In my last post; entitled Polly Grows, I heralded the changing of life long habits which have weighed me down and slowed my progression in the past. Since then two things have happened which have once again caused me to reflect on my habit of procrastinating.
The first being last night at our weekly Scout meeting when Ms M asked me which of the two photo's we were admiring had been submitted to the local newspaper? "Ah!" says I "I'm going to write up a press release for circulation to all the locals tomorrow..."
Just to fill you in on the finer details; I had been foolish enough to undertake the task of putting up photo's and a short editorial on our page of The Slieve Bloom Scouts Website. This was the very first entry and much overdue. At a recent planning meeting for the Troup; I was heartily congratulated on my efforts and told that as it was so good I could do the press release announcing the return to the Scouting Year! Reluctantly I agreed and went off without a care in the world. That was two weeks ago.
It would seem that last weeks issue of the local rags was the deadline. How nice to be told these things! Having no experience of writing press releases I was flummoxed at the very prospect of starting this task. The idea of completing it had simply left my feather brained head; resulting in last nights conversation. Ooops!
All is not lost however as I can now write a short report of our first night back. Of how we all enjoyed watching the Camp Austria 2008 video, played the usual team games and generally enjoyed getting back together after our short summer break. I shall include meeting times for the various groups, ie Scouts, Beaver's, Cubs and Ventures and a short resume of the types of activities we get up to.
It is imperative that we acquire more help with running the troup. The same folk have been performing the core duties for nigh on thirty years now and frankly; even with the assistance of newer volunteers like myself, it always comes down to the same small group of people time in and time out!
In principal this is fine; we volunteered and we knew what lay ahead of us in terms of commitment to the children. Thankfully we all enjoy spending time with the kids; giving something back to the community and hoping that some of the skills learned during this time will be remembered when they pass into adulthood.
However, real life does occasionally get in the way of all this; rendering us unwell or simply exhausted. We all have very real jobs, in different areas of expertise and responsibility and we all have families to look after too. Sadly it seems that there is a vast shortage of enthusiasm when it comes to volunteering to help the kids pursue their dreams and develop life skills that will only enrich their lives in the future.
There is a considerable amount of training involved in becoming a fully fledged Scouter (adult scout leader); including first aid and child protection, which is funded by the organisation. We are given the knowledge and support to help us develop our own skills; which in turn will be passed on to the children. Combined with regular meetings & weekend activities it can also be fun; for both the adults and the children.
If just one of my readers is inspired to volunteer to help our with your local Scout organisation; I can guarantee that your enthusiasm will be well rewarded... If you enjoy the company of children of ages 6-8 yrs, 8-11 yrs, 11-15yrs or 15-20yrs and are able to help out with a few hours a week; offering guidance and a lot of fun don't hesitate. Join up and take part in the adventure!!!
Pleeeeze!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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