Scouts appeal for more adult volunteers

The Barbados Boy Scouts Association is struggling to find enough leaders and mentors for its growing membership and is seeking up to 300 adult volunteers, particularly men, according to its Chief Commissioner Trevor Jones.

Amid a decline in the spirit of volunteerism across the island, Jones said, the association’s biggest challenge was no longer attracting boys to the programme, but finding enough adults to lead and mentor them.

He told Barbados TODAY: “We had some growth in scout numbers last year, which was along our plans. We are hoping to have it continue this year, but our biggest challenge is volunteers, adults to lead the youth.”

The association recently launched a volunteer recruitment drive, hoping to attract as many as 300 volunteers.

Jones said the shortage is especially noticeable among the groups for older scouts.

“We look for male adults, since they’re the older boys and they need that male mentor in their lives for most of them.”

But getting people to volunteer is becoming increasingly difficult, the chief scout said.

“A lot of them say they’re busy; they don’t have enough time. It is true for some of them. The sense of volunteerism is declining. It is not just that the scouts cannot get volunteers. It is across the board.”

He added: “Most people want to know how much they’re going to be paid if they’re coming forward, but it is a volunteer position.”

Jones said the association was not opposed to providing some financial assistance, but questioned whether people who volunteer mainly for pay would have the same commitment to working with young people.

Lead consultant for the Scouts’ Learning Inclusiveness, Entrepreneurship and Environmental Protection (LIEEP) programme, Marsha-Ann Clarke, said men do not have to make a major commitment to make a difference.

She pointed out that while women make up a large part of the leadership at the Beaver and Cub levels, more men are needed as the boys get older and move to the Scouts and Venture Scouts groups, where leadership is restricted to males.

Clarke encouraged fathers and other men to become involved, even if they can spare only a few hours.

“Dads don’t just sit in the car, come and see what they’re doing,” she urged.

Men could help with simple activities, including gathering the boys or assisting with practical projects, Clarke said.

“If you can give a few hours one Saturday a month, one Saturday every two months, it doesn’t matter.”

Positive male role models can have a lasting impact on the boys, she suggested.

“They will watch what you do as a man, they will watch how you treat women and the female scout leaders, and they will learn so much just by having more men present and active with scouts.”

The national coordinator for the UNDP’s Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme, which funds some scouting activities, Dr. David Bynoe also urged Barbadians to consider volunteering with the organisation.

He said scouting plays an important role in shaping young men who will eventually become leaders: “It really moulds and develops young men, so they’re going to be future young male leaders in Barbados.”

The conversation about gender equality must also recognise the challenges facing boys and men, he suggested.

“We also have to think about our males because these things are contextual. And in the context of Barbados, we have many boys that are being left behind.”

He urged men who can offer positive mentorship to step forward, while making clear that women are not excluded.

“Even though it’s the Boy Scouts, females are needed, and in fact, behind the scenes, females do a lot of the heavy lifting, especially administration,” Bynoe said.

“Whether you’re male or female, volunteer.”

(JB)