Money Matters

A few financial updates for you. Firstly, thanks to all those parents who have filled in a Gift Aid Declaration for us. Our first claim, which relates only to subs payments made up until April 2006, has been accepted by HM Revenue & Customs and has resulted in a payment direct to Crofton Scout Group funds of £200.85.

Also, we have received a BuyAt webshop commission cheque for £38.58. This brings our total raised from this shop since last September to £175.74. Please tell your friends, relatives and work colleagues about our shop and encourage them to use it too - the shop is open to all!

Sainsbury's Active Kids vouchers are still being issued until the end of May. If you're not already passing yours in to a local school, please remember that Crofton Scouts are collecting these too. At latest count we have 545 vouchers.

We have also applied for a grant from the UKVillages Community Kitty in the hope that we may be able to purchase a new Burco boiler for use on camps and at events.

LIVE 07

LIVE 07

2nd Wakefield Cubs have been given a once in a life time chance for up to three lucky Cubs to take an active part in Live 07 at the O2 Arena (previously know as the Millennium Dome) in London towards the end of the year.

LIVE 07 is the festival of scouting to be held on Saturday 24th November 2007. It promises to be a fantastic showcase of everything which has made our centenary year special. Part of the programme will see 300 Cub Scouts taking part in special item to celebrate the fun and adventure which Cub Scouting represents. The Cub Scouts will be taken from Central, South and West Yorkshire.

More information can be found at: http://www.scouts.org.uk/2007/events/festival.html

The production team for the event is based here in Yorkshire and they are looking for up to three Cubs from each pack in the three counties to get involved.

What Skills do the Cub Scouts need?
The most important thing is that they are confident youngsters who can listen to and act on instructions. They will be taught to sing a song in the item but they do not need to be strong singers. They are particularly interested in youngsters who can confidently roller blade or do gymnastics. The chosen young people will need to be still in the Cub section in November.

What will taking part in the event involve?
There will be a small number of rehearsals for the event , which the Cubs will need to attend. The first one will be on the 15th May 6.30 – 8.00pm.
The evening will be used to give the Cub an idea of what is involved and also give the parents information about the project.

For the event itself, it is planned to provide coach transport down to the Arena for the cast of 300 along with supporting adult volunteers. The funding for this to happen has to be raised, and therefore a small amount of fundraising might be required.

What happens next?
If you’re Cub (from 2nd Wakefield Crofton) would like the chance to be in the cast, please e-mail your interest to cubleaders@croftonscouts.org.uk or phone your section Leader by the 20th April, and asked they are put forward for consideration. At this date the Cub Leaders will then select three Cubs from the list, and this decision will be final. We wish we could select all of our Cubs, but unfortunately we can’t. Parents wishing to attend or any member who hasn't been selected will be able to purchase tickets very soon, see the above link for details.

Centenary Celebration

Millennium Square, Leeds

A Centenary Celebration will be held to bring together scout members from the whole of the Central Yorkshire County on Sunday 22 April 2007.

We are parading from Woodhouse Moor into Millennium Square, Leeds; where the event will be held. Wakefield District have been asked to lead the parade, this is a great opportunity for us to, yet again, show the other members of Central Yorkshire County how great Wakefield District is. As this is a celebration young people are encouraged to bring along whistles, etc. for the parade.

The District has agreed to pay for the cost of transport to and from the event. Buses/coaches will leave from, and return to a selected location in Wakefield. Please ensure you have contact your section leader to confirm your Childs attendance ASAP, as the coaches have to be booked. More information i.e. meeting arrangements will be released at the section meetings before the event.

It is very likely 2nd Wakefield will be at the front of the parade, so let’s have a good attendance for this 100 year celebration event, and let’s shout about who we are.

We want your e-mail !!!!!!

2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group would like to become more efficient in the way we keep in touch and communicate events to our members. We would like to (were possible) send the majority of communication via E-mail or through this web site. This will provide many benefits to us all:
· Keep up to date with events
· Save Time
· Reduce waste paper
· Help the Environment
· Save on phone calls
· Faster communication

Please help us by forwarding your e-mail address to the relevant section Leaders.
See Contacts page.


We will not pass your details on to any third party companies, and it will only be used within the Scout Group for Scouting purposes.

Scouting and Camping

Ask a Scout member what they do in Scouts and one answer you will probably get is we go camping. Scout members from Young to old, Cubs through to Adult Leaders love Scout camps and the fun and exciting experiences they can bring. Through out the UK we have many scout camp sites available for scouting purposes only, where kids and adults can enjoy the great outdoors in a safe environment. The follow is a useful link to the Scout Campsite directory:

http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/cgi-bin/camping/db.cgi?db=camping&uid=default

AKELA'S Top Tip: One item I can strongly recommend anyone to invest in for their camping trip is a Camping Sleep Mat. Feeling cold on a night, whilst trying to sleep, is not an enjoyable experience and can leave you feeling negative towards camping. A lot of cold is felt through the floor when camping, and sleeping on the ground. A camping mat will insulate the sleeper from the cold and can make camping a total different experience. When I was a young Scout my Mum and Dad kindly bought me my first Camp Mat, and almost 20(ish!) years later I still have and use the same mat, money well spent, thanks Mum & Dad.

Happy Camping

EasyFundRaising - an alternative webshop

Raise Funds For 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group When You Shop Online

If you shop online there’s now another simple, easy and free way for you to support 2nd Wakefield Crofton Scout Group. Best of all you can even save money.

easyfundraising is a shopping directory listing some of your favourite online stores. Over 350 popular retailers are participating including AMAZON, PLAY.com, Toys‘R’Us, DELL, Woolworths, John Lewis, Comet, HMV and Vodafone.

All you need to do is use the links provided on the easyfundraising site whenever you shop online, and at no extra cost we’ll receive up to 15% of every purchase you make – it’s that simple!

It doesn’t cost a penny extra to shop and raise funds in this way, and you can even SAVE MONEY as many retailers give exclusive discounts and savings when you shop using the easyfundraising site.

If you shop online ANYWAY why not raise extra funds for us by using this completely FREE service. And if you register before 30 April 2007 and you could even win £200 AMAZON VOUCHERS in their FREE PRIZE DRAW.

Visit http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/2ndwakefieldcroftonscouts

Great British Village Show

From Great British...

I'd hate to miss this program which is due to be screened on BBC1 in "Spring 2007".

The following is from the BBC's Press Office:

The village show is a national institution and members of the British public take huge pride in growing their own vegetables, decorating sumptuous cakes and creating handicrafts.



For many people, being a champion of their local village show is the highlight of their year – but in this new series, entrants now have the chance to be "Britain's No.1".



Presenters Alan Titchmarsh, James Martin and Angellica Bell visit six regional heats in some of the most beautiful stately homes of Great Britain.



Each show consists of 15 categories, from tallest sunflower to longest carrot, and the winner from each class goes through to the grand final. Well-known guests also chat with Alan about their life in a rural area.



The stories of the contributors as they plant their seeds, bake their cakes and make their miniature gardens show just how competitive the village show can be.

Please leave a comment below if you find out when this program is to be broadcast.

UPDATE: This news was sent from the television production company "12 Yard":

"I am very happy to inform that we have a transmission date for The Great British Village Show. It will be shown from Jun 3rd on BBC1. As yet we don’t have a time for it but please check your TV listings."

The Big One - Comic Relief photos

Comic Relief 2007

Regular visitors to this site will notice that our Photo Gallery has been revamped. Unfortunately we've lost the Food Night photos in the transition, but gained a few others! Why not let us know what you think of the new format by leaving a comment below.

Comic Relief 2007

COMIC RELIEF – 3 Challenges In 30 Minutes

We are pleased to advise on Thursday 15th March, at our Cub pack meeting, we will be having a sponsored event for Comic relief. Please read below on the important aspects of this event and what we will be doing.

Comic Relief's Red Nose Day will be The Big One, and a big year for Scouting too as we celebrate our Centenary. Since its launch in 1985, Comic Relief's Red Nose Day has been hugely popular with Scouts of all ages. So popular in fact that The Scout Association has teamed up with Comic Relief to encourage all Scout Groups to take part, and help make Red Nose Day 2007 even bigger and better than ever!

Not only will we be raising money for a fantastic cause, which helps thousands of poor and disadvantaged people across the UK and Africa, the event will also form part Join-in-Centenary Programme, an important part of the Scouting 2007 Centenary celebrations.

The Join-in-Centenary Badge, which is part of the special year-long Join-In-Centenary Programme, encourages Scouts to explore adventure, international friendship, community and the environment among other themes. Taking part in Red Nose Day 2007 is therefore a great way for young people to think about people in need around the world, and show their friendship by fundraising. Part of the Cub Scout promise is ‘to thing of others before themselves’.

What will 2nd Wakefield Cubs be doing?

3 challenges in 30 minutes (whilst wearing a big red nose)

All Cubs taking part will receive a Comic Relief Big Red Nose

1) Centenary Ball Bounce: In pairs Cubs will bouncing, catching and throwing a ball 100 times.

2) Jelly Eating with a difference: using a knife & fork and whilst wearing large gardening gloves

3) Comic Relief Word search: to be completed in the time scale

Please support Comic Relief by sponsoring a Cub, and help them get sponsored by others.

Last call for Gift Aid Declarations

I am in the process of drawing up Gift Aid claims for the period 1st April 2001 to 31 March 2006.

If you had a child in our scout group at any time between these dates then you may be able to help us to claim tax back from HMRC (formerly Inland Revenue) by filling in a Gift Aid Declaration. The form does not require a signature so it may even be submitted via email. For more information, and to download a form please see the Finances page on our website.

If you have any questions please leave a comment here or contact a leader.

Many thanks to all those who have already completed a form.