Cambridgeshire Army Cadet Force encourages its cadets to be active and useful in their local communities, recognising the important role we play in helping to represent the Armed Forces to the public, and encouraging the development of our cadets to be good citizens. The importance of this community work has led to it being directly incorporated into the cadet syllabus.
Cadet Corporal Leah Scott of Newmarket Detachment needed to undertake some volunteer work towards completing her 3 Star Cadet in The Community module. She chose to help Kingfisher House, a care home near her school which provides nursing care for people with complex medical needs and those with dementia.
Cpl Leah Scott hands over the hamper to a member of staff at Kingfisher House, watched by Cdt Sgt Bugg and Cdt Rice. Picture; SI Pavitt
With the help of Detachment Instructor SI Karen Pavitt, she decided to donate a hamper to the staff/residents of Kingfisher House as a way of giving and showing support to those in need over the Christmas period. She got in contact with the other cadets at Newmarket detachment and everyone contributed something to go into the hamper, which ended up being filled with lots of different things such as chocolates, toiletries and board games.
Cpl Scott said; ‘As well as being part of my 3* Cadet in the Community, we thought it would be nice to give something to our community after a long and hard year. We chose Kingfisher House as they are a local facility, whose residents would appreciate a gift at Christmas. The staff were very grateful, and said that the residents would definitely enjoy choosing some things from the hamper.’
Together with SI Pavitt and fellow cadets Cadet Sgt Bugg and Cdt Rice, Cpl Scott collected the items donated by her fellow cadets and visited Kingfisher House to hand them over on 23rd December. All activity was socially distanced and masks were worn.
SI Pavitt said ‘Cpl Scott is a brilliant cadet and always very helpful. She is one of the cadets who has been helping Newmarket Detachment get the respect it deserves in the town, which is really important for our reputation and recruitment. Its great to see our cadets engaging with the community and representing us, helping others, and spreading some happiness over the Christmas period.’
Text by PI Doug Stuart with thanks to Cdt Cpl Scott and SI Pavitt.
