St Patrick's Scout Group in Dundalk to hold Good Deeds Collection event

Scouts from St Patrick's Scout Group 1st/2nd/5th Louth are busy preparing for this year's Good Deeds Collection event, set to take place at the Market Square in Dundalk at 7pm on 5 December.

The event takes place each year, and it sees the scouts bring a small food hamper each to the event which is then distributed by them to the needy in Dundalk.

Scout Leader, Andrew McManus spoke to the Dundalk Democrat ahead of the event, who said that: “We get the kids to bring a food hamper, and Save our Homeless Dundalk, are going to distribute all the food hampers around the town around Christmas.”

Explaining more about St Patrick's Scout Group, Andrew says that “we are consisted of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Venturers.

“Our whole group is well over 100 members”. 

Andrew says that on the night of the Good Deeds Collection event, the members will come to the Market Square, “we'll have tents set up and the kids will leave their hampers there. The Redemptorist Choir and St Malachy's Girl School choir is singing as well and hopefully we might have a wee visit from Santy on the night as well.

“We've left it open to other groups in the area, so that would be Buíon Setanta, which would be based out by the Lisdoo; Ravensdale Scouts; and hopefully Slieve Foy who are based in Carlingford and Omeath.

“This is our second year doing it [at the Square] so hopefully all goes well”, he added. The Good Deeds event, has taken place in some form for many years. Previously, it used to be a Good Deed Mass in St Nicholas' Church. At the mass, the children used to bring a food hamper, where it would be presented at the mass.

The hampers were then given to St Vincent de Paul, who distributed them to the needy in the town. In recent years, with fewer attending the mass a new approach was taken, with the event was taking place in the scout hall on the Castletown Road in Dundalk. Last year the decision was taken to do something bigger, hence the move to the Market Square in Dundalk. 

St. Patrick's Scout Group 1st/ 2nd /5th Louth are always open to new recruits joining.To find out more, as well as for more information on the Good Deeds Collection event, contact stpatricks [email protected].