FLAGS+ June 2016 and Pride Special
15th June 2016
Your Monthly News & Updates
This is a special edition of FLAGS+ which start with some very exciting and hot off the press blog news and also covers the June update from your management team and it is the first Pride Special covering the Pride Season so far. We are also including our Supporters in this Pride Special FLAGS+ and invite any of those supporters who wish to join the unit to check out the "How to Join" section below.
BREAKING NEWS!
Chief Commissioner's Blog - Pride 2016
We interrupt your very wet afternoon with this Breaking News article.
Wayne reflects on the advances Scouting has made during his time as UK Chief Commissioner, in terms of inclusivity and LGBTQ+ pride.
Check it out!
FLAGS Unit - We're with you Orlando
The FLAGS unit like others round the world are horrified by the tragic events in Orlando on 12th June.
The unit and its members have been posting message of support on Facebook and elsewhere and members of the unit have attended vigils at events in London, Birmingham and around the UK.
2016 Unit T-Shirts - EXCLUSIVE TO MEMBERS ONLY!
We have 4 exciting variations for Unit T-Shirts which will very soon be going on sale through a link on Constant Contact (not via our website) which are exclusive to Members of the unit.
The t-shirt will be in navy and there will be either a subtle silver logo'd Unit T-Shirt or for the more outgoing of you there will be a Rainbow logo version. Both of these versions can have the slogan "We put the Camp into Camping" on the back in silver. All 4 versions including prices will be in the separate communication which will be sent out shortly. We will be placing a single order with all requests being fulfilled at once. We will then restart the ordering process and put another date in for orders later on.
The proposal is that we will offer a shipped t-shirt which will be sent out as soon as we have them (for a P&P charge) and a non-shipped option which will be brought to Gilwell Reunion for collection at the event.
The current order will need to be placed by 17th July 2016 so when you see the email get ordering.
Pride Blog 1 - 'Going to Pride Made Me Confident to be Myself'
FLAGS members featured in the Pride Blog on the main Scouting website talking about why Pride is important to them.
Going to Pride made me confident to be myself
Pride Blog 2 - 'Leaders give LGBTQ+ young people the chance to celebrate their differences'
Lewis Addlington-Lee talks about how his life has been shaped through the support he has been given as a youth member of scouting.
'It's only in recent years that we've talked openly about LGBTQ+ pride, but that the understanding and acceptance was already there,' Lewis says. 'It's just part of being a Scout.'
Read the rest of his blog here:
Leaders give LGBTQ+ young people the chance to celebrate their differences
Pride Events
We have already attended Student Pride, Birmingham Pride, Oxford Pride and Blackpool Pride.
Coming up we have the following Pride Events:
Portsmouth Pride - 18th June
Coventry Pride - 18th June
Pride in London - 25th June
Hull Pride - 16th July
Brighton Pride - 6th August
Pride Cymru (Cardiff Pride) - 13th August
Manchester Pride 27th August
For more information contact the FLAGS Pride Coordinator - Russell Grove - pride@flagscouts.org.uk
Tim Kidd to Receive OBE
Deputy UK Chief Commissioner Tim Kidd has been named in the Queen's 90th Birthday Honours list, and will receive an OBE for his services to young people in the Scout Movement.
Tim Kidd OBE
How to Join
Not a member of FLAGS? Want to join?
We take part in Scouting events across the UK, support LGBT Adults in Scouting and provide a network and community for our members. We run a variety of Scouting and social events and take part in Pride events across the country.
The annual Unit Membership subscription is currently £10 per year and is payable on joining and then annually by the 30th April each year. Payment is made via Paypal using your debit or credit card.
You DO NOT need to be LGBT to join and LGBT Allies are more than welcome
You DO NOT need to already be a member of The Scout Association or Scouting in any other capacity and you can to join FLAGS only if you wish
You DO NOT need permission from your local area in Scouting to join FLAGS
Joining is simple:
You need to be a UK resident and over the age of 18
You will need to complete an Adult Information Form including two references and send this back to us
You need to complete the disclosure checks and pay your £10 membership fee
If you want further information or joining forms then please email - manager@flagscouts.org.uk.
Anything else...
The new management team will be meeting at Pride in London to come up with the strategy to take the unit forward. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions then please email them to manager@flagscouts.org.uk.
There will be a round-up of news and Pride photos in coming months updates as soon as we can collate them. If anyone has any fabulous pictures of Pride to share then email them into us so we can use them on our website and in our next update.
See you all soon,
Rob and Vic