Representatives of the 1st Deer Park Scout Group are hoping to double their membership numbers by the end of this year, with young children and their parents encouraged to sign up.
Boasting nearly 50 members, consisting of kids aged between five and 18, the group has the potential to accommodate twice that number, according to group leader Jessica Quinn.
“We started from scratch three years ago and since then we have grown from eight to 49 members,” she said.
“Our goal is to increase our numbers now – we’re trying to be more involved with the community.
“We’re definitely getting there and once we’re bigger I think we’re going to be a big asset to the community.”
However, Ms Quinn said the group is urging not only the kids to join, but also their parents.
“If we got 50 more members, we would also need more leaders,” she said.
“That is definitely something we’re struggling with at the moment, we just don’t have the numbers.”
The group is hoping to find that balance soon since new members would also open up additional opportunities for all.
“I tried to get St John Ambulance to come and run a program for us, but because our numbers weren’t great enough they couldn’t do it,” Ms Quinn said.
“More members would also mean additional funding, which would allow us to do more activities as a group.
“It would mean that we would have more equipment, and for things like camp we could organise that ourselves.”
Ms Quinn said that joining the group, either as a member or a leader, will bring with it some transformational benefits.
“Any extracurricular activity has its perks but scouting has just done wonders for the children who have signed up,” she said.
“I’ve had children who won’t even make eye contact with you or speak to you but a year after joining they then start running their own activities with renewed confidence.
“Leaders play an important role in helping facilitate that as well.”
Details: scoutsvictoria.com.au/
