Queen's Award
Ultimate Award
Queen’s Award is our ultimate award given to girls, and is the highest international award you can achieve in Girls' Brigade.
Queen’s Award is open to Girls’ Brigade and IFG members from age 15.
What's it all about?
As girls work towards this award, we hope they will learn new skills, be open to new experiences and set personal targets that will test and take them out of their comfort zone while developing their faith along the way. At the end of the programme, girls will understand themselves better, knowing they have made significant contributions to people around them, and will feel really proud of what they have achieved.
Aim
To encourage girls and young women to a personal commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, while respecting other faiths, inspiring them to greater endeavour in service within the general community and to make a contribution to the worldwide concept of the Girls’ Brigade.
Two Year Programme
The two-year programme involves the following areas:
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Two initiative tasks eg. organizing an event, organizing a themed dinner, fundraiser, etc
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48 hrs voluntary community service
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major assignment eg. photography, crochet, sports, sewing, book writing, etc
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Girls' Brigade service throughout the two years of the award
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church involvement throughout the two years of the award
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participation in Assessment Weekend: a presentation of a written+verbal submission on a given topic, tours of Parliament & Government House, written assessment covering GB & NZ knowledge, and an interview about social and spiritual perspectives.
The award is presented at Presentation Weekend, held in early December in Wellington. The awards are presented at Government House, followed by a formal dinner, and a church service the next morning, all of which the girls can invite family and others to.
Want to know more?
If you are keen to find out more about Queen's Award, ask your leader to have a chat to the Queen’s Award Coordinator in your area, or contact the National Queen’s Award Committee at nqac@girlsbrigade.org.nz, to see if it’s something you should give a go!
Queen's Award Recipients
Celia Allerby
As part of her Queen's Award programme, 2019 Queen’s Award awardee Celia Allerby ran netball coaching for a season for her voluntary service, and for her major assignment, she wrote a Christmas play which her company performed at the end of the year. She also organised a quiz night for her Girls’ Brigade area, and a Queen’s Birthday high tea.
“The initiative tasks challenged me with the idea of working from the ground up for every event, including creating a budget, coordinating with venue staff, developing notices, decorating the venue and running the event. Throughout my Queen’s Award journey I have come to value the skills of organisation and planning ahead; skills which I am so thankful for as I can apply these in my life as a GB leader and a university student”.
Melina Samuels
For her Queen’s Award, 2019 awardee Melina organised a ‘Royal Feast’ themed dinner, and also hosted a ‘Colour Crazy’ Movie night. She volunteered for 48 hours helping at her local school, and was also intensively involved in several sports for a year.
“This Award enabled me to fellowship with other girls within Girls’ Brigade nationwide. I was able to overcome many obstacles and learn new skills and experiences during the process. It tested my faith and my ability to do certain things but with the help of God I was able to face and overcome it all. It was very challenging but the end result was truly worth it. The Queen’s Award taught me that you are going to face many things in life, good and bad, somethings happen unexpectedly so when it comes you have to be ready to fight, have faith and push pass it. In a way the Queen’s Award has changed my life.”
Lauren Spurdle
Over the past two years I have had an amazing time working towards my Queen’s Award. It’s been challenging but in all the best ways. Something that all my tasks have had in common is that in each and every single one of them I’ve been able to try something new.
So I guess my favourite thing from the past two years is that I’ve got to do so many new things that I never would have don if it wasn’t for Queen’s Award.
You are always capable of more than you think. A lot of the time I think we hinder ourselves from our full potential because often our potential reaches further than our imagination. While this sounds big and philosophical, I feel like it applies best in little situations. Overall, I am so grateful that I had the chance to do my Queens’ Award, and even more grateful for the support that I have had from church, family and leaders. .