Lakeside Pakenham Scouts groups will be united at one base camp with the opening of a new hall thanks to the State Government and matched funding from Scouts Victoria.
On the grounds of the Pakenham Lakeside Primary School, the new hall will allow local Scouts who have been split across two sites to come together to connect with their communities, learn new skills and forge new friendships.
Work on the hall, which started last September, has finished and the facility was officially opened this month.
The funding is part of the government’s pledge to build, upgrade or refurbish Scout halls across Victoria.
“We’re proud to support the construction and upgrades of Scout halls to ensure Scouts across the state can participate in activities that enrich their knowledge and foster community connection,” said Minister for Youth Natalie Suleyman.
“Scouting helps young people develop leadership skills and provides a genuine sense of community spirit.”
Pakenham MP Emma Vulin highlighted that the new Lakeside Pakenham Hall “is a place for Scouts to come together, to make lifelong friendships and to learn all sorts of skills”.
On Facebook, Federal La Trobe MP Jason Wood – who also attended the official opening – said: “As a former Scout myself, I knew how important it was to contribute $300,000 back in 2019 to make sure that the Lakeside Scouts finally had a proper meeting place and storage spaces. The hall looks absolutely fantastic and I highly recommend the Scouts to parents as it teaches anyone aged 5-25 life skills such as leadership, cooking and outdoor skills all whilst having fun.”
Scouts Victoria is one of the state’s largest youth organisations and has a membership base of more than 20,000 young people and 5000 adult volunteers.
The number of young people participating in scouting activities has grown by 30 per cent in the last 10 years.
Scouts Victoria has a rich history of fostering teamwork, care for community and leadership skills among young Victorians.
