Memories made with Scouts

 In Community

Wow! How great were our Olympic Athletes this year in Rio! Not only did they challenge themselves to be the best they could, they represented their country with overwhelming pride. One athlete that stands out for me is Penny Oleksiak. At 16 years old she captured four Olympic medals (one gold, one silver, two bronze) and the interest of Youth all over the country. She was 15 when she qualified for the Olympics, and had only been swimming competitively for four years before that! At 11 years old, she made the commitment to challenge herself to be better every single day.

Fun fact: 11 is the entry age of a Scout with Scouts Canada. Why do I make this connection between an Olympian and Scouting? Lord Baden Powell’s goal with Scouting more than 100 years ago was to challenge the youth to expand their lives, try new experiences, become more engaged in the community. He wanted them to truly open their eyes, ask questions, challenge the normal for a better way of doing things. All in the spirit of humanity, in a controlled, fun creative and fair fashion.  One of the key fundamental values of Scouting is Duty to Self: Which is defined as, the responsibility for the development of oneself to one’s full potential physically, intellectually, spiritually and socially. I would argue that Penny, and all the other Olympic Athletes, excelled in developing themselves to their maximum potential. It all starts with Scouts.

This is one of the guiding principles we strive for here at 1st Creemore Scouting. By providing an open, safe environment for the youth, following general guidelines set out from Scouts Canada, we are shaping tomorrow’s leaders, and who knows, perhaps future Olympians!

This past year saw an amazing growth in the organization here in Creemore. Our Colony of Beavers grew from 3-5 to more than 10. Cub Scouts saw similar growth growing from 5-7 up to more than 10, and our Scouts added a few more as well. As a leader, I personally went through Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Venturers before heading off to college and my adult life, it truly is heartwarming to see the excitement, the awareness, the fun the youth have each and every week.

Taking time out from our busy personal lives is justified knowing that the experiences shared with the youth help them become the best they can be.

Fun fact: Having a Scouting background helps candidates with job interviews in their adult futures.

This past year, our Fall Exploration camp was a huge success. Beavers and Cubs camped out in the Legion. Games, crafts, hikes, even a movie night made the weekend camp a tremendous fun time for everyone.

Various crafts were worked on, games played, songs and skits learned through the rest of the fall and into winter. Our annual winter camp at Mansfield saw some of our Scouts earn their winter camping badge by building a bivouac and sleeping out over night. Not too bad given the -20 temperatures! The Cubs had it easy in the heated cabins, but still endured well playing and hiking outside. Sledding is always a highlight of the weekend, and this camp was no exception.

Our spring camp down the road in Terra Nova proved more of a challenge for the Cubs. Temperatures were extremely low for the time of the year, staying in the single digits, and dipping below zero at night. We even had snow fall Sunday morning! Although I froze in my tent, the youth persevered and all indicated they slept quite well, with only a few feeling a bit cold over night.

Our yearend camp at Mythwood saw the expansion of including Beavers on both nights, rather than just the usual Saturday visit. I have to tell you, these kids were amazing! Not only did they embrace the camp in all its glory, they excelled at it! Not one of them shied away from the activities, challenging themselves to keep up to the Cubs and Scouts, truly making their own paths to their future!

We had an extra special event for the Cub Scouts this summer. 2016 is the 100th anniversary of Cub Scouts in Canada, and coincided with a Cub Jamboree held every three years (started in 2007). We had four youth and two Scouters attend this amazing week long camp titled CCJ’16. This camp had over 650 Cub Scouts, and over 200 Scouters with those youth. On top of that there were more than 100 volunteers to help run the activities, and special events throughout the camp. Almost 1,000 people all tenting out at Camp Everton outside of Guelph.

This was an extremely well run camp, which had activities planned out for the youth basically from the time the Kudu horn sounds at 7 a.m. until they finish Mug up (hot chocolate and a treat) at 9:30 p.m. I was truly shocked at how much energy all the youth (and Scouters) had through the week, although you could see them getting more droopy as the week went on (myself included!). I was grateful to be a part of this camp, the youth were amazing, through all the ups and downs (mine included)!

Moving forward, next year brings the opportunity for youth in Scouts (and those going into Scouts at the end of next year) to attend CJ’17 (Canadian Jamboree 2017) in Nova Scotia! This camp is estimated to have an attendance somewhere in the range of 10,000 youth from all over Canada. We are starting the process to see who is interested, what the costs would be, and what it would take to get there. Beyond that we have on our radar the WJ’19 (World Jamboree 2019) which is going to be held in West Virginia, and will have upwards of 15,000 youth from all over the world. This will be for Scouts and Venturers, and will be a fantastic trip for all involved!

Great things are happening, and memories are ready to be formed. It takes a community to raise a child, and in the case of Scouting, it truly plays a key role. Our group is only as strong as the community support it receives. The Scouters can only do so much, relying on the help of others to drive forward a truly great experience for the  youth.

In order for 1st Creemore Scouting to be successful, to truly help the youth have a tremendous experience, we need your continuous support and help. Our committee is in need of volunteers to help run the “business” side of the group. Roles ranging from secretary to take minutes, an administrator to keep the group on track, a treasurer to ensure our books are balanced, a lead fundraiser to plan not only in what the youth can sell for profit, but also drum up donations from local businesses. Most of these roles are currently handled by active Scouters, who are also trying to plan and run the weekly meetings. By freeing up the monthly tasks, the Scouters can focus on the weekly meetings to bring more exciting and value added events for the youth.

Even then, the Scouters could use more help with crafts, camps, games, songs, skits and other fun activities, be it each week helping run one or more, be it in the background planning out crafts and organizing them so that the Scouters simply just have to run through it with the youth. Helping out does not have to mean being a Scouter, being there actively. There are countless ways your help can ensure we bring the best experience to the youth possible.

Yes, we need your help. Beyond what I mentioned prior, we are in need of Beaver Leaders, as it stands now we have none, and will be unable to continue with Beavers until these positions are filled.

We will be having our kick off session at the Legion on August 30 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., where we will be on site to take registrations (which can also be done online, just ask for the link), answer questions etc.

Scouting is more than just an outlet of time and energy for your youth, it’s about creating memories for your youth, it’s about creating experiences that will last a lifetime, it’s about preparing an individual for the life ahead of them. With that, we have the plan, we just need the help to run it efficiently and effectively.

Let’s work together, and who knows, perhaps the next Penny Oleksiak is amongst us, just waiting to be enlightened on their path to excellence.

Contact:bagheera1stCreemore@gmail.com and on Facebook at 1st Creemore.

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