Do we make an impact? Yes, we do!
Scouting in our Region has never been stronger or made more of an impact. Leaders and supporters report higher life satisfaction, self-esteem and mental wellbeing. The latest figures and research show this dramatically.
Adventure is at the core of Scouting, and we actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society. We offer over 200 activities from abseiling and coding to drama and archery. All made possible by the efforts of more than 2,000 adults in our Region.
We now have 7037 young people and 2313 adults – leaders and supporters – according to the latest annual membership figures released in the 2018 Census. This is nearly 1,000 more young people and a 75% increase in adults since 2013. In every section we have increased our numbers, particularly Explorers whose numbers have grown by 28% to 682 in 2018.
So, we now have 9350 members in our Region. What an achievement! Well done all of us!
And new research from the Scout Association also shows a strong correlation between volunteering and mental wellbeing. The vast majority of adults believe their life satisfaction (70%) and self-esteem (66%) have improved since signing up to volunteer, with reduced feelings of loneliness (42%) and stress (33%) also reported. Nearly two thirds (65%) of adults also stated that since beginning volunteer work they have developed useful work skills, with 59% saying they feel more confident and 54% feeling more motivated in their jobs.
Margery Naylor, Regional Commissioner for South East Scotland, said:
“It is great to see such a positive picture for Scouting in our Region, for young people, leaders and supporters. It is a huge achievement.
And most of this is down to our amazing leaders. As one of the Scotland’s leading youth charities, we’re acutely aware of the importance of all the leaders and supporters in South East Region who give up their time every single day to help others. With the majority of volunteers saying they feel more motivated, confident and more skilled as a result of the work they do with us, it’s not just those they’re helping who benefit.
But we have over 1,000 young people on our waiting lists. That’s a great testimony to how popular Scouting is in our Region. We are now going to do our best to involve more adults as leaders so that we can offer excellent opportunities for adventurous activities to even more young people.”
Adam Bennett, Assistant Regional Commissioner (Youth Involvement) for South East Scotland, said:
“When I first joined Scouts, I was incredibly worried that I didn’t know anyone and wouldn’t make any friends. After 7 years of Scouting, some of my greatest memories are with my Scout friends. And as a leader now, my role is quite simple – to try and give young people the amazing opportunities I had. With Youth Involvement, it is even better because it’s always constantly talking with young people in the Region. They lead me as much as I help and guide them and together we all have much more fun and learn more skills which we can use in life.”
Bear Grylls, Chief Scout, said:
“I am so proud that The Scout Association UK continues to see so many young people and adult volunteers signing up to not only have fun, experience adventures but also learn skills for life. And that applies to both the young people and volunteers! Even though we have had record numbers of adults joining the Movement we still have 57,000 young people who want to join and gain new skills but are unable to do so. If you want to make a difference to the lives of young people, feel more motivated and confident and learn some new skills, then please give Scouting a go.”
So we are doing a great job and we plan to keep on doing just that from 2018 onwards!
Margery Naylor, Regional Commissioner, South East Scotland Scouts