Do you enjoy the great outdoors? Has your job been affected by Covid through reduced hours or even redundancy? Are you now working from home and have a bit more time to devote to interests and hobbies than when you were commuting? Are you seeing the negative impact of lockdown in your community and want to help change things for the better?

Maybe you (and/or your parents or other relatives) are semi or fully retired and want to put something back? Maybe you have children who are students and you want to encourage them to boost their CV, or they’re doing their Duke of Edinburgh Award and need to find a volunteer role?

If you (or anyone you know) said yes to any of these, our seven local Scout Groups (young people aged six to 14 years) and our two Explorer Scout groups (14 to 18 years) could use your time, skills and help!

With more than 100 youngsters on waiting lists for Haslemere’s various Beaver, Cubs and Scouts sections, the District Team wants to make it possible for them to benefit from scouting as well.

And you’ll benefit too! Whether it’s something to add to your (or your teenager’s) CV while you or they job hunt, or learning new knowledge and skills to take into an existing role, getting involved in scouting will bring you ‘skills for life’.

You’ll also be positively impacting the lives of your local youngsters – getting them off their screens and sofas, learning new skills, building confidence and resilience, and helping turn them into resourceful, useful and valued members of society at a time when lives have been turned upside down by Covid-19 and everyone is only too aware of the mental health impacts the pandemic has brought.

The other good news is that you don’t need to be Bear Grylls to join us! You also don’t need to have been a Scout when you were younger. You don’t even need to know how to put up a tent.

Our door is open to people of all ages, genders, races and backgrounds. We’re only able to change lives because people like you lend a hand – whether it’s for an hour a week, an hour a month or an hour every few months.

We’re talking about record keepers, organisers, refreshment makers, activity planners and skill sharers, mini bus drivers and first aiders.

Students who want to boost their CVs and parents or grandparents who volunteer on activity nights so they can spend more quality time with their children or grandchildren.

Whatever your skillset, please consider lending a hand for as little or as much time as you can spare, and we promise you’ll get more out than you put in. There is great guidance, support and training available for all roles so if you haven’t done it before, we can help get you there.

No two Scout events, roles or activities are the same – whether you’re helping a leader to run an activity, ensuring our volunteers’ training is up to date, organising an overnight adventure, helping get new volunteers on board, or buttering 120 slices of bread for a group of hungry 11 year olds!

The difference you make and the rewards, though, are always huge. We provide the training and support, you show up, get stuck in, and make memories for life. Sounds fun? Worthwhile? It is!

Here are some of the interesting and important roles locally. Some require an ‘in person’ commitment while others can be done in your spare time from the comfort of your own home. However, all are vital for scouting to serve and benefit our local young people.

We currently have 300-plus youngsters involved in our local Beaver, Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts sections, but with another 100-plus on waiting lists, we need more volunteers to expand our sections and programmes and to also free up our frontline teams from admin so they can focus on delivering scouting.

Roles in Haslemere

District Scouts

If you’re interested in helping with one of the five roles below, or you know someone who might be, please get in touch with our District Commissioner for Haslemere & District Scouts, Keith Clayton at [email protected] or our District chairman Martin Waterhouse by email at [email protected]. There is plenty of high-quality training provided within our District as well as within Surrey county for all of these roles.

1District Appointments Secretary

If you’re a completer-finisher and an organiser who’s motivated by quick results, this critical role is for you! The Appointment Secretary oversees the mechanics of appointing scouting Leaders in Haslemere District – so is vital for keeping the pipeline of volunteers flowing so we can get them in post and making a difference quickly.

Once a Leader in a Group adds a new role for a new volunteer, our Appointments Secretary follows up the DBS check, arranges an interview panel, secures references and follows the adult through to a full appointment.

They also keep an eye on expiring DBSs and make sure these are renewed. It’s all run on a user-friendly Scout Association database called ‘Compass’.

We have 130 adult members in our District and add around 30 each year so it’s not a huge role, but it’s a super important one. You don’t need any recruitment or HR experience, just a desire to keep things moving and good attention to detail. 

2Local Training Manager (LTM)

Our ‘LTM’ oversees the training requirements and records for our Leaders. You won’t actually train people, although you could do if you wish.

A key part of the role is supporting and guiding new volunteers through the ‘Getting Started’ process within five months of appointment, then encouraging them to attend and complete their ‘Wood Badge’ training (online and in person practical training) within three years.

As with the Appointments Secretary, you’d maintain and manage the records on the Scout Association database Compass, which also allows you to create reports to help Groups and Districts review and manage compliance.

The LTM works closely with the Training Administrator and is supported by ‘Training Advisers’.

Again, you don’t need any previous experience in training or HR; just a logical mind that likes things in order, and a desire to support our volunteers to provide high quality and safe scouting for our local young people.

3Training Administrator

The Training Administrator assists the Local Training Manager by creating reports and reminding Leaders of their training requirements and commitments. You would help organise training, such as the critical First Responder/First Aid for our local scouting teams.

This role would suit someone who is organised and who enjoys liaising with others to support them in their roles.

4Training Advisers

Training Advisers work directly with new volunteers, guiding them through the training process and carrying out validations of training (so checking that the skills learnt in training can be evidenced in role). This role especially suits ‘retired’ Leaders but can equally be carried out by people who have not been Leaders but have experience in training validation within scouting. Training is provided.

5Publicity & Media Officer

Are you or were you in PR or communications, journalism or have a media background? Alternatively, maybe your son or daughter wants a career in media and this role would provide them with some brilliant work experience.

You would liaise with our Groups, units and sections to promote Scouting in our District. Lots of social media as well as making use of printed media like our local newspapers who love a positive community story.

You would help advertise for new Leaders, support Groups with their own PR and keep our District website up to date and current.

This is a creative and fun role with lots of job satisfaction when you see the output of your work in the local media! Plus great for someone looking to show future employers what they can do.