Volunteering
You have more to offer than you think.
Volunteer with Scouts in Newcastle. You don't need to have been a Scout, and it fits around the time you actually have — not the other way round. It gives back too: new people, new skills, and a place of your own among people who'll have your back.
- No experience needed
- Give as much or as little time as you have
- We'll support you from day one
Takes about a minute, and commits you to nothing.
Every young person on a waiting list is waiting for an adult.
Not for a hall, and not for a tent. Waiting lists across the district are a volunteer problem — and they are the one problem an ordinary person with a free evening can actually fix.
One more adult is often the whole difference between a waiting list and a place.
Four things worth getting out of the way.
No Scout experience needed
A great many of our volunteers never were Scouts. The learning is free and somebody shows you the ropes.
Give the time that works for you
Weekly, occasionally, at camps, or entirely behind the scenes.
No special kit required
Groups have the tents, stoves and waterproofs. Bring boots you don't mind ruining.
Training and checks are free
The learning costs you nothing and the district pays for your criminal record check. If getting to a meeting place is the problem, say so — it is a solvable one.
Three ways you could help.
Help with young people
Running activities, going on trips and camps, welcoming families, sharing a skill — from coding to cake decorating to canoeing.
Help behind the scenes
Admin, money and fundraising, equipment, buildings and minibuses, or trustee work on a Group's or the district's board.
Not sure? That's completely fine
Tell us you're interested and we will work it out together. It is the most common answer we get, and it is a good one.
Nobody is handed a section and a set of keys.
This is what actually happens after you get in touch.
We have a chat
No commitment. Just what interests you and how much time you have.
Come and have a look
Visit a section on a normal evening and see what it's actually like.
We sort the checks
References and a criminal record check. We pay, and we guide you through it.
Start when you're ready
You join a team, not a job. The programme is already written and somebody supports you — and that team can become a good part of your own week too.
Three details, and we'll take it from there.
Just your name, email and postcode. No application and no obligation — somebody from the district team will get in touch for a conversation.
Rather write to a person? Email hello@newcastlescouts.org.uk, or see who to contact for the district team.
If this isn't quite you
If you are under 18
Explorers aged 14 to 18 volunteer with the younger sections through the Young Leaders' Scheme — running real sessions, with training and an award for it. Plenty of our adult volunteers started that way.
If you're here about your own child
Start with the finder instead — and tell us on the way through if you might be able to help as well. Plenty of parents never volunteer, and that is completely fine.