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North WalesPolice and Crime Commissioner(PCC)Andy Dunbobbin, North Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Evans, and North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT) Chairman Ashley Rogers visited Ynys Môn Scouts’ Talwrn District Campsite on Anglesey on Saturday, 25 May to learn more about the Scouts’ work and activities and to see how money taken from criminals is being used for the good of the young people of the island and improving facilities at the campsite.
The Your Community, Your Choice fund supports grass-roots projects and is backed by the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, North Wales Police and Community Trust and North Wales Police. The funding for Your Community, Your Choice comes partly from money seized by the courts through the Proceeds of Crime Act, with the rest from the Police and Crime Commissioner.
The Anglesey District Scouts (Ynys Môn Scouts) are comprised of seven groups that serve the young people of the entire island from the ages of 4 to 18 years. They currently have a growing membership of over 320, plus around 80 volunteers. The funding from Your Community, Your Choice has helped improve toilet facilities at the camp and paid for additional hammocks, as well as tools and equipment for bushcraft and to help in the maintenance of the camp.
Andy Dunbobbin and Ashley Rogers were joined for the visit by local PCSOs Caitlin Mcgonigle and David Webster and saw Scouts putting fencing up around the plum orchard and wood chippings being spread under the newly installed shelter. Other activities during the visit included den building activities, a campfire, wild games, and learning about hammocks and tents.
Over the eleven years since Your Community, Your Choice started, almost £600,000 has been awarded to nearly 200 projects working to reduce crime in their neighbourhoods and to support the priorities in the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan.
Annie Simmonite, Group Lead Volunteer at 1st Llanfairpwll Scouts of Ynys Môn Scouts
commented: “Scouts Môn are delighted to have welcomed the visitors to our camp and to have received Your Community Your Choice funding once again. The funding is vital to us in our work to maintain and improve the facilities and environment at the Caeau Ty’n Talwrn campsite. In doing so we also teach young people both about the environment and how to look after it.
“We have used the money to buy some bushcraft equipment to enable trained volunteers to teach bushcraft skills to young people. It has also enabled us to improve sanitary facilities and buy some much-needed replacement tools to help us maintain the hedgerows, orchards and camping areas. Most importantly it allows even more children and young people to develop a respect for the environment and engage in adventurous activities outdoors.”
North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin said: “I always enjoy my visits to Ynys Môn Scouts and it was a pleasure to visit Talwrn and to see the work and activities of the Scouts at the District Camp. Both today and during my previous two visits, I have seen how much the camp means to Scouts on the island and how it enables them to get even closer to nature and learn the value of spending time outdoors. As a former Scout myself, I know how much the organisation benefits young people and I thank all at Talwrn for their warm welcome.”
PACT Chairman Ashley Rogers stated: “I am delighted that we have been able once again to support Ynys Môn Scouts with Your Community, Your Choice funding. The work they do to engage and support young people across the island is vital and, with over 320 members and counting, I am sure the District Campsite will continue to prove a valuable community resource into the future.”
North Wales Police Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Evans said: “The ever-improving facilities at the Talwrn Campsite are a practical example of how Your Community, Your Choice funds can be used for the good of the community and to enable young people to learn new activities, in turn giving them lifelong skills that will be beneficial both in school and wider society.”
To learn more about PACT visit www.pactnorthwales.co.uk and to learn more about the work of the Office of the Police and crime Commissioner, visit www.northwales-pcc.gov.uk
For more information on Ynys Mon Scouts visit: www.scoutsmon.wales