Tag: leadership

Volunteering opportunities with Edinburgh North East Scouts

Sign up for the online information evening on Tuesday 29th November at 7.30pm here:

 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edinburgh-north-east-scouts-information-event-tickets-445103174577   

We know everyone is busy, so this event is taking place online to fit in around family, work and life. It’ll only take 1 hour and will be informative. 

Did you know Edinburgh North East Scouts has almost 100 young people on a waiting list to join? And they need new helpers to support their 14 Scout Groups in Portobello, Craigentinny, Craigmillar, Duddingston, Calton, Joppa, Stockbridge, Pilrig, Broughton, Trinity, Leith, Newhaven, Wardie and Willowbrae.   

Sign up for this event to find out about the exciting things the Scout Groups get up to and flexible volunteering opportunities. 

Demand by young people to join Scouts in the Edinburgh North East area is good with youth waiting lists growing. However, they need new adult volunteers to reduce the waiting list and enable more local young people to benefit from Scouting.  

Edinburgh North East Scouts is looking to the local community and organisations to help change the lives of local young people. They are appealing for help to reduce the youth waiting list and support 100 more young people to benefit from Scouts.  

Scouts is only possible thanks to superstar volunteers – ordinary people, like you, making an extraordinary difference in young people’s lives. They are looking for new adult volunteers to assist their existing leader and executive team. So please consider what you can do and if you know anyone who may be willing to get involved and ask them to come along to the event too. It is possible that they may consider a job share if that was of interest to you? 

Scouting has a reputation for helping young people to develop resilience, a positive character, respect for others, good community skills, as well as physical and mental fitness. Can you help inspire the doers and give it a goers of the future! 

FACTS MATTER:

FACT 1: There are 14 Scout Groups in the Edinburgh North East area and they all want to provide more Scouting to more local young children. 

FACT 2: You don’t need to have any specific skills or be Bear Grylls to lend a hand.  

FACT 3: They have a collective youth waiting list of almost 100. 
FACT 4: If you volunteer as a Leader to get involved now then they can look at how your child could get automatic entry into their preferred Scout Group. 
FACT 5: You don’t have to have previous Scouting experience to get involved.  

As a District, they want to offer your child and other local children across the Edinburgh North East area the chance to participate in all the fun experiences and adventures they do in Scouting week to week such as: camping, fire-lighting, climbing and abseiling, and yes, learning how to tie and use knots (these will come in handy in later life!)

Are you passionate about seeing local young people succeed? Are you a team player with a positive, can-do attitude? Do you enjoy fun activities? Do you want to do more in your community? Are you more of a ‘behind the scenes’ person? Do you have a skill or hobby you can share? Then this event is right up your street.  Scouts has the opportunities – you just show up, get stuck in and make memories for life!  

We all have the power to help young people to realise their potential.  You don’t need to have been a Scout when you were younger. You don’t even need to know how to put up a tent. 

Their door is open to people of all ages, genders, races and backgrounds, and they’re only able to change lives because people like you lend a hand. 

There’s lots of ways you can get more involved with Scouts as a parent, carer or family member. From helping out occasionally on a family rota or as part of their Executive Committee to stepping up as a leader, their volunteering activities are as varied as you. 

The good news is you shape what you do and the time you have to give. Scouts happens when a lot of us give a little …and no, you don’t have to be a Scout or outdoors expert to volunteer. 

Most of their volunteers work directly with young people aged 6-18 through their Beaver, Cub and Explorer groups – helping young people gain skills for life through fun activities. 

District Commissioner, Rob Whitelaw, said, “This isn’t a job application, and you certainly don’t have to be an adventurer like Bear Grylls to get involved with Scouting and in fact not many of our volunteers are! 

“Do you have first aid knowledge? Are you good with numbers? Handy in the kitchen? Or are you a DIY whizz? We all have useful skills, and you can volunteer and help in many ways. Are you ready to inspire a generation of young people to experience fun, friendship and real adventure?

“The opportunities to volunteer with us are flexible. Think of something you’d like to do, and chances are it’s just what we require. Whatever your skills, experience and interests, we can find a role for you!” 

Contact/sign up:

Sign up for the online information evening on Tuesday 29th November at 7.30pm here:

 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edinburgh-north-east-scouts-information-event-tickets-445103174577

Scotland’s top councillors unveiled

5th annual Cllr Awards held in Dundee showcases the best of local government

LGIU Scotland and CCLA are proud to unveil the winners of the 2022 Cllr Awards, the only national awards to celebrate the vital work of local councillors across Scotland.

This evening, the Awards ceremony took place at Caird Hall with hosts Dundee City Council along with special guests and speakers, including Ben Macpherson MSP (Minister for Social Security and Local Government) and Cllr Steven Heddle (COSLA Vice President). The ceremony was also streamed live on YouTube. 

The top prize of the night for Community Champion went to Cllr David Macdonald of East Renfrewshire Council. Cllr Connor McManus of Midlothian Council walked away as the Young Councillor of the Year (below) and Cllr Maureen Chalmers of South Lanarkshire Council claimed the Resilience and Recovery Award.

Bailie Malcolm Cunning of Glasgow City Council was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his service (in memoriam). And, all leaders across Scotland were showcased and recognised for their remarkable contributions to local government over the last two years. The full list of winners is included below.

Running for the 5th year, the Cllr Awards are a hugely important way to champion what councillors do locally as their work can, all too often, go unrecognised.

Competition was particularly tight this year with nearly 100 nominations received. The winners were selected by a group of judges that included senior councillors and leading stakeholders from across the sector. A link to re-watch the Awards is available HERE.

This year’s Awards were made possible thanks to the generous support of founding partners CCLA.

Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive, LGIU Scotland said: “We are incredibly proud to unveil the winners of this year’s Cllr Awards. During some of the most turbulent and challenging years in recent history, these councillors truly showcase the best of local government across Scotland. 

And while awards and accolades aren’t the reason councillors put themselves forward and enter local politics, their incredible service is, so often, a thankless task. That is why these Cllr Awards are so important. One day a year to say thank you to our elected members for their remarkable efforts.

“I would like to extend a huge congratulations to all of tonight’s Cllr Awards winners. We thank you for your service and look forward to hearing about your continued accomplishments in the future.”

Heather Lamont, Director of Client Investments at CCLA, said: “For the last five years, CCLA and LGIU Scotland have thoroughly enjoyed raising the profile of the best of local government across Scotland and beyond. Councillors and council leaders have delivered in so many unimaginable ways for communities and we want to shout about it!

“The Cllr Awards are all about councillors. Their achievements are often hidden in plain sight and often go unrecognised. CCLA is honoured to stand alongside these outstanding councillors and thank them for their hard work and dedication to our communities.

“Why? Because at CCLA we believe healthy investment markets depend upon healthy communities – economically, socially and environmentally. In that we all have common purpose.”

NHS Lothian’s Nightingale Challenge set to inspire next generation of future leaders

NHS Lothian has launched its Nightingale Challenge to inspire nurses and midwives across the board to become future leaders.

The challenge, which is taking place around the world, forms part of the celebrations for the Year of the Nurse and Midwife and marks 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale.

The Nightingale Challenge encourages health employers to provide leadership and development training for their young nurses and midwifes during 2020. To date, more than 570 employers in 66 countries have signed up, involving around 25,000 nurses and midwives worldwide.

Across NHS Lothian, the focus for the challenge is ‘Inspiring the Next Generation.’ Through a programme of work NHS Lothian wants to promote the diversity of nursing and midwifery roles, and to highlight the various pathways to joining the professions. Already around 50 students and registered nurses and midwives across Lothian have signed up to take part.

The launch event on 24 January provided an opportunity for attendees to share their journeys into nursing and midwifery and to get involved in developing ideas to support the programme of events taking place throughout 2020 to mark the Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

Professor Alex McMahon, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Healthcare Professionals, NHS Lothian said: “I am delighted that NHS Lothian is joining the celebrations to mark the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, and that as part of this, will be getting involved in the Nightingale Challenge.

“The skills and experiences that I gained from my nursing days really have supported and enabled me to move into a range of leadership roles.

“I hope that through the Nightingale Challenge, we can inspire and encourage our young nurses and midwives to see themselves as future leaders, who will help to shape and support our NHS for years to come.”

NHS Lothian’s promotional activities in support of the Nightingale Challenge and the Year of the Nurse and Midwife can be followed by searching the hashtags #LothianYNM2020, #NightingaleChallenge, #ScotNurses2020 and #ScotMidwives2020 on social media.