The 1st Hawthorn Scout Group has been affected by the Victorian bushfires, with the Elliott Lodge property having had a number of buildings damaged and destroyed by the fire. With repairs and work on Elliott Lodge unable to go ahead till the risk of fires dies down, the Old Scotch Collegians Rover Crew has given up their time to help in some small way towards bushfire relief.

Over several weekends, members of the crew volunteered their time at the Salvation Army’s bushfire warehouse in Clayton. It is amazing how full the warehouse is, as it was only given to the Salvation Army after the events of Black Saturday. While not particularly back-breaking work, the Salvation Army put us to work with sorting through the mountains of donated clothes.

The generosity of people is certainly striking, as becomes obvious when you begin to sort through the donations. It will certainly be entertaining to see a resurgence in ‘80s and ‘90s fashion in bushfire-torn Victoria, but every bit counts.

In other news, the Rover Crew has seen a large increase in numbers in the last six months, and we now have more than 20 regular members. Meetings are held weekly on Monday nights and include various activities for people aged 18 to 26.

Words: Mr Stefan Downey Najdecki