A CADET volunteer campaign supported by the Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane could be picked up in other areas of Hampshire.
The news comes after Cllr Onnalee Cubitt had a meeting with other civic heads from across the county at Milestones, the living history museum based in Basingstoke due to the shortage of current volunteers.
One of the objectives of the event was to showcase what Basingstoke and Deane’s civic office has been doing this year to try and encourage more adult volunteers to come forward and give more young people the chance to become cadets.
Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association for the South East (SERFC) and the Cadet Organisations are hoping to roll out the initiative further afield to other parts of the country.
Cllr Cubitt, the Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane briefed the civic heads on the need for more volunteers to support local army, air, sea, police and St John Ambulance cadet groups.
Currently, the number of local cadets in the borough is significantly below the national average due to a significant shortage of adult volunteers. The Mayor outlined the benefits to individuals of volunteering and to businesses of promoting volunteering to their employees.
She said: “We have been spreading the word about the benefits of volunteering throughout my year in office to help local cadet groups take on more young people during my civic year. We thought it was a great opportunity to get the message out more widely in Hampshire. We very much hope fellow civic heads in the county might consider using their resources to roll out a similar initiative in their areas.
“Young people benefit hugely from being a part of local cadet groups, from developing their individual strengths and enabling them to learn important life skills to incredible opportunities to broaden their horizons. Becoming a volunteer is a rewarding experience and a great way to give back to our community. We have already had people pledging to help in our area and we hope this continues across Hampshire.”
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No qualifications or former military experience is required as full training is provided. Volunteers can benefit from a whole range of opportunities including making new friends, giving back to the local community and even gaining vocational qualifications such as BTEC and City and Guilds. Companies taking part will also benefit as a result of employees developing their own skills such as leadership, team building and increased confidence.
The event on Tuesday, March 28 also gave the civic heads from across Hampshire an opportunity to find out more about Milestones as part of Basingstoke and Deane’s visitor offer. They got a close up on historical machines from across the county, from an old tram from Portsmouth to agricultural machinery from Andover and the Test Valley and an old bus to Havant, as well as the inland pier attraction.
More information about becoming a cadet volunteer is on the website at basingstoke.gov.uk/mayors-theme.
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