Excitement for all at the Regional Explorer Camp

Whilst most camps involve sacrificing only a soft bed, Explorers from around the Region went back to basics this year at the Regional Explorer Camp which was held at Philiphaugh – a greenfield site made available to groups in the Region by one of our Regional Vice Presidents, Sir Michael Strang Steel.  Greenfield doesn’t mean camping only – the Explorers enjoyed an amazing array of different activities throughout the weekend and we visited the Edge Explorer Unit to find out what made the camp a fantastic experience.

Continue Reading Excitement for all at the Regional Explorer Camp

Could you be our next Regional Commissioner?

Isabel McNab will shortly complete 5 years in the role of Regional Commissioner.  She has decided not to extend her appointment.  This affords the opportunity for the Region to benefit from new leadership and to enjoy a new driver at the controls.  This role although based within the Region is a Scottish team appointment and is made by the Chief Commissioner.  A vacancy pack and nomination form can be found below.  Nominations including self-nominations are invited from those with management experience and with time and enthusiasm to bring to the role.   Nomination forms should be returned to John Teasdale, Regional Chairman, via email  as found on the form or by post addressed to the Regional Chairman, South East Scotland Regional Office, 71 Bonaly Road,  Edinburgh EH13 0PB.    The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday 28th October 2016

rc-vacancy-pack                        rc-nomination-form

John Teasdale

Regional Chairman

South East Scotland Regional Scout Council

Census 2016

We’re really pleased to announce that South East Scotland Region has grown once again this year, for the 7th consecutive time.  Regional membership now stands at 6,956 young people and 1,500 adult volunteers.

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Bethany Big Scout and Guide Sleepout 2016

Bethany Big Scout and Guide Sleepout 2016

Scouts and Guides from Edinburgh and the Lothians took part in the Bethany Big Scout and Guide Sleepout on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th March 2016.

The event saw over 220 young people sleeping rough in the grounds of the iconic George Heriot’s school in central Edinburgh, giving them a small taste of how it would feel to be homeless.  The young people were supported by a team of over 70 adult volunteers from South East Scotland Scouts, Girlguiding Edinburgh and the Bethany Christian Trust.

Diane Marshall, Deputy Regional Commissioner with South East Scotland Scouts told us “Scouting and Guiding gives young people a positive start in life. Life is a journey and as we take each step its a huge learning curve. We are all lucky to have a warm bed to go to at night we take for granted the simple things such as nutritious food and a toothbrush and toothpaste to brush our teeth the sleepout has given us a small insight into homelessness and how vulnerable and challenging it makes everyday life.”

Sleep out 2016 - Night

Scouts and Guides take refuge in sleeping bags and cardboard outside at George Heriot’s School

Bethany Christian Trust organised for their Care Van to visit the event, which served soup and bread to the attendees of the event helping them to understand how it might feel to queue for food without which they might have gone to bed cold and hungry.

“The Care Van is one of Bethany Christian Trust’s emergency services, providing support for homeless people in Edinburgh.  Some nights the van can provide food, hot drinks, advice and support to up to 60 people.  It really is an essential service for many people in Edinburgh” said Laurie Frank from Bethany Christian Trust.

As part of the event young people were asked to fundraise in support of Bethany Christian Trust, with a value of £7,500 being raised by the time of the event.  Both Scouting and Guiding are hoping to attract some additional funding over the next few weeks as more people hear about the event.

The event was inspired by a smaller sleepout organised by a local Scout Group last year.  Hamish is a 12 year old Scout and attended the recent sleepout as well as the event last year and said it was “An extremely fun night. It was great to have more people than last year, but we needed more cardboard. The soup and hot chocolate really raised the spirits for everyone who was suffering from the cold. It was amazing to raise such a large amount of money for Bethany”.

The funding raised by the event will be used by Bethany to support the services in Edinburgh and across Scotland, including their Winter Care Shelter, which provides shelter, safety, hot food and support for those who would otherwise be sleeping rough on the streets of Edinburgh.  The funding raised so far is enough for over 200 overnight bed spaces at the shelter.

Lily, a 10 year old Guide thought “The Sleep Out was fun but I know now how lucky we are! Plus the soup was really nice and I think that homeless people are lucky to have Bethany. I loved looking at the stars and I actually had a good sleep. It was good experience and I think that I learnt that we are lucky to have what we have… but I still like a good warm bed!”

Sleepout 2016 - Daytime

The full team of sleepout participants and volunteers after the event

Anne Mackintosh, the Girlguiding Edinburgh coordinator for the sleepout, who took to sleeping rough herself at the event, said “The ground was very hard and cold to sleep on even although we had the luxury of warm sleeping bags, camping mats and survival bags which most homeless people don’t have. Working together with Scouting and the Bethany Christian Trust has given the Guides and Scouts a fantastic opportunity to have a lot of fun, to challenge themselves to sleep rough in a safe environment and to make a positive difference in their community by raising money for Bethany Christian Trust and raising awareness of the work they do with homeless and vulnerable people across Scotland.”

Donations can still be made at http://www.everydayhero.co.uk/event/sleepout2016.