31 January is census day for UK Scouting, where across the country we take stock of our membership.
As we start our 90th year of Scouting in Leigh-on-Sea, the 3rdCB family is 214 young people strong, supported by 89 adults!
We can’t wait to get back and see you all again, building friendships & learning new Skills For Life soon.
After the success of our Pass The Scarf video back at the start of the pandemic and the introduction of a new lockdown we have been working to bring everyone in the group virtually together once again.
In January our Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Leaders have all been filming clips for our new video. We hope you enjoy our Mexican Wave!
As we approach Christmas and the end of the year it is normal to reflect on the past year’s highs and lows. This year we do the same but it is important, that whilst acknowledging the lows, we do so with positivity.
It goes without saying that 2020 will go down as a year like no other, where we lost freedoms that we would normally take for granted, none greater than the ability to socialise face to face with family and friends. We have seen this impact on Scouting since March, turning upside down how we normally deliver every day activities and most especially cancelling all nights away events. We must remember restrictions placed upon us all have been in response to the most significant pandemic in living memory where many have lost their lives. None the less we look forward to feeling the benefits of a vaccine and the lessening of restrictions in the New Year so we can once again enjoy each other’s company without restriction. Continue reading GSL’s Christmas Message
Two bits of good news on the boating front this week: We’ve passed the annual RYA Inspection of our facilities & methods, and a new Chief Instructor is taking the reigns of the boating team.
The Group had its annual Royal Yachting Association inspection on Thursday 19 November, where an RYA inspector checks through all of our operating procedures, emergency action plans and health & safety policies, as well as physically inspecting all our safety equipment and fleet of boats. Continue reading Boating News: Inspection Success and Change at the Top
3rdCB were very grateful to be selected as one of this year’s Co-op Community Fund charities in Leigh-on-Sea, supporting us in our bid to buy a new safety boat.
The scheme has now completed, and we’ve received a whopping £3,995 donation from the Co-op!
Thank you to everyone who nominated us and shopped in the Leigh Co-ops over the past year. Coupled with the £10,000 we’ve already received from Sports England, plus other fundraising activities, we’re ready to add to our safety boat fleet and offer even more activities on the water to young people. The boating team are currently investigating the best option for us so we can purchase it for the next sailing season.
Alongside Scouting, 3rdCB also runs the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, giving youth members aged 14 (or school year 9) to 25 the opportunity gain essential skills, experience, confidence and resilience to successfully navigate adult life.
We’re incredibly proud to see our first “home grown” Explorers achieve the top Gold award through 3rdCB, the culmination of many years of work and commitment. A huge congratulations to Rob, Sophie and Conor on your success, and we hope you are the first of many more Gold awards to come.
There was sadly no public Remembrance Day Service this year due to the current lockdown. Despite being unable to come together as a Group to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, we came together individually and as families, and stood on our doorsteps with the rest of the community to observe the 2 minutes silence at 11:00.
As part of the scaled down commemorations, our affiliated branch of the Royal British Legion will laid a wreath on our behalf at St Clement’s Church in Leigh-on-Sea.
As part of their remembrance activities, the Cubs have painted special remembrance stones, which Akela has laid around the Fishermen’s memorial in St Clement’s Church yard. Why not take a look if you’re nearby.
You can learn more about how 3rdCB carried on Scouting and supported the war effort around Leigh-on-Sea at 3rdCB.org.uk/about/history
COVID-19 is the biggest crisis we’ve faced in a generation. Whilst we at 3rdCB are very fortunate to be financially stable, over 500 Scout groups – many of them based in communities that were already made vulnerable before the virus hit – are struggling to make ends meet. If they close their doors, thousands of young people will miss out on all the life-changing skills and experiences being a Scout can bring, precisely when they need us most.
The Scouts, as a national organisation, are asking everyone – including young people and their families, volunteers, and former Scouts – to sign up and join one of four teams as we #RaceRoundTheWorld.
The four teams are racing each other to see who can be the first to travel the 43,000 miles to get round the world. Everyone who takes part will be following our route at least once, though we’re encouraging everyone to take on as many miles as they can manage!
Find out more and sign up here, and don’t forget to let us know how you get on: scouts.org.uk/about-us/support-scouts/race-round-the-world/
Last week we managed our first face-to-face activities since lockdown began, with a week of sailing sessions in Old Leigh, getting back on the water doing what Sea Scouts do best! Great to see the Scouts and Explorers back at The Den, enjoying the lovely weather (if a bit breezy), and glad to see we all still remember how to sail.
Keen an eye out for upcoming activities on the water in our Boating Calendar.
More photos and videos of the week are on our Members Facebook Group.
3rd Chalkwell Bay Sea Scouts in Old Leigh have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK, and equivalent to the MBE for voluntary organisations.
We are one of 230 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of nominations remains high year on year, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to make life better for those around them. Continue reading 3rdCB Honoured with Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
