Eastleigh District Scouts

Steamers Network journeyed to Butser Hill at Queen Elizabeth Country Park on the first weekend of July to partake in a traditional scouting event – Trek cart!  The main race was a 6.5km trek around the country park on roads and tracks.  Steamers were the only network team to enter so duly came first in the network competition but more impressively came 3rd overall out of all scout, explorer and network categories with a time of 1hr.  A big well done to the runners ; Gary Shafford, Pete Rawlinson, Hannah Jacobs and Graham Wilkinson.  Other members of the network staffed a base.  Saturday evening Pete Rawlinson and Gary Shafford, supported by the rest of the network members, ran the disco.

These four scouts were amongst the 643 in Eastleigh District from Eastleigh, Bishopstoke and Fair Oak who raised enough money last year to buy four Shelter Boxes, each costing £590. The boxes contain tentage and cooking equipment for up to ten people and every year thousands are sent by the Rotary Club to disaster areas throughout the word. In fact, on many occasions the included tents are erected by Scouts from the recipient countries whose communities have suffered dramatic homelessness.

A cheque for £2,286 was presented to the Rotary Club last Sunday at The Pavilion on the Park in Eastleigh. This was boosted during the evening by an extra £167 collected by the attending families of the 40 Scouts who were there to receive their Chief Scout Awards. The awards were presented by Deputy Mayor Coun. Rupert Kyrle. This extra sum ensured that the Scouts’ donation purchased four complete Shelter Boxes