What does it take to be a Scout? One must be always be prepared, ready to help and able to stay true to one’s own beliefs.
Evelyn Wylie, a member of the First Seymour Scouts, is going above and beyond by taking the initiative to raise money to fund her trip to Maryborough, Queensland for the Australian Jamboree in January.
Evelyn, known as Evie to her friends and family, is hoping to raise $2665 — and she is almost there, with only $75 to go.
Her mother, Liz Henzell, said she couldn’t be more proud of her daughter.
“Evie’s always been my superstar,” she said.
“I’m really proud of her.”
Ms Henzell said she had always wanted to raise Evie, one of the three Wylie sisters, to be strong and independent.
“I have done that with my oldest, I am doing that with my second daughter and I am teaching Evie to be that as well,” she said.
“I think it’s important for women to be strong and independent, and so if I don’t push her and put her out there and in situations to benefit her, who else is going to do it?”
To raise money for her trip to Queensland, Evie wrote letter to businesses and local groups for donations.
She also organised a letter from her Scout leader, Stuart Ferguson, to advocate for her and support her fundraising.
“It was slow to start, but then we had a big donation from an anonymous person,” Ms Henzell said.
“That really spurred us to, ‘Okay, let’s get this done because we don’t have long’.
“We went to the library, me and Evie, and we spent probably a good hour and a half getting together Evie’s ‘about me’ that had a couple of photos of Evie’s Scouting stuff, which we then took around to some of the local businesses.”
Mr Ferguson’s letter to support Evie described her as someone who had demonstrated exceptional dedication to Scouting and strong leadership qualities.
“She’s on the student school council, in Avenel,” Ms Henzell said.
“She’s also head of choir in school.
“She’s a Friend-o-Leader at Avenel Primary School, so it’s somebody that anyone can go to if they need a friend or Evie can approach them if they look like they need a friend.”
Evie’s jamboree adventure will cover 11 days, including travel from Seymour to Maryborough, Queensland, which will be on a bus with her Scouting peers.
Evie jokingly said the thing she wanted to do most when she arrived at the jamboree was to sleep.
“It’s the only thing I want to do,” she said.
“Evie has a good range of skills,” Ms Henzell said.
“She makes friends very easily, as well.”
Evie also joked that she hoped she wouldn’t be swimming with crocodiles, but she was excited about the actual activities she would get to participate in.
“Abseiling, rock climbing, archery, axe-throwing,” Evie said.
“Archery is the one I’m excited about the most.”
Evie and Ms Henzell would like to thank Inari Sushi, Seymour Toyota, Hall’s Jewellers, Get BruceTed Detailing, Seymour Furgusons, Linda from M-Mart, Seymour Toyworld, Taurus Meats and the anonymous person who made the first donation.