Founder's Day: Activity Ideas that Make a Difference

It’s Founder’s Day when Scouts around the world celebrate the birthday of the Movement’s founder Robert Baden-Powell, or B-P. Creating a better world is at the very heart of the Scout movement so we’re making this Founder’s Day a Day of Action, in honour of the values on which Scouting is founded, and in recognition of B-P’s own reputation as a man of action.

Here are five areas where we hope Scouts can make a difference:

1. Plant a Tree

Forests help regulate our climate, and the air we breathe. They provide water, food

and sustenance to millions of people, and are home to some of the world’s most

iconic species. But forests are under attack. Every 30 seconds, 13 hectares of forest

disappears. In a minute, 1,000 years of evolution is undone. Scouting is all about

nature – BP once said that those who were blind to the beauties of nature missed

half the pleasure of life – so get outside and plant a tree. For BP, yourself and our

planet.

2. HeforShe

Women and girls make up half the world’s population, but even in the 21st century
equality remains a long way off. In some countries, girls are denied the opportunity
to reach their full potential, kept away from school or forced to marry when they’re
still children. In many others, women get paid far less than equally qualified men
doing the same job and make up only a tiny percentage of people in decision-making
positions, either in politics or business. The UN’s HeForShe initiative brings men and
women together, to fight for equality and ensure women and girls everywhere have
equal rights and access to opportunity. Speak up and show your support for
HeForShe this Founder’s Day.

3. Grow the Movement

There are more than 50 million Scouts around the world – that’s just over twice the
number of people that there are in Australia - but we want to be even bigger. This
Founder’s Day, reach out to your friends and community. Bring them along to your
next event, and show them how much fun Scouts have. Together, we can reach our
goal of becoming the world’s largest educational youth movement by 2023, with a
membership of 100 million Scouts!

4. Support Scouts

Need money for uniforms or to spruce up your Scout hut? Forget Kickstarter or
GoFundMe, if you’re a Scout and you want to raise money for your project, the Scout
Donation Platform is the answer. Browse through the projects on the site
donate.scout.org and give money to the ones that interest you.

5. Share a Meal

We live in a world where we produce more than enough food to feed everyone, yet
one in nine of the world’s population – some 800 million people – are still going to
bed hungry. One in three people suffer malnutrition, and many parents are unable
to provide their children with a nutritious meal. Do something to tackle the problem.
Share a meal with someone in need this Founder’s Day and help fight hunger.

(Credit: https://www.scout.org/5_simple_ways_to_make_difference_Founders_Day)