Pannal Scouts set for new adventures thanks to Christmas fundraiser

A festive fundraiser ending this weekend is set to raise around £1,500 for a group of Scouts near Harrogate.

1st Pannal Scout Group will be collecting Christmas trees from households on Saturday for the fourth time.

This year, the service has expanded – and the team also added in tree sales int he run-up to Christmas to further boost its fundraising.

Deputy group Scout leader Andy Bielby said they sold 34 trees in one day, and it was such a success they hope to turn it into more of an event next Christmas. He said:

“It was great to meet our customers, some of whom told us they were former Cubs and Scouts from Pannal.”

Now, the volunteers will be out collecting trees from pre-booked households on Saturday as the final stage of what is expected to be the biggest fundraiser of the year by some margin.

Mr Bielby added:

“We have leaders, parents and carers, and of course our young people taking part in the collection of trees. Scotton tree care has kindly offered to chip all the trees we collect to recycle them – a great offer of people and equipment we couldn’t otherwise afford.

“We’re hoping to make £1,500 from sales and recycling – maybe even more.”

Proceeds from the project will be put towards ensuring young Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts at 1st Pannal, along with the partner Explorer unit, have valuable experiences in the coming year.

The children, all aged between four and 18, have already been able to go on camping trips thanks to the money raised by previous tree collections.

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This year, there are two gold and one bronze Duke of Edinburgh award scheme expeditions planned, as well as a group summer camp, and an autumn Scout and Explorer camp with more than 1,000 young Scouts taking part.

1st Pannal members will also be learning vital life skills in their weekly sessions and working towards the Chief Scout awards.

Mr Bielby said demand for places was as high as ever and the group was always keen to hear from anyone who could volunteer to ensure as many young people as possible could benefit from the experiences of Scouting.

He added:

“The experience of camping and becoming more independent has never been more important than for the young people impacted by the lockdowns of the last couple of years.

“We have seen the changes that they have gone through, with many having their first opportunity to be away from home much later than they would usually have had if it wasn’t for the pandemic.

“In our Scouting, we aim to provide access to events and opportunities they might otherwise not have such as trips to the fire station, talks with local services like the police and activities like scuba diving and even gliding.”