A Scout Group in Arlesey has made history by recruiting 11 new adult volunteers in one evening. “That’s one every 10 minutes,” said Jo Cockcroft, Bedfordshire’s Local Development Officer responsible for adult recruitment in the county.

“Our ground-breaking secret was really quite simple,” admitted Jo. “We set up a brilliant series of science experiments for the Beaver Scouts aged six to eight of the 1^st Arlesey Scout Group and invited parents to take part.  It was that easy.

“We had an erupting volcano experiment using baking soda and vinegar with vegetable colours for the lava. Then Scout Leader Sharon Betts showed them how to generate electricity from fresh lemons. Finally, the parents and Beaver Scouts launched hot air balloons using hair driers. The parents don’t normally get to see what happens at a meeting and they were clearly impressed. “

Appointed in April, newly-married Jo Cockroft adopted several skills from her previous job as an estate agent. She gathered a group of enthusiastic and persuasive local and regional Scout Leaders to convince parents that they would get just as much fun and enjoyment as their offspring as a volunteer. One key factor was that the volunteers could be flexible with their time as helpers.

Jo said with some surprise, “I was thrilled when we signed up 11 volunteers at the end of the meeting. And three of them have now said they want to become leaders. One of these is a local teacher, Alan Reid, whose daughter Amy was a particularly enthusiastic hot air balloonist.

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