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Western Isles Scouting sees membership soar
21/04/2010
Scouting in the UK has seen its largest membership growth in 38 years. Nowhere has this been more in evidence than in the Western Isles of Scotland. Over the past year they’ve managed to almost double their membership, making it one of Scouting’s fastest growing regions.
The impressive membership surge in places like the Western Isles has helped cement Scouting’s position as the largest mixed youth Movement in the UK. It’s the fifth year of growth in a row for Scouting, taking total membership in the UK to just under half a million.
Enthusiasm and focus
Ian Denny, a Scout volunteer in the Western Isles, puts their growth down to the enthusiastic approach of adult volunteers: ‘An enthusiastic and focussed style of recruiting lead to the forming of two new Groups, more adult volunteers helping to run existing Groups, and best of all an increase in the number of young people joining the challenge and adventure of Scouting.’
Working closely with their local Volunteer Centre, the team set about raising Scouting’s profile through recruitment events showcasing the development opportunities that Scouting has to offer both adult volunteers and young people. They also built links with the local media ensuring there was always positive coverage of each event.
These efforts saw them awarded one of the first ever Western Isles Awards for Volunteering Excellence (WAVE), in recognition of their high standard of volunteer management and commitment to their volunteers.
Record increase in teenage members
Over 2009 the Western Isles Explorer Scout Section (14-18 year olds) saw a membership increase of 70%, reflecting a UK-wide increase of teenagers joining Scouting.
Teenagers are the fastest growing age group, with new members in the last year up by 5.4% across the UK. This means there are now 66,299 teenagers in Scouting overall – over 26% more than when detailed records began in 2001.
Siobhan, a Western Isle Explorer Scout, described some of the activities that are encouraging more teenagers to get involved in Scouting in a recent interview on Isles FM, ‘It’s all about hiking, rock climbing, camping… Lots of activities that are just great fun.’
The Western Isle Scouts are continuing their good work through 2010, as Ian explains: ‘We already have plans for more recruitment events and will be seeing three more Scout Troops and another Beaver Scout Colony opening within the next six months.’
Get involved with Scouting
The Scout Association is the largest mixed youth movement in the UK. It strives to ensure that its young people fulfill their full physical, intellectual social and spiritual potentials by working in teams, learning by doing and thinking for themselves. Adults working in Scouting contribute in excess of 364 million hours of voluntary work each year to their local communities. Join the adventure.
The media coverage for the story has been extensive, with news channels quick to broadcast the increase in our membership numbers.
Further information
Scouting sees biggest membership surge in 40 years
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