Girls' Friendly Society
[3] In May 1874, the Reverend Thomas Vincent Fosbery (chaplain to Bishop Samuel Wilberforce), together with Mary Elizabeth Townsend (1841–1918), Catharine Tait (1819–1878), Elizabeth Browne (wife of the bishop of Winchester), and Jane Senior (1828–1877), met at Lambeth Palace and agreed on the basis for establishing the Girls' Friendly Society, which officially began its work on 1 January 1875.
The core values of the GFS aimed at high moral standards for its members; they attempted to supply "for every working girl of unblemished character a friend in a class above her own.
"[11] This insistence that the girls must be of unblemished character, which was usually interpreted as meaning virginity, was highly contentious, although it is unclear how far it was tested in practice.
It was less popular with shopgirls, who saw themselves as a cut above, and Northern millgirls, who were, according to a GFS report, "undisciplined, impatient of reproof and entirely wanting in self-control".
The local groups were called "branches" and the whole organisation was conceived of as a large tree with the central office as the trunk, and the members as leaves.
The central office of the GFS established a wide range of departments: one for their shop and factory workers programmes, one for publications, one for their "houses of rest" and one to deal with affiliated societies.
Luckily, she is befriended by a GFS associate, who takes her to a cafe and inspires her by telling her of the many great Essex women who have brought fame to their county.
Another typical production was by the pageant master Louis N Parker, "The Quest", first produced at the Albert Hall in 1925, in which a girl has to choose between the "tinselled" low way or the high way.
By 1878, the GFS had a presence in 19 dioceses in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar, as well as the first branches of the Girls' Friendly Society in America and Ireland.
Joyce had been one of the GFS's seventy-five founding associates and she wanted to support emigration, but she was aware of the risks that girls would be exposed to.
On St David's Day in 1910 a great gathering of GFS was held in the Queen's Hall, when the Princess of Wales consented to receive purses and present certificates on behalf of the Lodges and Homes of Rest Fund.
A number of Holiday Houses (retreat centers) as well as summer camp facilities were established in the United States, and many remain in operation.
[citation needed] Constance Adelaide Smith and Ellen Porter of the Girls Friendly Society lodge led a campaign to promote Mothering Sunday following a decline in its popularity.
[25] In 2019, a Girls Friendly Society group was launched in Leytonstone with the support of the Head of Waltham Forest Council.
They have developed a cluster model that focuses on areas where support is badly needed, such as South Manchester, North East London, Liverpool and Swansea.
We will create spaces where they feel safe and valued, so that they can build strong foundations that will prepare them for life’s challenges."
There are currently 80 branches throughout Ireland, a wide spectrum of interest is covered in the badge syllabus, which includes a study of the natural world, the community and the church, handcrafts and skills, information technology, sports and outdoor pursuits, as well as participating in fund raising to demonstrate our will to help others, both locally and globally.
The program is open to girls ages 5+ with active chapters in: Other countries include United Kingdom, Cameroon, Canada, Ghana, Honduras, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, The Philippines, Sierra Leone, South Africa, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Zambia.
