Here’s a message from Martin Botting of Bury Cubs, describing the proposed formation of a Bury Scout Troop:
I’m sure you will be aware that Bury has its own Cub Scout Pack, for our young people aged 8 – 10½. Initially registered in 2011, the Cubs have been a constant in village life, contributing to the fabric of our community.
Bury Cubs became part of the larger Pulborough Scout Group in 2017, and having prospered since – despite the interruption of the Covid pandemic – the number of Cubs attending is steadily in the high teens. While a good proportion come from Bury or attend the revitalised Bury Primary School, many come from the surrounding villages too including Coldwaltham and Bignor.
We are at the stage where too many Cubs now want to ‘move up’ to the next section, Sea Scouts in Pulborough. It is full with a waiting list. To keep our local young people scouting, we are proposing to open a Bury Scout Troop. Being at the very base of the South Downs and next to the river Arun, we have plenty of opportunities for 10½ – 14-year-olds to enjoy even more challenging adventures than Cubs can offer, and add even more value to our local community.
We have 2 – 3 leaders from our wider 1st Pulborough and Bury Scout Group who have committed to the initiative. What we would love though is an even more local volunteer or volunteers from Bury, West Burton, Bignor, Watersfield, Coldwaltham, Houghton, or indeed ANY of our surrounding downland villages. Having local input will help us sew the new Bury Scout Troop into village life.
The good thing is that we have a number of potential Scouts ready to start immediately, most of whom are well-drilled from Cubs and are a pleasure to support. We have support from the Scout Group, who will take care of all the wider legal and financial matters. The volunteer we are looking for doesn’t have to be a specific age or gender, they don’t need experience of working with young people. They should just able to commit to a couple of hours on one week day evening in term time and be prepared to have fun. We will take care of all DBS matters and the training is easily accessible too.
So, how about it? A new challenge for you this year? If you – or someone you know – would like a non-committal chat about what’s involved, please call me on 07837 276496 or email me at martinbotting72@gmail.com
