Denise Giles-Woodhouse has been challenging and empowering girls to become responsible and confident young women through her work with Girlguiding Bermuda for more than two decades.

The former Island Commissioner first took her Girl Guide promise in the English countryside as a five-year-old and started volunteering in Bermuda when her daughter Hailey Giles also became a Brownie.

“Guiding had a profound effect on me as a young woman, coming from a little country village with nothing,” Ms Giles-Woodhouse explained. “My parents couldn’t afford to send me to camp, either in the little village, or overseas, and somebody thought highly enough of me in Guiding that they helped me fundraise and take my first trip ever overseas to represent Guiding when I was twelve.

“That was so important in my life; it made me think that there is a big wide world out there and that I want to travel, and see it, and do things, and there is no such thing as ‘you can’t’.”

“I had so many wonderful experiences in Girlguiding, and when the time came and I had my own daughter, I wanted to be reinvolved.”

The Warwick resident soon became a Guide Leader, head of the Lady Asser Guide Hut, District Commissioner and even Island Commissioner — a post she held from 1996 to 2001.

She took Girlguiding Bermuda through their Centenary celebrations, and under her leadership they won a legal dispute with the Bermuda High School for Girls that ended an 84-year-old disagreement over who owned the land that the Asser Hut is situated on.

The recently retired beauty therapist and hairdresser, who moved to Bermuda in 1977, owned Renaissance Hair Salon for 35 years and has also taught beauty at CedarBridge Academy.

But even while running her own business, teaching and raising her daughter, Ms Giles-Woodhouse always found time for “her girls”, who affectionately call her “Woody”.

Ms Giles-Woodhouse explained that Guiding gives girls the ability to challenge themselves and teaches them that anything is possible.

She is very proud of the girls she has worked with and said that the most rewarding thing is seeing who they can become and making a difference in their lives.

“All my girls have been successful in what they have done. I often wonder, is it their personalities and Guiding brings out the best in them?

“Because of all of their awards and everything they have done and the experiences they have, I hope that these girls will be our next politicians and our community leaders.”

In 2011, Ms Giles-Woodhouse’s lifelong dedication to Guiding was recognised with a Laurel Award from the United Kingdom, which had not been given out in Bermuda for several decades.

Although she is now the treasurer and Senior Section Leader, she decided to take a break from the latter in January because of a rare genetic disease — hereditary spastic paraplegia — that is causing her to gradually become paralysed from the waist down. “I can’t physically do it as much as I want to,” Ms Giles-Woodhouse said, adding that she hopes to return as Senior Section Leader in September.

Ms Giles-Woodhouse, who refuses to let the condition hold her back, will still be attending Guiding camps in England over the summer.

But despite her continued dedication to Guiding, Ms Giles-Woodhouse insists she is no hero. “I just feel like much is given, much is expected. But it’s time to turn a corner and now do something like take care of myself.”

And there is no question that she will be greatly missed by her girls.

Girl Guide Reem Bushara, 18, said: “If I could use one word to describe her, it would be ‘selfless’.

“She puts the needs of others before her own and she will do anything to make sure that young girls are confident in themselves.

“We will definitely miss her so much. She’s helped so many girls in so many different ways.”

Girl Guide Emily Medway, 15, added: “She is definitely a role model figure. She teaches us a lot of life lessons and things that don’t usually come up in school lessons.

“She looks after us and has a personal interest in our lives and how we are doing. She always encourages us to get involved in community activities, to help people and to be upstanding citizens in our society.”

• For more information on Girlguiding Bermuda visit www.girlguiding.bm

• Do you know an Unsung Hero who deserves recognition? Call Lisa on 278-0137 or e-mail lsimpson@royalgazette.com