Josh Doick belongs to a scout group in Nuneaton and in December following a gruelling selection weekend was chosen with 35 other scouts to represent Warwickshire as part of the UK contingent to the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden in the summer of 2011.

World Scout Jamboree's (WSJ)  only happen once every 4 years and are only open to scouts aged between 14 and 18 years of age so it really is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The UK contingent is made up of around 3,000 scouts with representatives of each county.

The UK contingent will leave the UK 24th and 25th July for a pre-jamboree experience in Denmark. This usually involves taking part in a local community project and the chance to meet scouts from around the UK. On 27 July 40,000 scouts from around the world will come together in Rinkaby, near the town of Kristianstad in the south of Sweden. The scouts will spend 12 days in Sweden making new friends, learning new skills and having the ultimate scouting experience of a lifetime. After the Jamboree the scouts will spend a few days with scouting families in Europe learning about their cultures and countries. Some of the countries involved include Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Poland, Latvia and Estonia, and scouts will finally return to the UK around the 12 August.
 
As you can imagine this opportunity comes at a price and each scout participating has to pay £1,800. A lot of the money will be fund-raised by the scouts themselves through hard work and dedication. This weekend Josh and his dad will be cycling 60 miles from London to Brighton in an effort to raise some money. The weather is looking promising and the bikes have been serviced so they are both ready and eager to get started.
 
Josh has been in scouting since he was 6 years old meeting all the challenges that have been set, learning new skills and making many friends along the way. He started as a Beaver Scout in Germany ( dad is a serving soldier and was based there) and then moved into Cubs in Cyprus (again - thanks to dad) before moving back to the UK and moving up into scouts. In the summer Josh will move up to the explorers section where he will face his toughest challenges to date and also embark on the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. His plans after the WSJ are to complete his explorer belt challenge which involves a 100 mile expedition in 10 days in a foreign country and his Queens Scout Award which is the highest award available in scouting and involves completing his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.
 
Scouting gives children the opportunities to take on many challenges, the confidence to learn new skills and to have respect for themselves, others and the environment.
 
Any help you can give to Josh to help him realise this goal will be gratefully recieved and truly appreciated. If you need any other information feel free to ask.
 
Ann Doick (very proud mum!)

anndoick@hotmail.com