewater raising $65,000. We held our breath, told each other we can do it, then took the plunge,” she said.
Since June, 2018, $55,000 of the required $65,000 has been raised, including about $4,000 from an anonymous former Guide leader. The cost of the trip is $4,600 per individual, and each girl is responsible for contributing 10 percent of the individual cost.
“The leaders really know these girls. Their friendships span five different schools, and it’s nice to see them work together and mature during the many fundraising events. I`m proud of them,” said Johnston.
“I love seeing their faces when I give them the trip updates and they realize how close they are to their goal. It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s been rewarding at the same time,” she added.
April Deveau, 15, of Conquerall Mills, has been in guiding for nine years, starting with Brownies.