Croydon’s Scouts find a Bear in their Pinewood activity centre

Posted on May 12, 2014 by insidecroydon

Bear Grylls, the Chief Scout, flew in to Croydon yesterday on the final leg of a tour of Scouting organisations around the country.

Chief Scout Bear Grylls, third left, and Steve Backshall helping Croydon cubs and scouts on their visit yesterday

Chief Scout Bear Grylls, third left, and Steve Backshall, right, helping Croydon cubs and scouts on their visit yesterday

The television adventurer arrived by helicopter at Pinewood Scout Centre in Shirley where he met cubs taking part in their Silver Chief Scout Award Activity Day and scouts taking part in a survival weekend, as well as the various volunteer organisers.

Although Scouting organisations have more volunteers registered with them than the combined workforces of the BBC and McDonalds, they still have a shortage of adult volunteers to run their activities at present; there is a waiting list of more than 400 youngsters who want to be Cubs or Scouts in this part of London.

“I met a lot of inspiring young people who play a positive part in the adventure that Scouting provides,” Grylls said of his visit.

“One of my main objectives for the weekend was to encourage more adults to volunteer with the Scouts to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to join in the adventure that Scouting offers to all its participants. I’m so proud to be Chief Scout and it’s always humbling to see at first-hand the adventures that our members are taking part in and their enthusiasm in making a difference.”

Accompanying Grylls on the visit was naturalist Steve Backshall, who has also featured regularly on television wildlife programmes.

Steve French, the Croydon district commissioner, said, “Our young people were really excited about meeting Bear Grylls and Steve Backshall and haven’t stopped talking about it.

“Volunteering as a leader is easily one of the best things I’ve ever done. There’s nothing more fulfilling than helping young people get the most out of life. Volunteering with the Scouts has provided me with an opportunity to give something back to the community, while developing lots of transferable skills that I can use in other areas of my life. It has been easy to commit to Scouting as the movement allows volunteers to be flexible around their other commitments and to volunteer part-time as well as full-time.”

About insidecroydon

News, views and analysis about the people of Croydon, their lives and political times in the diverse and most-populated borough in London. Based in Croydon and edited by Steven Downes. To contact us, please email inside.croydon@btinternet.com
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1 Response to Croydon’s Scouts find a Bear in their Pinewood activity centre

  1. Pingback: Croydon Scouting Fun, Adventure and Challenges for young people in Croydon » Archive » Bear Grylls and Steve Backshall visit Croydon

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