The community had been without a Scouting program for a few years when it relaunched in 2018 with three active groups: Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.
Bad timing for the relaunch, you could say. Despite meeting virtually during 18 months of the pandemic with weekly meetings, virtual camps and trips to space, membership gradually dwindled to a small core group. Currently on the rebound, the group now has an active Scout group with nine members and interest expressed in the younger groups as well.
Those pandemic space-themed meetings included a virtual visit with an astronaut and virtual camps with a space theme, and peeked the group’s interest, leading to the decision to travel to the Kennedy Space Centre in August 2024. To make this happen, the members have been actively fundraising for the trip to Merritt Island in Florida. The recent solar eclipse gave a further boost to the club’s excitement for the trip.
Fundraising is crucial to their goal, participating in such activities as apple days, pepperoni stick sales, pop up market sales, local vendors Christmas market and for the Love of Shopping provided a generous door donation, private citizen donation and a spaghetti dinner. They will continue their efforts which will likely include a bottle drive, a clothing drive and perhaps another dinner or tea.
Scouts Canada is the country’s leading co-ed youth organization, offering programming for children and youth aged 5-26. Through a variety of fun experiences, outdoor adventures and contributions to their community, Scouts build resilience and skills that set them up for life.
Scouting is a youth-led program, and they participate in indoor and outdoor activities while learning a host of adventure skills — from camping and paddling to sailing and hiking. Scouts also are active in service in the community and have recently completed the Great Shoreline Cleanup at Maple Leaf Park and look forward to future community cleanups and service. The Millbrook club meets on Tuesday evenings at the Millbrook Legion, where they earn level-based badges
The goal of the Millbrook organization is to establish the club with active groups at all three age levels. They are looking for adult volunteers to keep the groups going and build the club memberships, particularly in the younger Beavers and Cubs groups. Local volunteers will join the more than 13,000 volunteers across the country who provide opportunities for youth to grow, challenge themselves and inspire our youth to help build a better world starting in their own communities. For information about volunteering, or about the trip, please contact Group Commissioner Sandi Keast at millbrookscouting43@gmail.com. KG