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Scouts do what they do best for Founder's Day
22/02/2010
Scouts around the world are celebrating Founder’s Day, the birthday of Scouting’s founder Robert Baden-Powell, by doing what they do best: outdoor activities and supporting their communities.
Baden-Powell set the principles of Scouting down in his 1908 book Scouting for Boys. In his own words, Scouting is about ‘education; not to instruct mind you, but to educate, that is to draw out the boy to learn for himself.’
Scouting has developed over the years to ensure it
continually helps young people learn for themselves in both a safe and
challenging environment.
Whether through introducing new activities to its programme such as skateboarding and powerbocking, or becoming a movement open to both girls and boys, Scouting has constantly been at the cutting edge of youth development.
For Lucy Onyango, an Explorer Scout from Bedfordshire, Scouting has been a way to learn new skills and meet new people: ‘Scouting rocks! I love being involved in it. I joined because I wanted to try new things and make new friends, and I’ve now been involved for six years.’
Scouting in action around the world
Scouts live by the principals outlined by Baden-Powell everyday just by being Scouts. Most recently Scouts have been actively engaged in providing support on the ground after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, working closely with aid organisations like ShelterBox and SOS Children.
Alex George, President of West Department International Scouts d’Haiti, said: ‘Our Scouts are themselves homeless but in true Scout tradition we are happy to help our people and feel good doing so with ShelterBox.’
Closer to home over, over the weekend two hundred UK Scouts took part in a winter camp at Bradley Wood in Yorkshire. Supported by adult volunteers and campsite staff they learnt new skills including ice skating, ice climbing, and archery.
Mark Pullen of Yorkshire Scouting commented, ‘The atmosphere was fantastic and the Scouts had a great time. Saturday was in glorious sunshine, and Sunday saw snow but everybody was warm, dry and well fed. It was another successful camp.’
March will see Scouts across the UK taking part in sponsored activities in support of Sport Relief. Sport Relief raises money to help poor and disadvantaged people turn their lives around - in the UK as well as the world’s poorest countries.
For the last Sport Relief in 2008, Scouts helped raise over £28 million. The 2nd Bollington Scout Group in Cheshire got sponsored to climb a nearby hill as many times as they could in two hours… in the dark! Guided by head-torches they climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest between them.
Join the adventure
There are nearly 500,000 young people involved in Scouting in the UK with more joining everyday. To keep providing them with fun activities and opportunities we’re always looking for more adult volunteers to get involved.
As an adult volunteer you get the chance to be a part of something extraordinary. You'll help young people, learn new skills, and advance your education or career. But there's also plenty of fun to be had with exciting activities, new friends and lots of adventure.
Whether you have several hours a week or a year, or are looking for a one-off volunteering project, there are lots of different opportunities for you to contribute to Scouting.
Further information
Volunteer for Scouting
Scouts help ShelterBox in Haiti
Sport Relief
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