2024-03-31-accounts

Registered Scout Group: 41377

Registered Charity Number: 303793

2024 Annual Report

www.19thwimbledonscouts.co.uk

CONTENTS

Agenda for 2024 AGM	2	Trustee Board	20
Group Chair’s Introduction	3	‘100 Club’ Winners	20
Group Scout Leader’s Report	5	Group Treasurer’s Report	21
Oakwood Beaver Colony Report 6	Oakwood Beaver Colony Report 6	Group Information	22
Mayhew Beaver & Cub Report	8	Volunteering - It Could Be You!	23
Oakwood Cub Pack Report	12	Minutes of the 2023 AGM 24
Scout Troop Report	14	Group HQ - A Community Site	26
Explorer Scout Unit Report	17	Friends of the 19th	27

AGENDA for 2024 Annual General Meeting

1. Apologies for Absence

2. Minutes of the 2023 AGM

3. Matters Arising from the Minutes

4. Presentation of the Annual Report

5. Presentation of the Annual Statement of Accounts

6. Charity Governance

7. Group Scout Leader’s nomination of

8. the Group Chair

9. certain members of the Trustee Board

10. Election of Group Treasurer

11. Election of other members of the Trustee Board

12. Appointment of Independent Examiner

13. Presentations

14. Any Other Business

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GROUP CHAIR’S INTRODUCTION

Welcome to this year’s annual report.

All of the sections have had another very busy year, and I would like to thank the leaders and their volunteer teams for their hard work in planning and delivering programmes that enable our young people to experience new challenges and have fun. I can recommend reading the report to find out more about the year’s activities.

2024 is a year of change within the Scout Association as the governance arrangements are being strengthened to meet the Charity Commission’s guidance. As such our Executive Committee is transitioning to a Trustee Board and we are seeking to appoint Trustees to help run the Group. We sought nominations to our Trustee Board prior to the AGM and I hope that anyone who wished to nominate themselves had the opportunity to do so. There will be further opportunities to join the Board each year, so please think about whether you have skills and expertise that would be useful to us and if so, please consider coming forward in the future.

A separate Volunteer Leadership Team is also being established, which will manage the operational activities of the Group. These are significant changes, and they sit alongside a change in the titles of each of our Leaders and a change to a team approach to tasks that are undertaken by our Leaders. I can reassure you that the people that you deal with in our section teams are still the same and will continue to deliver the day to day programmes for our young people.

I would like to thank our management team, including the outgoing Executive Committee members. I would particularly like to thank Paul Wilkins, our Group Scout Leader for his continuing commitment to the Group. Paul oversees everything that happens within the site. He looks after our external users and ensures that the site is clean and secure for everyone to use.

With the new roles introduced by the Scout Association the formal role of Group Secretary will cease. I would like to thank Ian Haynes, who has been our

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Secretary for many years and has not only efficiently managed all of the work associated with the role, but also taken control of our website and printing needs along with many other tasks. Fortunately Ian remains part of the Group as he has moved over to become part of the Scout Troop Volunteer Leader Team.

I would also like to thank Ken Paine who kindly took over the running of the 100 club. We are grateful for your support. More recently Gill Nicholson has taken on this task. We would like to thank all the members of the 100 Club who pay into the club each year.

Ian, Ken and Gill provide great examples of volunteers who are not necessarily noticed by parents, but who work hard behind the scenes to keep the Group in good order.

The Emmanuels family, who have two children in our Scout Troop, provide another example of how volunteering behind the scenes help us to keep the Scout site in good order. They regularly help us to keep the buildings in good order as and when they can spare some time. We are extremely grateful for their help, which

has really improved the cleanliness of the buildings.

We are still also actively looking for more adult volunteers to work with our sections. We need volunteers to support the Monday and Thursday Beavers, and the Tuesday Cub Pack. These sections have experienced leaders who are able to support new adult volunteers and there is also a brilliant training programme in place, much of which can be done online in a volunteer’s own time to ensure that all leaders have the right skills in place to do the job.

Volunteering can be an excellent way to boost your mental wellbeing. It’s a great feeling knowing you’re helping young people get skills for life, and you might even learn some things about yourself along the way. If you can only help occasionally, that’s OK. Whether you’d like to be an activity planner, tea-maker or craft creator, we appreciate any time you can spare. Talk to any of the leaders, or contact me directly if you want to find out more!

Ros Barnes (Group Chair)

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GROUP SCOUT LEADER’S REPORT

SERVICE - by volunteering

Over the past year this Scout Group has had young members joining in with the adult leaders to do their service by volunteering with the Scouts in order to do the community service element of the Duke of Edinburgh award or King’s Scout. award. This

voluntary service gives a young person the means to feel good about themselves in a constructive, character building way, by giving their time and energy freely to help and improve the wider community.

Young people who have decided to help learn a lot about responsibilities and self motivation doing activities in their section meetings and camps, such as fire lighting, cooking, camping, hiking, navigation and team work. All skills that will set them up for life.

I think service is a misunderstood concept, however you say it, such as community involvement, service to the nation, volunteering is one of the glues that bonds society together to make it fundamentally better. This Group is fortunate to have resources such as the HQ site but without service given freely it would fail to thrive as well as it does.

We would like parents and any person young or older who is interested and who wants to have fun in Scouting to volunteer. All you need is enthusiasm and an open mind to have fun.

Over the past year we have recruited assistant section leaders in two of the sections, which is fantastic, we hope to increase our volunteer base even more in the near future.

Please speak to your child’s section leaders and ask them what you can do to help by offering to do service .

So my thanks go to all of the Lead volunteers, Trustees, Group supporters and young members that have served throughout the last year with this Group to enable Scouting to continue.

Paul Wilkins (Group Scout Leader)

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OAKWOOD BEAVER COLONY REPORT

Oakwood Beavers have had a busy year with lots of fun activities and it feels like we’ve managed to spend a good proportion of the year outside-always easier on the ears with the noise levels achievable by Oakwood Beavers! Lots of badge work means many of our Beavers

moving onto Cubs have completed their Chief Scout’s Bronze award, the highest award in Scouting available to Beavers. Monday evenings have seen learning moments, great teamwork and a lot of crazy fun.

We started off the year with Air Activities including making some very cool helicopters, researching some different aircraft and learning the phonetic alphabet.

In October, we joined the Mayhew Beavers and both Cub Packs for the annual sleepover. A typical autumn evening didn’t stop our fun and we played games and sang camp fire songs enthusiastically in front of a virtual camp fire before settling down for a movie. Next morning (some apparently, did sleep) we enjoyed a traditional outside camp breakfast before lots of teamwork and life skills gained through washing up and then heading home to catch up on any missed Zzzz.

Later on in the term, we marked Halloween by making some creepy spider webs before becoming ‘mad scientists’ and earning the Experiment badge. We finished the autumn term with our usual Christmas crafts and awarding of the Musician Stage 1 badge with a muchpracticed hand bell performance for the parents at our party. This is where we said goodbye to Bridget, Mila and family as they headed off for an exciting new life in California including new Scouting adventures.

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The spring term always gives lots of excuses for enjoying different food. We celebrated Burns Night with haggis, neeps and tatties which we piped in and addressed with the help of the

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internet and had fun doing an online dance lesson, learning the Two Step. We welcomed in the Year of the Dragon with Chinese New Year games, made lanterns and cooked noodles. After the half term, we continued the food theme and enjoyed a belated Pancake Day celebration including Squirrel’s legendary pancakes.

During our indoor evenings, we had fun with piles of Lego for the Builders badge. We created bridges and other structures

which were strength tested using some very smart (toy) sports cars. Definitely some future engineers within the Colony .

Later in the term, we made paper flowers for Mother’s Day and completed the Space badge by learning about planets, constellations and space missions and were lucky with a really clear night to get outside and investigate the night sky.

As the term ended, we enjoyed indoor soft archery and prepared for Easter, making baskets and running some very competitive egg and spoon races..

So far in the summer term, we’ve managed to have a few evenings enjoying the outdoor space. Fire lighting and cooking marshmallows is always a very popular, if messy, evening, and we’ve also cooked bread twists.

We had spontaneous fun when we found tents out drying onsite with many of the Beavers now keen for their first camp. The Beavers already have a number of favourite wide games that are regularly requested including Fox and Hounds, Manhunt and Sardines and looking forward to learning more.

We also tried out a bit of pioneering, using marshmallows and spaghetti, before challenging the structures with leader-induced earthquakes of increasing magnitude. Those budding engineers showed themselves again!

Thanks to everyone for their help this year, particularly Pauline (Squirrel), Eddie the Eagle and Luke (Badger) We’ve loved having Mike (Akela) and Kiki from Oakwood Cubs to help out on a number of occasions. The later weeks of the summer term saw us heading to Walton Firs to join other Beavers from the District for a fun day out. In our Monday meetings we’ll be completing our Gardening Badge along with more fire lighting and outdoor cooking, building shelters and our annual family treasure hunt around Morley Park. We welcome any help from parents and other volunteers so please let us know if you’d like to join in our fun and help in whatever capacity.

Suzanne Clark (Robin)

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MAYHEW BEAVER COLONY &

CUB PACK REPORT

It’s amazing, it feels like it was only yesterday that our 20222023 report was written and yet here we are, another year on, with many activities to report.

Enjoying the great outdoors last summer, the Beavers worked towards their Air Activities Staged badge, learning about different aircraft, how far they can travel and passenger numbers etc. They were also entertained by stories of the different aircraft the leaders had experienced, including hot air balloons and microlight planes. The highlight when working towards the Air Activities badge was however, as always, the moment they were given freedom to make their own paper aeroplanes and fly them around the hall. This is always a great opportunity for the Beavers to exert their creativity in making their own flying machines!

Whilst the Beavers were flying high in the clouds with their paper aeroplanes, the Cubs were making armpit fudge, which isn’t as disgusting to taste as it sounds! The Cubs, whilst sceptical to begin with, did find it quite tasty!

On a stiflingly hot day at the end of June, the Cubs joined with other Cubs across the District at an Adventure Day. This saw them participating in pioneering activities, caving, shooting, archery, water codes, rock climbing and orienteering.

Before rounding off the summer term with water games and a party, the Beavers enjoyed a nature hunt around Morley Park looking for plants, signs, trees and water related bugs (namely tadpoles). The Cubs enjoyed a hike straight from the Scout Hut, across and onto the lower sections of Wimbledon Common and back along the Beverley Brook, earning another stage of their Hikes badges.

As soon as the Cubs returned in the autumn term they ventured down to PGL at Marchants Hill. We were blessed with warm late summer weather over the weekend which meant the activities (archery, fencing, zip wire, giant swing, climbing, raft building and problem solving) could be enjoyed without layering up with waterproofs. The chants the PGL group leaders teach the Cubs are still popular and ring our whenever the mood takes them!

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With an influx of new Beavers to the Colony in September, the Beavers learnt about the history of Scouting, before both sections embarked on the Astronomers (Cubs) and Space (Beavers) badges. Borrowing some fantastic resources from the 13[th] Wimbledon, both sections learnt about the planets (including lesser-known planets and stars) and distances between them. They were fascinated to learn, based on footsteps, that the furthest planets from the sun would (with the sun sitting in our Scout Hut) probably sit somewhere up in Wimbledon Village!

The autumn term would not be complete without the Beaver and Cub sleepover. Much like the year before, the weather was not in our favour and we were confined to indoor games and an indoor campfire. With uptake for the sleepover lower than usual, those that did attend had more space but inevitably much of the floor space was still occupied with STUFF! Still coined by the leaders as the ‘wakeover’ because very little sleep is had, we had the usual stay-up-laters and early risers! Still, the opportunity for a night away from home (however much sleep is had) is valuable to the Group’s lower sections.

The remainder of the autumn term was spent on teamwork challenges, problem solving, first aid and road safety. And as always, the Group campfire in November, which is always fun, if a little chilly and damp.

The Beavers assisted in making Christmas decorations to both take home and decorate the tree in the Scout Hut, whilst the Cubs coloured intricate Christmas card templates for delivery to the residents of a care home dedicated to caring for dementia sufferers. The response from the home was lovely, with the residents (some of whom don’t have many or any visitors) touched by receiving a personalised card from the Cubs.

After our failed movie night in 2022, we attempted this again to round off the autumn term. This time we had success! And both the Mayhew sections enjoyed a joint popcorn and movie night.

Fresh into 2024, both sections enjoyed celebrating Burns Night, although no haggis was consumed. A sensory evening saw activities including Kim’s Game (memory), blindfold trail (touch/teamwork), one-handed jam sandwich (disability),

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everyday sounds (hearing) and toe drawing (touch). This was followed by Chinese New Year.

Pancake Day remains a stalwart of the spring term. Again, with stations set up in the Explorer Hut both sections could enjoy preparing, cooking and most importantly consuming their own pancakes.

Skills evenings for the Beavers and Cubs included rolling (Beavers) and ironing (Cubs) scarves, changing lightbulbs (Cubs), knots, laying the table, peeling vegetables and cleaning windows. If any parents need jobs done around the house, the Beavers and Cubs are very useful!

We were fortunate to be able to invite two guests to our meetings in the spring term. The first was from the Merton Night Shelter, talking to the Beavers and Cubs about what it’s like to be homeless and in need of the safety and security of the shelter, plus the many reasons people can find themselves homeless and what that means for aspects of our everyday life that we can take for granted (i.e. difficulty getting a job, accommodation, bank accounts etc). Both sections were extremely generous in their donations of everyday items that those using the shelter need. Following on from that, we welcomed (at our next meeting) a refugee who now has residency in the UK as she fled her home country of Burma some years ago. The circumstances around why people become refugees and have to flee their homeland are varied and complex, and the Beavers and Cubs learned what it must be like to have just minutes to gather a small rucksack full of clothes and belongings and begin an uncertain journey, not knowing when or if they will ever return home. We aim to join the Rangers on Wimbledon Common later on in

“I enjoyed caving because I love to explore new places and climb things I found it a fun activity to do. I also had fun doing the backwards cooking for I enjoy baking, cooking and BBQ especially with family and friends. Another thing I loved was the Castle Maze because we played a few games and found different places to hide.”

by Nicholas (Cub)

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by Zara (Cub)
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the term and assist with a sponsored litter pick as a contribution to the refugee cause.

It is difficult to believe that we are already at the mid-way point of this summer term and with the lighter nights and warmer weather both sections have been making use of our fantastic outdoor space (rain permitting) completing activities relating to their Outdoor and Adventure Challenge badges such as soft archery, lighting fires and of course toasting marshmallows, pioneering etc.

We were also given a guided bird song walk by the Rangers on Wimbledon Common where the birds were in full voice, allowing us to hear (but not see) long tailed tits, warblers, chiffchaffs, greenfinches and others. It was great to get both sections out and onto the Common for the evening.

The Cubs have only recently returned from an action-packed weekend camp at Walton Firs where they ran around in the woods and ravine, went caving, immersed themselves in the maze (and came out the other side!), knots, designing their own adventure island with buried treasure, campfire skits, nature scavenger hunt and cooking their own lunch on an open fire!

As always, none of the above would be possible without the leadership team we have at Beavers and Cubs. Big thanks to Rebecca, Denise and Ros for their help week on week. We also have a strong young leadership team at Beavers, with Ruth having recently joined as an Explorer and Young Leader. Tony, Kai, Andrew and Sophia remain with us at Cubs. Their enthusiasm and willingness is always much appreciated. We have also recently welcomed James to the Beaver leadership team. James has come to us as a fully warranted leader and with that a great enthusiasm and library of games which the Beavers enjoy (particularly if they involve jelly beans!). Thanks also to our parents. Running two sections means that

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when we want to or need to take the Beavers and Cubs offsite we need additional support to ensure we have sufficient adult to child ratios covered. When asked, our parents are always very willing to step in and provide that support. If any parents think they might like to give volunteering with us a go, please do come and have a chat with us - no matter your skillset or availability, we’d love to hear from you.

We hope the Beavers and Cubs have enjoyed their last year of Scouting with us and will continue to as we go forward!

Liz Strutt (Beaver Leader and Raksha)

OAKWOOD CUB PACK REPORT

As we approach the end of the academic year and our Group AGM, it is once again time to reflect on the past year. It has been fun packed with lots of activities and games often chosen by the Cubs through their forums. As always, the highlights are our opportunities to go away for the weekend and in September, we kicked off the term with a trip to PGL with both packs. This is a fantastic opportunity for the children to try new things and challenge themselves to new heights. It’s a non-stop weekend of activities and the children were able to tackle the climbing wall, the zip wire, and the giant swing. They also tried their hand at fencing and building a raft which they all could paddle, and, in the evenings, we played wide games which was a great way to end the day.

Our second weekend away was more recent with our weekend camp in May to Walton Firs. This time the Oakwood Pack went on their own, the sun shone, and we concentrated on the Outdoor Challenge badge and camp activities. The Cubs learned how to put up a tent and tie knots to make gadgets and they lit fires and cooked their own lunch. They also learned how to build shelters for different types of weather and climate, made kites and went photo orienteering on the site, but the children all agreed the highlight was caving which they all had a go at.

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For children new to Scouting a good way to experience sleeping away from home for the first time is to come to the Cub and Beaver sleepover in October. This year over fifty children from both Beaver Colonies and Cub Packs joined together to sleep in the hall. Before bedtime they enjoyed lots of games, an indoor campfire (the rain was lashing down outside) and a film before settling down for the night. As luck would have it, the next day was better, and everyone could go outside to enjoy bangers and beans for breakfast before going home. Fortunately, the weather was much better for the Group camp fire in November where we all enjoyed a rousing sing song which finished with hot chocolate and biscuits.

The Oakwood Pack have also joined in with several District events throughout the year. This included paintballing back in September and the annual badge day in January which this year was the International badge. Every Cub who came to the event was able to try lots of activities and the activity we provided was making a dragon stick puppet as this

year is the Chinese Year of the Dragon. This was followed by the District Chess competition, and I’m pleased to say we were able to enter two teams for the event and our first team came 4[th] overall. This year we not only attended St George’s Day parade but were also responsible for providing the hymns and readings for the service. Well done to Xander who read the Cub Scout Law. We also attended the Remembrance service on Wimbledon Common in November.

At our weekly meetings we cover a range of activities and some of the favourites involve lighting fires. Unfortunately, the weather has not always played ball with us this year and there have had to be a lot of last-minute changes including learning to put up a tent indoors! However, we’ve still managed to make twists, toast marshmallows, and complete the Backwoods Cooking badge. We also made and cooked pancakes to celebrate Shrove Tuesday and had a fun evening in pairs making and firing a ballista. We sometimes take the opportunity to leave the site to complete our challenges. Over the year this has included walking to Raynes

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Park to look at the various services on offer, a litter pick, and a hike and at the end of this term we have planned an outing to Dinosaur Golf.

The children also enjoy making things especially when they can take the items home. We celebrated Diwali by making clay candle dishes as well as reading the story of Rama and Sita. With the left-over clay, we made Christmas tree decorations as well as hanging decorations with bangles and turned unwanted CDs into table decorations. More recently the children have been learning how to sew on their badges. The badges

we have covered this year have been many and varied including Road Safety, Emergency Aid Stage 2, Nautical Skills, Physical Recreation and Sports Enthusiast to name a few, as well as the challenge badges. We are, however, most proud of the children who gain their Chief Scout’s Silver Award as this is the highest award in Cubs and shows commitment. Well done to the seven children who gained the award this year and who are all now in Scouts where we wish you continued success.

Finally, I would like to thank all my leaders, Chris, Helen, Laura, and Kiki and my two young leaders Immy and Becca for all their help and support as I couldn’t do it without them. Together we all make a great team to give the children the best experience we can.

Mike Mayhew (Akela)

SCOUT TROOP REPORT

At the start of the last summer holidays, 20 Scouts boarded

the minibuses and headed off to Braggers Wood, near Christchurch, for our Summer Camp. During our week-long trip staying in tents, we took part in lots of activities such as air rifle shooting, tomahawk throwing, lighting and cooking on fires, night hikes, archery, water sports, campfire and much more. We even had our very own Hawaiian Beach Party to celebrate a leader’s birthday – of course it rained, but that didn’t stop the partying.

After the summer holidays, we were given the opportunity to visit Kingston Crown Court and find out what goes on there. We were able to sit in the court room, meet the judge and ask him lots of questions. Finding out about what goes on in our community forms part of our Challenge awards. Thanks to Dom for organising this unique opportunity.

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Throughout the autumn term, eight of the older Scouts their finalised preparations for the Expedition Challenge Award Hike. The group planned a 2-day expedition in the Surrey Hills, with an overnight camp at Boidier Hurst Scout Campsite. The group since have shared their experiences and stories with the Scouts and it’s been great to hear some of the ‘skills for life’ they feel they have developed. This included a quick stop at Denbies Vineyard (after a wrong turn), where they met a staff member and were given the opportunity to taste the grapes (not the final product!)

In November, we joined Scouts from across the Wimbledon and Wandle area to take part in the District Incident Hike. Our two 19[th] Wimbledon teams did a great job navigating the course across Wimbledon Common, completing a challenge at each checkpoint. Congratulations to Team A achieving first place!

We had a great night to end the year as we took to the ice at the temporary ice skating rink set up in the new Wimbledon Quarter.

Starting off 2024 we joined over 100 other Scouts and Explorers for paintballing. Everyone had a great time with our Explorers getting first place and the Scouts coming Second.

Winter Camp this year was at Walton Firs. Scouts challenged themselves with the physical and mental demands of the high ropes, developed their concentration and

“Bentley Copse

Something I enjoyed was the crate stacking and the frisbee because both of them included skill and education. The crate

stacking included balance and trust because you had to make sure the tower was steady. I can’t wait for summer camp!”

by Aashna (Scout)

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accuracy with rifle shooting and learnt some pioneering skills to build (and race) a ride-on buggy. The Scouts tried to teach the leaders a new card game – Exploding Kittens. We were a little concerned about the name but can assure you that no animals were harmed.

Following on from the youth-led discussions we have had with the Scouts where we find out ‘what you want to do’, we managed to arrange fencing at the HQ. Everyone that took part completed the Master-at-Arms activity badge. A great activity for a wet Sunday afternoon.

Have you ever taken part in an international competition? In March we took part in Jambowlree - The Worldwide Scout Ten Pin Bowling Competition. We won’t get the results until later in the year as over 700 teams are expected to take part.

In April, we spent a weekend camping at Bentley Copse. This was definitely one of the wettest camps we have had in a long time but that didn’t stop us. 7A= ;ee We still raced the pedal go-karts, climbed the stack of crates and zip lined through the woods. Saturday ae * # 5 ale night dinner was take-away style “Pizza”. However, ey+ the Scouts first prepared their own dough and all the toppings. We then powered up our pizza ovens for (Ss? ‘s freshly cooked pizza – in the rain !

We are now getting excited as we prepare for our week long Summer Camp in July, at Hopehill Campsite, Kent.

The Scout Troop currently has 47 members, aged 10 to 14. Over the last year we have welcomed lots of new members from our two Cub Packs but also said goodbye for now to many older members who have moved up to the Raynes Park Explorer Scouts. It’s FS been great over the last few years to see so many of our ex-Scout’s return to the Group to assist as Young b| Leaders and Leaders.

Lastly, I would like to say a huge thank you to all the Leaders, support team and parents who

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have generously volunteered their time over the last year. Whether it be help on a Wednesday evening, taking time away from family and work for camps, helping keep our HQ maintained or those behind the scenes doing admin, finance or cleaning up, A special thanks to Jamie who has been a leader with us for several years and has now moved to our Explorer leadership team. We are very grateful and it is this fantastic support that makes us a great Scout Group who can prepare our youth with those ‘skills for life’. If you think you could help – just get in touch!

Dave Godden (Scout Leader)

RAYNES PARK EXPLORER SCOUT UNIT REPORT

Well, that was another fun packed year of Explorer Scouting! ey aS “gy Thursday evenings have been their usual mix of fun and learning. We have carried on cooking and eating; making pizza, celebrating Chinese New Year and cooking pancakes. We have tried to Break the Record and Escape from various Rooms!

Our off-site evenings included mini golf, climbing at White Spider and ice skating.

We had a fun Summer Camp with many other units from our District and also Royal Kingston. These joint camps are proving to be a fantastic way of bringing all the various Units’ talents together. We are all off to Kandersteg in Switzerland this summer!

Particular emphasis has also been on award work and badges. We have had several

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members achieve their Chief Scout’s Platinum Award. Coupled with this we have awarded several Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze and Silver awards. We have also awarded many other Explorer Scout Badges as well.

Another brilliant Unit tradition is helping other sections within the 19[th] Group and beyond. We currently have members helping as Young Leaders at both Beavers and Cubs. They very much enjoy this and it is an integral part of their own individual award work.

At Christmas Eric stood down as ESL as he and his family moved to California. We thank him for many years of his leadership and direction for us all. We wish him well in his new adventure.

Thanks also go to our current team of leaders. We have welcomed Alex, Kate and Mel as new AESL’s. They joined us last summer and have been superb addition to our team. Thanks to Jamie and Nicky for their continued support. Nicky has sadly moved out of the area but continues to help with the award hikes and on camps. Jamie has been a rock to the Unit. He is in the last stages of completing his King’s Scout Award and Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. This is a superb achievement. I find myself in the familiar position of ESL and am happy to play my part on the leadership team.

We are all looking forward to another exciting year of Explorer Scouting. Neil McLauchlan (Explorer Scout Leader)

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We need tea makers, activity planners, tidy-uppers and helpers for as little or as much time as you can spare.

We meet on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday evenings to help our 6 to 11-year olds get going, get thinking and stuck into all kinds of things to give them skills for life. Every now and then that may well mean using a compass, but more often than not it’s about confidence, speaking up, thinking on their feet and going for it. Can you help?

www.19thwimbledonscouts.co.uk

19th Wimbledon

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MEMBERS OF THE TRUSTEE BOARD

2023-2024

Group Chair Group Secretary Group Treasurer Group Scout Leader (G.S.L.) Assistant Group Scout Leader (A.G.S.L.) Beaver Scout Leader (Robin) - Oakwood Beaver Scout Leader (Raksha) - Mayhew Cub Scout Leader (Akela) - Oakwood Cub Scout Leader (Akela) - Mayhew Scout Leader (S.L.) Explorer Scout Leader GSL nominated member GSL nominated young member Oakwood Beaver parent Mayhew Beaver parent Oakwood Cub parent Mayhew Cub parent Scout Troop parent Quartermaster

Ros Barnes Ian Haynes Adrian Chapman Paul Wilkins Mike Mayhew Suzanne Clark Liz Strutt Mike Mayhew Rebecca Gregg Dave Godden Neil McLauchlan Richard Bowyer James Bowyer vacant Nicola Hawkey vacant Matthew Debnam Anne Khan vacant

‘100 CLUB’ WINNERS IN 2023

		‘100 CLUB’ W	INNERS	IN20	23
Jan	£15 £15	Jackie Kitchener Diana Smith	Jul	£15 £15	Diana Smith Jeff Tombs
Feb	£15 £15	Helen Butterfeld Kate Baggridge	Aug	£15 £15	Barbara Singleton Peggy Tolmie
Mar	£15 £15	Jackie Kitchener Kathy McLauchlan	Sep	£15 £15	Claire Henderson Deborah Bishop
Apr	£15 £15	Ian Haynes Jane Chase	Oct	£15 £15	Jane Barnes Chris Chapman
May	£15 £15	Sue Payne Evelyn Bleasdale	Nov	£75 £15	Robert Stone Peggy Tolmie
Jun	£15 £15	Jim Brook Mark Steed	Dec	£50 £15	Ros Barnes Pauline Godden

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GROUP TREASURER’S REPORT

The accounts for the Group show that income exceeded expenditure by more than £31,000 in the financial year to 31 March 2024. Full accounts for the whole Group will be presented at the AGM.

Due to the continuing great demand from various groups to use our facilities our letting income remained strong at over £49,000. As we now have no loans to repay we have been able to invest our surplus to fund future redevelopments.

We have raised more than £1,900 over several years from The Giving Machine as commission donated from online purchases of goods, insurance, theatre tickets etc but the number of people using this fund-raising scheme seems to have declined recently. It costs the buyer nothing so we'd like a lot more people to use this scheme. Details of it can be found in this booklet and under Fundraising on our Group website.

Many thanks to those who made other donations to the Group. The Gift Aid scheme which allows us to claim back tax on subscriptions continues to provide additional income but the percentage of people making a Gift Aid declaration has declined significantly in recent years. I would urge giftaid uw all parents who have not made one to do so if possible.

The 100 Club is an easy & fun way to raise money for the Group. It costs £1 a month (payable annually) to belong and 50% of all money received is given out in prizes. Many thanks to Gill Nicholson for taking over the running of the Club. If you would like to join please email:

[e-mail]

Adrian Chapman (Group Treasurer)

Raise funds for us while you shop!

You can also raise money for our Scout Group without doing any fundraising or donating any money. How?

If you shop online (at stores like Amazon, John Lewis, Argos, M&S, Interflora and hundreds of others) simply register with The Giving Machine , access the stores through their website and the Scout Group will receive a free cash donation at NO extra cost to you. Visit www.thegivingmachine.co.uk , join as a Giver and please choose ‘19th Wimbledon Scout Group’ as your chosen beneficiary.

21

GROUP INFORMATION

The Headquarters Site of the 19[th] Wimbledon Scout Group and the Raynes Park Explorer Scout Unit is at 106 Cottenham Park Road, SW20 0SZ (at the junction with Oakwood Road).

The Group has links with St Matthew’s (C. of E.) Church and the Sacred Heart (R.C.) Parish.

Group Chair

Ros Barnes

[e-mail]

Group Scout Leader

Paul Wilkins

[e-mail]

Assistant Group Scout Leader

Mike Mayhew

[e-mail]

Mayhew Beaver Scout Colony Thursdays, 5.30 – 6.30

Liz Strutt (Raksha)

[e-mail]

Oakwood Beaver Scout Colony Mondays, 6.15 – 7.15

Suzanne Clark (Fawn)

[e-mail]

Mayhew Cub Scout Pack Thursdays, 6.30 – 8.00

Rebecca Gregg (Akela)

[e-mail]

Oakwood Cub Scout Pack Tuesdays, 6.30 – 8.00

Mike Mayhew (Akela)

[e-mail]

Scout Troop Wednesdays, 7.30 – 9.00

Dave Godden

[e-mail]

Raynes Park Explorer Scout Unit Thursdays, 7.30 – 9.15

Neil McLauchlan

[e-mail]

PROTECTING YOUR DATA & GDPR COMPLIANCE

Please see the Data Privacy Notice on our website at: www.19thwimbledonscouts.co.uk/ about-us/data-privacy-notice

22

VOLUNTEERING - IT COULD BE YOU!

Would you like to be part of a successful team, make a real difference to young people’s lives and have a positive impact on society?

The 19th Wimbledon Scout Group is one of the largest and most successful Scout Groups in Merton with great facilities and a strong and dedicated leadership team. We want to build on that success and provide greater Scouting for more young people for years to come.

We are recruiting now at all sections in the Group to strengthen our adult leadership team.

No previous experience or skills are required. There is a range of roles to choose from; depending on where you and we feel you would fit in best. Any necessary training will be provided.

All you need is an enthusiasm to help Scouting ‘actively engage and support young people in their personal development, empowering them to make a positive contribution to society.’ We do this through adults working in partnership with young people (boys and girls, aged 6 to 18).

Being a leader in Scouting is hugely rewarding and is great fun - most of the time! It will give you the chance to try new activities and experiences and develop your own confidence and skills such as leadership, team working and planning, which will be of value to you and employers.

For further information on the 19th Wimbledon Scout Group visit our website at www.19thwimbledonscouts.co.uk and for more general information about Scouting visit www.scouts.org.uk.

If you think you might be interested and would like a completely non-committal chat about our volunteering opportunities, then email the Chair at [e-mail]. After that, you can come along and try it out. And in the meantime, there is a safeguarding process to go through, including criminal record checks and a couple of references. All being well, you’ll soon be joining the adventure and sharing in the rewards that Scouting has to offer. Paul Wilkins (G.S.L.) Ros Barnes (Chair)

23

Minutes of the Twenty First Annual General Meeting of the 19[th] Wimbledon Scout Group, held at Group Headquarters on 17[th] June 2023

Present: There were approximately 30 people present, including leaders, parents, friends and members of the Group Executive and District Team.

1. Welcome: The Group Chair, Ros Barnes, welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending.

1. Apologies: Apologies for absence were received from Rebecca Gregg, Mike & Kiki Mayhew, Chris Chapman, Alex Baker, Neil McLauchlan and Eric de Regnaucourt.

2. Minutes: The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of 10[th] September 2022 were taken as read. Approval was proposed by Dick Bowyer, seconded by Denise Wilkins and agreed by the meeting.

3. Matters Arising from the Minutes: There were no matters arising.

4. Annual Report: The Group Chair presented the Annual Report. Ros thanked Ian for putting this together and all who had contributed to it. The Group is fully back and running after Covid now and the section programmes are packed with activities again. Leaders have been working hard to cover all the Scouting skills and lots of our young people are gaining new experiences and achieving badges. In this year’s census we have 127 young people and the Group is as popular as ever but we always need more adult volunteers to help provide Scouting for the demand we have. We are fortunate that Carly and Alex have moved into the area and joined the leadership team, and also for Jamie and James, who have completed their leader training having previously worked their way through the sections in the Scout Group & Explorer Unit. She also thanked Ben for his service to the Oakwood Beavers over many years, again having joined as an Explorer Young Leader and noted that he now has to step away due to commitments in his new job.

The 100 Club has been a consistent and reliable way of raising funds for the Group and Ros thanked James Roe for running the 100 Club again this year and highlighted that he would like to stand down if someone else could be found to volunteer. This year, in terms of HQ site development, attention will turn to the Explorer Hut, our oldest building now and in need of refurbishment or renewal – a team will be set up to discuss options.

Finally, Ros thanked all the Leaders and Executive for all their efforts, not just at section meetings but also helping around the site and at other events. Approval of the report was proposed by Liz Wilkins and seconded by Laura Paine.

1. Annual Statement of Accounts: The Treasurer, Adrian Chapman, presented the Annual Statement of Accounts for year ending 31st March. He noted that lettings income was now back to pre-Covid levels again. Our energy prices are currently fixed until 2024 which is providing protection against recent market volatility. He also noted that we have a healthy set of accounts with a good capital reserve and hence in a good position to consider improvements for the Explorer Hut. Approval of the Accounts was proposed by Denise Wilkins, seconded by Marina Bowyer and agreed by the meeting.

24

1. Charity Governance: This year the Scout Association is introducing some changes as part of the multi-year Volunteer Transformation programme. These include asking Groups to update their constitutions with improved standard wording and the introduction of Trustee Boards to replace Executive Committees. The following was agreed at the meeting: a) approval of the adoption of a new constitution using wording based on the template in Scout Association POR; b) the charity’s financial year ends 31[st] March; b) the number of members that may be elected to the Trustee Board is 5; and c) the quorum for the Scout Council is 20 and for the Trustee Board is 8. This was approved by Dick Bowyer, seconded by James Bowyer and agreed by the meeting.

2. GSL’s Nominations of Group Chair and Trustee Board: The Group Scout Leader welcomed the parents who were present but would like to see more parents at these occasions and generally more adults volunteering in the Group. Succession planning is important and we must continue to do it for all our leadership positions. He thanked Ros for her expertise as Chair and noted that we are lucky to have her, and he nominated her to continue for another year. Also, he nominated another very experienced leader, Dick Bowyer, to be a GSL’s nominated Trustee, and nominated James Bowyer to be a young Trustee and represent the youth perspective. He finished by giving his thanks to all the leaders and executive for the past year.

9. Group Secretary and Group Treasurer: The Chair advised that Ian Haynes was willing to continue as Secretary and Adrian Chapman to continue as Treasurer. This was proposed by Liz Wilkins, seconded by Dominic Geary and agreed by the meeting.

10. Election of Remaining Members of the Trustee Board: The section leaders all agreed to be standing members of the Board. Four parents have volunteered to be nominated as Trustees, Nicola Hawkey for Mayhew Beavers, Katya de Regnaucourt for Oakwood Beavers, Matthew Debnam for Mayhew Cubs and Anne Khan for the Scout Troop. Finally, Explorer Leader, Eric de Regnaucourt, was nominated to serve on the Trustee Board. Their elections were proposed by Laura Paine and seconded by Denise Wilkins and approved by the meeting.

11. Appointment of Independent Examiner: The Treasurer reported that Michael Barnes was willing to continue as Independent Examiner. This was proposed by Jamie Umblijis, seconded by Suzanne Clark and agreed by the meeting.

1. Presentations: The District Commissioner remarked that this was her second AGM of the week and that it was a shame that not more parents were able to attend. She thanked all the leaders and volunteers for their hard work in providing an excellent year of Scouting to all members in the Group. She also took the opportunity to present a 5 year service award to Laura Paine.

2. Any Other Business: Ros thanked Dave and Liz for running an OSM training session for the leaders before the AGM and noted that it is an invaluable tool for running the sections and Group admin.

Close of meeting: There being no other business, the meeting closed and the Chair invited everyone to stay for refreshments and to view the reports and photos.

25

GROUP HQ - A SITE FOR THE COMMUNITY

We are very grateful to the users of the hall, who work co-operatively with us to make sure that the site is used to benefit the local community alongside our own use. The income generated provides us with a steady revenue stream. We have now started to look at replacing the old Explorer hut and join up the buildings, this project will take a few years to develop and deliver but we will keep you informed of progress.

Working Parties

We hold working parties monthly during the summer months and we are very grateful for the support of the few families who come along to help us. Please consider joining us if you can spare some time!

The Friends of the Polish Guides and Scouts provide us with an annual working party, they bring along a large number of their supporters to carry out work on the site, this is always a great afternoon and culminates in a campfire, where traditional Polish camp fire songs are demonstrated by their young people, and a BBQ. Look out for next year’s date and please come and join us if you can. Ros Barnes (Lettings)

26

FRIENDS OF THE 19TH (FON)

The 19[th] Wimbledon can trace its origins back over 110 years, and during that time many people have had an involvement one way or another with the Group or its predecessors. We realise that whilst people move away or move on, they may still like to keep in contact with us, receive occasional news of the Group's activities, renew old acquaintances and receive invitations to important Group events. For this we have the “Friends of the 19th”. We also hold regular events for Friends, Leaders and Exec members at Group HQ.

If you would like to become a Friend, then please contact:

Ian Haynes, FON, 19[th] Wimbledon Scout Group

friends@19thwimbledonscouts . co.uk

The Friends of the 19[th] are proud to support the efforts of the 19[th] Wimbledon Scout Group in providing another century of Scouting to local boys and girls.

27

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19TH WIMBLEDON SCOUT GROUP Ststement of As%ts & Liabilities for the ear ended 31 Marcb 2024 (I.(AS1Tr4¢ BAI.&NCES C￿UP fw•&" OPEPqlYG BAIANC.LS 5547.36 574.(X> 4.700.27 64147 1,02¥.20 l(P).W2 1574.IKII l(WJ.02 I563.￿) IiKS dubNrLts F4J 41.684.58 TJ.502.76 o. o. Cknrterrt o.(KJ {hkr￿1xICub (￿Vr¢Th 2.686.75 1611.48 1686.75 1611.45 6.102.54 7.915.42 o.w) Ctr 6.102.54 7.915.42 TOTAL QPLNING BAIAYCF. (in]upyJW Sel1￿% 5ury)I NET SURI'I.U )3.353.79 TofAI. CIANSJNG BAI.APi('.V. 8(V29 TOTAL CIKtsING PAIANC.. TrIFmLV owrt4 t￿lId1r¢S in￿￿4 w￿￿￿￿r £752287.97 i￿￿Jr¢d valurikf£61.874.87 .737.61 IIA129th6 Inde￿￿¢￿¢ Examinerfs Report ¢0 th¢ of The 19th w1mbled￿ &oui CNJup I r¢p)rt on accwnts of thc Grvup for th¢ year ¢nthd 31 M¢h 2024. 1Thi5 rcpjrt is mth sol¢l> to the In￿ in ¢ordan¢¢ with 14J ofthc Charitid Aet 2011. My w[￿k ha5 bc¢n ththrfak¢n so I might statc io ch•zi¢y'S ￿￿$￿t5 tho5c matter5 1 D4Uhrul to 5W¢ iti Att InderKnderti I.￿￿￿1r￿'S rwt for no her wrpose. To the fU1k￿ exDI pumille4 by hw. l th) Irwwme M4MMsibS1ity Wgnyrn¢ other than th¢ the Lhtirity's ¢TUSttt5 foi my ¢Xam1r￿l￿o￿ w(x. Rojpeetfve re4)oMlbllltl¢k of tr¥steu ind eMm5•¢r As the ¢hurity'% trusLCCS you ar¢ rwsible for the prcpffttion of th¢ ¥Y)nsithr that an Is M requir&1 forthii yetr uTrJer Sethion 144 of the LThdTiiits Act 2011 (th¢ Ch•viii¢s Affll an llthwd¢nl cxamindtion 1$ n¢¢ded. li t¥ my responsibility to the acc(wJttts{uDd¢r knion 145 orth¢ Chwties Act): ￿ follow the ¢w(¥oJures laMI th)wtt in the G¢Krnl Dir￿1107)5 gLV¢n by the Charity Cornmi&8ioncr5 ulldtr 145(JNbl of the Chwiii¢s Aa: to state whdh¢r Fwticular mattcwy hav¢ corn¢ to m) aii¢nlion. of st•i¢aiMt M) ¢x￿lI￿lI0￿ wri¢>J out in o¢¢1kn¢¢ with thc GcKrnJ Dlr¢¢tiorL8 8iven by thc Ch¥ity Commi￿lanCIs. Aft rAamin￿10Th irrtludes a rcvicw of lh¢ a¢counling rtcffds kept by the ctwity a ¢ompwison of th¢ r¢ounts Frts¢Thta with thw¢ rreoyds. li I￿luJc5 considernlbm thf any wiusual ii¢ms or dis¢loswes in the accoun￿ s¢¢kinR explanatio￿ frnm yw &%trustee5c￿c￿￿lDg￿Y such mart¢r5. The Fyoceduffs undert￿￿ do Nl provid¢ 411 th¢ vidcnccthat b¢ rtyuir¢d in an wJiL ATrJ consL4ucntly Do opinv)ti IS 8iven as io whdh¢r the accwiLs rKrs¢n¢ A'inx ond flir, view th¢ r¢port is Itmitcd to those man¢rs Set0￿ ID the S￿mMI below. IDdppe•drnt tMminer'$ $tht¢m¢nt In ¢onrTreclion with 2ny examin¥tw ttomluerlw Ciffj¢￿ my ￿￿)rt". l. which SI￿5 me reawnahl¢ I￿U5¢ to b¢licY¢ thal in any maieriJl th¢ r¢quirements . w keep accounting Trrcrtls in 8¢wrdancc with Se¢tiot1 130 oftrrt Clwities A¢L . to prcpr¢ cc<Junts whith ￿¢0[￿ Vpith the I￿0￿￿11￿￿ re¢(*ds and comply with the &wJmin8r¢wiremEnts ofth¢ Ch￿1¢1¢9 A hawe JK)i been MCL or I to whidL in rny Iyithto￿. attention shou5d k drai¥n in io enable awoptt of the to M. J. Ilarncs FCPA 49 N¢lsm New Maldu4 SU￿tY KT3 SEB