Once again, the Wantage and Grove Scouts are back with their local Christmas card delivery service which starts from 10am on Saturday 30 November until the last collection date on Friday 20 December at 5pm with special Scout post boxes around the area. Postage is only 40p per card and you will find the special post boxes located in Charlton Post Office (Barnards Way), Campbells Opticians, Charlton Garden Centre, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Wantage Health Centre, Smiths DIY Grove and Co-op Grove. The local Scout groups involved are most grateful for the continued support of the local companies who allow them to position the post boxes on their premises.
The fundraising initiative was introduced in 1991/92, and the post boxes were created by Chris James (AKA Skip, 1st Grove Seagulls leader). It is now run and managed by a group of four or five volunteers with help from many other people. Currently, the Grove Scout Group has over 160 members and the Wantage Scout Group has over 200 members. A large proportion of them are involved in either delivering or sorting the post and Last year they delivered around 5,600 cards and raised over £2,200 which went to Wantage and Grove Scout Groups.
If you are interested in either scouting as a young person or volunteering, you can find out more by visiting the King Alfred District Scout’s website at kascouts.org.uk/join