West Thorpe Scouts support The Big Help Out in York

To celebrate the Coronation, Scouts nationally led The Big Help Out, a national day of volunteering, on Monday 8 May. Various Scout Groups in York organised events in their local areas, including West Thorpe Methodist Scout Group which held a Coronation Celebration Day, linked to a Big Help Out at various locations in their local area.

All Scouts promise to help other people so both young Scouts and adult volunteers make a difference in local communities all year long. To celebrate the Coronation, Scouts nationally led The Big Help Out, a national day of volunteering, on Monday 8 May. Various Scout Groups in York organised events in their local areas, including West Thorpe Methodist Scout Group which held a Coronation Celebration Day, linked to a Big Help Out at various locations in their local area.

Tom Ibbott (Lead Volunteer) said:

"It has been a real joy to watch our young people give up their own time to help make a difference within their community. In Scouting, we try to encourage our young people to develop Skills for Life and today has been a great opportunity for our members to try out something new, which will hopefully inspire them to take on other new challenges in the future.

It has also been great to be able to tie this event into the coronation of HM The King, as he is so passionate about caring for the environment and I like to think we have played our part in contributing towards making the environment a better place today!"

In the afternoon of 8th May, the older West Thorpe Scouts (aged 8-14) with their families and leaders rolled up their sleeves at Nelson's Court Care Unit, off Tadcaster Road, to help tidy up the gardens there by removing moss, weeding, hedge trimming and general tidying.

There was a clear difference between the ‘before’ and ‘after’ and lots of the young people took part in gardening for the very first time.

The youngest West Thorpe Scouts (aged 4-8) plus their leaders and family members, took part in a litter pick around Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, where they filled 8 bin bags full of rubbish in less than one hour.

After all their hard work, the whole group congregated back at the church at 6pm to enjoy a well-deserved 2-hour coronation celebration party, which included a coronation buffet and various games to celebrate the historic occasion.

Toby, 13 (Scout) commented: ‘There is a sense of accomplishment. When we’ve finished, it feels good because we’ve achieved something that will help the community.’

Abi, 8 (Cub Scout) added: ‘I don’t usually do gardening, but this has been nice because it’s making a better outdoor space for the elderly to come into.’

Evan, 11 (Scout) agreed: ‘It looks a lot better than it did before we started!’

Lysander, 13 (Scout) said: ‘It’s nice to have felt like we’ve made a positive impact for the people who use this space.’

Like all Scout Groups, West Thorpe Methodist Scout Group has seen an increase in demand from young people since the pandemic, so we are also appealing for new helpers to help us create more wonderful memories for our young people now. If you can help, either regularly or just occasionally, please visit our website to find out more. https://eborscouts.org.uk/become-a-volunteer/.

West Thorpe Methodist Scout Group is based in Dringhouses and has over 60 members between 4 and 18 years old with approx. 20 adult volunteers. It has sections for Squirrels (age 4-5), Beavers (6-8), Cubs (8-10), Scouts (10-14). and Explorers (14-18) meeting weekly.

We are run entirely by volunteers who give their time in many different ways, from being leaders running the meetings and events, to supporting the Group as trustees, or just helping our occasionally. All our volunteers receive the training they need to fulfil their roles, giving up their own time for the benefit of our children and young people.