17th Barrow – #TheGreatIndoors
Coronovirus Update #2
Dear Parents/Carers/Beavers/Cubs/Scouts,
Wow, what a difference a week makes. These are different and challenging times. We’re absolutely devastated that we have had to curtail face to face meetings with such abruptness. However, as described in the email from our Chief Commissioner, these are not choices that have been made lightly and they are for all our and our families’ benefit.
We hope that you and your families are not too adversely affected by the virus and should you catch it, the impact is minimal.
The Scout Association are helping with a number of online resources and these will be built up over the coming weeks. So far there are some activities here and a suggested www.scouts.org.uk/the-great-indoors #TheGreatIndoors, Fun exercise, Joe Wicks, The Body Coach will be holding LIVE PE lessons at 9am Monday to Friday on his YouTube channel for children of all ages.
Keeping us together (while apart):
At the 17th we are going to plan email challenges and badgework so that you still advance your Scouting whilst at home. We are investigating the possibilities of video conferencing Scouting / Video uploads. We ask that you regularly check your email for details and support your Young Person by providing them with access to a computer if possible and support emailing any results / work back to us.
Child Protection:
On a note of Child Protection, please note that any emails should be sent by adults and whilst we may address the young members by name we will only send information to parents’ email addresses. The only addresses that young people’s information should be sent to are the shared Beavers@17thBarrow.org.UK Cubs@17thBarrow.org.UK or Scouts@17thBarrow.org.UK
Subscriptions:
What you pay and where it goes: From the minimum £7.50 donation you make per month, £5 is paid to the Group and £2.50 to the Section (Beavers/Cubs/Scouts) for running costs. The Group £5 accumulates over the first 6 months of the year to pay the £30+ UK Association subscription for your child. The remaining amount pays for the building/insurance/heating&lighting/water.
What we’re asking: As you will appreciate, this is already a tight budget. Whilst we understand that some of the costs will not be incurred while we are at home (heating/lighting), we would still issue badges etc. that are earned during virtual meetings, and we still have to maintain the HQ so that we all have somewhere to return when the social distancing rules are relaxed.
Difficult circumstances: However, we also understand that some families may be severely impacted by the current virus situation. If you stop paying subs completely, we may assume that you have decided to leave the Group, so we ask that if you financially unable to maintain the current minimum donation level, you reduce it to an amount you can afford during these difficult times. If you would like to indicate this situation, please send an email confidentially to Treasurer@17thBarrow.org.UK
Eyes wide:
Whilst we are not meeting, if you are passing the HQ on the way to the shops or work, we would greatly appreciate you popping up the drive to check for any issues. Please report any problems to the Group or if necessary directly to the Police.