Sharjah Girl Guides raise Dh23,000 for orphans

The Sharjah Girl Guides (SGG) successfully concluded its annual "Cookie for a Cause" campaign, raising Dh23,000 for orphans through the Sharjah Social Empowerment Foundation, while highlighting the importance of community values and social responsibility.

SGG guides (aged between 12 and 15) and brownies (aged between 7 and 11), sold over 1,100 packs of cookies, provided by the renowned bakery Zo’s Kitchen, for Dh20 each at the American University of Sharjah, the University of Sharjah and the Higher College of Technology Sharjah Women's Colleges.

Following in the Girl Scouts’ and Girl Guides’ cookie-selling tradition, launched nearly a century ago to raise funds for guiding activities, the SGG continued the tradition to raise funds for charity and allowed the girls to not only help other children but to also learn valuable leadership skills and gain experience in different charity programmes.

"The girls made the most of the opportunity to contribute to an extremely worthwhile cause, and at the same time learnt some positive lessons that will help them to develop into responsible and conscientious citizens. The campaign has proved to be highly effective from both a practical and humanitarian viewpoint, perfectly aligned with the UAE’s 2017 Year of Giving," said Shaikha Abdulaziz Al Shamsi, Assistant Manager at Sharjah Girl.

Through donations to the Sharjah Social Empowerment Foundation, which helps with the development and care of orphans and provides them with financial and moral support, the girls also acquired some basic goal-setting, decision-making, and money management and business ethics skills.

"Our primary goals are to ensure that SGG plays a role in contributing to the local and national community, and also to introduce new experiences which will help the girls later in life. With the "Cookie for a Cause" campaign, we have combined these two elements with equal measure and equal success," Al Shamsi added.

The guiding movement was first established in Sharjah in 1973, after which it spread across the UAE and gave rise to the Girl Guides Association of the United Arab Emirates in 1979. Under the patronage of Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, SGG aims to inspire and nurture future generations to become progressive global citizens, by providing a platform for girls to develop to their fullest potential.

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