Big plans for The Big Help Out

Debbie is District Commissioner and Acting Group Scout Leader at 1^st 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.

Debbie's keen to attract new and welcome volunteers to local Scout Groups, so she's combining events for the Coronation and The Big Help Out on Monday 8 May. Here's how she's getting on with planning.

Hi Debbie! Can you tell us a bit about your event?

Of course, we’ve decided to bring together events for the Coronation and The Big Help Out on Monday 8 May. We’ll be inviting everyone from our local community to come along and bring their own picnic to the park where we’ll be playing music.

We’re asking village groups to run an activity that residents can ‘have a go at’, so we're excited to have a bouncy, helter-skelter slide and a tug of war.

1^st Foxton Scout Group are planning to run a dog show and make insect hotels - we’ll also be planting trees, too!

For us, it's 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.

Who's helping you run it?

We've a group of about ten self-motivated, proactive organisers. They're always good at helping bring together events within the community. We’ve all got together to help organise this, and have regular meetings to discuss plans and keep up-to-date on WhatsApp.

What are you most excited about?

The tree planting! We did this for the Jubilee and it was a great success. Because of that, we're 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’ll hopefully be opening the village’s mind to the opportunities available to get involved.

How did you go about organising it?

I 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've 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've managed to build up more and more activities that'll happen on the day to make the event.

How are you promoting it?

We’ve created a printed flyer that we’ll be posting around the village – I think this is particularly needed to make sure we’re including everyone may not be online. We’ve been posting on our village Facebook page and also on the Parish Council webpage. We’re also using every opportunity to speak to people about it and to help spread the message by word of mouth.

Where are you running it?

We’re running the event in the village hall, which has a recreation ground/park around it. The hall's a community asset in the largest area of the village - it's 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.

What’s your top tip for someone running an event?

Get a good team of people around helping you! You’re never going to be able to run it yourself. Get the community involved as much as possible – for example, we’ve used lots of different organisations and groups to all chip in and help lighten the load.

Why are you running an event for The Big Help Out and how do you think it'll help welcome new volunteers?

I want to get more people engaged in the community, helping out, enjoying what is there and reaping all of the benefits of volunteering.

I think it’s a great way to introduce people to Scouts in a really accessible way. They've an opportunity to meet us and see what we do, so it’s a chance for people to find out the information without any commitment.

We get to showcase how fun Scouts can be and they can give the activities a try. Particularly for parents and carers, I’ve found that if they think their young people will enjoy it, they’ll be more motivated to volunteer.

Why do you think volunteering's important?

Personally, I’ve always got a kick out of it. You do something to help and it makes you feel good. I’ve 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.