Our 5 year plan is coming to the last year and we’ve achieved a lot so far.
The plan has been slightly updated and you can find the current version in the Leaders area of the District website. The plan tapers off during 2023 as we will be busy with the Korea camp and our intended international camps.
One of the objectives of the 5 year plan is to seek ways to get Scouting into the Community – through engagement and partnerships – and by doing so, recruit new adults into Scouting.
The District Team are working to see how Scouting can engage local communities through contact with Richmond’s voluntary and community sector.
Here are some initial ideas, provided by the Richmond CVS.
These are based on the assumption that opportunities needs to be after school or at weekends or in the school holidays and more of one-offs rather than tying Groups or Units to an ongoing commitment.
One thought is that it would be good to connect with Habitats and Heritage who have a volunteer database which includes a wide range of opportunities across the borough https://
Connect to Tech type workshops – helping older people with their tablets/ mobiles etc. There are five providers locally, and they may be interested in running one off weekend workshops which the scouts could help at https://richmondaid.org.uk/
A good way to find further opportunities is to look at the Richmond CVS searchable volunteer database which you can find here: https://richmondcvs.org.uk/
For example. the River Thames Boat Project run several local water stations for running events, and receive a donation for their work as a result.
How about a clean up or litter pick of some local public space, with permission of the owners or managers? You might also wish to connect at a very local level with community centres or similar based in close proximity. Given that the scouts have buildings – you might consider promoting their use – offering them as venues for community activities such as cost of living events, and then work with the organisation to provide volunteers and appeal for donations – food/warm clothing etc – perhaps including an international link, such as those assisting displaced persons due to war or famine.
Note that none of these ideas are specifically endorsed by the District Team and you will need to evaluate and risk assess any proposed community engagement activity.
If a Group or Unit wishes to follow any lead up, please liaise with the District team, in case another group is already involved – contact us at planning@richmondscouts.org.uk:
Meanwhile, if there are other events which you know of where we could promote Scouting, please let the District team know. Maybe you are already involved in some community activity – it would be good to know what we are already doing, so we in the District team can look for gaps and opportunities to promote Scouting – and adults in Scouting in particular. And could provide ideas to other Groups or Units on how to get involved in their local community.
Any information would be gratefully received – please e-mail your thoughts and information to planning@richmondscouts.org.uk
