Festive Fundraising

Merry Christmas everyone and a 

* HUGE Thank You !!! * 

to all the people who bought Webb Ivory products through us this year. Including donations we raised over £100 for the Group.

In the run up to Christmas please would you consider registering with 'giving a bit'. At no cost to you, the Group we receive a donation when you access all the regular web sites you shop at via them. Just search for '1st taxal' and join our community  (https://www.givingabit.com).

Many thanks and may you have a Happy and Healthy New Year.

First Responders

Last Wednesday Beavers had a visit by Helen and Mark who are Whaley-Chapel Community First Responders.

These Volunteers assist the Ambulance Service by responding to life threatening emergencies.

 

They helped the Beavers towards their Stage 1 Emergency Aid badge by showing them:

• how to check if someone is breathing, 
• how to put a person into the recovery position,
• what to do if somebody is choking
• what to say when you dial 999 for help

A big thank you to Helen and Mark who came after busy days at work.

If you would like to find out more about Whaley-Chapel Community First Responders or become one yourself then follow the link below:

http://whaley-chapelcfr.org/

Memorial Day

Despite some horrible weather earlier in the morning we had a fantastic turn-out for the Memorial service in the park on Sunday. 

The group met at 10:30am by the Wheatsheaf Road entrance and we marched in formation up through the park to the cross. 

The service was, as always, very humbling as we listened to the long list of names of the fallen. Heartbreaking to hear the same surnames repeated over and over again, you cannot imagine the pain some families must have endured. 

I am glad to report that the children were impeccably behaved and we received many compliments at the end of the service. Thanks to all those who attended.

UPDATE: You can see more photos on the Whaley Bridge site:

http://www.whaleybridge.com/2015/11/the-young-honour-whaley-bridges-war-dead/

Bonfire night success

On Thursday night we held our annual Fireworks display and it was a great success. The weather held off after a particularly murky day and we had a great turn out. 

We've still got to tot-up everything but we will make a healthy profit for the group, with some £200 collected in the buckets and around £250 from the barbeque sales. That plus money from the raffle and refreshments/sweeties inside will make for a nice amount to invest back into the Group. 

The display was brilliant, and the night passed without incident, so I hope everyone feels they got great value for money and had a great night. Thanks to everyone who made it such a success.

Bonfire and Remembrance Sunday

Just a quick reminder that two big events in the Scout Group's calendar are happening this week, your support for both would be greatly appreciated.

Bonfire Night - 5th November 

We will be holding our bonfire and fireworks at the Scout hut on Thursday 5th November. Bonfire will be lit from 6:30pm with fireworks from 7:30pm. The event is open to all members of the group and their families, with entry by donation. We will have the usual burgers, hot dogs and drinks on sale.

Remembrance Day - 8th November

We will be joining the Royal British Legion for the remembrance service this year to be held at the cenotaph in Whaley. We will meet at the memorial park, below the cenotaph, at 10:30am and we should be finished by 11:15am, parents are welcome to stay for the service. Please remember to wear full uniform including smart trousers and shoes. 

Giving a bit

You may have heard about givingabit.com, they pass a portion of referral fees earned through purchase made via their site to a charity of your choice. 1st Taxal Scout Group are now a available to select as the charity you want to support.

Every time you shop online at one of the participating shops, by clicking through from www.givingabit.com it turns a donation for your chosen charity. With over 1,200 shops, including Amazon, Sainsbury's, Groupon & John Lewis, you can buy everything from music to car insurance and make a difference!

All you have to do is register on their website and access your favourite shops through them. In return the Scout group gets either a fixed fee or a percentage of your spend. It costs you nothing, and it costs the group nothing. In addition they often have deals and offers on the web site.

We are down as 1st Taxal (Whaley Bridge) Scout Group in the "find a good cause to support"  on the right hand side menu or follow this link: 

http://www.givingabit.com/communities/details/125437/1st-taxal-whaley-bridge-scout-group

Just choose to 'Join' our community. 

Many thanks

Coffee Morning Success

Wendy and Dave Hall

We have now added up all the money from Saturday's coffee morning and it was a great success. In all we have raised nearly £250 for the group.

We had a fantastic turnout of people, donations of raffle and tombola and some wonderful cakes. Thank you to everyone who helped in any way especially to the people who helped on the day.

The 1st prize in the raffle (one night's Bed and Breakfast at a Hallmark Hotel) was won by Wendy and Dave Hall (pictured being presented with their prize). Many congratulations and we hope you enjoy your trip.

Cub Scout Tie-Dye Neckers

The Cub Scouts spent Monday night dying neckers in the colour of their lodge. Great fun was had by all and the neckers are drying nicely ready for next week!

Beaver Scouts Daffodil Planting

1st Taxal Beavers have been busy in the Memorial Park once again, where we spent a pleasant

evening merrily helping Paul, the Park Manager, to plant Daffodil bulbs for next Spring.

We all got a little muddy but it was great fun and the display next year will make it all worthwhile.

Many thanks to Paul for letting us help, to some of the older Scouts who helped us dig some holes and to Tesco Whaley Bridge for assisting with the bulbs.

Keep an eye out for the results of our efforts next March!!!

Scout's Coffee morning - 17th October 2015

It is coming up to the time of year again when 1st Taxal Scouts have the opportunity to host our annual coffee morning at the Mechanics Institute in Whaley Bridge. The coffee morning is an invaluable way to publicise and raise funds for the Group and we need your help to make the morning a success. As always there are many ways that you can help:-

1. Help on the day serving drinks, cakes and selling raffle tickets - if you can’t help all morning just an hour would be great.
2. Bake cakes or buns to sell on the day - Please bring these to the Mechanics at 9 am on the Saturday morning or if you can’t make it Saturday we can arrange an alternative drop off.
3. Donate a raffle or tombola prize,  If every beaver/cub/scout/explorer could donate one thing that would be fantastic, please drop any donations to the leaders room at the hut before day.
4. Support us on the day and head to the Mechanics for a drink!

A new term is upon us!

As quickly as they came, the Summer holidays are gone and 1st Taxal Scouts are back until Xmas. The section nights will be returning from next week and the leaders will be in touch soon with more information on the packed schedules.

As an early heads-up we have several activities in the coming weeks:

• October 17th is the Scouts Coffee morning at the Mechanics Institute
• November 5th is bonfire night at the scout hut on New Road
• November 8th is Memorial Sunday in the Memorial Park

More information will follow but get them in your calendar now.

As always the group remains incredibly popular and we have a large waiting list for spaces, we will be in touch to offer what few spaces we have to people on the waiting list shortly. 

We would very much like to set up a second Cub and Scout pack but we cannot grow any more without more volunteers. If you are able to help in any way then please email join@1sttaxalscouts.org.uk. 

Many thanks for your patience and assistance

Take the Volunteering Challenge!

Scouting around the world is bigger and more popular than ever, and here in Whaley Bridge 1st Taxal Scouts are no exception. We now have enough children on the waiting list to open a second cub pack after the Summer holiday - however to do this we desperately need adult volunteers.

If you are interested in helping with 1st Taxal Scout Group, and making a positive impact in our community, then please email us at join@1sttaxalscouts.org.uk.

"Volunteering for Scouting is easier than you think. Whether you can spare an hour a month or a day a year, we have hundreds of opportunities both behind the scenes and working with young people. You'll get full support and training, you can experience the fun, friendship and adventure of Scouting for yourself, all on a flexible basis"

1st Taxal help out at the park

The remains of the Balsam

1st Taxal Beaver Scouts lent Paul, the Memorial Park ranger, a helping hand this evening. 

The park has a growing problem with Himalayan Balsam and Paul is working hard to keep the problem under control. Luckily for us, keeping them under control involves pulling the shallow rooted plants up out of the ground and then stomping on them! A perfect job for Beavers! 

A great time was had by all, and we managed to clear several patches completely. The Cub Scouts are going to do their bit next week so hopefully we can stop the Balsam taking over. 

A massive thanks goes to Paul for letting us help out.

Heading to the next patch

Tesco Bag Pack - update

We'd just like to say thank you to everyone who helped, and to the generous community who donated, at the bag pack yesterday. We had a busy 7 hours of bagpacking at Tesco raising £891.62 for the Group. As well as the money we raised Tesco have also donated £200 to the Group and so the total raised yesterday was £1091.62. This is a fantastic sum of money and will be put to great use fixing up the Scout hut.

Thanks

Tesco bag packing

1st Taxal Scout Group will be visiting Tesco Whaley Bridge on Saturday 13th June to help customers to pack their bags throughout the day.

This is an invaluable opportunity to publicise the group and raise much needed funds to help maintain our Scout Hut.

It would be great to see you and have your support. If you are able to help out on the day then please contact Steve Sidebotham or Linda Birch.

Thanks.