Volunteering. It’s #GoodForYou!

Volunteering goes both ways. It’s good for them, and it’s good for you.

We all want young people to have the chance to dream big, give it a go, and build skills for life.

But it’s not just the young people who benefit from Scouts.

Volunteering is good for boosting your wellbeing, developing CV-friendly skills, making friends, and building memories.

Whether you want to support young people or if you are more comfortable planning an adventure from the side-lines, we have got space for you.

Scouting is about everyday people volunteering in Scout Groups in their communities, giving young people confidence, a sense of purpose, life values and outdoor skills that are hard to find anywhere else – we call this everyday adventure!

Our volunteers put their skills to use and learn new ones, while giving something back to the local community.

Three great reasons to volunteer:

• You’ll share your skills and experience with young people, while developing yourself
• You’ll have fun and meet new people in your area
• You’ll inspire a generation (and they’ll never forget it)
• What to expect:

A warm welcome

• Flexibility to get involved in a way that works for you
• Easy access to training and resources online
• Plenty of support and a great team

We are looking for new volunteers across the group, to strengthen the existing teams, who can encourage our young peope to take that leap, make that jump, get up and carry on regardless. From map reading to crate stacking, it is all about having the confidence to give it a go. Everyone has something to offer as far as supporting Scouting is concerned, whatever your age or ability, and there are lots of ways to get involved. You do not have to have any previous experience, or any specialist knowledge, just a passion to see children develop into confident young people.

There are so many great reasons to volunteer and a range of ways you can get involved from delivering activities to young people, to manging and motivating a team of adults, to supporting behind the scenes as a charity trustee. Find out how and why some of a current volunteers do what they do.

“I volunteered as a regular weekly parent helper for approx five and a half years, and am currently on the Executive Committee as a parent representative.
Helping with 1st Shiremoor on a weekly basis allowed me to help hands-on with Beavers and Cubs when my two sons attended those sections. This gave me an opportunity to spend quality time with my children, doing fun and interesting tasks that we probably wouldn’t have done together otherwise. I learnt how to tie lots of different knots, cook things I had never made before and play loads of fun team games. My help was always greatly appreciated by the Leadership Team and it was good to feel valued and part of a great team. I still help on trips and on an ad-hoc basis.
I am now a parent representative on the Executive Committee – this allows me to have input and a say in the decision making of 1st Shiremoor. Termly meetings on Zoom (due to Covid) are informal and a great chance to still be involved beyond the weekly meets. There has indeed been plenty of logistics and planning to discuss since Covid-19 struck!
Volunteering with 1st Shiremoor is a great thing to do, for the kids and the local community!” ~ Fiona

“My volunteering role involves preparing and delivering activities for the 1st Shiremoor Beavers. I got involved at first when the previous leader was leaving and an appeal was made for somebody to take over. I feared the Beavers, which at the time contained my 2nd son, might fold if they didn’t find anybody and I liked the idea of doing something to help my local community so I thought I’d give it a go.
Since then I’ve really enjoyed my role and met many fantastic individuals both big and small. I enjoy spending time with the Beavers and hope that their happy enthusiastic nature rubs off on me. I have improved useful life skills such as organisation, patience, delegation, resilience as well as a feeling that I help to make a positive impact in the lives of the Beavers” ~ Tim

“I volunteer to give back to kids after seeing my brothers and sister gain more confidence in their every day life from what they were learning in scouting, I have gotten new skills that I have transferred to my work life which has helped with promotions, I have gained a family who support me and are like minded and pretty much for life,” ~  Kathryn.