Scouting Volunteers and Parent Helpers

Scouting needs dedicated volunteers to help provide fun and exciting adventures for our youth. You can get involved as a leader working with your child and other children in the community, or as an administrative support volunteer working behind the scenes. We provide all the training and resources you need to help provide the adventure of a lifetime.

Lots of Different Roles

There are many different volunteer roles for all interests and abilities:

Many parents get involved as casual helpers, assisting at occasional meetings or camps, or taking on a specific short-term task.

Why Do It?

There are lots of reasons to volunteer! Of course, you'll receive the satisfaction of helping youth enjoy fun and fulfilling adventures with their friends. You can enjoy valuable time with your own children in Scouting. Through training and skills development workshops, you may pick up talents to help you in your home or work life. And as a part of a leadership team, you’ll also meet and work with other dedicated volunteers who share your commitment to young people and the community.

But the best reason? IT'S FUN!

Training and Resources

Scouts Canada offers all the tools you need to be comfortable and successful in your role. All it takes is a willingness to learn. Informal coaching and mentoring, various training courses and workshops, excellent handbooks and electronic resources, a monthly magazine, and an informative website will help you provide vibrant and dynamic programs.

Parent Involvement

Parents are always welcome and encouraged to participate with their child in the programme. We depend on parents being as involved as possible to make our meetings and outings as much fun as possible.

There are a number of ways for parents to help out:

About Coordinators and Helpers

Coordinators accept the responsibility for the successful completion of a task on behalf of the Colony. This involves working in cooperation with the Leaders and reporting to the Group on progress and completion of the task. It involves planning, delegating, accomplishing the task, and reporting on the outcome. It is important work that frees the Leaders to focus on providing an interesting and exciting program for the youth.

Bottle Drive Coordinator
Is responsible for coordinating the four bottle drives done by our group each year. This entails arranging for bottle pick-ups, sorting space on bottle drive day and advertising the bottle drive. The duties and instructions for this job are explained in the Running 1st Port Moody Bottle Drives document.

Beaver Craft Parent Coordinator
This is a new position that has worked well in other larger Beaver Colonies. This parent is provided the yearly schedule of events and picks crafts the kids do according to the general themes of the meetings. This year there will be approximately 19 crafts needed. The Coordinator works with our new student helper to plan, purchase and practice the craft so that it can be successfully completed on time and on budget. There are many scouting resource books and crafts found on-line which are already created. It may be necessary for another parent to help the coordinator but we don't know at this time.

Baden Powell Dinner Coordinator
This evening is an important evening event where the entire 1st Port Moody Scout Group and families are invited to a potluck dinner at the recreation centre. The event requires planning the evening with the group executive and delegating tasks required to make it a success. Has a budget to complete the task.

Link Camp Coordinator
Is responsible for the annual 1st Port Moody Scout Group all Section Link camp that has been held at the group campsite at Alouette Lake and Alice lake in the past. Makes the reservation, plans and makes information available to all the participants, makes an outline of activities and crafts, delegates to have the appropriate tasks completed on-time and on budget.

Camp Cook
Plans and purchases all the food for any camping event. Delegates the task of actually cooking the meals and works within a budget.

Colony or Pack Photographer
Organizes a photographic record of the year.

Parent Helpers
The parent helper has the largest and most flexible job description. Basically it operates in a parent participation fashion. He or she has very little responsibility but is invaluable. They work under the direction of the leaders at the occurring event (meeting, fieldtrip, etc.). In scouting it is very important that a certain ratio of adults (leaders and helpers) to Beavers is maintained. The parent helper helps the colony maintain such concerns.

On meeting evenings the parent helper would stay in the background and possibly assist in the craft, prepare the snack and drink, and stay to help with cleanup.

Based on the expected number of kids and the number of events per year each family should sign up for about three days per year.

Popcorn Coordinator
Distributes the Scouting Popcorn catalogues to Beavers and Cubs who are delegated to sell popcorn. Collects the orders and money. Makes the purchase of the Popcorn at wholesale and picks up the order. Distributes the product back to the sellers who deliver it to their customers. Reports to group at the successful completion of the task.