Scout group seeks new adult volunteers

ECCLESFIELD Scout Group has been at the centre of life in Ecclesfield for over 100 years. Established in 1912, the group still prides itself on encouraging young people - these days both boys and girls - to do good things within their community.

The number of young people involved in the Scout Group is as high as ever before. But there is increasingly a challenge to find enough adult volunteers to run the busy program for all the different age groups.

The group were forced to make the difficult decision to merge the group’s two Scout troops, for those aged 10 to 14, in October.

Due to a shortage of adult leaders this was the only way to continue to keep the Scout section running and thankfully resulted in majority of the Scouts remaining within the group.

This created its own challenges as both the Scouts and the leaders got used to the increased numbers on a troop night. With new group dynamics and friendships being formed and the patrols being reorganised.

Despite the recent changes to their group, the Scouts have continued to get on with things, challenge themselves with new activities and support their local community. Their Scout Leaders and parents could not be prouder.

During the autumn the Scouts planned a sponsored overnight outdoor sleepout without tents for their fundraiser badge. They slept in the open air, sheltered only by cardboard boxes, and raised £500 for Roundabout - a local youth housing charity, which supports young people 16 to 25 who are at risk of homelessness throughout South Yorkshire.

The Scouts also chose not to have a Halloween Party, instead they took part in ‘Trick or Eat’ -where instead of Trick or Treating the Scouts spent their Halloween evening collecting food for St Saviour’s Food Bank in High Green.

This followed on from earlier in the year planning and running a ‘Time for Tea’ coffee and cake party for parents and family members, which raised £250 for Weston Park Cancer Charity.

Helping others is always something the Scouts get really passionate about, with the list of charities the young people want to support being as long as the list of Scouts.

The hardest part is deciding which events and charities the group are able to support. This is all part of a balanced programme which looks to ensure the Scouts develop skills for life, have fun as well as helping others.

Other recent activities have included the Scouts learning to read train timetables to plan an independent trip to Leeds and Castleton for their Expedition Challenge, building their own go-carts for the district’s annual soap box derby and learning to cook South American meals on an open fire for the outdoor cooking competition.

Ecclesfield Scout Group continues to look for new adult volunteers and would very much welcome any enthusiast and responsible adults who would be willing to give some time to help out each week to support the current troop on a Thursday evening and in the long term they would like to re-open their second troop on a Tuesday evening.

In the meantime, the Scouts are already looking forward to the new decade of Scouting, where they will continue to learn new skills, have fun and find new ways to support their local community.

Any adults who would like to help out and volunteer with Ecclesfield Scout Group are invited to contact it’s Assistant Group Leader, Mr Ben Steel, by email on agsl@ecclesfieldscouts.org.uk or visit the group’s website at http://ecclesfieldscouts. org.uk/