Volunteering: It’s Good For You!
Volunteering’s not just about giving back – it goes both ways. It improves your wellbeing, gives you skills for the future, and helps you make new friends (and memories).
A fresh face and an extra pair of hands are always welcome with us!
Like all Scout Groups, our activities are run by volunteers, who might join us because they want to:
- Try something new
- Make friends
- Spend time with their children – or gain experience with young people
- Do something good for their community and themselves
- Keep their bodies and brains active and happy – whether that’s by scaling mountains, sharing skills, serving tea or preparing accounts
All end up making a huge difference to young people’s lives – gifting them with skills for life, and learning a whole lot about themselves along the way.
But don’t just take our word for it. Take theirs.
Many of our leaders and helpers are parents who started helping when their children joined, but you don’t need to be a parent. Some want to give back to their community, including our Young Leaders (between 14 and 18), who are often working towards their Duke of Edinburgh’s award. Some remember their own Scouting or Guiding days fondly, but you don’t need any prior experience of a uniformed organisation. Many want to spend time with the young people, but some feel their talents lie more on the adminstrative side so they volunteer for a role on the Executive Committee.
We know that flexibility can be an important factor for potential volunteers. While we welcome people who can help every week at our meetings, we have some helpers who help a few times a term, and we can make flexible arrangements to fit around ‘day jobs’. Executive Committee roles typically involve attending evening meetings once every couple of months, plus potentially some work done in your own time (depending on role).
The Scout Association’s award-winning training scheme helps ensure that adults get as much from Scouting as young people. Training is tailored to the role and is delivered flexibly – many topics can be completed as online modules but there are also optional training events which can be really beneficial for meeting and learning from other leaders.
If we have a waiting list for young person places, we can usually give priority to those accompanied by an adult volunteer.
Many volunteer roles require a DBS check (even if you have previously had one for your job or another voluntary role). Some involve a more formal Scouts recruiting process including references and an interview.