By Victoria Stone-Meadows
The first Cranbourne Scouts are seeking engagement from the community to assist them in saving their Scout Hall.
The hall was established in the mid-’60s and has not has any major upgrades since its construction.
Jenni Walden, Group Leader of the Cranbourne Scouts, said there is a lot of work that needs to be done to the hall and she would love to have the Cranbourne community come together to fix it up.
“The hall needs a lot of things replaced because it has had no major work done for a long time and we want to get the community involved rather than just asking for money,” she said.
“Not just to fundraise for us either, but to harness the skills of others in the community and other groups to help.”
Ms Walden said the idea behind the Save our Scout Hall campaign was to bring the Cranbourne Scouts and the wider community closer together by sharing the project of fixing up the hall.
“We want it to be a community project and really make it for the community,” she said.
“We know that we have the backing of Scouts Victoria but the aim of the campaign is to make it a community project and a venture that benefits the whole community.”
While the hall is still usable, there are a lot of upgrades it needs to bring it into the 21st century and bring it up to modern standards, she said.
“We don’t have disability access or amenities, and we want to fix that so we can be inclusive to all potential scouts and hall hires as well,” Ms Walden said.
“We also need to fix security issues such as installing better doors, replacing louvre windows, and the fencing is in disrepair.
“Also, with the age of the hall, the roof needs repairing, lights need to be replaced, it needs a paint job, the floor needs to be resurfaced, and some of the internal doors are bust.”
While fixing up the hall would be of great befit to the scouts that currently meet there, Ms Walden said there would be a huge benefit for others in the community to come together and fix up the building.
“Being in Cranbourne and in a growth area, it would be great to have more people come in and use the facilities and through this campaign the whole community would be making it appealing to them,” she said.
“We do our best keep our fees down to keeping Scouts open and accessible to lower income members so we rely a lot on fundraising, hall hire, and support from elsewhere.”
“With the hall the way it is, we are losing out on hall hire income, so many people come in and don’t want to hire it even at quite reasonable prices – it’s just not appealing for some to hire.”
The First Cranbourne Scouts are calling on community groups such as Lions, Rotary and others as well as local businesses and individuals to get in touch if they would like to join the Save our Scout Hall campaign.
Those who are interested in joining the campaign is asked to contact First Cranbourne Scouts Group Leader Jenni Walden on 0413 992 206 or email 1stcranbournescouts@gmail.com.
