First Dromore Newry Scout Group, 2 Home Avenue, Newry, Co. Down, BT34 2DL
23[rd] October 2022
Group Leader’s Report
2021-22 Scouting Year
Our membership is at present: 22 Beaver Scouts (ages 6-8 years old), 32 Cub Scouts (ages 8-11 years old), 33 Scouts (ages 11-15 years old), 10 Venture Scouts (ages 15-18 years old), 4 Rover Scouts (ages 18-25 years old) and 24 Scouters (voluntary adult leaders).
All age sections in the Scout group started back middle of September 2021 after their summer break.
The Beavers have been having their usual Wednesday night meetings each week, with an average of 18 Beavers in attendance. 15 Beavers attended a Scout County event in Navan Fort which was a great experience for them. Their summer camp was in Ballyhornan Scout Centre on Saturday 18[th] June 2022 which included a one-night sleepover, first aid training with CPR (delivered by St John’s Ambulance), climbing wall, walks along the beach and indoor activity games. This finished the Beavers for their summer break.
The Cubs had their usual meetings on Wednesday nights each week, with an average of 26 cubs attending. The Cubs also attended a Scout County fun day at Benburb, Co. Armagh. Our summer camp this year was in Ballyhornan Scout Centre for three days in June 2022. The venue was an excellent location and we recommend it for any Cub section. The weekend activities were beach walks, climbing wall, first aid training (delivered by St John’s Ambulance) which brought cubs up to level 3 in their badge work, water pistol and water balloon fight, movie night and campfire. This finished Cubs for the summer break.
Our Scout section is going well with 30 Scouts at present. Meetings have been taking place on Thursday evenings from 7.30 until 9.30pm each week. The Scouts had a great start to the Scouting year and have been particularly busy since February. They have been in the Mournes twice in the first few months. We had two teams attend the County Shield competition for two nights in April at Drum Manor Forest Park - a great experience for the young people. In May, the Scouts led a community litter pick in our local area, which was greatly appreciated by the local community and councillors. In June, the Scout section camped at Dromantine to help with their community open day, which included litter picking, putting up gazebos, and handing out leaflets. Their next camp, in June, was to do a litter pick at the vintage car at Kilbroney Forest Park (for which we received a donation of £700). The Scout section of 18 then took off on summer camp to Co. Monaghan for 8 days. We took part in many activities during the week: rock climbing, abseiling, paddle boarding, canoeing, and backwoods. They then took a break for the remainder of the summer.
The Venture section meetings had stopped during exam time but we were still able to have a summer camp. 10 venturers attended camp with three Scouters (adult volunteers). They travelled to
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Killarney on Wednesday and on the Friday, they climbed Corrán Tuathail mountain. The rest of the camp was just having fun and making memories.
I would like to recognise the commitment shown here by parents/guardians of our youth members. With them attending our meetings week after week, the consistency helps the young people and on through their Scouting journey. All I ask from parents/guardians is the monthly voluntary subscription and also to sign up for Gift Aid where possible (for every £1 you give; we can claim an extra 25p from the government). Also, EasyFundraising and AmazonSmile are great, free tools to raise money for the Scout Group - just select us as a charity. This assists our group immensely as we have our Scouting Ireland registration fees, the upkeep/maintenance of our hall, our insurance, etc. We do our best to provide low-cost outdoor activities, such as camps and hikes. Our one-week Scout summer camp cost £100 per child, which is great value, I have to say.
Our plans for our youths’ Scout Hall are always, from my standpoint, looking forward. This has been looked after by two of our volunteers who focus on the grants that are available. They have been very successful with small grants last year that were available, such as our green area outside, new tables/chairs, new camping equipment, new storage area, etc. They will continue applying for these in the hope that we receive a capital grant to continue with our renovation plans of the hall.
I would personally like to thank our trustees, Group Assembly, and I would like to personally thank all our Scouters (adult volunteers) for their incredible commitment to the Scouting youth in Newry.
We have a strong Scout Group, a committed team of leaders, and an enthusiastic bunch of young people - a perfect formula for success!
Ronan McGrath Group Leader 1[st] Dromore Newry Scout Group 23/10/2022
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