It has been revealed that Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, has become a Unit Assistant at Anglesea Scout Group. As a consequence, the Group now has the fastest growing waiting list for children wishing to join and on top of that they also have the largest number of parents willing to help.
She will soon be undertaking her first residential 'nights away' which includes a sleepover.
So, will this help boost Scouting's popularity throughout the UK?. Scouting has seen a great surge in numbers over the last 5 years due to a series of high-profile events starting with it's centenary celebrations and world Jamboree in the UK which was attended by Royalty. This was followed by the appointment of Bear Grylls as its Chief Scout. The momentum gained by this has been continued with a recent TV advert campaign on the Discovery Channel.
The number of children entering Scouting has grown to the point where Scout Groups are opening new Beaver Colonies, Cub Packs and Scout Troops on extra nights in order to cope. The only downside to this is the need to recruit more and more Leaders. Even though a Leader receives bucket-loads of training and back-up, the hardest part is the retention with a large number of Leaders leaving the movement within the first year. An answer lies in the Young Leaders. These are people who have aged-out of Scouting or who want to put something back. These youngsters are likely to become young adult Leaders of the future if they are treated correctly.
To do this requires more adults to provide that back-up. At the Group I'm involved with as a Leader we are good at encouraging occasional helpers (parents who stay and help on a Rota-basis) in our Section and have a queue of willing helpers. This is down to us involving the parents rather than leaving them standing on the sidelines watching.
If you think you could be a 'Kate', why not enquire via your local Scout Group.
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