1. Weekly Meetings and First Meeting of the Year
The 9th Pathfinders meet Wednesdays in the basement at First Lutheran Church (5345 Wales St) from 6:45 – 8:30 pm. Enter from the side door on E 42nd Ave.
The first meeting of the year will be on Wednesday September 18th. We’d ask that all parents/guardians plan to spend the first 20-30 minutes at the meeting to meet the Guiders and ensure we have all of the forms and up-to-date contact information we need.

Please bring the following items to the first meeting:

• Completed Personal Health Form for your Pathfinder – mandatory!
• New this year – Girl Guides of Canada is piloting an option to submit health form information online, via ePACT. Keep an eye out for an email from Girl Guides of BC during the week of August 26 for more information about how to sign up for ePACT and complete your H1 forms online.
• $50 for annual dues payment – cash or cheque payable to “GGC – 9th Vancouver Pathfinders”. Can also be paid in two installments of $25 (September and January). Dues help pay for unit basics such as pins and badges, craft materials, baking supplies, and thank-you’s for special guests and presenters.

Please note – payment for activities and outings by cheque is preferable to cash wherever possible, because it makes our record keeping a lot easier!!

2. Uniform
A Pathfinder uniform is an important part of your Pathfinder toolkit. Uniforms are mandatory for public events as they help identify us as Pathfinders and members of Girl Guides of Canada. Pathfinders will need a uniform t-shirt and pin tab, plus a scarf if you like which can be ordered online. We recommend ordering soon, as shipping and availability can be delayed at the start of the year. 
You may have seen that the Girl Guide uniforms have changed for this year. You don’t need to buy a new one, though, if you’ve already got a Pathfinder uniform! Girls are welcome to wear the previous uniform (royal blue shirt with green triangle, with Pathfinder scarf) or one of the new navy blue uniforms (t-shirt or tunic-style, no scarf). The previous style of uniforms are heavily discounted right now – get ’em while they’re hot!

3. Save the Dates – upcoming activities
We’ve already got a lot planned for the fall, so take a look at the Unit Calendar and save the dates for fun outings such as the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean Up on September 28 (we’re on snack duty this year, so be sure to plan to attend!!), and the Southridge District outing to Britannia Mines National Historic Site on November 2.

4. Volunteer Opportunities for Adults
We are looking for some enthusiastic friends or family members aged 19+ to help out with some key duties with the Pathfinder unit, including supporting the unit treasury functions; helping coordinate camping gear, food, and materials when we go on events and adventures; and more. Are you interested and available to help out with any of these functions this year? If so, please send Karla an email to discuss opportunities to support the unit, and all of the fun things we’ll do this year.