Scout Post delivering Christmas cheer across Dunfermline and beyond

Having them all written, stamps bought and attached and posted before Santa's arrival is always seen as a win in our household.

So the thought of organising the delivery of around 30,000 cards before Christmas is quite frankly something which my comprehension levels cannot cope with.

However, since at least the mid-1980s – the exact date is even a mystery to those involved – this delivery operation has been taking place in Dunfermline and the surrounding area.

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Scout Post sees the 39th (Fife) Scout group and the 2nd (Fife) Scout group combine their efforts for the massive festive fundraiser.

Anyone wanting to send their Christmas greetings can do so for a fee of 45p a card. They drop them off at the many collection points across Dunfermline and West Fife before a team of volunteers collect them, sort them and ensure they are posted through their recipients' letter boxes well before the turkey goes into the oven.

Dropping in at the 39th (Fife) Scout Group's Carron Grove Scout Hall during sorting week, every room had been turned into a hive of activity where cards were being sorted, stamped and organised so they will be ready for yet another team of volunteers to post.

Group Lead Volunteer at the 39th group, Yolanda Pearson, said the Scout Post is a "massive" fundraiser for both groups and a major operation for all involved.

"We collect the cards in different ways – a lot of different shops and businesses collect them, churches as well and people can drop them off on their section nights," she explained.

"Here, we deal with Dunfermline ones and the 2nd Fife group hall deals with all the villages."

Mail starts off at their Scout hall where it is given a Scout Post stamp before it is sorted in the Dunfermline or villages category.

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"We have the hall open for the volunteers every night and the different people come in," Yolanda explained. "Sometimes it is parents, sometimes Scout leaders from around the district as well as our own leaders and young people.

"The cards come into the hall and get sorted alphabetically by street names," explained Yolanda. "Each table is a letter of the alphabet, they are then sorted into streets then come Thursday/Friday, they are all sorted into odds and evens and they go into their boxes for the areas for delivery.

"This all happens over a week. We set up the hall on Sunday and the last cards come in on Wednesday. On Saturday, they go out to their delivery people. They have a week to deliver them. Most people or families get a box each."

Although Scout Post has been going on for longer than the current leaders can remember, every year sees adaptations having to be made with the construction of new housing estates and roads which they have to ensure are covered.

"Every year we have to get a new map and go out and check the streets so the organising starts in the summer time really," said Yolanda.

"Checking the street, checking any new streets on the map, checking what area they will fit into then reorganising the areas. Some areas have become too big for one family to deliver so we are having to split the areas up as well."

A two-year suspension of the festive delivery service over lockdown brought with it fears that the Scout Post may disappear. However organisers have been delighted that it has stayed strong.

"Last year, we delivered just shy of 30,000 cards which were split into 62 runs within Dunfermline," added Yolanda. "Then the villages get spread out between the groups to deliver.

"Last year, each group came away with around £2,500 – we made just under £5,000. That is a lot of money for a Scout group considering the cost of living crisis at the moment. We have higher bills and things and we are trying to provide unique experiences for the young people.

"We have all our sections throughout the year running – we have got our new Squirrel section, Beavers, two Cub packs, two Scout troops and Explorers. Every week, each section has their section night and we need to pay for resources to go along with that.

"We have kept subs pretty low because we do all this fundraising. We raised them to £8 a month. We like to keep it as low as possible so it is accessible to the young people.

"The confidence building and the skills they learn, experiences they would not get in day to day life, it is just amazing."