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
We know that the Scouts change lives by giving young people skills for life. So we want to make growing the Scout movement as easy as possible.
Along with the ever-changing hub of ideas and resources available on the Scout website, Hampshire Scouts has its own five-strong team of Growth and Development officers here to help start Scouts in places we're not currently in and to help volunteers grow their local Scouts.
Meet the team below and get in touch through the form on the Growth and Development page or by emailing them at [email protected].
Since May 2022, Kelly’s has been our Growth and Development co-ordinator. It's an important job involving scoping and allocating new projects, supporting her colleagues to ensure our projects have positive outcomes and reporting back to the County Leadership Team the impact they have made.
Kelly continues to look for ways to improve the experience of her colleagues and volunteers and to build on the success the team has had, ensuring opportunities for growth are acted up on. She's delighted to see the incredible work the team have achieved over this last year and the positive impact Scouting has directly had on our young people.
Our most experience Growth and Development Officer, Melissa has a wealth of knowledge of all things growth and development.
She has been involved in working with young people and the Scouts for many years and volunteers as Chair for the trustee board for her local Scout group.
Melissa is especially keen to see our sections for those aged 14-25 years and young leader programme grow. Melissa has supported many projects, from opening new groups & sections to the supporting struggling groups to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Lucinda is also new to the Growth and Development team, having started in February 2023.
Lucinda has previously worked in commercial recruitment & on STEM projects at Winchester Science Centre where she was involved in recruiting and retaining volunteers as part of an outreach team on the STEM Ambassador volunteering programme.
Lucinda is keen to start projects which have a positive impact on growth within Hampshire Scouts and is able to think outside the box when all other options have been exhausted.
Our newest member of the Growth and Development team, Ellie is an enthusiastic supporter of raising up young people to fulfil their potential.
Ellie is creative, empathetic and a determined individual who is passionate about the Growth & Development role.
She has worked as a science communicator and presenter for the last three and a half years working with various age groups; from schools and people with all different backgrounds, SEN/SEMH groups and behavioural support units to name a few.
Chris became a Growth and Development officer in May 2023 and has over 30 years of Scouting experience.
He is an active Beaver Scout leader in Denmead and is passionate about ensuring Scouting is for all and we give as many young people the opportunity to get involved as possible.
Volunteers from across Team Hampshire were invited to attend the Autumn County Conference and find out more about the activities and plans of the county teams.
Featuring an address by the County Commissioner and our Regional Commissioner – South East England Ian Newbery. We were also joined by our new UK Chief Commissioner Carl Hankinson as our keynote speaker. You can view the conference recording below.
You can click here to view the presentation slides.
As Scouts we've been prepared for more than 100 years for whatever life throws at us, ready with a plan B.
In March, Hampshire Scouts looked to the future and as part of our County Conference, we unveiled our plan to recover from the impacts of the pandemic. We want to continue to give as many young people skills for life as possible and to do that we need to make sure our local volunteers are supported to do this.
Please take a look at the presentations that were given at the conference to find out more. You can also read more about our plan to #BouceBack in this article.
The full agenda from the conference can be found here.
We're ready and have got the vision but do you? Take a look at our plan below, to #BounceBack as we recover from the pandemic.
A big thank you to every adult volunteer and paid member of staff in Hampshire Scouts for all that you have done in 2020 for Scouting and particularly for our young people.
A year that I know none of us expected and one which we won’t miss once we come out on the other side of the Covid-19 pandemic.
I’m truly grateful for everything that you’ve all done to ensure that Scouting has continued in one form or another be that online or, where we’ve been able to, face-to-face. A truly herculean effort and well done.
Without our amazing adult volunteers, Scouting would not exist and whilst I know that we will face challenges in 2021, I’m sure that, together, we will get through this difficult time and return to something resembling normality over the next few months.
May I wish you, your families and loved ones an extra special Merry Christmas and now more than ever, a happy, prosperous and safe New Year.
We're excited to hold our first-ever online Annual General Meeting, and you're welcome to join us!
The Zoom event, which will take place on Sunday October 18 at 2pm, welcomes members of the Scouts and distinguished guests from across Hampshire.
Due to voting restrictions, our Annual General Meeting is open to Council Members only, but the meeting will be broadcast live on the Hampshire Scouts website.
Join the meeting by heading to the Hampshire Scouts main website - here - and the link for the broadcast will appear when the time is right.
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.
