Despite not being able to hold our usual Remembrance Day Parade today – we still wanted to take a moment to remember all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice

#WeWillRememberThem

#LestWeForget

#RemembranceDay

Congratulations to the winners of our Bromley Brighter Beginnings Christmas Hamper Appeal Poster Competition.

Jessica from Spitfires was crowned winner for the Beaver section, whilst Rachael from Kim Pack picked up the award for the Cubs section.

Thanks also to the volunteers from Bromley Brighter Beginnings who looked at all the submissions and chose the winning entries for each section.

We are still planning on collecting donations next week for their Christmas Hamper Appeal – keep an eye out for further details next week…

Please see below a letter from Jenny Owens, our Group Scout Leader, about the return to face-to-face scouting at the 23rd Bromley.

The group are pleased to publish our Trustees’ Annual Report & Accounts Year Ending 31 March 2020.

This Annual Report is issued by the trustees of the 23rd Bromley (St Augustine’s) Scout Group in conformity with requirements of relevant Charities Acts and the Policy, Organisation and Rules of the Scout Association. It covers the financial year ended 31st March 2020 and the census year ending 31st January 2020.

The 23^rd Bromley Scout Group are delighted to be supporting Bromley Brighter Beginnings’ Christmas Hamper Appeal.

Bromley Brighter Beginnings are a local charity who distribute prams, clothes, highchairs, nappies and toiletries to families in need living in the London Borough of Bromley. Christmas is an incredibly tough time for many families, and especially for those struggling financially or living in very difficult circumstances. Christmas hampers, packed full of cosy nightwear, basic food supplies, books, toys, gifts and Christmas treats, are designed to help take away some of that strain.

We are asking our Young People and their families to help us donate items that can be put into the Christmas Hampers. The charity is in particular need of toiletries for adults, such as shower gel and shampoo.

We ask that any donations are brought along to the Scout HQ at your section meeting time below:

• Mon 9^th Nov – Spitfire Beavers (5.30pm-6.15pm) & Baloo Pack Cubs (6.45pm-7.30pm)
• Tue 10^th Nov – Hurricane Beavers (5.30pm-6.15pm) & Kim Pack Cubs (6.45pm-7.30pm)
• Thu 12^th Nov – Scout Troop (6.45pm-7.30pm) & Explorer Unit (7.45pm-8.30pm)

For more details about the charity you can visit: www.bromleybrighterbeginnings.org.uk

The group will be holding their Annual General Meeting virtually on Wednesday 21st October 2020 at 8pm. Full details can be found in the below poster:

Click here for 2020 AGM Agenda

Click here for 2019 AGM Minutes

Although we are all looking forward to being able to return to face to face Scouting, unfortunately we are still not sure when this will be. At a recent meeting with all section leaders, it was agreed to reassess the situation at half-term in October but we wanted to provide an update on how we will approach a restart.

Our restart plans will follow all government rules and guidance from Scouts’ UK HQ. As always, our priority is to keep all young people and adults safe.

Returning to Scouting will happen in phases and in small groups, the guidance at the moment says up to 15 young people with an additional 5 adults but everyone will have to follow the 2-metre social distancing and cleaning/hygiene rules.

An outline of how we will operate, following the Scouts’ ‘COVID Code’:

• New control measures will be in place for all activities
• Additional hygiene measures will be put in place
• Social distancing will be observed and Leaders, Scouts and Explorers will wear masks when inside
• Adjustments will be made for vulnerable young people or others affected by COVID
• Returning to face-to-face Scouts is voluntary for all young people, parents/carers and volunteers.

The section leaders and the Group Executive are working hard to make sure we have all the new COVID safety measures in place to enable us to offer safe scouting.

We are a youth led organisation so we wanted to get the views from our members and their parents before making any final decisions. Below is a link to a questionnaire that we would be grateful if each family could fill out when they have a moment: https://forms.gle/LMGqwQhcE9NYWJGT8.

Best Wishes

Jenny Owens, Group Scout Leader

The 23rd Bromley Scout Group is run by an army of 30 volunteers, and between us we provide Scouting experiences for around 150 Young People every year.

We currently have a number of volunteer vacancies, ranging from helping at section meetings on a weekly basis, helping with maintenance / gardening at our HQ, to joining one of the committees that support the Scout Group.

For more details visit our new Volunteer page.

Our friends over at Harambee for Kenya are planning an event at the end of this month to raise funds for the great work that they are doing in Kenya. Did you know that every night an estimated 300,000 children sleep on the streets of Kenya.

Camp for Kenya is taking place on 28th August 2020. By donating £5 and camping out you will be helping children to have a safe loving home so that they no longer need to sleep in the streets. An additional challenge will be to budget no more than £5 on food for that evening and all of the next day!

They are asking us all to challenge 5 other friends to do the same. With your group of friends, whether miles apart or socially distancing, why not do fancy dress to make it more fun and give your gang a name. (Gangs are known as a “bases” among street boys in Kenya).

Take part and make a donation by following this link.

You will also be able to upload photographs of your camp onto their @campforkenya Instagram page.

Now that the summer holidays are here, we would like our young people, and their families, to get out and about and explore their local area.

There are 11 walks / hikes that you might like to consider doing whilst we aren’t able to have Face to Face Scouting. They can be found below:

• Walk 1 – Crofton Woods Circular Trail
• Walk 2 – Darrick and Newstead Woods Trail
• Walk 3 – High Elms Trail
• Walk 4 – Jubilee Country Park Trail
• Walk 5 – Scadbury Acorn Trail
• Walk 6 – Scadbury Easy Access Trail
• Walk 7 – Ravensbourne Trail
• Walk 8 – Darwins Footsteps – High Elms Trail
• Walk 9 – Darwins Footsteps – Downe Valley Trail
• Walk 10 – Darwins Footsteps – Keston and Holwood Trail
• Walk 11 – Lubbocks Landscape at High Elms

If you let your leaders know which ones you have done, and take pictures, it can count towards your Hike Away activities badges. These are staged badges and so can be completed by all our young people, regardless of what section they are in. The requirements for the hikes badge can be found at: https://members.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/4293/hikes-away-staged-activity-badge/?cat=7,64,780&moduleID=10.

Please also add your photos to Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #23rdBromleyScoutsAtHome