{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"We caught up with Debbie, a Group Scout Leader, as she organises an event on 8 May for The Big Help Out to help welcome new volunteers.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EDebbie is District Commissioner and Acting Group Scout Leader at 1\u003Csup\u003Est\u003C/sup\u003E Welland Valley. She lives in a small village in Foxton and she wanted to do something to bring the community together to celebrate the Coronation.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDebbie\u0027s keen to attract new and welcome volunteers to local Scout Groups, so she\u0027s combining events for the Coronation and The Big Help Out on Monday 8 May. Here\u0027s how she\u0027s getting on with planning.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/20471/debbie-scout-hut.jpg","width":2048,"height":1536,"altText":"Debbie\u0027s scout hut","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHi Debbie! Can you tell us a bit about your event?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EOf course, we\u2019ve decided to bring together events for the Coronation and The Big Help Out on Monday 8 May. We\u2019ll be inviting everyone from our local community to come along and bring their own picnic to the park where we\u2019ll be playing music.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EWe\u2019re asking village groups to run an activity that residents can \u2018have a go at\u2019, so we\u0027re excited to have a bouncy, helter-skelter slide and a tug of war.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003E1\u003Csup\u003Est\u003C/sup\u003E Foxton Scout Group are planning to run a dog show and make insect hotels - we\u2019ll also be planting trees, too!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EFor us, it\u0027s going to be a great opportunity to introduce Scouts to new, potential volunteers. They can have a go at the activity, while using it as an opportunity to find out more.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWho\u0027s helping you run it?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EWe\u0027ve a group of about ten self-motivated, proactive organisers. They\u0027re always good at helping bring together events within the community. We\u2019ve all got together to help organise this, and have regular meetings to discuss plans and keep up-to-date on WhatsApp.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are you most excited about?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EThe tree planting! We did this for the Jubilee and it was a great success. Because of that, we\u0027re also doing it for the Coronation. I love getting the Scouts involved in that. I also think that asking people to join in, rather than just passively attending, means we\u2019ll hopefully be opening the village\u2019s mind to the opportunities available to get involved.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/20467/debbie-tree-planting2.jpg","width":4032,"height":3024,"altText":"Women and children tree planting","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you go about organising it?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EI wrote to our other village groups to explain our plans for The Big Help Out. I told them what it involves and how it could be a great opportunity to welcome volunteers. I\u0027ve asked them to run an activity, which we find more exciting than a stall, so people can find out more about the group. I gave examples of what might work well and I explained that it could be a great way to engage new volunteers. Bit by bit, we\u0027ve managed to build up more and more activities that\u0027ll happen on the day to make the event.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow are you promoting it?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve created a printed flyer that we\u2019ll be posting around the village \u2013 I think this is particularly needed to make sure we\u2019re including everyone may not be online. We\u2019ve been posting on our village Facebook page and also on the Parish Council webpage. We\u2019re also using every opportunity to speak to people about it and to help spread the message by word of mouth.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere are you running it?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EWe\u2019re running the event in the village hall, which has a recreation ground/park around it. The hall\u0027s a community asset in the largest area of the village - it\u0027s where the Scout group meet, too. This means we can use the hall facilities, such as toilets. We also have an indoor space as a back-up for our wet weather plan.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/20470/debbie-rec-ground.jpg","width":4032,"height":3024,"altText":"Debbie\u0027s village hall and surrounding grass","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s your top tip for someone running an event?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EGet a good team of people around helping you! You\u2019re never going to be able to run it yourself. Get the community involved as much as possible \u2013 for example, we\u2019ve used lots of different organisations and groups to all chip in and help lighten the load.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy are you running an event for The Big Help Out and how do you think it\u0027ll help welcome new volunteers?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EI want to get more people engaged in the community, helping out, enjoying what is there and reaping all of the benefits of volunteering.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EI\u00A0think it\u2019s a great way to introduce people to Scouts in a really accessible way. They\u0027ve an opportunity to meet us and see what we do, so it\u2019s a chance for people to find out the information without any commitment.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EWe get to showcase how fun Scouts can be and they can give the activities a try. Particularly for parents and carers, I\u2019ve found that if they think their young people will enjoy it, they\u2019ll be more motivated to volunteer.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy do you think volunteering\u0027s important?\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022rte-left\u0022\u003EPersonally, I\u2019ve always got a kick out of it. You do something to help and it makes you feel good. I\u2019ve done things with Scouts I never would have done before, such as abseiling, zip wiring across canyons and hill walking. And my children got to do that as well. You really get a sense of worth from helping young people achieve things.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/20469/debbie-community-service1.jpg","width":1600,"height":899,"altText":"Scouts group doing community service","caption":"","link":null},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u2019re feeling inspired and ready to start organising your event for The Big Help Out, take a look at our \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/national-events/coronation/the-big-help-out/preparing-for-the-big-help-out/\u0022\u003Eready-made project plan\u003C/a\u003E for tips and tricks to do this.\u003C/p\u003E","link":{"name":"Preparing for The Big Help Out","id":null,"url":"/national-events/coronation/the-big-help-out/preparing-for-the-big-help-out/","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":"#f1f1f1","title":"Let\u2019s get organising!","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"Visit the Scouts Brand Centre","body":"\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ve added some great resources to the Scouts Brand Centre to support your Big Help Out event. These include recruitment flyers, posters, presentations, logos, banners and feather flags.\u003C/p\u003E","link":{"name":null,"id":null,"url":"https://scoutsbrand.org.uk/search?s=coronation","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":"#490499","title":"Resources for The Big Help Out","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"04 April 2023","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Find out more about The Big Help Out","url":"/national-events/coronation/the-big-help-out/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Follow our ready-made Big Help Out event plan","url":"/national-events/coronation/the-big-help-out/preparing-for-the-big-help-out/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Tips for using The Big Help Out to attract volunteers","url":"/national-events/coronation/the-big-help-out/volunteer-recruitment/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Learn more about the Coronation weekend","url":"/national-events/coronation/","newWindow":false}],"id":76354,"nodeName":"Big plans for the Big Help Out","title":"Big plans for The Big Help Out","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/20467/debbie-tree-planting2.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1daf3abb70164d0","caption":"Debbie Tree Planting2","type":"jpg","size":8170178,"width":4032,"height":3024,"altText":"Tree planting"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Big plans for The Big Help Out","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Debbie, a Group Scout Leader, shares how she\u0027s getting on with planning for The Big Help Out.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC83NjM1NCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/april/big-plans-for-the-big-help-out/"}