1st Gresley Scout Group

02/11/2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

This Sunday, 8th November 2026, 1st Gresley Scout Group will be taking part in the annual Remembrance Sunday Parade, joining the local community to pay our respects to those who have served and sacrificed their lives for our country.

Remembrance Sunday is one of just two formal parades that we ask our young people to attend each year, and we expect all members of the Group to make every effort to be there.

As a Scout Group, we are proud to be part of our local community, and attending events such as this is an important part of what Scouting stands for. It gives our young people the opportunity to demonstrate respect, gratitude, and a sense of responsibility, while representing 1st Gresley Scouts with pride.

Our volunteer leaders dedicate a great deal of time throughout the year to providing opportunities and experiences for our young people. In return, we feel it is reasonable to ask for their commitment to these two important annual events.

Parade Arrangements – Sunday 8th November

Arrival at Scout HQ: No later than 10:15am

Departure from HQ: 10:25am prompt

Remembrance Service: At the War Memorial, beginning at 10:45am

Following the service: Parade into Maurice Lea Memorial Park, gathering at the bandstand

Expected finish: Between 11:45am and 12:00pm

Please ensure your young person arrives on time, wearing their full sectional, smart Scouting uniform, including their neckerchief.

Squirrels Section

For our youngest members in Squirrels, arrangements may be slightly different. Emma will be in touch directly with Squirrels parents and carers to confirm the arrangements for their participation.

We would love to see our Squirrels represented at this important occasion, and we appreciate your support in helping them take part.

We appreciate that families have busy schedules, but with this being one of only two occasions each year when we come together formally as a Group, we do consider attendance to be an important part of the commitment to Scouting.

If your young person is genuinely unable to attend, please let their Section Leader know in advance so that we can plan accordingly.

The parade is always a proud moment for our Group, and it would be wonderful to see a strong turnout from all our sections, showing the community what 1st Gresley Scouts stands for.

Please see the attached flyer for the full details of the Remembrance Service.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday.

Kind regards,

1st Gresley Scout Group Leadership Team

Lest We Forget.

24/10/2026

24/10/2026

⚜️ BUILDING FUTURES SINCE 1935 – NOW HELP US BUILD OURS! 🏗️

For over 90 years, 1st Gresley Scout Group has been helping young people make friends, discover adventures, build confidence and learn skills for life.

Now we need YOUR help with our biggest adventure yet!

Our current Scout HQ is dated and no longer fit for purpose, and we have ambitious plans for a brand-new multi-use community building.

🎉 Planning permission was granted by South Derbyshire District Council in March 2023!

Our new HQ will support:

⚜️ 1st Gresley Scout Group

💙 Local Guiding sections

🧸 Church Gresley Pre-School

🤝 Other community groups and hall users

💷 Our overall building appeal is £1.5 MILLION!

We're kicking off our crowdfunding campaign with an initial target of £750,000, and we'd love the whole community to get behind us.

Whether you can give £5, £10, £50 or simply share our appeal, every little bit helps.

❤️ Please support our future.

🔗 DONATE HERE: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/15-million-community-building-appeal

We've been building futures since 1935. Let's build the next chapter together!

10/10/2026

🐿️ 25 young people are waiting to start their Scouting adventure… could YOU help us change that? ⚜️

I wanted to put a little something out there, both to our existing Scouting families and to the wider community.

Every week at 1st Gresley Scout Group, our amazing volunteers give up their time to help young people make friends, build confidence, learn new skills and, most importantly, have fun!

It's something I'm incredibly proud to be part of, and I genuinely believe we're helping to shape the confident, kind and capable adults of tomorrow.

But we need a few more people to join us on that journey.

🐿️ Here's something worth thinking about…

Right now, we have 25 children of Squirrels age on our waiting list.

If we can find just TWO more volunteers to join our Saturday morning Squirrels team, we could open up 12 more places for young people to start their adventure.
And with enough support, we could potentially open another Squirrels Drey and welcome even more!

That's a pretty amazing difference a couple of people could make. ❤️

So, where do we need help?

We're currently looking for some friendly faces to join our teams:
🐿️ Squirrels – Saturdays, 9.30–10.30am
2 Team Members
🦫 Beavers – Tuesdays, 5.15–6.30pm
2 Team Members
🦫 Beavers – Fridays, 5.30–6.45pm
2 Team Members
⚜️ Scouts – Wednesdays, 7.00–9.00pm
1 Team Leader
2 Team Members
⚜️ Scouts – Fridays, 7.15–9.15pm
2 Team Members

📋 Prefer helping behind the scenes?

We're also looking for people to join our Trustee Board, particularly someone who could take the lead on grant applications and help us secure funding to give our young people even more opportunities and adventures.

"But I've never been a Scout!"

That's absolutely fine! Neither had lots of our volunteers before they started.
You don't need to know how to tie knots, pitch a tent or light a campfire. You just need a willingness to get involved, have a laugh and make a difference. We'll help with the rest!

And I know what some of you might be thinking…
"I'd love to help, but I'm not sure I've got the time."
I completely get it. Life is busy, and I'm certainly not expecting anyone to sign away every spare minute they have.

So here's my ask…
If you've read this far and thought, "Actually, I might be able to help", I'd genuinely love to have a chat.
You can drop me a message here on Facebook, send me an email or come and find me at the group for a chat.

No sales pitch. No pressure. No expectation that you'll walk away wearing a neckerchief and planning next year's camp! 😂

Just a friendly conversation about what we do, what you might enjoy and whether there's a way you could get involved that works for you.

And if it's not for you, that's absolutely fine too.

Maybe you know someone who'd be brilliant? A friend, neighbour, colleague, grandparent or family member? Please share this post or tag them below.

You don't need to have a child in Scouting to make a difference.
At the end of the day, we've got young people who want to join, fantastic adventures waiting to happen and a group of volunteers who care deeply about what we do.
We just need a few more people to help make it all possible.

❤️ Because every young person deserves the chance to have their own Scouting adventure.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone who already supports our group. It really does mean a lot.

Fancy a chat? I'd love to hear from you!
📧 [email protected]

Daniel Barnes
Group Lead Volunteer
1st Gresley Scout Group

⚜️ More volunteers. More opportunities. More adventures.

06/08/2026

This is 10-year-old Logan Hough.
When his mum sadly died 3 years ago, he had a lot of anger. But he channelled this energy into Cub Scouts, and since then has amazingly earned all 39 activity badges.
He's got so many badges he ran out of space on his sleeve, so Dad Mike has had to put them on his shoulder!
What an amazing achievement, well done Logan! 🤗💫

05/08/2026