{"alias":"newsItem","byline":"","standfirst":"It\u2019s already been a whole year since the UK wide launch of Squirrels, and what an incredible year it\u2019s been.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EA year already? It\u2019s hard to believe, but it was only last September we welcomed 4\u20136 year olds to Scouts across the UK for the very first time.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThey already feel so much part of the Scouts family. In Autumn 2021, our first Squirrel Dreys opened their doors, ready to give younger children the chance to join in the fun and learn skills for life.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"value":"https://player.vimeo.com/video/746916256?h=d4c4542ae3\u0026amp;app_id=122963","gridType":"embed","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass"},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ve come a long way since then. We now have an incredible 11,000 Squirrels across 700 Dreys, with 200 of these in lower income neighbourhoods. To support them, we have 1,600 dedicated adult volunteers, with over 40% of these new to the Scout movement.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/squirrels/\u0022 title=\u0022Squirrels\u0022\u003ESquirrels\u003C/a\u003E gives 4\u20136 year olds opportunities to get active, get outdoors, explore nature, have adventures and make friends. It\u0027s about giving young people a great start in life \u2013 at a time when it makes all the difference.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter the isolation of the pandemic, Squirrels is a ray of sunshine for our youngest members. They\u2019ve needed us, more than ever, to give them exciting opportunities and a safe space to grow, learn and have fun.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESquirrels is making a huge difference to families who need it most. With 27% of our Squirrel Dreys in lower income areas, we\u2019re supporting children hardest hit by the pandemic, giving them the chance to get outdoors, help others and shine bright.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18871/db-20220915-01378.jpg","width":7000,"height":4667,"altText":"A Squirrel wearing a necker and uniform is holding a cupcake with the Squirrels logo on and a candle in, with other Squirrels and a bonfire in the background","caption":"Squirrels enjoying their celebrations outdoors","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EBear Grylls, Chief Scout said:\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I\u2019m so proud of the amazing impact Squirrels has had in such a short space of time. It\u2019s incredible to see so many young people engaged and developing skills for life. But we need to go further to achieve our commitment to help young people and families come back stronger from the pandemic.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s so important that our young people get to enjoy positive and healthy experiences that so many missed out on \u2013 especially those in deprived areas. We now need the help of more adult volunteers, so that children everywhere can experience the same life\u2013changing opportunities to gain skills for life.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18882/db-20221018-3931-60487.jpg","width":4000,"height":2667,"altText":"A few Squirrels looking past the camera wearing uniforms and neckers standing in front of trees","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EHear what Squirrels have to say\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe chatted to a few excited Squirrels who were celebrating their first year:\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0027I like jumping and running, but I also like eating. Mainly eating!\u0027 \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0027I like being a Squirrel, but I really want to be a fox.\u0027 \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0027Today I took part in a find the biggest leaf competition, found ten different sized trees and ran a race while being my favourite animal. I was a cheetah which meant I was the fastest!\u0027\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0027I also ran a race while pretending to be my favourite letter. The letter V is faster than the letter T.\u0027\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0027The best thing we did today was make a Squirrels mask and eat a Squirrels bun. My leader also gave me a Squirrels badge, which I will ask my mum to put on my jumper.\u0027\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18883/db-20221018-4442-60998.jpg","width":4000,"height":2667,"altText":"A Squirrel looks at the camera wearing uniform and a necker, holding a piece of cake in one hand and a Squirrel logo sticker in the other hand","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003ESquirrel stories\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOver the next few weeks, to celebrate Squirrels\u0027 first year, we\u2019ve collected a few tales of inspirational Squirrels to share with you in our new blog post series, Squirrel stories.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom saving lives to helping communities, these Squirrels really show the brilliant impact our new section is having across the country.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECheck out the \u003Ca href=\u0022/news/\u0022 title=\u0022News\u0022\u003Enews section of our website\u003C/a\u003E to make sure you don\u2019t miss them.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Image top","cta":"Volunteer with Squirrels","body":"\u003Cp\u003EOur volunteers are having a great time supporting Squirrels. They\u2019re meeting new people in their local area, enjoying running activities and gaining new skills themselves.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe couldn\u2019t have done it without them, and we\u2019re glad so many volunteers believe Squirrels is good for them too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith the help of more volunteers, we can open even more Squirrel Dreys and help even more young people.\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#ca1a10","title":"Join in the Squirrels fun","image":"/media/18872/db-20220921-1696-45070.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd224e4bf0","imageFocus":"","imageId":34226,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"19 October 2022","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Find out more about Squirrels","url":"/squirrels/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Donate to Squirrels","url":"https://scouts.enthuse.com/cf/squirrels-appeal","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Become a Squirrels volunteer","url":null,"newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Activities for Squirrels","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/?section=Squirrels","newWindow":false}],"id":76163,"nodeName":"Join the celebrations: a whole year of Squirrels","title":"Join the celebrations: a whole year of Squirrels","type":"newsItem","image":{"url":"/media/18871/db-20220915-01378.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd22430150","caption":"DB 20220915 01378","type":"jpg","size":11836838,"width":7000,"height":4667,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Join the celebrations: a whole year of Squirrels","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"It\u2019s already been a whole year since the UK wide launch of Squirrels, and what an incredible year it\u2019s been.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC83NjE2MyJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2022/october/join-the-celebrations-a-whole-year-of-squirrels/"}