Help Mid Sussex Scouts reach the world

Five local Scouts have been selected to represent Mid Sussex at the 26th World Scout Jamboree in Poland and are busy fundraising for their ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity.

The jamboree is a global event held every four years, bringing together more than 40,000 young people from around the world for an international camp focused on cultural exchange, adventure and leadership development.

The Mid Sussex Scouts include Ben Wickenden from the Lindfield Trident Explorers, who will be joined by Alfred, Evan, Harrison, and Sam; fellow Scouts from Haywards Heath and Cuckfield.

The Scouts are fundraising collectively to ensure they all have the opportunity to attend. All funds raised will go towards their fees, travel, essential kit and training camps ahead of the jamboree in 2027.

The boys are looking forward to meeting people from around the world, learning new skills and representing Mid Sussex on a global stage.

“It will help us build confidence, resilience, and independence, while developing leadership skills that we will bring back to the local community,” said Ben. “On our return, we will support Scout groups across the Mid Sussex district as Young Leaders, passing on what we have learnt to younger Scouts.”

So far, the Scouts have been actively fundraising in the community, including running stalls at local events, including the Cuckfield Christmas Street Festival and Lindfield Village Day. They have also organised Christmas tree collections and carried out practical jobs to help local residents.

“We have also been supported by the Mid Sussex Lodge Freemasons, and we recently attended a presentation where they presented us with a generous donation of £500,” added Ben.

The Scouts are currently undertaking a sponsored challenge to ‘travel’ the distance from Haywards Heath to Gdańsk, covering the miles through running, walking, swimming, skateboarding, and roller skating.

Supporters can follow their journey and donate via their JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/mid-sussex-scouts

Charity number: 305841

1st Cuckfield Cubs support local people

The 1st Cuckfield Cubs were the first in the region to take on the Foodbox Challenge to support local people who needed the services of the Foodbank to stop them from being hungry this Christmas.
The idea was that teams of boys and girls collected enough dried and tinned food as recommended by Haywards Heath Foodbank to fill a large cardboard box. But each item had to be earned, by doing a good deed or a kindness. The boys and girls took on the challenge and filled boxes by washing up, making beds, emptying bins and tidying their bedrooms. Cub Section Leader said; “The Cubs were really excited to take part and earned the contents of the boxes by being helpful. Our motto was to do our best and I am really proud of the way they met the challenge.”

Susan Osborne, who is a volunteer and Foodbank Trustee, presented sew-on badges to each Cub and congratulated them all for their efforts. She said; “Based on their enthusiasm we were expecting great things and they didn’t disappoint. Many families will benefit from their kindness and now we know how successful it can be, we will be looking to roll out the idea across Mid Sussex to other cub and scout groups in the new year.”

1st Cuckfield Cubs meet at the scout hut on Stocklands Close, Cuckfield every Tuesday evening during term time, between 6.45pm to 8.15pm.

Fun adventures for Bolnore Scouts, Cubs and Beavers

The Beavers, Cubs and Scouts in Bolnore have had a busy spring term. The Beavers enjoyed a walk to Beech Hurst to play in the park, made bird feeders and planted some spring bulbs. The Cubs had a Lego evening, learned how to use knots to make mini rafts, built clay models and made their own cardboard cars to go to the drive-through movies! The Scouts have had an active term, with a chip shop hike, rock climbing, the Monopoly run around London, as well as a robotics evening with their own Robot Wars challenge!

We’ve also had some fantastic events. A group of Cubs and Scouts (plus one Beaver!) entered the annual Haywards Heath Lion Club’s Swimarathon on Good Friday, swimming a staggering 185 lengths between the ten of them! Well done everyone.

We were delighted to be able to attend the Pillows and Pilots camp at the London RAF museum last weekend, where we slept under the wings of a Supermarine Stranraer and a Lockheed Hudson IIA. A great time was had by all. The summer term is set to be even more action packed, with rifle shooting, rock climbing, a trip to the Butterfly Gardens and plenty of outdoor summer fun planned! A special mention needs to go to Sam Larby (Beaver Leader) and Pippa Barker-Danby (Cub Leader) for both obtaining their Wood Badges!

All groups meet on Tuesdays:
Beavers (age 6-8) 4.45pm-5.55pm
Cubs (age 8-10.5) 6pm-7.25pm
Scouts (10.5 – 14) 7.30pm-9pm

If you’re interested in finding out more about our group or joining our waiting list, please find us at: www.bolnorescouts.org.uk