News Bulletin – December 2016

1st LINSLADE SCOUT GROUP NEWS – DECEMBER 2016

**** Key dates: Christingle 8th December, Tesco Bag-packing 17th December ****

Refurbishments
If you have visited Nyamba this term you will have seen the newly refurbished toilets which have cost over £12,000 and a lot of volunteer time. Thank you to everyone for doing a great job.

Subs Increase
We have been lucky with fundraising and grants for major projects but because we have to make sure that monthly subs cover our regular expenses, subs are increasing from £10 to £12 per month from January 2017 which is still incredible value. We could not maintain subs as low as this without the generosity of our leaders who give their time for free.

Standing Orders
Please adjust your standing order to £12 per month for January subscriptions onwards. You can set your current standing order to end with the December payment and start a new one for January onwards, or following the December payment adjust your standing order to the new amount for January onwards. Any standing orders not increased will be subject to back payments. We only accept subs by standing order or an annual cheque (in advance).

Participation Fund
If the increase in subs is likely to be a problem, we do have a small participation fund to support families who are experiencing financial challenges. You can contact our Executive Committee in confidence via the “Contact Us” page from the menu on the left.

Gift Aid
Thank you to everyone who has completed a gift aid form. We have just received £2,800 from HMRC for very little work just because most parents have done this already. Please ask for a form.

DBS Forms
Occasional helpers need a DBS check. It only takes a few minutes to complete a form (and can be done by email) and to provide some ID. Please ask your Section Leader for a form now so it’s in place for the next camp.

Hiring Nyamba
We are interested in long-term, regular lettings so if you know of anyone looking for a venue, please pass on our details. We are sorry that due to planning conditions, we cannot hire out Nyamba for private parties.

Volunteers Wanted

Thank you to everyone who helped at the last maintenance day. Our young people are fortunate to belong to a thriving Scout Group which offers so many varied opportunities across all the sections but the Leaders and Committee do need more help. If can spare an hour a week to help with some paperwork or fundraising or at an event, we want to hear from you. Our main fundraising event is back-packing on 17th December 10am to 4pm – please sign up when your Section Leader contacts you