Scouts Group campaign to alleviate financial pressure
By Aideen O'Flaherty
THE 24th Tallaght Scouts have launched a crowdfunding campaign as their funds have been decimated as a result of the pandemic.
Chief Scout Leader of the 24th Tallaght Scouts, Pat Connell, said the group has been grappling with “budgetary constraints” in recent months.
Finn, Aine, Emma, Adam, Leah, Clodagh, Linnea and Saoirse outside the Scouts Den
The pandemic has reduced their avenues for fundraising, and the club chose to suspend membership fees since the onset of it as they couldn’t hold activities.
Mr Connell told The Echo that the group suspended the membership fees “as we didn’t want to put a burden on people having to pay us when we couldn’t do activities – unfortunately [the pandemic] has gone on for longer that we thought it would and it has eaten into our contingency fund.”
The group typically holds fundraisers three times a year through bag packing, raffles and bucket collections, but it’s been over a year since they’ve been able to hold these events.
Mr Connell set up a GoFundMe fundraiser on Sunday, with a target of €6,000, to fundraise for insurance, utilities and maintenance costs for the scouts’ den, which is located on the Old Blessington Road near the TUDublin – Tallaght campus.
“The funding would help to tide us over for the year, so when we get back to it the money that will come in from the parents [through membership fees] will go straight back to the children,” he explained.
Mr Connell added that the group would be “delighted” if the €6,000 target is reached, as it means they’d “be able to put a bit more into the scouts’ den”, and it would alleviate the financial pressure on them to cover insurance and maintenance costs when they resume their activities.
The 24th Tallaght Scouts have been a continuous presence in the area since the group was established in 1970, and it has 68 members, from ages six to 17, and 15 scout leaders at present.
In a normal year, the scouts engage in a number of activities, including hiking and camping, and Mr Connell said the key aim of the scouts is “building resourcefulness and resilience in children, so when they face a problem they know how to deal with it”.
He continued: “Respect for others, respect for the outdoors and respect for nature itself is basically our ethos.”
Donations to the fundraiser can be made via the 24th Tallaght Scouts’ GoFundMe page at TallaghtScouts.
For further information, visit the 24th Tallaght Scouts Facebook page.
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