{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Alanah Reid, Creative Content Producer, and Sharon Lee, Board of Trustees member","standfirst":"Sharon Lee, one of our Board of Trustees members for UK Scouts, is a passionate and active advocate for diversity and social mobility.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter the protests against racism and injustice in 2020, \u003Ca href=\u0022/about-us/our-people/board-of-trustees/sharon-lee/\u0022 title=\u0022Sharon Lee\u0022\u003ESharon\u003C/a\u003E joined our Board of Trustees, bringing her skills as an engineer, her passion for creating equitable opportunities and her experience as a Black woman from a working-class background.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHere she discusses her desire to make impactful change, as well as her experience in Scouts so far.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/15549/t16.jpg","width":2443,"height":3048,"altText":"Our Board of Trustee member Sharon smiles at the camera wearing a navy polo shirt with the Scout logo and a necker","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EWhat drew you to volunteer at Scouts?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI was drawn to volunteering after the death of George Floyd and seeing systematically how things hadn\u2019t changed. I saw that, in society, the wrong outcomes were still being driven by systems, governance, and people. I think everybody has the opportunity and agency to change things.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI felt that I wanted to do something where I could influence the outcomes, and I wanted to do it as soon as possible. I started looking for a youth organisation, as I wanted to be involved with the youth sector. As I was looking, I saw Scouts were looking for a new Trustee, so I jumped at the chance.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI was actively looking to be involved with a youth organisation where I could offer my expertise and influence the outcomes within a system, and I knew Scouts would give me that opportunity.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EWere you involved in Scouts before your Trustee role?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENo, I wasn\u2019t. I knew lots about Scouts, but I\u2019d never been involved. I came from a working class background and grew up in Dudley, which is one of the \u003Cspan\u003Etow\u003C/span\u003Ens \u003Cspan\u003Etargeted for \u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003El\u003C/span\u003Eevelling up \u003Cspan\u003Eas part of the government \u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003Eagenda\u003C/span\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen I was growing up, my parents couldn\u2019t afford to send me to Scouts \u2013 not just money wise, but time wise, too. Both my parents worked full time and they didn\u2019t have time to fit Scouts in, so I wasn\u2019t exposed to Scouts as a young person.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENow I\u2019m involved as a volunteer, I want to make sure it\u2019ll be different for other people from similar backgrounds and help them access Scouts. I\u2019ve joined the movement with a fresh outlook and a passion for helping make it more accessible.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHave you been able to explore your desire and passion for diversity and social mobility in your role so far?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019m an engineer\u003Cspan\u003E in Arup\u003C/span\u003E, and I\u2019m using mine and \u003Cspan\u003Emy organisation\u2019s\u003C/span\u003E skill sets to link them to Scouts,\u003Cspan\u003E as w\u003C/span\u003Ee do a lot of philanthropy and volunteer work.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts are aspiring to modernise meeting places, so \u003Cspan\u003Ethey\u0027re working \u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003Ew\u003C/span\u003Eith our philanthropy desire in Arup to \u003Cspan\u003Ebring in sustainability and \u003C/span\u003Eidentify areas \u003Cspan\u003Efor new Scout huts\u003C/span\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe partnership between Arup and Scouts is still early doors, but the volunteers are loving it. They\u2019re able to use their day-to-day skills to have a wider impact, and it\u2019s really great to see.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EWould you recommend Scouts to others from your background?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYes, I would. I think more people from diverse backgrounds (as well as organisations and experiences) should get involved as Trustees in particular, because it makes organisations a lot stronger and helps them represent different viewpoints.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough I didn\u2019t grow up in Scouts, I\u2019m learning so much about Scouts and it\u2019s bringing a lot of value to my life now. I\u2019ve been able to bring a different perspective, not just as a Black woman, but as someone who\u2019d not been involved from a young age. I think that perspective is beneficial for both me and Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe more people from different backgrounds we can bring into the movement, the more the wider population will understand the brilliant work Scouts does.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EWhy should we celebrate Black History Month in Scouts?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEven though \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/inclusion-and-diversity/including-everyone/race-and-ethnicity/black-history-month/\u0022 title=\u0022Black History Month\u0022\u003EBlack History Month\u003C/a\u003E is in October, Black history is just history. It\u2019s important that we mark it, as it\u2019s a chance to remind and ask ourselves \u2013 have we got there yet? Is it part of our day-to-day? But, it should be part of our day-to-day and not just celebrated and remembered in isolation.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile it\u2019s important to celebrate it, it\u2019s even more important that we consume different histories and cultures in Scouts all throughout the year. Hopefully by doing this, and not just in October, we can help change this way of learning and celebrating.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"21 October 2022","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Activities and resources for Black History Month","url":"/news/2022/september/activities-and-resources-for-black-history-month/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Black History Month","url":null,"newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Resources about race","url":null,"newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Share your race equity stories","url":"/volunteers/equity-diversity-and-inclusion/race-and-ethnicity/race-equity/share-your-inclusion-stories/","newWindow":false}],"id":50896,"nodeName":"Black History Month: A passion for making a difference in Scouts","title":"Black History Month: A passion for making a difference in Scouts","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/18907/sharon-lee-board-of-trustees.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd22873640","caption":"Sharon Lee Board Of Trustees","type":"jpg","size":7510337,"width":5000,"height":3333,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Black History Month: A passion for making a difference in Scouts","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"We chatted with Sharon Lee, a Trustee for UK Scouts, about her desire to make impactful change and her experience in Scouts so far.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC81MDg5NiJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2022/october/black-history-month-a-passion-for-making-a-difference-in-scouts/"}