Camping Trips

[Ga_campers]

Hi all,

 

I am looking for information as far as how other Packs handle camping trips. Our pack is looking to take a trip to Charleston, SC for the Yorktown. We are trying to find out if other Packs pay the 60 - 80 dollars per person for their Scouts (and parents). Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Todd

[Melgamatic]

Our pack pays for all awards but not for camping trips. District-organized family campout or facility-based campout (like the one you are discussing, we also have them at a zoo, a baseball stadium and at a science museum).

 

We do offer scholarships to pack-sponsored events (like official district family camouts) for those cubs who cannot afford to attend, but not to the facility-based campouts.

 

[Apache Bob]

We are paying $65.00 per person for a trip in Dec.

[gwd-scouter]

Our Troop went to a Arrow of Light ceremony last night for a group of Webelos getting ready to cross over to our Troop. Their Pack is going on the Yorktown trip in May. Selling popcorn was their biggest source of funding for this trip - the Pack sold $14,000 worth! Small Pack, too.

[Gunny2862]

At the Boy Scout level, for us, our Troop would pay either travel costs or possibly travel plus up to $10 of the fees for an outing like you describe, depending on our Troop fundraising that year.

The rest would be dependent on the Scout raising the rest individually (Scout Account or other)or securing funding from the 1st Community American Trust Bank of Mom and Dad.

[ScoutNut]

Our Pack tries to pay the Scout's cost for all outings. We have talked about big $$ activities like this, and decided that the budget could not support it.

 

If we decide to do one, we will put it in the budget at the yearly planning meeting and those that want to go will do a separate money-earning activity, or 2, just for that.

 

[SctDad]

I would say l;ook at each scout individually and see what kind of fundraising they have doen. If you have a boy that has raised $5,000 by him self, then he should be paid for, no questions asked. But the boy that turned in $9 just to get the patch or did the absolute bare minimum, then look a little closer.

 

We are going through this type of dillema at this time. We are trying to go to a Cub Scout Encampment this summer. The cost is $105 per cub/webelos and $45 per adult. Although it does not require the parents to attend if the boys are going with the unit. They just HIGHLY reccommend a 5:1 Cub:Adult Ratio. I do not think that this will be an issue.

 

We are trying to figure out a way to raise funds to help defray the costs

[Cubmaster C]

We include two Cub/Family camping trips in our annual fees, but try to be as cost effective as possible. Recently weve been going to a GSA camp (Fri and Sat night) that costs us around $200 plus our food. The advantages over a public campground are that you avoid the Saturday Night effect people partying in the campground to all-hours, and the reduced fees for a Scouting unit. Our per-person rate is now under $10 with siblings and parents. We do all the cooking and food prep, and ask our Pack to bring their drinks and snacks. We were paying over $600 for the same thing at a public campground, with all the advantages of being in a public place.

[Cubmaster C]

As a follow-up to my previous post, Id recommend asking around, at Roundtable, and anywhere else you run into Pack Leadership. There are cheap places to camp!, especially for Scouts. I can guarantee they are not the mainstream campgrounds, and you will will likely be on your own for everything BUT thats the fun! (at least according to my Cubs)

[AnniePoo]

We book group sites in state parks for most of our pack camping trips and Webelos camping trips. By making the reservations waaayyyy in advance (I have next year's reservations already made), we can get the best large wooded sites away from the family camping areas. The state park system gives nonprofit youth organizations a big discount, so it typically costs us $30 total for a weekend group site reservation. Most of the parks we go to are within a one-hour drive.

 

Our pack pays the reservation fees, and we charge families $5 per person per night, which covers the cost of food, aluminum foil, paper towels, etc. We're currently using most of my family's camping equipment for cooking, although our local troop has a few things we can borrow, but are in the process of slowly accumulating camping equipment for the pack. My fellow Webelos I leader and I hit rummage sales and clearance sales big-time this summer and have three pack totes full of plates, cups, bowls, silverware, utensils, and misc. stuff.

 

 

 

 

[fleetfootedfox]

I guess the real question is what did you budget for at the beginning of the year? Anything that wasn't accounted for in the budget should be an extra expense that requires fundraising or an additional charge per person. Otherwise, you might run out of funds and that will be embarrassing.

[Shilue]

Our pack, for normal campouts, solicits a token amount to help with the costs of food. I don't know what the per person cost is, but they cap each family at $25. Since my family is 4, we also only have to pay the $25. Now, we are going to the Yorktown in December, and because of the high cost of the trip, each family had to pay the $60/person.

 

Nobody minds, because all other costs (registration, advancements, Boys Life, etc) are paid for by the pack.