Sponsorship
Why Scouts?
I joined the Scouting Movement as a cub back in 1980-something, just as my dad and his dad before him had done. Maybe I did just join because ‘that’s what we did’, but the journey that Scouts has taken me on is one that I would not have missed for the world.
As a Cub I worked through, and achieved many Proficiency badges, along with my Bronze, Silver and Gold Arrow awards. I continued through Scouts, became a Venture Scout, a Cub leader, and achieved the ultimate Queen’s Scout Award. As much as I enjoyed working toward the badges and awards it was the other things that I gained through Scouting that were the things that have shaped parts of my life and the person I have become.
Scouting gave me a sense of self-confidence, of belonging to something bigger than myself, a sense of family and led me on many adventures. We hiked and camped in the Peaks, Wales, the Lakes and across Dartmoor learning what it meant to be out in nature; we kayaked and climbed and learnt new physical skills; we took part in community support initiatives and discovered the importance of looking outside of our own lives and helping other’s when we could. As part of the scouting exchange program, we visited Denmark on several occasions and the families I met in Denmark became life-long friends. Now their children, and my son are enjoying their own scout journeys and discovering their own way.
As a company Hit The Trail is all about the next adventure and we want to do what we can to help other young people get the most out of theirs. If you are planning a Scouting Top Award Challenge or DofE Gold Expedition, and need help with outdoor camping equipment, please apply for sponsorship and we will see if we can help you. A form to apply for such sponsorship can be found below.
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Russell New
We are delighted to be supporting a group of Scouts this Spring, as they embark on their Explorer Belt challenge in Montenegro. We are providing various pieces of Robens equipment for their trip including tents, cook sets and stoves.
We are five Network members from Buckinghamshire who are going to Montenegro to complete our Explorer Belt Award. The Explorer Belt Expedition is a ten day expedition that helps you to develop a real understanding of a different country, its culture and way of life. In Montenegro we will be visiting many different places and will be staying in Podgorica, Ostrog, Žabjlak, Virpazar, Bar, Budva, Kotor and Centije. Our major project involves exploring and comparing the significance of various architectural structures in Montenegro; therefore, we will try to visit as many architectural sites as possible and compare the different designs and the history behind them.
We are delighted to be supporting a group of Scouts this summer, as they embark on their Explorer Belt. We are providing various pieces of Robens equipment for their trip including tents, cook sets and a stove.
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In their own words, here is a little more about their challenge:
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The Explorer Belt is one of the top awards in Scouting and definitely the most challenging, requiring a (minimum) 10 day expedition throughout a foreign country whilst completing at least 20 hours of project work. This is an excellent way to develop our skills and abilities in all sorts of areas, from areas like navigation, teamwork and communication to planning, organisation and resilience.
On top of this we will be learning about the Spanish culture and traditions as well as, through our project, the Christian religion and it’s impacts on Spanish communities. Finally we will give a presentation to an audience, including everyone from other scouts we wish to inspire to take on their own challenge to government officials in order to show how important organisations such as the Scout Association are to young peoples development.
Our expedition will be following the Camino Ingles pilgrimage route through the North West of Spain from Ferrol to Santiago de Compostela. The project we will be undertaking along the way is to study the history of the pilgrimage and the cultural, religious and economic impact it has had on the region.
Other than the expedition itself, the biggest challenge provided by the Explorer Belt is that the majority of the funds used must be fundraised. As we are from the Isle of Man our fundraising opportunities have been limited which, combined with the extra costs of needing to get off the island in the first place, have made the support from Hit the Trail even more significant as it’s freed up funds to be used elsewhere and so we can’t thank them enough for their support!
At Hit The Trail we want to see youngsters reach their full pertential and so to help Ned, Seb, Chris and Tom we are providing various pieces of Robens equipment for their trip including tents, stoves, cook sets and more, see in the gallery below.
Read about their challenge:
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'The Explorer Belt is an award created by the UK Scout Association, for those wanting to complete a challenging expedition abroad.
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The challenge entails a 10 day expedition, using various methods of transport within the foreign country, where we will learn about it's culture and traditions.
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This award is a great way to not only learn about others in our world, but also about our own competences in many areas, such as navigation and communication. We will also be presented with opportunities to develop and improve these skills along the way.
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Afterwards, there will be a presentation where we will share what we have learnt and discovered on our journey, as well as some funny stories!
For our expedition, we will be travelling through Switzerland and exploring how waterways have shaped the societies we encounter.'
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Take a look at the Robens equipment supplied to a group of Scouts doing their Explorer Belt challenge in Switzerland Summer 2022.
