Team Pink are the team of the Executive Officers and Assistants who are responsible for the running and development of the National Student Scout and Guide Organisation.
Anna Matthews
Hi! I'm Anna and I'm SSAGO's Members Officer for 2024/25.
I had a bit of a weird start in Scouting having begun as a Brownie before joining Explorers when I was 14. I also became a Young Leader for Scouts and then Cubs, and completed my Young Leader Training. When I turned 18 I became a leader and I also helped set up a local Network Group which we called Underground Network.
When looking at universities I would only consider places that had a Scout and Guide Society. I didn't know about SSAGO at the time but I'm definitely glad to have found it. I joined BUSAG when I started at the University of Birmingham and have since been the club's Publicity Officer, Secretary and Social Secretary. I have enjoyed getting involved in both regional and national SSAGO events and have been Publicity for Midlands Freshers 2022 and Co-chair for Oktoberfest Rally. Whilst at University I have also volunteered at the local Scout group in the Scouts and Explorers Section.
I am currently about to graduate with a Political Science BA (hopefully!) and in September I will be extending my time in SSAGO with a PGCE in History.
October 2024
Report
- Team Pink weekend: I attended Team Pink weekend in August where I helped with sorting, reducing and cataloguing the national event kit. I also had a lot of fun branding the SSAGO kit with pink spray paint! The national event kit was then passed on to LOTR rally. I also used this weekend to do SSAGO admin, in particular writing the Membership email.
- New clubs: I have stayed in contact with our newer clubs and made sure they had everything they needed for Freshers week. I have also received a number of emails about setting up new clubs and have had a couple of meetings regarding this (details to come soon!).
- Behind the scenes: I have also been doing lots of SSAGO admin behind the scenes, especially now that term has restarted. This has included supporting events with welfare, fielding requests for volunteers for Scout and Guide groups, and contacting new members.
- Gilwell Reunion: I and other members of Team Pink represented and publicised SSAGO on a stall at Gilwell Reunion. The event was brilliant and it is definitely something we’d like to do again.
Aims
- Scouts Inclusion: I am currently in the process of trying to make contact and establish a relationship with the Scouts Inclusion team. The SSAGO strategy aims to introduce a new Reasonable Adjustment Policy by September 2026. The plan is to get advice from the Scouts Inclusion team to help Team Pink in developing this policy.
- Membership: The next membership email will be coming out soon and with it I will be checking and approving clubs’ membership lists.
- Projects: Every project has been assigned a member of Team Pink. I will be overseeing the Pride project and in the next couple of months I will be supporting the project lead in creating a direction and goals for the project. Team Pink have also received a number of emails regarding exciting international opportunities and I am looking forward to discussing these with the International project.
June 2024
Report
- Getting Started: I attended all handover meetings and Pink training sessions. I've begun familiarising myself with the membership system and the various SSAGO drives. I have also attended relevant meetings with events and clubs.
- Irish Rover Scouts: We (Jack, Ben and I) met with a representative from Irish Rover Scouts to discuss student scouting and guiding in Ireland and the possibility of joint events with SSAGO. We are currently considering a joint event at some point in 2025 to occur in Northern Ireland.
- New Clubs: I organised a hike for the Midlands where I was able to meet the chair of WUSAG and find out how their first year as a SSAGO club has been and what support they need from me going forward. I am also currently in the process of helping to set up a new SSAGO club at the University of Winchester.
Aims
- SSAGO Factsheets: When sending factsheets to new clubs noticed that the factsheets that are on the SSAGO website are not up to date. I want to make sure that any factsheets that committees might need are correct before the start of the academic year.
- Scouts Inclusion: I am currently in the process of trying to make contact and establish a relationship with the Scouts Inclusion team. The SSAGO strategy aims to introduce a new Reasonable Adjustment Policy by September 2026. The plan is to get advice from the Scouts Inclusion team to help Team Pink in developing this policy.