1st Woodcutts Scouts In The News Page

Blackmore Vale Thursday 15^th October 2009 Scout Appeal
The First Woodcutts Scout Group from Sixpenny Handley were busy at the Cranborne Chase Woodfair raising money for their new scout hut. They have managed to raise £25,000 so far - but still far short of the £280,000 cost of rebuilding. They are hoping for a good turnout at the forthcoming fireworks spectacular on Saturday 7th November night to further boost funds.
Salisbury Journal Friday 10^th July 2009 Luggage service at Larmer Tree
A SCOUT group has come up with a novel way of fundraising – by providing a ‘luggage’ service for the Larmer Tree festival. Leaders and fundraisers with 1st Woodcutts Scouts are transporting people's baggage from the car park to the campsite by trailer at the festival, which runs from July 15 to 19. Woodcutts Explorers leader Andy Turner, Scouts fundraiser Simon Meaden and James Shepard, co-director of the Larmer tree festival, with the trailer they will be using.
Blackmore Vale Friday 3^rd April 2009 Celebrating the Pride of East Dorset
The awards - formerly the Community Service Awards - are sponsored by Blackmore Vale Media Ltd, East Dorset Home and Neighbourhood Watches, Mitie Engineering Maintenance Ltd, Dorset Police, East Dorset Housing Association, Drewlec Electrical Services and Colten Care Ltd. Opening the proceedings, Councillor Ray Dudman, chairman of EDDC, said: "These are the 16th awards which recognise the unsung heroes in our community." Guest of honour was the High Sheriff of Dorset, John Raymond, in his last week of office. An amusing speaker, he explained his role saying: "I know you think I look like a giant velvet mole." He went on to explain that there has been a High Sheriff in the county for over 1,000 years. "We're blessed to live in Dorset, and I am much moved by the work of the volunteers here tonight as without them many of our services would not exist." Nominees [included] .... Special Recognition. 1st Woodcutts Scout Leaders. In the last five years, 1st Woodcutts Scout Group has grown from a handful of young people to a group of more than 75, ranging from six -18 years in age. ....
Blackmore Vale Monday 30^th March 2009 £80,000 appeal for new Scout hut
CUBS and scouts who have met in a dilapidated 50-year-old ex-chicken shed for the past 28 years are undertaking a massive fundraising venture to build themselves a new home. The 1st Woodcutts group has met in the ramshackle shed at a field on the edge of Sixpenny Handley since 1981 after scout leader John Curtis hauled the second hand home there from Marnhull on the back of a tractor. But time has taken its toll and the shed is now beyond repair. Damp, burst pipes and rot have got the worst of the building, even to the point where akela Andy Young is forced to mop up water from the leaking ceilings an hour before meetings. "There's constant water damage here. We've had leaks in the roof where pipes have burst. The toilets are also breaking, there's very little heating and the cooker has blown. "With Health and Safety rulings we cannot afford to keep going and we don't want to like this," he said. $Beaver Isabelle Kingswell-Farr with one of the scout hut\'s broken windows.$ Times have got so bad that boards now block up holes in the walls while cardboard is taped into the smashed windows. The hut is used two nights a week by cubs, scouts, beavers and explorers and is also used at weekends by other community groups. Six-year-old Beaver Georgia Burleigh said the hut was cold in the winter. "It's falling down and sometimes you feel you don't want to be there. You just want to go home," she said. Ned Goodridge, six, said the hut looked very old. "The new place will be a lot nicer. The windows won't be broken," he said. Now, the 80-member group is embarking on a £80,000 appeal to build a new meeting place on the old site. They have just received planning permission from East Dorset District Council and have already raised £25,000 toward their target. Fundraisers have organised darts nights, fireworks displays, raffles and sponsored events to generate much-needed cash. The group has even litter picked at the Larmer Tree Festival to raise its profile and Sixpenny Handley festival, Endorse It In Dorset, has put on benefit gigs for them. Leaders and fundraisers are currently coordinating grant applications and are waiting for the results. Mr Young said the group had blossomed in recent years and hoped its success would be reflected in its fundraising efforts. "Today we have an almost fifty-fifty split of boys and girls. "We introduced the Beavers and the Explorers four years ago and we are now in desperate need of a home that will last another 50 years," he said.
Salisbury Journal Monday 2^nd February 2009 Scouts join Mr Motivator on GMTV
SCOUTS from the 1st Woodcutts Scout Group worked out with Mr Motivator live on GMTV to raise money for the rebuild of their headquarters. The group raised £200 towards the £250,000 they need for the rebuild of the centre and had a great time taking part. Fiona Randell, from the group, said they were very grateful to Sixpenny Handley First School for the loan of the hall and the breakfast provided, and to all who took part. Scout leader Andy Turner being interviewed by the GMTV presenters, and in the background the kids, parents and teachers of the First School.
Blackmore Vale Friday 30^th January 2009 Chicken shed Scouts ready to take flight
SCOUTS who meet every week in a chicken shed are raising money for a new home. First Woodcutts Scouts at Sixpenny Handley use the 50-year-old ex-hen house as a meeting place along with the Beavers, Cubs and Venture Scouts and have done so for many years. But the building's age is starting to show and cracks are appearing in the walls, floor and windows. Akela Andy Young said: "Everything's falling apart. There's holes in the floor. We've had floods inside. We need the new building as soon as possible." All groups are on a fundraising mission to raise between £175,000 and £200,000 for the new centre, which will be used by about 80 children aged from six to 18. One of the group's fundraising events was a GMTV appearance last Friday, when the boys took part in an exercise session with Mr Motivator via a live video link. Fiona Randall, a fundraiser and elder sister to a local Beaver said the children loved the morning and the television company had donated Â£100 to the cause. "It's not the sort of place I'd want to go to at the moment. But the children love their time there so much so it's really important we get the new centre built," she said.