Cheshire Scouts Plus+ April 2018

St Georges Day Awards Dinner

Sunday 25th March saw the annual County Dinner to present St Georges Day Awards to Cheshire recipients. It was held at Forest Hills Hotel in Frodsham. Our special guests were Lord & Lady Bromley Davenport and we were joined by the Regional Commissioner Andrew Corrie.

The picture shows Brenda Dodd from Warrington East receiving her Silver Wolf, the highest adult award for service to Scouting in the UK.

The evening also included a raffle raising funds for Freemasons in Cheshire who provide teddy bears to children who are inpatients in many hospitals and hospices in Cheshire, it raised £120.

Lake View Refurbished with support from Cheshire Freemasons

On Sunday 25th March we welcomed a large group of Cheshire Freemasons and their wives/partners for the opening of the newly refurbished Lake View building which had been paid for out of a donation of £50,000 from the Masons.

“This extremely generous donation has enabled us to carry out a much-needed upgrade of the facilities of the Lake View building at our Forest Camp site in Sandiway. The improved kitchen, showers and toilets, plus added accessibility, should make it more appealing to future visitors” said Graham Phillips, County Commissioner.

To mark the event the Provincial Grand Master of Cheshire’s 5,000 Freemasons, Stephen Blank, unveiled a plaque recording the generosity of Cheshire Freemasons.

Stephen Blank said “The cost of the refurbishment was £30,000 and was paid for out of a £50,000 donation to the Scouts made last Year to mark the 300th Anniversary of Freemasonry in England & Wales it formed part of total donations of £300,000 which Cheshire Freemasons’; Charity made to the wider Community in Cheshire.”

He added “My only recommendation was that the £300,000 should go towards helping the young and the old. We recognise the great work done by the Scouting Movement, its adult volunteers help young people learn life skills and improve themselves through fun and adventure. We like to think that, as Freemasons, we make good men better whilst having fun – and it is no coincidence that many fine Freemasons were or still are Scouts”.

Cheshire Young Carers needs our Help

Over the last few years Cheshire Scouts has supported Cheshire Young Carers in a number of ways. You may remember they were our charity at the County Scout Sunday service a couple of years ago. Since then a number of young carer groups have been to our various campsites for activity sessions.

Young carers are children aged between 6 and 18 who have a caring responsibility for an adult or sibling. Some of them have really tough lives and Cheshire Young Carers provides respite sessions for them across Cheshire. Most of their work is funded by voluntary donation. They have just been awarded £1,000 by Airbus and are now in the final running for a further £7,000. To win the need votes so if you think this is a worthwhile cause click the link and with one further click you could help them get this vital additional funding.

Here is the link to vote:
http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/airbus

A number of young carers are in Scouting so daily the links between our organisations grow.

Online Safety Survey

We all know that being “online” and connected is a critical part of a young persons life. At the same time there appears to be daily concerns raised about the safety of children using online services, many of which are a complete mystery to parents and Scout Leaders.

As part of a project by the local children’s safeguarding board (who are tasked with overseeing all statutory support services for children and young people) Cheshire Scouts have been asked to take part in a survey, designed by young people for young people. It is suitable for Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts.

The survey was created by Sandbach High School & Sixth Form and was used as a pupil survey. They have kindly agreed to allow Cheshire Scouts to use it. Our aim is simply to see how safe young people in Scouting feel online. This survey is completely anonymous, there will be no follow up to any answers given by young people, their identity is completely hidden.
Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/scoutssafeonline

Having completed the survey if a young person has any concerns or needs to talk to someone about the answers you have given or memories it has triggered, they are directed (at the end of the survey) to contact Childline anonymously for free on 0800 1111 or they can always talk to someone at school, a friend or a family member.

Leaders are encouraged to build this as an activity in their programme during April and to encourage as many youth members as possible to take part. The survey can only be completed online, however if this is impossible a paper version can be used with completed forms sent to Joanne Evans Stone, Cheshire Young Carers, Northern Lights Business Park, Rossfield Road, Ellesmere Port CH65 3AW. Please make sure no names are on any completed forms.

The survey will close on Friday May 11.

REC Level 2 – First Aid Course

19 – 20 May 2018 at the Heath Conference Centre, Runcorn

This course is designed to support Cheshire Leaders (aged 18+) who are interested in gaining first aid knowledge beyond the “First Response” course and is focused on providing first aid connected to outdoor Scouting. It is now the minimum requirement for those wishing to be part of the County First Aid Team. The course will be run by Ron Gemmell from Outdoor Approach who is a Scouter in Warrington.

There are 12 places so first come, first served. For more information and to book click here.