Since September, Blackburn District has been without a dedicated District Lead Volunteer, and I have been acting as interim. I'm pleased to let you know that from today, Mark Longworth takes up the role as District Lead Volunteer. 

Mark has been an adult volunteer in Scouts since 2009 where he has achieved a number of successes: opening and sustainably growing St James' Scout Group to just under 60 members in under twelve months, leading and delivering on our County Cubs100 Camp in 2016, and leading an international expedition to Iceland in 2019 to name a few. 

While Blackburn has been growing since face-to-face Scouting returned post-COVID-19, we aren't yet back to our pre-pandemic levels of Scouts and it's clear that particular focus is needed on some key areas if we're going to meet our ambitions for young people in Blackburn. Mark will be in role for twelve months and I have tasked him with three key focus areas to concentrate on in that time;

• Governance & Leadership - ensure that all the Groups have appropriate Lead Volunteers and Trustee Boards in place
• ⁠Safety Assurance & Culture - ensuring that we're always safely delivering on our commitments to young people and volunteers
• ⁠Bringing Blackburn Together - through District events, direct support for all and open communications

Mark will have a number of people supporting him in his new role from across the District, and I know you will add your support to that when the time is right to make sure that Blackburn can thrive and keep providing young people with skills for life. 

You can contact Mark at Mark.Longworth@blackburnscouts.org.uk