Friendly faces adorn Girl Guides stamp
[attach]1980[/attach]Best buddies Molly Lewis and Emma Luce have a pretty neat memento of their friendship: a postage stamp with their picture on it.
Molly, a Brownie, and Emma, a Girl Guide, are featured on a commemorative stamp released by Canada Post July 8 to celebrate the Girl Guides of Canada’s 100-year anniversary.
The photo was taken last fall in High Park, where the girls spent the afternoon being photographed and having their hair and make-up done.
“Every five seconds, a girl came to fix Molly’s hair and mine,” said Emma, 10.
The girls were also treated to a snack table, which they visited often on their breaks throughout the shoot.
Ten-year-old Molly said it was hard work being photographed for five hours, but she had a lot of fun.
“It was an awesome experience having our picture taken,” Molly said. “They took so many pictures of us.”
East Yorkers Molly and Emma were friends before the shoot. They met at Diefenbaker Elementary School and were in the same grade 1/2 split class.
“We’ve been friend since we were in kindergarten because we used to play with each other in the schoolyard,” Emma explained.
Their friendship is what led them to be chosen for the stamp.
“They wanted two best friends,” Emma said. “Me and my best friend Molly signed up and they chose us.”
Now that the photo shoot is over and the stamps are available through Canada Post, the girls are thrilled.
“Our picture will go all over the world and that’s just incredible,” said Molly.
Molly and Emma joined Girl Guides for different reasons, but they both love being part of the organization.
“I wanted to meet new friends,” said Emma. “We do arts and crafts, play games and we sing songs. I have lots of fun there.”
Molly said her mom was once a Brownie, and so she tried it out for herself.
“I wanted to earn badges and go camping,” she said. “I’ve been a Brownie for two years and I got a special award for earning the most badges in my troop.”
This is not the first time Girl Guides is celebrating a milestone birthday with the help of Canada Post. A stamp was created in 1960 to celebrate the organization’s 50-year anniversary, and another 25 years later to celebrate its 75-year anniversary.
“It’s something that has been done on occasion,” said Girl Guides spokesperson Christine Harris. “Canada Post has been part of commemorating our history with us.”
Harris said this is the first stamp that pictures members of the organization on it because Canada Post recently began featuring people
on stamps.
“We really wanted it to reflect what Girl Guides is today,” she said. “The two girls on the stamp are friends that go to school together, are guides together, and it demonstrates that friendship.”
Canada Post issued three million stamps across Canada and they are selling out fast, said Jim Phillips, director of Stamp Services at Canada Post.
“They’ve been flying off the shelves,” he said. “I think people like the fun, colourful flavour to them.”
Along with the stamps is a special booklet that features all five branches of Girl Guides: Sparks, Brownies, Guides, Pathfinders, and Rangers, representing all Girl Guides past and present.
“It’s symbolization that Girl Guide’s 100 years is a huge anniversary in Canada,” said Phillips.
