Presented annually, the Commander Bruce Award is given to youth members of Hampshire Scouts, who have inspired and encouraged others in Scouts either over a period or at a one-off event.
The award changes slightly each year in its prize money and how we select the worthy winners. In 2024, the total award prize amount is £1,000 kindly given by the Bruce family and another benefactor.
Nominate before the 10th May 2024.
To be considered for the Commander Bruce Award, a nominee must have inspired and encouraged others in their Scout section over a period of time or at a one-off event in a way that makes them stand out ‘ahead of the crowd’.
This year, there are separate awards for each Scout section under the age of 18 years:
The prize pot of £1,000 is split between these five sections with the winner of each receiving £200 - this is split with £100 going to the individual and £100 going to their Scout section to purchase equipment for example.
Any adult member or associate member in Hampshire Scouts may nominate a young person (or persons) who they believe meets the award criteria. A nomination must be submitted using the online nomination form to the County Youth Commissioner.
The nomination closing date is Friday 10th May 2024.
Once all the nominations have been received, the County Youth Commissioner, Zara Seymour, the two Deputy Youth Commissioners, Tom Hughes and Jamie Cooper, the Deputy County Chair, Harrison Gorst, and a member of the Bruce Award organizing team will meet to decide the winners!
Successful nominees will be informed by the County Youth Commissioner no later than 31st May 2024 and be invited to attend the County Annual General Meeting on Sunday 30th June 2024 at Ferny Crofts Scout Activity Centre where the award is presented.
The Commander Bruce award has a respectable history with Hampshire Scouts, having been awarded annually to inspirational young people every year since 2013.
Find out more about the award and how it came to be on the Hampshire Scout Heritage website.
We have included pictures of our 2023 award winners in this article. Please note that this year we have chosen to recognise young people from across the age ranges of Scouting, whereas last year we focused on themes, namely Scout of the Year, Adventure, Leadership, Local Hero and Scout Group.
Dear Fellow Scouts,
I was very pleased to receive an email this week from the County Commissioner, following the completion of the 2024 census, informing me of the results. First, thank you for completing the forms. Second, I was thrilled about the outcomes and in particular the growth in our young and adult numbers, now positioning the organisation in Hampshire above our pre-pandemic figures. We also continue to grow our Squirrel Dreys which is extremely good for the future of the organisation and our Mission Statement 'to prepare young people with skills fore life'.
Finally, may I thank all the Leaders for their continuing support and enthusiasm in developing this excellent organisation.
I wish you all the very best for 2024. Yours sincerely,
Nigel Atkinson
HM Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire
President of Hampshire Scouts
June is Pride month – a month dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ+ communities all around the world.
So why is Pride so important for our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Scouts?
Pride is celebrated in the month of June, as this was the month when the Stonewall riots took place. These riots were important protests that took place in 1969 in the USA, that changed gay rights.
It is now a celebration of people coming together in love and friendship, to show how far LGBTQ+ rights have come. It is about acceptance, equality, education and raising awareness of issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community.
It also calls for people to remember how damaging homophobia was and still can be today, and also how in some places there is still work to be done. There are still countries in the world where the death penalty is punishment for being gay.
Pride is all about being proud of who you are no matter who you love.
Scouts welcome everyone, regardless of gender identity or sexuality. FLAGS is a National Scout Active Support Unit that actively supports the recruitment, retention, and ongoing support of LGBTQ+ adults in Scouts.
Attending Pride events is a way of demonstrating to our communities that we're committed to building a more inclusive society and openly welcoming LGBT+ members. FLAGS has been attending Pride events for some years now.
To see where the Scouts are already committed to parading this year, see the page on the Scout website 'Scout Pride'.
There are now lots of Pride parades across the country and several taking place in Hampshire:
Plus there are plenty of large events taking place within an easy journey from Hampshire:
For more information on supporting Scouts that are part of the LGBT+ community see these pages on the Scout website. There is some guidance to attending pride, and how you can let HQ know on the Pride page too.
Our thanks go to Kevin Harmer of New Forest District for inspiring this article.
The 22nd February is always a time when Scouts around the world pause and think about this great movement for peace that has been built from humble origins 113 years ago.
Why February 22nd? It was Baden-Powell's birthday and has been marked as Founders Day ever since.
This year Scouts across the world are inviting our volunteers or our young people to thank those who have kept us going this year. From care workers to your parents, the friends who joins you for a cuppa on Zoom to someone you've met this year show them you care this Founders Day.
Join us on the day by sharing your thanks on social media or on our Facebook page. You can even dedicate a window to brighten up your street, a great activity for our young people.
You can find templates for a decorative window and more ideas at the Scouts website page for ThankTwo.
Plus you can find our video thanking key workers from last year below.
In July, Hampshire Scouts held its first Annual Review delivered and presented digitally to a large audience online.
Streamed on the Hampshire Scouts website during the occasion and available to watch afterwards on YouTube, the annual review has been a big hit with people wanting to find out about the fun, adventures and skills for life being learned in our area during 2019.
One extra bonus of the virtual format was that it allowed a great many people to find out about what we do who might not have been able to before. One comment from the Mayor of Fareham:
The Mayoress and I enjoyed watching the virtual Annual Review of Hampshire Scouts.
It was good to hear how much those involved with the Jamboree had such a great time, and so good to know that scouting has continued in a small way during lockdown as I feel sure there were many youngsters needing to have outside interests.
I sincerely hope it won't be too long before everyone can get back to regular gatherings. Please convey my thanks to all the volunteers who have given their time during the Coronavirus crisis.
Councillor Mrs Pamela Bryant, Mayor of Fareham.
And it was a blast to run as well. Daniel Cooper, a Scout from Hampshire and an elected youth representative, took part in the annual review:
It felt amazing to be part of the annual review 2020, being such a great opportunity to connect with everyone involved in Hampshire Scouts and further beyond.
In the future, I’m looking forward to engaging with more young people and leaders to gather their thoughts on scouts and make it even better for all, however also making more people aware of the opportunities that they have available to them.
Being in Scouts as a young person, volunteer or occasional helper opens so many doors to future opportunities. Scouts gave me the confidence to do more, learn more, be more. I encourage you to give it a go!
Daniel Cooper, Elected youth rep, Hampshire Scouts.
Daniel also received the Commander Bruce award during the Annual Review to recognise the contribution he has made.
It was an honour, and something that I didn’t expect, to be presented such a prestigious award within Hampshire Scouts for something I truly love doing and will continue to enjoy.
You can read the Annual Report and Accounts for the year on our website here.
Plus you can watch the whole thing again above and on YouTube.
Sunday 13 January 2019 marks our 110th birthday. Over the past 110 years, we have given tens of thousands of young people the opportunity to experience new things, make new friends, and learn Skills for life.
Our 110th birthday gives us a great opportunity to celebrate the amazing range of activities our members take part in every week, the work they are doing to make a difference in their communities, and the dedication of our adult volunteers. By making the most of this opportunity we will be able to kickstart a renewed interest in adult volunteering, promote a modern and engaging image of Scouting, and prepare our movement for the next 110 years of adventure.
We've launched a special badge to celebrate our birthday. All the ideas for the badge were thought up by young people. Everyone from Beavers through to Active Support, and our amazing volunteers, can earn this badge.
Download the requirements, and some amazing resources, for the Hampshire 110 badge by clicking here.
You can pre-order your badges now by clicking here.
