Dear Parents and families

As we gallop towards the summer school holiday, we have so much to cram into the next few weeks. But can I start with a request. I have been contacted by a couple of neighbours of the Scout HQ to ask drivers to the Scout HQ to be careful in Priory Road after a couple of near misses with pedestrians. May I respectfully remind everyone to be courteous and careful when driving in the village.

Yours in Scouting

Skip
(Andrew Aalders-Dunthorne)

Scout Group Open evening:

On Friday 1st July, we will be hosting our annual open evening, at the Scout HQ. There will be free activities for the whole family to enjoy, archery, shooting, games, stalls, camp fires, cooking, crafts, raffle and much more.

Refreshments include a licenced bar, bbq and an ice cream van.

We will also be presenting special awards to our amazing young people and committed leaders and Executive. Programme for the event is below.

530pm - Gates open
615pm - Opening formalities
630pm - Squirrel Investitures
640pm - Presentations
700pm - Closing remarks
715pm - Activities and
900pm - Refreshments

There will be no parking at the Scout HQ, please walk or cycle if you can. We are discussing with other land owners in the area regarding car parking, updates will be posted on our Facebook page. Please do not park in Priory Road.

Scout Group AGM:

All parents, carers, leaders and young people are invited to attend the Scout Group AGM and Scout Council meeting on the 7th July 2022, starting at 730pm at the Scout HQ. Please come along and support your Scout Group Executive.

The AGM will receive reports from the Leaders and Executive Chair, review the accounts and elect the Executive for the next academic year. If you are interested in supporting your Scout Group by joining the Executive Committee, please advise your section leader or email Andrew.aaldersdunthorne@talk21.com more information can be found on the Group website.

The AGM will also receive presentations from the Explorer Scouts that are preparing for their Kenyan Expedition and there will refreshments and an opportunity to mingle.

WANTED:

A supporter to join our Executive Committee as Secretary. Angie Ellis, our current Executive Secretary is standing down at the AGM this year and we are actively seeking someone to take on the role. Whilst this has traditionally come from our parent body, the role can be fulfilled by anyone with an interest in our Group – a grandparent, a community member, family member or a friend.

It could be someone who is seeking something additional to add to their admin experience for an apprenticeship or extending their CV.
It could be someone with previous community experience of taking meeting minutes
It could be someone who has recently joined the local community who would like to make new friends and get involved in an active group, or a long standing resident who wants to stay active in the vicinity.

If you know of anyone who would be interested in supporting the group, or indeed if you are interested yourself; please do get in touch with Andrew, Angie or Dawn for more information.

Fundraising – every little helps:

The 1st Fressingfield Scouts provides wonderful opportunities for young people of all ages to contribute to their communities, gain independence, and learn new skills. But we can't do this without input from our friends and supporters. There are some simple ways that you can support the Scouts without it costing you a penny:

Use easyfundraising.org.uk
Get to your favourite online shops or businesses by going via www.easyfundraising.org.uk. The first time you visit you'll be invited to search for a cause, so please search for and select '1st Fressingfield Scout Group'. Once you've set up your account, you'll find a huge number of online shops and businesses via easyfundraising.org.uk, and each time you buy from them you'll be supporting the Scouts.

So, thinking about your summer holidays, all of the major travel retailers are on #easyfundraising; TUI, Booking.com, Expedia, First Choice, Hotels.com, Cottages.com, James Villas, easyJet holidays, Eurocamp, Opodo, P&O, PurpleParking, plus 250+ others! The average family holiday could raise over £110 for 1st Fressingfield Scout Group! – and it’s all completely FREE! So please, please, please remember to use easyfundraising when you book so we don’t miss out! To find out more, visit: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/offers/big-donations/

If you’re an Amazon shopper and looking for an easy way to support 1st Fressingfield Scouts, AmazonSmile is the way to do it, at no cost to you. When you next need to use Amazon, type in ‘smile.amazon.co.uk’ instead of your usual www.amazon.co.uk and you’ll be able to select a charity to support before getting on with your normal shopping.

Open the link in your web browser and sign in to Amazon to set up your account from here. Click the 'hamburger' menu (☰) in the upper left corner to bring up a menu of options. Scroll down until you see the option "Your AmazonSmile". Select '1st Fressingfield Scout Group' as your preferred charitable organization, and you are now ready to shop from smile.amazon.co.uk and support your local Scouts at the same time. If you are using Google Chrome, click the STAR in the right side of the web address bar to make the page a favourite or follow instructions at the bottom of the page to set up a bookmark that is easy to return to with just one click.

If you shop using the Amazon app on your smartphone, you can also use Amazon Smile here too: If you are not already an AmazonSmile member, simply sign up at smile.amazon.co.uk and select your favourite charity to start generating donations, at no cost to you. Then, open the app and find 'Settings' in the main menu (☰). Tap on ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile on your phone.

1st Fressingfield Scout Group weekly Lottery with a £25,000 weekly prize:

We are very exciting to announce the creation of our very own lottery, here at the 1st Fressingfield Scouts.

We have partnered with One Lottery, who will run it on our behalf. This means that there will be 2 weekly draws, one specific to our group and one across all the charities who are running a lottery, with a £25,000 weekly jackpot prize.

Tickets are £1 each and 50p will go to 1st Fressingfield scouts. The rest goes to the prizes and tax, with only 16p going to One Lottery themselves.
Why don’t you give it a try? Sign up for tickets now. First draw on 16th July.

Click here to buy a ticket

HQ development:

Can you help with developing our outdoor space at the HQ, we are seeking volunteers to help with two keys areas within our HQ site. We have cash for materials, but need willing hands and expertise to realise two projects. If you can offer support please get in touch with Andrew (Skip) as soon as possible.

1. Further develop landscaping and create an allotment to grow fruit and veg. We need to borrow a rotavator, have a delivery of organic matter (well-rotted manure) and many hands to weed, stone and then plant the area with fruit and veggies.

2. Carpenters to build a secure range area, including installing fencing and a covered seating/waiting area. We need help to design and construct a facility for our new tomahawk throwing and cross-bows.

Squirrel Scouts are GO!

We are very excited to launch our new Early Years Scouting Section, Squirrels, a new section for 4 and 5 year olds. We already have the maximum 12 young people signed up and are now urgently looking for further volunteer leaders to join Mel and Sophie.

Squirrel meet on Tuesday’s 415-515pm and would welcome additional offers of support so that we can admit more children to our Drey.

Dates For Your Diary

1st July: (6pm) Group Open Day and presentations (all sections)
7th July: (730pm) 1st Fressingfield Scout Group Council meeting / AGM (all sections)
23rd-29th July:Senior Sections Summer Camp (Adventurers/Explorers/Pioneers)
October: 20 years of Explorer Scouting anniversary – special events to be confirmed
13th Nov: Remembrance Sunday Service
9th Dec: (eve) Gang Show (all sections)
17th Dec: (am) Santa fun run