Scouts, Silver Sunday & Skills for Life

“Thank you very much for a really lovely afternoon’s tea party yesterday. Mary and I had a really good time talking to all your lovely cubs. We were very impressed with how mature and grown up they were and their kindness to us oldies, you should be very proud of them, but it must be all due to your training. Thank you for making sure all our future citizens are so competent and worthy of our praise. Call us old fashioned but there is hope for the future if they are as good as your lovely Cubs!” – Mrs H and Mrs C, Guests at our Silver Sunday event, Grayshott Cub Scouts (2019)

One of our most exciting areas of growth for Silver Sunday 2019 was our partnerships with youth organisations including schools, air cadets, army cadets, police cadets and fire cadets, Girl Guiding and The Scouts.

We were delighted to launch the Silver Sunday Scout Badge in August 2019 inviting children from Scout groups across the UK to earn by organising or helping at Silver Sunday events and activities around the UK. We always had a little inkling that this could be a formula for success with our intergenerational Silver Sunday events always providing small moments of magic and hope for a more kind, connected and happier society.

There is much documented research on the benefits of bringing generations together. In January 2019 United for All Ages produced a report entitled “The next generation: how intergenerational interaction improves life chances of children and young people” highlighting the often overlooked social, emotional, cognative and physical benefits to younger people alongside the similar benefits to older people. Their January 2020 report “Together in the 2020s: twenty ideas for creating a Britain for all ages by 2030” cites a national day of unity as a catalyst for societal-led change and as Silver Sunday grows its national coverage we share this ambition too.

As we are busy planning Silver Sunday 2020 we wanted to share some of the wonderful stories, successes and learnings from our partnership with The Scouts last year. Here are a couple of highlights:-

 

“We’re very proud of the work our Cubs put in to make their afternoon tea event a success, and it was a great opportunity for them to meet our older residents, learn some local history, and contribute to our community spirit.” – Grayshott Cub Scout Silver Sunday Organiser

 

What we learnt:-

  • Imagination sparks imagination. There are so many stories, artists and performers in our communities waiting for the opportunity to be unleashed.
  • There’s so much kindness in our communities. The Scouts have always been known for their ability and versatility in breaking down barriers through the art of conversation, shared activities and interests – and simply stepping in to help where they know it is welcomed.
  • The gratitude felt by all ages for their shared time and fun together.
  • Skills for life. Being a good member of the community is something that comes through experience and the benefits to all are immeasurable. We know that handing down skills to a younger generation can restore a sense of value particularly to older men.
  • The power of bringing generations together… but then we all know that, don’t we?

“We were really happy working with the scouts at our Silver Sunday event. They brought a young energy to the occasion and showed that older and younger generations share common interests which meant the world to our guests.“ – Sophy Robson, Event Organiser (Westminster), Bluebird Care 

Thinking of taking part in Silver Sunday 2020?

        • Help yourself to our new ‘Info Pack’
        • Silver Sunday is 4th October 2020 though of course we welcome events any day
        • Connect with your local Scout group, youth group, council, local businesses and organisations to create your own community event or programme
        • Coming soon: our 2020 resources including our Event Toolkit, Silver Sunday Scout Guide and Event Map will be live in Spring 2020
        • Get in touch & join a fabulous movement for change and more connected communities, celebrating older people this October
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