03 October 08 - 10:49Scouts Welcome Plans to Support Volunteering
26/09/2008
The government will this week outline plans to make it easier for more people to volunteer for key roles in their local community, a key recommendation of The Morgan Inquiry that was launched earlier this year with The Scout Association's support.
Launched in February, The Morgan Inquiry found that many young adults would benefit from an extra eight hours leave a year from their jobs for voluntary activities. It also included the recommendation for a flexible day off to encourage volunteering.
Later this week, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears will announce proposals to broaden the list of activities that will entitle people to time off work.
Magistrates, school governors and members of health bodies or police authorities already have time off entitlements. But the government will be looking at whether this should be extended to other roles to better reflect modern life and the needs of local communities.
"Nearly three quarters of all adults volunteered at least once during last year, with almost half volunteering at least once a month," said Blears.
"If we value volunteering and community spirit then we have a responsibility to see what we can do to make it easier for more people, from all walks of life to get involved."
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03 October 08 - 10:48Paralympics success for Assistant Cub Scout Leader
22/09/2008 BBC Online
With the Paralympics coming to a close last week, ParalympicsGB were helped on their way to a brilliant second place finish on the medals table by a fantastic performance from an Assistant Cub Scout Leader from Stockport.
Matt Walker, 30, has been involved in Scouting since he joined as a Cub Scout and is currently the Assistant Cub Scout Leader at the 1st Marple Arkwright Cub Pack.
1st Marple Arkwright Scout Leader Mark Statham said, "Even as Matt's training schedule intensified in the build up to the games, he still kept up his commitment to Scouting."
Matt, who has mild cerebral palsy, clinched five medals; including gold in the 4x100m Relay, silver in the 50m Fly, silver in the 50m Freestyle, bronze in the 200m Individual Medley and bronze in the 100m Freestyle. In the 4x100m Relay the team also achieved a new world record.
Overall, ParalympicsGB finished second in the table with a haul of 42 gold medals, 29 silver medals and 31 bronze medals. China came first and the USA came third.
Commenting on his performance Matt, a veteran of games in Athens and Sydney, said, "I am just so happy. It's my best result at a Games ever. I want to compete in London. I don't want to miss it. I want to come back and have more success."
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03 October 08 - 10:471st Facebook Scout Group
Those that believe Scouts still meet in damp draughty village halls may be surprised to know that the largest Scout Group in the world is to be found rooted firmly in the virtual world.
The 1st Facebook Scout Group may have only been running for a year, but it can already boast almost 10,000 members, the majority of which are involved in Scouting in the real world too.
Founder of the 1st Facebook Scout Group, Mark Foster, admits to being surprised about the Group's success, "It just occurred to me there should be a Scout Group on Facebook. It was a bit tongue-in-cheek to start with, it was never meant to have the impact it has."
Members are not limited to traditional catchment areas, with Scouts joining from countries as far afield as Hong Kong, Chile and the Maldives.
Like in the real world Scouts are not adverse to adventure in the virtual world, with it being one of the first UK charities to recognise the value of communicating with young people through social networking websites.
In 2005 they launched an Explorer Scout page on MySpace, and many Scouts across the UK can be found to have a presence on various Social networking sites. Such sites make it easier for Scouts to stay in touch with each other as well as arrange events and expeditions.
"I'm going to university in October and it will be difficult to stay in touch so it will allow me to keep up with Scouting. I don't want travel and time restraints to be a problem" said 18-year old Andrew Duke, a member of 1st Facebook and Essex Scout Network.
Scouts still flock to large camps. Over 12,000 Scouts and Guides camped last week at the Essex International Jamboreee and members of 1st Facebook have been meeting up, sometimes for the first time, recognizing each other from their distinctive navy blue and white scarves.
The Jamboree took place a year after the Scouts celebrated their 100th anniversary when over 28 million scouts in more than 216 countries renewed a vow to do their best and emphasized the environmental and friendship message of the world's largest co-educational youth movement.
"I'm sure Baden-Powell would have loved the idea," said Foster. "It's all about what he started the Movement for; it's just what Scouting is about - making friends."
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03 October 08 - 10:46Rory and Paddy Learn to Race Pedal Cars
03/09/2008 BBC Online
Tonight on Channel 5 at 9pm, Comedians Rory McGrath and Paddy McGuinness are given a lesson in pedal car racing by a group of Explorer Scouts.
The stars of BBC TV's They Think It's All Over and Channel Four's Phoenix Nights visited the Explorer Scouts earlier this year for their new TV series, Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure.
They joined the Scouts as they took part in the Magna Mazda British Pedal Car Grand Prix at Ringwood in Hampshire.
Rory joined the Barton Moments, a pedal car team of Explorer Scout Leaders, while Paddy was with the Barton Pups, a team of Explorer Scouts.
Explorer Scout Leader Tim Lloyd said both pedal car teams welcomed the opportunity of sharing the strain with a famous face.
"Everyone was very excited. It was great to have some well-known TV personalities working with us and sharing some of the strain on what was a gruelling afternoon".
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