Can you help take Scouting somewhere different? - 22-02-2012

Kelvin Scout and Guide Club, and Kelvin Brownie and Cub Club

We are looking for volunteer leaders and helpers, to help with this exciting new project, being organised for children visiting fathers, where the fathers are prisoners in Low Moss Prison, Bishopbriggs. This is a partnership involving local Girlguiding and Scouting and the Scottish Prison Service.

We are planning to offer an hour's time of suitable programme activities, run by adult volunteer leaders, within the family visiting area, for children aged 5 upwards, on a weekly basis. These scout and Guide club sessions will be from 7pm - 8pm on Wednesday evenings, from the beginning of April. They will effectively be for all ages, but we may have be prepared to adapt and divide the sessions to engage younger and older children, so we welcome leaders who have experience in any age section, within our organisations.

We will run the project for a trial period of 6 months, and then assess and evaluate the longer term future and sustainability of this.

We are therefore looking to attract a number of adult leaders, from both Scouting and Guiding, including:

• helpers and leaders who are not currently involved elsewhere
• active leaders with other units
• new volunteers.

However, we do not want to create an additional burden for busy people, so we are aiming to have sufficient numbers that each individual is on a rota and only needs to be a volunteer for the prison project once or twice a month at most unless they choose otherwise.

The sessions will be held within the visitor centre of the prison, which is an impressive brand new complex. Obviously running a unit/club in this environment will be rather different to what we may have been used to, but this is a great opportunity for adult members to share their Scouting and Guiding experience and training, with these children and indeed encourage them to join, if not already member, a unit or group in their home area.

We realise that anyone interested will have lots of questions, and no doubt wish to find out more about the project, so we are planning two meetings for everyone as follows:

• Tuesday 6th March from 7pm - 8.30pm. We will describe the project in outline with input from the prison staff, explaining about Low Moss and the aims and objectives and about the family and community focus of this new prison, (which will not receive its first prisoners until late March) also about security, safety and welfare etc.
• Wednesday 21st March from 7pm - 8.30pm. We intend to plan the programme for the first 3- 4 months, identify themes and lead volunteers for each meeting, look at rotas etc.

Both meetings will be held at Low Moss prison so will allow volunteers to see the environment at first hand. There is ample visitor car parking at the prison, and a bus stop just outside the gate.

If you are interested in the project, please come to these meetings - this is an open invitation! If you have any queries at all, please email Marie Clare Dungavell or call 0141 248 6022 or 07835 901608.

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