I had been intending for some time to write in praise of the fine women who volunteer to keep Paddington Cubs, Scouts and Beavers going. After all, I can see them at work in the garden of St Luke’s Church, Queen’s Park, if I look out of my front window on a Thursday evening. St Luke’s is blessed with a beautiful garden, and it is always a pleasure to see dozens of young people, most of whom won’t have any outdoor space of their own to play in, enjoying all that room. At any one time, this group alone involves 40-45 local youngsters, and I understand it has been in continuous operation for around 80 years. Other local branches are also well-used, and there has been an active Bangladeshi involvement as well. Having written a pamphlet about the importance of offering a range of out-of-school activities for our children and young people, to enable them to stretch themselves physically and try things they may not otherwise have access to, I wanted to praise what the Cubs, Scouts and Beavers actually provide. And I don’t mean the games and outings and skills, either, important though these are. I mean the more intangible benefits- the sense of being part of some bigger movement, with an ethos and particular expectations about behaviour and effort, and the moderate element of discipline that this entails. (Of course sports teams and drama classes can offer some of this- and many do, but I don’t think they have the same breath of depth).

However, as I sat down to write I was listening to Dame Julia Neuberger, appointed by the government to chair a commission on the future of volunteering, talking about the publication of her report. Whilst doing so, I was struck by another thought about the, which was how important it is for young people to see adults offering their services to the community both for nothing and with an acceptance of the same discipline as they would apply if they were salaried. Volunteers like the men and women running the 3rd Paddington and 1st St Marylebone branches of the cubs are, quite simply, an inspiration in a manner which is even more important than what it is they actually do.

The Commission on the Future of Volunteering report says that voluntary activity should be part of ‘society’s DNA’ They are right. The report makes important recommendations about how it should be made easier to volunteer, and criticises the risk-averse nature of some organisations (though, of course, woe-betide any such organisation which fails to check the credentials of a volunteer who subsequently comes to no good).  It also challenges some voluntary organisations for failing to reflect the diversity in our society when it comes to recruiting and training volunteers. This point is particularly important in areas like ours, where we must harness all the talent we have available, and do our best to reflect a community of many languages, colours and faiths.

The children in Paddington Cubs and Scouts show exactly why this is so important. And the volunteers who have kept it going, year in and year out, are doing more than perhaps even they realise, not just for those kids, but by making our whole society that little bit better. May many more come and follow in their footsteps.