Kendra Bulldog, a brownie in the Inuvik Girls Guides, stayed up until 10 p.m. at the group鈥檚 sleepover at the Children First Centre last weekend.

鈥�We do lots of fun crafts and we go outside lots,鈥� she said about why she enjoys being part of the Girl Guides.

Her favourite part is learning all about the badges.

Tracey Davison, a leader of the Inuvik division, said she believes strongly in the Girl Guides program.

鈥�It really builds independence and confidence,鈥� said Davison, who came up through the program herself.

鈥�That鈥檚 really the key, ensuring our girls have confidence and they learn lots of skills and they can do anything in their life.鈥�

A group of brownies (ages 7-8) and sparks (ages 5-6) played games, worked on their badges and did crafts at a sleepover last weekend.

鈥�In Girl Guides, sleepovers is a common thing,鈥� said Davison. 鈥淲e get a chance to get the girls to work on badges and spend time together. We worked on the chocolate challenge, which they enjoyed a lot because it involved eating chocolate. We made chocolate facemasks.鈥�

鈥�Some people ate it!鈥� chimed Bulldog.

Apparently some brave girls also sampled an oatmeal foot scrub, at which Bulldog expressed her disgust.

The program follows the school season and will end in June.

The girls will begin selling their famous cookies soon, which is the biggest fundraiser for the program. An event themed around Canada 150 celebrations will close out the year.

The Inuvik program has about eight sparks, eight brownies, six or seven guides (ages 9-11), two pathfinders (ages 12-14) and three rangers (ages 15-17).

Davison said the group is always looking for more leaders who want to come out and inspire young girls.

鈥�It鈥檚 a good program and we鈥檙e always looking for new members,鈥� she said.

The Girl Guides usually recruit new girls and leaders in the fall.