Monday, November 14, 2016

A message from our secretary

November is an important month for everyone involved in Crofton  scouting as we paid our respects to those who have been involved in or affected by conflict or war, whether veteran  or civilian. One two of the Sunday's running up to Remembrance Day the older scout section supported the Normanton rotary  club who collect for the British Legion  by selling poppies at junction 32. The scouts helped to raise a substantial amount of money  and many shoppers commented on how much they valued our young people 'doing their bit'.

On 13th November we had a good representation from all three sections ( beavers, cubs and scouts) at the annual Crofton church service. In conjunction with parishioners and members of the general public we flew our flags high and marched from the church to the war memorial before maintaining the two minutes silence. This event and the annual St. Georges day parade are compulsory events for our members and we always hope for a good turn out. Of course we cannot force our members to attend so it is always uplifting to see so many of our members turning out on a cold and often wet ( although not this year!) November morning to demonstrate their commitment to supporting the local community. Their presence also showshow the scouting association helps our members to grow into caring, compassionate and considerate individuals.


If anyone reading this article heard the British Legion adverts this year, you will have noticed that the campaign focused on young veterans who had taken part in more recent conflicts. Their words were spoken by veterans of World War II and several of the adverts shared the effects that their experiences had had on their mental health. In the same month the results of a research study involving 10,000 adults was published,  which demonstrated that young people involved in scouting went onto maintain better mental health as adults. This was believed to be due  the resilience that the individuals developed in response to the challenges they faced and the skills they developed. In this day and age when 1 in 4 of us will experience mental health issues at some point in our lives, it is enlightening to hear of the positives that scouting can bring to our members. For as the British Legion  campaign demonstrated,  even the strongest and most fearless of us sometimes need help and support to maintain our health and wellbeing , not just on the outside but on the inside too.


Yours in scouting
Joanna
Joanna Burton
Crofton scout group secretary

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Remembrance Service 13.11.16


Great turn out from Beaver's, Cubs and Scouts for today's Remembrance Service.