Dear Volunteers, Trustees and Supporters,
What a year 2023 has been for Warrington West Scouts!
As we start to wind down for the festive break, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on what we have collectively achieved this year to take the District to new heights.
Over the course of the year, we have opened three new Squirrel Dreys within the District at 10th, 16th and 30th which are providing #SkillsForLife to four and five-year-olds across Warrington. We aim to keep up this momentum in 2024 and continue opening Dreys at Groups where the Group Lead Volunteer and their Team have the ability/capacity to do so.
We have made multiple appointments to the District Team including a new Activities & Events Team and Leo Kilpatrick taking on the role of Young Leader Lead supporting the training of our Young Leaders who each week support section leaders to run their programmes. Our Young Leaders are an asset to their Groups, involved in the planning and delivery of activities and badge work to their fellow Young People.
In April we held our St George’s Day parade at Victoria Park which was a huge success to celebrate the day. The Activities & Events Team are already looking at what our 2024 event might look like so keep an eye out for updates in the new year.
Major upgrades have taken place at our District Headquarters including the conversion of a storage room to a large size meeting room equipped with all audio-visual equipment to hold hybrid meetings. We partnered with TalkTalk who are providing us with free internet which is supporting both the usability of the buildings and the 1st/14th who meet at the Headquarters. A new project has been installed within the main hall and a new electronic door access system is almost complete.
The Scout Shop has done brilliantly with a record week in October of over £1500 in sales across the Tuesday evening and Saturday morning. More and more people are using our own Scout Shop for their sectional needs including badges, neckers and uniforms to support local Scouting.
Recently, Denis Ward was appointed as Group Lead Volunteer at the 31st which has restarted it’s Scout section and is now supporting Young People within the Bewsey & Whitecross area to have the same opportunities that so many other Young People have each week. The aim is to open the Beaver and Cub sections early in 2024 to open Scouting up to more Young People from these areas.
The Cubs sections from across the District came together at Tatton Park Activity Centre for their Water Activity Day. The Cubs took part in Kayaking, Canoeing, Rafting and Bellboating along with land activities. We had over 150 Cubs attend and try something that they might never have done before.
In October, we held our extremely popular Blakfoot Hike in Denbigh, North Wales with almost 100 Young People from Scouts and Explorers taking on a two-day independent hike where they navigate, camp and cook for themselves while being supported by approximately 50 volunteers from across Warrington West and East Districts to ensure their safety. A huge thank you to everyone who supported this event. You can watch the official video on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPZ2ctXNlZk
The District Team has recently undergone several changes in line with the Transformation which is taking place nationally. New members have been appointed the Team and some existing members have changed roles. You can see our new structure which has been in place for the District Team since 1st November on our website here: https://beta.warringtonwestscouts.org.uk/our-people/
As District Lead Volunteer, I want to thank you for all that you have done in supporting Scouting in Warrington West during 2023. The commitment you make each week means our local Young People can gain skills to prepare them for their futures in whatever they choose to do!
I send my warmest wishes for 2024 and please take the time to rest and relax over the next few weeks.
Yours in Scouting,
Adam Potts
District Lead Volunteer
