Become a scout for endless adventures

INSTEAD of spending your time indoors watching TV or clutching onto your iPad, experience the outdoors and garner a host of positive and valuable skills with the 1st Hillcrest Scouts group.

“The youth are bombarded with choices for extracurricular activities. Children want to have fun, while parents want them to learn positive values and skills that will last a lifetime. Sadly what has changed, is the age we now live in when parents are wary about letting their children out on their own,” said Steve Camp, spokesman for the 1st Hillcrest Scouts.

Scouting is about fun and taking part in interesting and invigorating tasks, but for most scout groups it’s about creating adventure. “Scouts grow in confidence by trying out new skills and stretching themselves. When a young cub competes in a raft race on a raft he has helped to design and construct, or a young scout no longer has a fear of heights by completing his first abseil, that’s adventure,” said Steve.

Scouting programmes are designed to develop life skills, social skills and to build character. While Scouting helps the youth develop their character at an early age it also teaches them valuable skills that will help them to prepare for adulthood, such as self-reliance, self-confidence, outdoor know how, accepting responsibility and serving the community.

Being a cub or scout brings a sense of pride to a young boy and cubs are for ages seven to 10 and scouts for the ages of 10 to 18 years old. “Earning badges and getting recognition for doing projects and activities with friends and family, what could be better? Scouting is also fun for parents as they get to spend quality time with their children, watching them grow and learn. Scouting involves a wide variety of activities, so it is pretty certain that your child will not get bored,” said Steve.

There are a number of scout groups in the upper highway area, for more information contact Steve on 079 391 1866.