The Koroit Scout Group will be forced into recess if it doesn’t find new leaders.
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The group lost 15 cubs aged eight to 10 in December last year and joeys, aged six to seven, were turned away after the group was unable to find someone to fill the necessary leadership roles.
The remaining five girl Scouts are forced to borrow a group leader from Allansford Scout Group and are desperately seeking more people to keep the club running.
Koroit Scout Group secretary Petina Walsh said without leaders the club would dissolve.
“If we don’t find new people we’ll have to send what’s left of the group to Allansford or other clubs,” she said.
“We’ve already lost 15 cubs, some to Port Fairy, and I know the girls would be really devastated if there were no Scouts in Koroit.
“The five of them really love it and it’s a great alternative to the usual sports that are available.”
Scout district leader development for south-west district Peter Newell said mothers of the Scouts were doing their best to keep the group together.
“We are desperate, but if you look anywhere in the district you’ll find most groups are struggling with a lack of leaders,” he said.
“People are time poor but (being a group leader) really is a worthwhile opportunity.”
Ms Walsh said the committee hoped to see two new leaders for each group – the cubs, Scouts and joeys.
“The more we get the less work there is for each leader,” she said.
“That way they don’t have to commit every week and if something happens we’ll have more people to spread the load.
“We usually meet on Monday nights during the school term but it really depends on availability. If we get Scout leaders that can only do certain days we are more than happy to change to a night that suits them.”
Group leader training is funded by Scouts Australia, with the basic qualification requiring about 14 hours of online work.
Mr Newell said a call-out on social media had attracted some interest from the community.
“We’ve had six people contact us to say they may be interested which is very heartening,” he said.
“Hopefully we can rustle up some interest and keep the group alive.”
For more information contact facebook.com/KoroitScouts
