Helping hand for Cub pack

A recently formed Cub pack has bought vital equipment after receiving a community grant.

A Rushcliffe borough councillor, Mr Francis Purdue-Horan, gave £500 to the 1st Gemini Cubs, the newest section of 1st Bingham Scouts.

Every borough councillor was given £500 in September to donate to a community group or service in their area.

The Cubs have used £400 of Mr Purdue-Horan’s donation to buy a flag, first aid kit, games equipment and Scouting handbooks.

The rest of the money will buy camping equipment that can be used by the entire Scout group.

The group’s leader, Mr John Green, said the 1st Bingham Scout Group had two Beaver colonies, three Cub packs, three Scout troops and an Explorer Scout unit, but they met at various venues so could not share the same equipment.

Mr Green said the money had helped to provide equipment to start up the Cub pack and without it they would not have been able to buy the flag for the pack, which cost £250.

He said: “It has just made it so much easier to start up the new section.

“I think we would have managed to start the pack but it wouldn’t have been as well set up.”

Mr Green said it was a nice surprise to receive £500 and it had benefited the pack, which already had a waiting list.

The Gemini Cub pack meets at Robert Miles Infants’ School on Friday evenings.

Other Scout groups meet at Church House, Carnarvon Primary School, the Methodist church and Wykham House.

Mr Purdue-Horan felt the Scout group was a worthy cause because it instilled discipline and team work into the youngsters and volunteers gave up their time to help.

He said it also gave youngsters the chance to mix with other groups in a controlled environment and gave them somewhere to go rather than hanging around on the streets.

Mr Purdue-Horan said: “I think it assists in the development of youngsters and all these worthy things.

“As soon as I was aware they were looking for support I was delighted to give my entire allocation to them.”

The Mayor of Bingham and borough councillor, Mr George Davidson, gave his £500 allocation to the Bingham Guides and Brownies for outdoor soft play equipment.

But another borough council and the town’s deputy mayor, Mrs Maureen Stockwood, failed to spend any of her £500 allocation.

The money had to be spent by March 31 or it went back into council funds.

Mrs Stockwood said she was on a steering group looking to set up a stroke support group and had intended to give money towards this cause, but it received other funding instead.

Mrs Stockwood said she intended to help the stroke support group in the future by providing money from her community grant.

Mrs Stockwood’s son, Mr John Stockwood, also a borough councillor, only gave £150 of his £500 allocation.

He gave this money to the child health clinic at Bingham Health Centre, to pay for children’s toys for general play and development sessions.

Mr Stockwood was unavailable for comment when the Advertiser went to press.