Thank You
Date: 22nd Feb 2021
Author: Wendy Hutcheson
As we celebrate the birthday of our Founder – Robert Baden-Powell today I would like to say Thank You. To be honest after the last year just saying “thank you” to each of you really doesn’t seem quite enough.
This last year, unlike any other in our scouting history, has had an unprecedented effect on all we aim to achieve through this great game known as Scouting. Never since the founding of the movement in 1907 has society been forced to lockdown, even through 2 World Wars, the Spanish Flu epidemic, and countless other National issues. We have all had to learn how to deal with the impact this has had on us all – at home, at work, in our social lives and day to day activities.
Scouting could have fallen by the wayside under the pressure this has put on all of us, of having to deal with the changes this has necessitated for all of us – who would have though a year ago that many had never heard of Google teams, Google classroom or Zoom, let alone thought we’d be using it regularly!
Yet under such changes each of you has risen to the challenge with a resolve that is testament to our scouting ethos, and lives up to our founder’s statement that “the most worth-while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of others”.
We are changing young peoples lives at a time when they need us most, when they need some sort of normality in a chaotic world. Some Groups have even managed to increase their membership over lockdown, and as we move forward and restrictions are eased over the coming weeks and months we have an opportunity to grow further, and to continue to provide the high quality programmes expected of Scouting.
I know many are looking forward to returning to socially distanced face to face scouting, and especially to think longer term about being able to return to the outdoors activities and nights away that we have all no doubt missed so much. Whatever the future holds for all of us In Lambeth please everyone do this safely.
I am proud to see the efforts made to keep scouting going, in one way or another, and look forward to working with you all as we move to brighter days ahead
THANK YOU for all that you do,
Wendy Hutcheson
District Commissioner
