A 6-year-old Beaver Scout from Bradley Stoke has set himself the huge challenge of earning every one of the badges available to his age group and, at the same time, raising money for the homeless through sponsorship.
Henry Banks started his Scouting career when he was just 4 years old, coming along to Beavers as a helper whilst his brother took part in the sessions. Henry was very excited when he was finally old enough to officially join 1st Bradley Stoke Beavers.
As the youngest member of the colony, Henry jumped right into Beavers, taking part in sessions and facing fears to achieve his first few badges. Henry made lots of friends and enjoyed playing new games and learning new things.
The excitement of earning badges and the challenge each one posed gave Henry an idea. He wanted to try and earn every badge that was possible in Beavers. This would mean working hard to achieve 50 different badges. Some of these badges could be accomplished as part of his weekly sessions,
but others he had to do in his own time.
Henry thought it would be a great opportunity to get sponsored for his challenge so that he could donate money to Shelter, the charity which helps homeless people around the country.
As part of the badge work, Henry has been canoeing, made a fossil collection and presented to the group, conducted experiments, been on a hike, had a night away from home, learnt to swim and cooked three different meals. He also completed a community impact project where he spent three months picking litter in his local community to help the local wildlife.
Henry was also the winner of a competition to design his colony’s uniform badge which will be worn by every member of his colony.
He enjoys each new challenge that he faces and especially enjoys doing things he wouldn’t normally get to do outside of Beavers.
So far, Henry has achieved a massive 42 badges and raised almost £500 for Shelter, which is an amazing feat at just 6 years of age. He has received a signed picture from the Chief Scout, Bear Grylls, and is as determined as ever to complete the final few badges and raise as much money as possible for charity.
Nick Nelson, chair of 1st Bradley Stoke Scout Group, commented:
“This is a fantastic achievement by Henry, showing great commitment to gaining all of the badges in Beavers as well as supporting others via his fundraising initiative. Henry’s actions illustrate how we prepare young people with skills for life, supported by amazing leaders delivering an inspiring programme.”
Nick added:
“We are always looking for more adults to join the adventure, why not contact us? Visit our website 1st.bradley-stoke-scouts.org and click on the ‘Join 1st BSS’ tab.”
• Henry’s fundraising page can be found at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/teresa-banks1
This article originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (on page 33). The magazine is delivered FREE, nine times a year, to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
