Underserved Scouting: entitlement vs fundraising vs free stuff

[scouternetworkusername]

We recently started a troop for refugees, and have about 20 active boys, in the poorest part of this city. Some just arrived in the U.S., some speak very little English, none have much money. They are Burmese, DRC, Nepali. A few foundations and friends have thrown $ at us, and some of us (the adults) don't mind paying for stuff. There is no parent participation because parents speak zero English and work all hours at places like meatpacking jobs (if they are lucky). Kids don't get rides to meetings because families dont have cars, and we can't tell kids to take the bus at night in this hood--it is dark and freezing and there was even a murder recently. So, we pick up every kid for every meeting-- all are within a 2 mile radius but it still takes half an hour. When we arrive at the house, we have to do what parents elsewhere do: "come on time for scouting, get your books". The council has a donor who gives free uniforms and books. Our first campout is coming up and so far we are thinking we just have to fund all food from troop funds. Selling popcorn - we could probably get sympathy by selling in front of a whole foods in the suburbs (maybe we will try that) but we can't exactly ask these kids to sell to their classmates or parents coworkers.

 

So the issue comes up of entitlement. How to encourage some skin in the game, or should we? I realize that Scouting is mostly a richer person's activity, but someone on here has experience wit this. Also your answer to this may depend on where you sit politically on things like food stamps, medicaid, and welfare (all of which these families have).... i.e. they get free food, healthcare and money, so should they get free scouting? Does that lead to an entitled boy? My own boy is growing up in a privileged house...

 

I look forward to hearing some diverse thoughts on this.

If this is better posted in another forum then let me know, I'm new here!

 

YIS

[DuctTape]

I think a boy can just as easily grow up feeling entitled in a middle class home. It all depends on work ethic. Charity from private groups or from public is not what leads to entitlement. Entitlement comes from learned character. If the boys' scouting is paid for from an outside group/person and they are providing work/effort where they are able then all is well. If they are receiving with the attitude that they somehow deserve it, then no. As I said, this is also a potential with families who are able to pay (some might argue more likely). I personally see entitlement attitudes in the boys from the most well-off families. Focus on service and character as embodied in the scout oath and law and an entitlement attitude will be mitigated regardless of where the $ comes from.

[SSScout]

Truly, that is what we are all about. I wish you and your collegues the best in this endeavor.

Have you thought about partnering with another Troop? I know we have lots of unused equipment in our attic (it gets loaned out ), surely with some PR to the rest of the Scout District/Council you can find some where withall to make things happen for your boys.

Uniforms are good, but not the most important thing. More to come, gotta go with wifey to work on the office(church) yard.

[tonkatim]

Since they have nothing else, why not have them use their time and effort on service projects in their community. That seems like some skin in the game, to me.

[Hedgehog]

I'll echo what others have said. Entitlement doesn't come from getting things for free, but expecting those things and then doing nothing in return. They can give back through service projects and, if they stick with scouting for the long run, they will give back to others if they continue live the Scout Oath even after they age out.

 

I disagree that scouting is a richer person's activity. If you have a pair of shoes, you can go on a hike. You can have a Troop spend a whole Saturday: 1) learning to tie knots with pieces of a $5 rope; 2) learning first aid with $10 worth of supplies; 3) learning map and compass skills with a map printed off the internet and a $1 compass for each scout; 4) learning cooking skills using less than $20 worth of ingredients for a group of scouts; 5) playing confidence and team building games for free; 6) learning about plants and animals from books in the library or hikes; etc. I think that the scouts spending a day doing any of those activities has them put some skin in the game because they are investing their time and effort.

 

I realize that camping outside can become expensive but there are ways to pick up gear inexpensively. In your case the troop will have to buy the gear. The skin in the game here is that the scouts take care of the equipment. Let them know where the money came from -- give back by doing service projects for those organizations and other organizations so that it isn't a quid pro quo but they learn that service is about giving from what we have (be it time, money or skill) to those that are in need.

 

As your troop becomes more mature, the older boys can give back to the troop by leading, mentoring and training the younger boys. That is the essence of scouting.

 

 

 

 

[scoutergipper]

Your concerns are certainly valid. We have a number of families who are simply not in a position to lay out hundreds of dollars a year for Scouting. A few clearly have an entitlement mentality, where the other families are somehow expected to pony up so their kid can be in Scouts. Their Scout doesn't work hard at fundraising, which I think we are starting to recognize needs to be a prerequisite for receiving Troop aid. We encourage families to pay what they can - I'm not anxious to put additional financial stress on a single mom who is on the edge. The kids in these circumstances are the ones that need Scouting the most. I may not make it easy, but I'm not abandoning them.

 

I think that by requiring Scouts who want aid to be active, to attend service opportunities, to work hard on fundraising opportunities, etc is a reasonable way to make them understand there's no free lunch in Scouting, even if there is one in society at large.

[T2Eagle]

So these kids and their families were driven from their homes and homeland by war, bad governments, worse warlords, or some combination thereof. After spending time in a refugee camp they came to a country where they don't speak the language, don't look like everyone else, have an entirely different culture and history, and will at best work at the lowest jobs the economy provides.

 

I think life has pretty well convinced them that not only are they not entitled to freebies, but even those things they are entitled to, like homes, country, freedom, can in fact be taken away from them without reason or recourse. I don't think any assistance you provide them could ever overcome that lesson.

 

Go ahead and buy them food, take them camping, help them navigate their new homes and lives. You'll be more than paid back later in one way or another.

 

Good luck and God Bless.

[T2Eagle]

As a practical matter I would suggest you ask for some help partnering with some suburban units to actually carry out your trips. Our unit has done this a couple times with some Scoutreach units, and we have or have easy access to more than enough equipment to bring an extra dozen and a half scouts along with us, and some older scouts that would enjoy the opportunity to pass along some scouting skills.

[qwazse]

... I realize that Scouting is mostly a richer person's activity' date=' ...[/quote']

 

The current (and in my opinion, broken) vision of scouting is indeed expensive: tiers of leadership training in exotic locations, high adventure bases, jamborees. We would all do well to treat this vision as a side-show. Adopt the following vision of the pinnacle scouting experience:

 

Hiking and camping independently with your buddies.

 

This is what you want the boys to reach for. Ask "where can we hike to Saturday?" Across town? To visit someone's elders? To the next naturalization ceremony? "Where can we stay?" A town park (maybe the police will arrange to set up their patrol from there)? Does anyone on the committee have a field near a bus station?

 

Food stamps can still buy some decent trail snacks. Each boy brings a small portion of what they need from home (can of soup/piece of fruit/slice of bread).

 

And if there's a small plot of land, the boys can take up gardening or even bee-keeping.

 

Can you get off work and hold meetings in the afternoon? If not, is there a beat patrolman who would volunteer to shadow the bus route if several boys could take it once a week?

 

I bet these refugee parents will be so proud if they see their boys pulling themselves together and finding their place in the wide world ... not running from one disaster to the next.

 

And this isn't just about the boys. Someone on your committee has a unique opportunity to work with some parents in a way that could restore their dignity. Host an international evening where the boys prepare a meal for their families. Perhaps some of these folks are talented weavers or whittlers or singers ... a craft fair for a fund-raiser could show these folks that they have something to offer this country. nIf these are indeed war refugees, the parents understand the importance of survival. So, they are looking for their boys to come home more self-reliant than when they left. Some of them may even have a story to tell that will inspire your boys. Anything you all can do to get to know them will help them get their lives back on track.

 

I understand about half the ideas I spouted off will be impossible in your situation. That's not the point. The point is getting these boys setting novel but attainable goals.

 

Don't worry about entitlement. Just have the boys get in the habit of writing thank-you notes to your donors.

 

And don't feel guilty about your privilege. Just use it for good and don't squander it.

[TAHAWK]

The troop in which I was a Scout was mostly military dependents. By the World's standards, I guess we were well-off. By U.S. standards we were very working class or poor.

 

At that time, a Scout was expected to earn most of the cost of Scouting by his own efforts. I cut grass, baby sat, and had a newspaper route. One Scout had a regular business washing cars by hand. Another made sure your house looked occupied (including taking care of your yard) when you went on vacation. Another shopped for the elderly. California, so no leaves to rake or snow to shovel. Many had part-time jobs at stores of various kinds.

 

There are many barriers to overcome in bringing Scouting to youth. Money is just one of them and, in my experience, not the biggest barrier. Youth who are eager to Scout and who have supportive families usually find a way. If the kids think Scouting is boring or dorky, money will not get the job done.

 

To your point about selling popcorn, you might ask at Roundtable about the best fund-raising activities that a troop can use. We sell popcorn to support the Council and sell other things because the profit to the Scouts is much better.

 

While it is true that B,.S.A. offers expensive options, you don't have to buy. We have done our own high adventure trips at a fraction of the cost of B.S.A. programs - and our own Summer Camp every other year (better food, PLC-selected programming, and actual Merit Badge Counselors). = cost under 50% of Council camps.

[CalicoPenn]

It's a bit old fashioned and has mostly fallen out of use but through most of the history of the Boy Scouts of America, Cubs and Scouts were expected to pay dues on a weekly basis - bringing their dues with them to their Den or Troop/Patrol meetings. One of the jobs of the Denner (Cub Scouts) and Scribe (Boy Scouts) was to collect the money and record that it was paid. The practice started falling out of favor sometime in the 1970's. I'm not sure that the BSA even prints and sells (because let's face it, they sell everything) dues records any more.

 

It may mostly be symbolic these days but for your unit, you might institute weekly dues of say 25 cents - a quarter a week shouldn't be a pocket book buster for most of the boys. At about $12 a year, it may not seem like much but it is pretty near the subscription cost to Boys Life or could help offset the cost of rank patches and merit badges. It really doesn't matter if it's "just $12", what matters is it sets a tone that a Scout, even a low income immigrant Scout, helps pay their own way. Heck, you could even bank it and at the end of the year, spend the $240 or so (20 scouts x 12) on a nice overnight lock-in celebration (food and movies?).

[AKdenldr]

What CalicoPenn said

[NJCubScouter]

scouternetworkuser, first of all, welcome to the forums, and thank you for what you are doing to provide Scouting to this group of boys that otherwise would not have the opportunity. I agree with what others have said above, but the "language barrier" might be a problem for some of these ideas. Collecting 25 cents a week in dues is not a bad idea, but most likely the kids are going to have to get the quarters from their parents, and the parents may not understand why they are being asked and what it's for, and if the parents don't understand English (and some of the kids know very little English as well) you are going to have issues getting the message across. In fact, beyond the issue of finances, the language issue may be one of the biggest challenges. I do think you should get the kids to do SOME fundraising, but with the idea that it's mainly to have them participate to some degree in providing funds for their program, but there is nothing wrong with relying on the donated funds for most of what is needed, at least at first. After all, I assume that is why the donors provided the money, to get the troop started. I also think service projects, which are part of Scouting anyway, will get the kids into the swing of helping the community and not feeling that they are just receiving things.

[Stosh]

One can train a boy to be responsible just as easily as being irresponsible.

 

One's situation does not dictate one's goals achievements.

 

Stosh

[T2Eagle]

NJCS's remark about doing some fundraising but also relying on donations made me realize that none of us (probably) really fully pays his own way.

 

Scouting is and has always been the recipient of millions of dollars of freebies. People give us money, people give us land, people give us discounts on purchases, in kind donations, etc. If that hasn't made all of us entitled freeloaders then there's no reason to think that it will make these boys believe they should be.