1st Ruxley Sea Scout Group
Epsom, Surrey, UK

We are holding a book fair on Saturday June 27th (2pm-4pm) and Sunday 28th June (10am-4pm) at the Scout HQ on Tealing Drive (click on the Locations link in the left margin for a map).  As well as books, there will also be DVDs, videos and CDs for sale. Refreshments will be on available on both days.

If you have any unwanted books, DVDs, videos or CDs, please drop them in at a section meeting (or on one of the sale days), or call 07980 130270 to arrange collection.

Update
We raised over £700!  Many thanks to Fiona, Rik  and everyone else who helped.

The group is grateful to Alison Benjamin Photography for organising a Family Portrait Day, where you and your family will be able to sit for a professional studio portrait photograph at a very competitive price.  The event is taking place on Sunday 14th June at the Scout HQ, and will benefit group funds. Further information is available on this flyer.

On Bank Holiday Monday, 4th May, we will be holding a fun day and fund-raising car wash at the Bonesgate pub, Chessington Road.  The Bonesgate have made us their Charity of the Month and are kindly supporting our efforts to raise funds for much needed work on the HQ building.  The event runs from 11am until 5pm and young people will be washing cars in return for donations.  To help while away the time, there is also a bouncy castle!  During the day we will be selling tickets for a raffle, so any donations of prizes would be welcome.

Update
The carwash and related activities raised £310 for group funds.  Thanks you to all who took part, especially the gentleman who raised a large part of the total by having his face painted and leaving it that way for the whole day!

The executive committee is formed from section leaders and parent representatives.  It is responsible for managing the buildings, finances, equipment and fundraising, giving the section leaders the time and resources necessary to provide a great experience for the young people whilst they are involved in scouting.  It is no coincidence that the most successful groups have a committed exec.

We currently have three unfilled positions on our exec: two parent representatives and a group secretary.  If you think you can spare a few hours a month to file any of these positions, please contact the Group Chairman, John Murtagh on 07725 839036 or by email at john.murtagh@nhs.net

To help with our fundraising efforts, we have signed-up with easyfundraising.org.uk. They act as a shopfront for some of the largest online retailers, and pay us a commission on any business that comes via their site. So, if you are thinking about spending £20 on a book from Amazon, do it via easyfundraising.org.uk, and the group will get 50p. Insure your car and we can get upwards of £20. There is no cost to you - all you have to do is register by clicking on the flashing graphic above.

And if you do a lot of web searching, consider ditching Google and use this link, or use the search box above. Again, we get a small income for generating traffic.  You can set easysearch to be your browser's default search engine by clicking the 'easysearch from my browser' link on the search page.

Please give it a try - we will keep you updated on how much we raise this way.  If you have any questions, please ask Mark Hodgson.

Update 17 April
From only five registered members and in only three weeks, we have so far raised £8.49 for the group. 82p of this is from searches (1struxley.easysearch.org.uk) and the rest is from online purchases.  Although the numbers are not huge, this is money that the group would not otherwise have and it has cost the registered members nothing.  As time progresses, let's hope we can increase coverage - please promote the service to family and friends. They don't need to be involved with the group to join!

Once again we are collecting Sainsbury's Active Kids and vouchers.  This year we are also collecting Tesco Schools & Clubs Vouchers.  If your son or daughter's school is also collecting, please remember that the scout group is run entirely from subscriptions and voluntary contributions - we have no regular external funding.  The size of our membership roll also means that we have less people to ask for their vouchers, so please ask your friends or colleagues without children to pass on their vouchers, too.  The collection box will usually be out on meeting nights but if it is not, please give your vouchers to one of the leaders.

The government Gift Aid scheme allows the group to claim back the basic rate tax you have already paid on donations and subscriptions.  For every £2.50 weekly subscription, we can claim 70p back from the taxman.  With a group of our size, this amounts to a great deal of extra income that we do not want to miss out on, but it needs parents or carers to complete a simple declaration form.  The group treasurer is circulating forms to those who have not yet completed one.  We are eligible to claim back the tax on subs as long as you have paid at least that amount of tax on an income.  If you are lucky enough to be a higher-rate taxpayer, you can personally claim back the rest of the tax via your tax return (we know a good home for it if you do!).

This year's annual quiz night will be held on Saturday 28th March in the Scout Headquarters.  Full details can be found by downloading this PDF.

As part of our long-term fundraising, we are starting a 100 club.  Please find full information in this PDF.

Help raise funds for 1st Ruxley by registering us for cash back at YELLOW MOON art and craft supplier.

http://www.yellowmoon.org.uk/

To start you cash back fund raising, register us by using source code SST9009 when you place your order.

We can receive up to 25% cash back on your purchase.
We recently received £10 cash back from an £85 order so it does work!!!

Order online or by phone
0844 826 86 77

Did you know that the Headquarters hall is available for use by parents and outside groups?  Whether for a one-off children's party or a regular group activity, it is a cost-effective community venue.  We don't charge a hire fee, but invite a minimum donation to group funds. 

For more details, please contact us on 07910 731713, or by email at hall@1struxley.org.uk.

Saturday, January 24th saw cubs, scouts and explorers from across the District gather at Cheam Baths for the annual District Swimming Gala, held over from November, last year. This year the scout team was organized by CP, with the help of Mum & Dad, and we entered all of the events in both cub and scout sections.  Everyone who took part put in their best efforts, which resulted in Ruxley coming in overall joint 3rd in the scout competition.  The highlight of the night was CP smashing the record for his age group by 5 seconds.  To put the icing on the cake, Ruxley stepped in to run the refreshments after the usual organisers double-booked themselves, and came away with a tidy profit for group funds.  Thanks to all the parents who donated cakes and other goodies, and to those who manned the refreshments table.