The Winter is behind us, and Spring is here! It is the season when new growth begins and changes happen all around us. The days are longer and brighter, trees are in bud, the spring flowers are in bloom and even the air feels warmer.

It is no wonder that Spring is seen as the start of better times, we may even have been motivated to do some Spring cleaning!

Being optimistic is a great attribute, but it can be a challenge to maintain. Keeping with the Spring theme, I stumbled across this quote recently “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses”.

So, when it comes to your role as a leader in The Boys’ Brigade, how optimistic do you feel? Do you dwell on the many challenges, frustrations, and disappointments there can be? Or do you hold on to the positives, the response from young people when an activity goes well, the feeling of encouragement when a new member joins, or when a young person achieves one of the major awards?

Next year as an organisation we will mark 140 years of working with children and young people: what an achievement, and what an opportunity to celebrate the difference and impact volunteering can have.

As part of our current five-year strategy to improve the quality of experience for children and young people, last month we launched our first ever nationwide Census. It is important that we find time to pause and reflect on all that is going on, and I hope leaders will complete the questions together, and use the experience as an opportunity to think ahead too.

We hope the responses will also provide a chance to share in each other’s successes and challenges, and we will publish the findings later in the year. It is crucial that the findings are as comprehensive and representative as possible, so please find out if your Company has completed the Census, and if not take the initiative in arranging for it to be submitted.

The purpose of the Census is to gain a greater understanding of the health of Companies, what is working well, as well as what isn’t. The responses will help shape our plans and focus support on the needs of members.

I believe there is much for us as an organisation to be optimistic about, and as Christians, Easter is the most significant season of the year, it is a time of renewed hope and optimism too, as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

Time to get that Census completed and help shape the future!

With best wishes,

Jonathan Eales
Chief Executive