Girl Guides of Canada-BC

• You’ll feel connected to the awesome sisterhood of Guiding in your region and beyond while having summer fun along with friends.
• You’ll focus on enjoying fantastic programming as you explore along, sing along, play along, and make memories along with fellow Girl Guides.
• You’ll eat yummy food prepared by dedicated volunteers for you and your patrol; no meal prep required by patrols so we can maximize the number of AMAZING experiences your youth get in a jam-packed program.
• You’ll stay in indoor (cabin or building) and/or outdoor (hut, platform tent, tent) accommodations, depending on availability and location, along with other patrols who you'll get to meet.
• You’ll choose your nearest camp location or decide to sign up for another location to experience something new elsewhere in BC (with any travel expenses or logistics for travel between regions being the responsibility of your patrol).
• You’ll only require basic personal gear (bedding, clothing, etc.) to participate in this experience, with other gear provided or available on-site.

• Camp-Along for Sparks/Embers (and their Patrol Guiders): Saturday, July 26 to Monday, July 28, 2025
• Camp-Along for Guides/Pathfinders/Rangers (and their Patrol Guiders): Tuesday, July 29 to Sunday, August 3, 2025
• Camp-Along for Core Volunteers: Arrival on the evening of Friday, July 25; Departure on Sunday, August 3, 2025

Simultaneous events will be held at:

• Coastal Camp-Along: Camp Olave, Sechelt
• Ridge Camp-Along: Camp Kanaka, Maple Ridge
• Valley Camp-Along: Camp McLanlin, Abbotsford
• Northern Camp-Along: Camp Hughes, Prince George
• Island Camp-Along: Camp Creina, Duncan
• Okanagan Camp-Along: Camp Arbuckle, Lake Country

• $220-$250* per youth: Spark/Ember Two-Night Camp
• $700-$750* per youth: Guide/Pathfinder/Ranger Five-Night Camp

*Exact fees will be confirmed prior to youth registration and will be within the above price ranges.

There is no fee for adult volunteers attending as Patrol Guiders or Core Volunteers.

The fee includes everything during camp, including catered meals by volunteers, cool participant-only swag/clothing, program supplies, activity fees, and rental of specialized equipment and infrastructure we will require to make a camp of this size/scale a success. 10% will be due by families at the time of youth registration, with patrols or individual youth welcome to fundraise 0-90% of the remaining cost through cookie selling and other fundraising opportunities. Any travel costs are the responsibility of the patrol and are not included in the fee, though events taking place at regional camps will keep those costs low for most participants.

Girl Guide policy allows fundraising for up to 90% of the cost of a Guiding experience. Fundraising is optional but encouraged, so the opportunity can be accessible to all.

Of any fundraising goal, at least 25% must be fundraised through the sale of cookies. Example: $xxxx fee, $xxxx paid by parent, $200 fundraising goal chosen by the patrol or youth, $50 or more fundraised through cookie selling (25%).

To order cookies, contact your District Commissioner. Surplus cookies may be available for the spring 2024 campaign; ask your district. Patrols will be able to order their own cookies through their district for the fall 2024 and spring 2025 campaigns, with orders typically due approximately six (6) months in advance; ask your District Commissioner for more information about this process.

Other popular fundraisers may include clothing drives, bottle drives, “parents’ night out” babysitting events, hosting special events in your neighbourhood, etc. Check out our Fundraising Guidelines on Member Zone for more examples of acceptable fundraisers.

Any patrol fundraising requires the submission of a FR.1 (Fundraising Approval) form to bc-fr1@girlguides.ca before you begin. Download the FR.1 in MemberZone.

We strongly encourage fundraising for all Girl Guide participants. See Fundraising FAQs on Member Zone for more information about how to access those opportunities. With one and a half years between patrol Guider sign-up and the camp, we’re confident that patrols will have ample time to fundraise as they wish, to offset the costs. Consider attending your nearest camp location to home to ensure you incur low or no travel costs within your local region.

Yes! Patrol Guiders select their preferred location and a second choice (if desired) at the time of Patrol Guider application. While most patrols will choose to attend their nearest event for convenience and cost, patrols are welcome to choose to travel to other locations, while space remains. Travel costs and planning are the responsibility of the patrol.

Patrols or families are responsible for regional transportation (bus, carpool, etc.). Please note that on-site parking is limited at most locations, and some are unable to accommodate direct family drop-offs. Participants may be required to take advantage of a local shuttle (e.g. from a ferry terminal, local shopping centre, or other transportation hub), and may be unable to park a vehicle on-site. These transportation details will be confirmed later after patrol registration. Regional camp locations offer convenience and comfort for families who may not be equipped to travel across the province, and keep costs low for GGC and individuals.

Adults can come along to Camp-Along as a Patrol Guider and bring a group of youth. For more information on patrols, please see the other patrol-related questions on this FAQs page.

While Patrol Guiders are our primary need and where most Guiders will be accepted, we will require a small team of Core Volunteers for responsibilities in different areas, including Program, Food, Health/Wellness, and Responsible Guider(s) to oversee the events.

Only registered members of Girl Guides of Canada may attend Camp-Along. The event is unable to accommodate ‘parent guests’ to accompany their own youth. However, parents are invited to become Unit Guiders this year in order to gain volunteer experience and be prepared to attend Camp-Along as a Patrol Guider. Note that Unit Assistants/Non-Member Volunteers are not eligible to apply to attend Camp-Along until they complete their screening process and become a full Guider/Adult Member of Girl Guides of Canada. Please contact screening@girlguides.ca to begin this membership process; your prior Police Record Check remains valid and transferable, but additional screening steps (e.g. a short screening interview, reference checks, and basic online training) are required for those applying to become a Guider from a Non-Member Volunteer status.

Youth who require 1:1 support may be accompanied by a Support Person who meets the screening criteria set out by GGC. A Support Person should not fill out the application form to become a Patrol Guider as they will be directly assisting one individual; please email us at bc-campalong@girlguides.ca about the child’s needs so we can discuss next steps.

More from GGC about the role of a Support Person:
“A support person is an individual hired or chosen to accompany a person with a disability to provide service or assistance with communication, mobility, personal care, medical needs or to access services. Personal care needs may include assistance with eating or using the washroom. Medical needs might include ensuring medication is taken on time, monitoring someone's health conditions, and providing injections.”

A “patrol” model is our approach to register youth for these experiences and ensure we have enough volunteers to supervise them during camp; generally, these volunteers are adults with whom they are already familiar (e.g. their Unit Guider or another Guider they may know from their neighbourhood). Each adult who signs up as a patrol Guider will be assigned five (Sparks/Embers) or seven (Guides/Pathfinders/Rangers) spots to distribute to youth in their units, districts, or other youth they may know. They will support those youth for any desired fundraising and accompany them to/from and during the camp event. Guiders may also sign up and indicate that they’re willing to be assigned youth, if they want to volunteer but aren't bringing youth to camp with them.

Patrols are one adult and five Sparks/Embers, or one adult and seven Guides/Pathfinders/Rangers. Patrol Guiders should sign up with the intention to fill all those spots or indicate when signing up that they’re willing to accompany a patrol of “independent” youth. Any unfilled spots as of the deadline (date TBA) will also be allocated to independent youth.

That’s up to you! Guiders are strongly encouraged to advertise opportunities widely to their unit and beyond and prioritize inclusion of as many youth as possible who may not otherwise have a chance to adventure along with you. Some ideas to consider:

• Ask families to express interest and randomly draw youth participants if interest exceeds available spots in patrol(s) led by Guider(s) from your unit
• Ask youth to complete a short application form or chat with you during a unit meeting to select youth who are most prepared and excited for an experience like this
• Set basic criteria, such as recent successful participation in unit overnights, and select youth who meet those criteria

Guiders who are parents/caregivers or other loved ones of a youth member are encouraged to consider finding a spot for their child in another patrol to create opportunities for personal growth and independence during camp. Where possible, consider asking another ‘Guider mom’ or other adult who cares for kids you know (in your unit, district, or beyond) to trade spots with you for your respective children, or chat with another Guider with available spots they’re looking to fill. Don’t worry - you’ll still see your child around camp and share much of the experience along with each other either way!

For the comfort and safety of all participants, all youth will be required to have successfully completed at least a one-night Guiding overnight event (sleepover or camp) prior to May 2025, with more experience encouraged but not mandatory. We request two or more nights’ experience by adult volunteers. Explore local sleepovers, camps, or other skill-building events, along with your unit in 2024 and 2025, to get ready for camp!

Our events will be for Sparks/Embers or Guides/Pathfinders/Rangers. Guiders can bring any combination of youth within those age ranges, but please note that younger or older youth cannot attend an event not for their branches. You’re welcome and encouraged to invite other youth beyond your unit in the appropriate branches to come with you if you have space. All patrols are expected to be full with their own youth, or assigned independent youth placed in their patrol by the Camp-Along team.

Bring all your Guider BFFs along to camp with you! Each adult applies independently and will bring their own youth, but there is no limit on how many adults can come from the same unit/district, until or unless an event is full. If you want to bring many youth from your unit/district, have multiple Guiders sign up to bring patrols. Note that we cannot guarantee that patrols are assigned to the same campsites within an event, but there will be many opportunities to see each other during the event and share the experience.

Registration is limited to BC members at this time. Should any camp location(s) have space remaining as of a date yet to be determined, registration will open to out of province patrols. Stay tuned for any future announcements.

Yes, please apply. You must be a current member of Girl Guides of Canada in good standing and meet the general criteria for volunteers. We will confirm your status with your provincial council.