Finding your own self by volunteering at Scouts
Published Thu 05 Dec 2024
When Mikee Kelly joined Scouts NSW as a volunteer, he was looking for a new way to connect with his daughter in the great outdoors.
He had moved from the city down to the South Coast and while they were living in a beautiful location, as “city people” they weren’t doing enough to get outside and enjoy it.
So he decided to sign his daughter Ena up for Joey Scouts at 1st Bomaderry Scout Group and help his friend (and Joey Scout Leader) Karen by becoming an adult helper.
“I thought, I’ll get to spend time with my daughter, and we’ll get outside and all that kind of jazz,” Mikee said.
“Karen needed some extra support, so I stepped up as Joey Scout Leader. Now I get this bonus so I get to hang out with Ena, I get to hang out with Karen and I get to go outdoors.
“Since then, I’ve moved up as a Cub Scout Leader and I really enjoy putting my own stamp on the program. I’ve realised it’s not just about being outdoors and stuff, although that’s a big cornerstone. I enjoyed seeing how much the kids enjoyed some of the nights that I organised.”
Mikee has taken advantage of his background as a software engineer to bring a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) focus to his program, such as helping the Cub Scouts create a Rube Goldberg machine – a chain reaction-type machine designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and overly complicated way.
“I love that I can bring all of myself to Scouts and they can get the benefit of who I am,” he said. “I have a geeky nature and I love that there’s a space for that.
“I look for those opportunities where the kids put their hands up for things they really want to do and I’m constantly surprised by what they say. In the youth-led, adult supported idea, we make sure we do all the brainstorming with the kids, and we’ve had boys who were eight to 11 years old who wanted to do stories and poems.
“I was very excited by the breadth of the things they want to do, so stuff like video games has come up and I’m working quietly on the side for an introductory night and Special Interest Area project that allows them to learn video games and take full advantage of the skills that I have.”
Mikee understands that some adults may be nervous about volunteering for many reasons, including feeling like they don’t have the skills to give to the youth members or that it might be too much. He said the important thing for any potential Leader or volunteer to remember is you “work alongside others like yourself to do things for your kids”.
“You can’t do it on your own,” he said. “And yes, there is an element of Scouts that is bent towards the outdoors, but Scouting really can be anything. We each have skills and limits and you can step into this space with the knowledge of the limitations and what our skills are, what you can contribute and how that will be evened out amongst the Group.
“I feel safe that I’m not the outdoors guy. I’m learning and I’ll get there eventually, but there’s a couple of other Leaders in the Scouts that know a lot more about it, so they come along and we have this nice balance.
“For instance, Mac, who’s in the Scouts section, was an arborist, so is all over knots and his knowledge of trees is brilliant. One day, I look forward to having that and I feel comfortable and safe that I don’t need to have it now. I’m on the journey and enjoying that I’m not quite there, but it’s something that will happen and that’s really exciting.”
Volunteering at Scouts is not just beneficial to the children and young people who enjoy the program – it is also an opportunity for adults to learn and build on their own skills.
Mikee said for him, it’s gone beyond the obvious training, like knots and camping, and into skills that benefit him in his day-to-day life.
“It’s hard to explain, but the comfortableness in yourself is validated,” he said. “It’s turning up to meetings and being in a place within myself where I’m able to talk and lead things in my own way, which is kind of nice.
“I think more confidence in just being me and that being OK, it’s been a less that obvious lesson I’ve learned.”
