Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

This Christmas I want you to remember how valued you are. Scouting simply couldn’t happen without you.  For all your talents, dedication and inspiration, we’re truly grateful.   I am unfailingly impressed by what you do to make great Scouting possible. Thank you so much.  An enormous thank you also goes to your loved ones for their generous support.

You – our volunteers – give the most extraordinary gift to thousands of young people. With your time and talents you’ve made an immeasurable impact on their lives forever.  Thanks to you, their prospects are enlarged, their lives enriched, they’re empowered to make a difference to others and encouraged to live by great values.   What better, more worthwhile achievements to be proud of this year? And, like me, I hope you’ve had fun in the process.

As we look to 2012, I ask you to join me by doing whatever you can to help Scouting grow even more next year, to help keep Scouting safe and to make volunteering with us a joy for everybody.  It is when we face the greatest challenges that our attitudes and outlooks matter most.  Next year, let’s be upbeat, forward and outward-looking, inclusive and ambitious for Scouting.  Let’s make it a year to remember.

Thank you once again – may you have a safe, joyous and peaceful Christmas.