​Scouts announce its members are to volunteer for a range of charities

Half a million Scouts are to provide volunteering services for other charities, the Scout Associaiton has announced.

Its latest campaign called A Million Hands will enlist Scouts to work with some of the UK’s biggest charities, including Mind, Alzheimer’s Society, WaterAid, Guide Dogs and Leonard Cheshire over the next three years.

These charities were selected as they were closely linked with the four issues the organisation is connected to, namely Improving the lives of those affected by dementia; disabled people; mental wellbeing and resilience of families; and ensuring everyone everywhere has access to clean water and sanitation.

It’s a way to demonstrate that Scouts can create meaningful and impact change in their communities - Jack Abrey

The Scout Association said the campaign would also raise awareness that young people were willing volunteers and counteract negative perception surrounding them.

Jack Abrey, chair of the Scout Association’s Community Impact Group, said: "It’s a way to demonstrate that Scouts can create meaningful and impactful change in their communities in a way that also develops the young people taking part, giving them the confidence, resilience and belief that change is possible,” he said.

Research claims the UK is losing out on 15.4m hours of youth volunteering time every month. This is largely because young people lack the opportunity to get involved, it said.

Of 1,000 young people questioned between the ages of 12 and 24, 73% said that they were willing to help tackle social issues in their local communities if the opportunity existed.

Some 45% said they thought adults would feel their help was worthwhile - but 41% said they were not encouraged to do so.