{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Clarissa Frigerio, Programme Delivery Executive (Early Years)","standfirst":"Read about Squirrels carrying out youth social action projects and start planning your own.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Try to leave this world a little better than you found it.\u2019 At Scouts, we live by this quote, and \u003Ca href=\u0022/squirrels/\u0022 title=\u0022Squirrels\u0022\u003ESquirrels\u003C/a\u003E is no exception.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunity impact is central to the Squirrel programme, and our target is to encourage our Dreys to deliver a high quality youth social action.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt may sound challenging and daunting: Can four and five year olds carry out meaningful youth social action projects? And what is youth social action, really?\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/19173/db-20221018-4526-61082.jpg","width":6165,"height":3717,"altText":"Seven Squirrels in uniform and neckers stand in front of a tree trunk holding leaves in their hands","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EYouth social action\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYouth social action refers to activities that young people do (in this case, Squirrels) to make a positive difference to others or the environment.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYouth social action is sometimes known by other names, such as social action, community impact, or activism, but the fundamentals are the same.\u202F\u200BThese activities help Squirrels build and strengthen their character, skills for life, and confidence from an early age.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EYouth social action numbers at a glance\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E106 \u003C/strong\u003Estories detailing community impact projects\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E139 \u003C/strong\u003EYoung Leaders involved in planning and delivering youth social action\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E1182 \u003C/strong\u003ESquirrels involved\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003ELittle people, big change\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteer/volunteering-with-scouts/\u0022 title=\u0022Volunteering with Scouts\u0022\u003ESquirrel volunteer\u003C/a\u003E told us her Squirrels learned about global warming and what they can do to protect the environment. \u2018We\u2019ve been litter picking and joined a local conservation group to look after a local woodland. The Squirrels raised \u00A350 to purchase an oak tree to plant in the woods.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA Squirrel and her sister (who is a \u003Ca href=\u0022/beavers/\u0022 title=\u0022Beavers\u0022\u003EBeaver\u003C/a\u003E) recently completed the Snowdonia Slate Trail and raised over \u00A31,000 for their two local Mountain Rescue Teams.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EA group raised money for children with mental health issues\u00A0and\u00A0to buy Christmas presents for children in hospital over Christmas 2022. They raised \u00A3974 across\u00A0all their sections. Impressively, Squirrels raised a significant amount of that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EHow to start planning your youth social action project\u200B\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"accordion","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","showExpand":false,"items":[{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EBadges help Squirrels be curious and creative about their surroundings. Working towards the \u003Ca href=\u0022/squirrels/activity-badges/local-superhero/\u0022 title=\u0022Local Superhero\u0022\u003ELocal Superhero badge\u003C/a\u003E means Dreys can learn about people who look after their community, and lend them a hand.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne Drey learned about firefighters, created \u2018thank you\u2019 notes, and went to the local fire station to give them to firefighters.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEvery badge lets you do something meaningful for your community. A Squirrel volunteer shared with us \u2018We started with the \u003Ca href=\u0022/squirrels/awards/all-about-me/\u0022 title=\u0022All About Me\u0022\u003EAll about Me Challenge Award\u003C/a\u003E and looked at what made us happy individually. We used the story \u003Cem\u003E\u0027Rainbow Fish\u003C/em\u003E\u0027 to talk about how making others happy can make us happy too.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe following week, Squirrels decided to visit the local care home, sang songs, and shared pictures and games.\u003C/p\u003E","label":"Squirrels badges"},{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s important that youth social action projects are youth-led, meaning they\u2019re designed and led by young people. It may be hard at first to ask young children what they\u2019d like to focus on.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOur Squirrel leader and cohort coach, Toby, said his Drey began collecting and donating food for the local food bank. Once, a Squirrel saw a lady at the supermarket buying tin cans and asked \u2018What is the lady doing with a can?\u2019 The Squirrels then learned about shelf products, and what the long-lasting food and products at the supermarket are. This all stemmed from one child\u2019s curiosity to learn more.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA Squirrel leader from Plymouth said she holds \u2018democratic votes\u2019 with her Drey. Recently, the Drey was involved in a community project, and she asked the Squirrels if they preferred to fundraise by running a cake sale or a wash cars (naturally, Squirrels loved the cake sale!)\u003C/p\u003E","label":"Ask your Squirrels"},{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen our leader, Toby, asked her Young Leader why she loves doing youth social action, she said \u2018because it puts a smile on people\u2019s faces.\u2019 Young Leaders can are positive role models for Squirrels, and can empower them to make the world a better place.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA Squirrel volunteer told us \u2018Our Young Leader helped Squirrels litter pick around their meeting place. He helped deliver a game to make the Squirrels aware of street mess.\u2019 This could be a part of their \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/running-an-explorer-unit/explorer-scout-young-leaders-scheme/the-missions/\u0022 title=\u0022The Missions\u0022\u003EYoung Leader Missions\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E,\u003C/span\u003E or be included in their \u003Ca href=\u0022/staged-badges/community-impact/\u0022 title=\u0022Community Impact\u0022\u003ECommunity Impact staged badges\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E","label":"Involve Young Leaders"},{"gridType":"accordionItem","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EOur \u003Ca href=\u0022#\u0022 title=\u0022A Million Hands\u0022\u003EA Million Hands\u003C/a\u003E webpage can help you identify a cause, and you can download ready-to-go activities, stories, and games to do with your Squirrels.\u003C/p\u003E","label":"A Million Hands"}]},{"type":"Image top","cta":"Let us know what you\u0027re up to","body":"\u003Cp\u003ESquirrels are making a meaningful impact in their communities, and we want to tell the world about it. Once you carry out your youth social project, let us know so we can be inspired by your actions!\u003C/p\u003E","link":{"name":null,"id":null,"url":"https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/c421ea9f1fb7428b85f06306482c85a6","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":"#ca1a10","title":"Your community actions with Squirrels","image":"/media/19174/db-20220915-00055.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd23defe10","imageFocus":"","imageId":34776,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"29 November 2022","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Find out more about Squirrels","url":"/squirrels/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"A Million Hands","url":null,"newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Squirrels Local Superhero Badge","url":"/squirrels/activity-badges/local-superhero/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Squirrels All About Me Challenge Award","url":"/squirrels/awards/all-about-me/","newWindow":false}],"id":50420,"nodeName":"Squirrel superheroes: Celebrating Squirrels giving back to their communities","title":"Squirrel superheroes: Celebrating Squirrels giving back to their communities","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/19173/db-20221018-4526-61082.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd23d3da80","caption":"DB 20221018 4526 61082 (1)","type":"jpg","size":12680237,"width":6165,"height":3717,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Squirrel superheroes: Celebrating Squirrels giving back to their communities","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Read about Squirrels carrying out youth social action projects and start planning your own.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC81MDQyMCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2022/november/celebrating-squirrels-giving-back-to-their-communities/"}