Only five Scouts from Ormskirk have been selected and I am very excited to be one of the selected few chosen for this expedition. The World Scout Jamboree is held every four years and 2019 will be the 24th World Scout Jamboree. It will be held in North America from 22nd July to 2nd August and is attended by Scouts from around the world, aged 14-17.

By way of background, the first World Scout Jamboree was held in London in 1920 with a theme to ‘Develop World Peace’ and was attended by 8,000 Scouts. In 2015, in Japan, a theme of ‘Spirit of Unity’ was attended by 33,000 Scouts. The 2019 Jamboree is being held in West Virginia with a theme of ‘Unlock a New World’.

Although the Scouts Association very kindly fund two thirds of the cost of my trip, the other third has to be raised by me, i.e. £1,500.

Based on the above, I am fundraising for this trip. As a collective group within West Lancashire we have organised various funding raising events, for example, a race night, quiz night and summer fair. We have done a ‘bucket shake’ at Asda in Skelmersdale and B&M in Burscough. In addition to the group fundraising, each of us are also individually seeking donations towards the cost of this experience of a lifetime when we will be representing our local community, our county and our country to different cultures, religions and languages from around the world.

In September I am running the Ormskirk 10k race to raise funds.

This means a lot of washing cars, delivering papers, selling old toys and digging gardens ... so if anyone would like to support me with ideas or donations then every little bit helps!

Regards Thomas.