Helping with the Chartered Org Fundraiser

[Fehler]

So, the Chartered Org has a big, annual fundraising festival.  They have children's games, and the Pack (and the Catholic School) often signs up in shifts to staff the booths (and in uniform, to help with visibility/recruiting).  The booths are in the same area (under a large tent) that beer is served.  Someone asked if it is appropriate for Cub Scouts to be helping around alcohol.  I never thought about it before, and the tradition was started before I got here (the previous Committee Chair is now one of the festival chairs).

 

Thoughts?

[dfolson]

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS/gss04.aspx

 

Alcohol

The following statement was approved by the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America:

It is the policy of the Boy Scouts of America that the use of alcoholic beverages and controlled substances is not permitted at encampments or activities on property owned and/or operated by the Boy Scouts of America, or at any activity involving participation of youth members.

[fred johnson]

I'm pretty hard core with that rule.  Don't violate it.  Period.  

 

But I've seen this at times.  Heck, I grew up with church fairs and all church fairs had beer.  And, brewing beer was a mastery of the monks.  But when served, it was usually in a beer tent.  Beer in one area and youth activities in another.  Youth having no involvement or interaction with the beer serving or consumption.

 

Similar to a county fairs.  Lots of scout groups work county fairs and those county fairs serve beer and adults walk around with beer.  

 

If there is a beer booth and a separate scout booth and the two don't inter-mingle.  But it would have to be a pretty big tent.    

 

Talk to your DE, but as long as scouts have no involvement at all with it and are not mingling in the area, I would not have too much of a fuss.  

 

IMHO, I'd really find it hard to not support a church fundraiser.  Perhaps, your scouts could support the event in a different way:  setup, cleanup or something "outside" the tent.

[pargolf44067]

Kind of off topic, but there used to be a scout troop (adult leaders) that sold beer at FirstEnergy Stadium to raise money right by the section that I had season tickets in.  I always thought that was not really appropriate.  Guessing they didn't file the appropriate fundraising paperwork with council.     I haven't seen them in a couple of years, so maybe people caught wind and stopped them from doing it.

[SlowDerbyRacer]

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS/gss04.aspx

 

Alcohol

The following statement was approved by the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America:

It is the policy of the Boy Scouts of America that the use of alcoholic beverages and controlled substances is not permitted at encampments or activities on property owned and/or operated by the Boy Scouts of America, or at any activity involving participation of youth members.

 

Not everything should be interpreted as so black and white.  Take for example our local Major League Baseball team.  They have periodic Scout Nights where the scouts parade on the field in uniform and have a few other perks.  Should that practice of Scout Nights be stopped because the park sells beer?  I think common sense says no.

 

To the OP's question, if the scouts are manning children's games, there should be no issues.  Now if they start selling beer tickets, that's a different story.

[Stosh]

I'm working with my 3rd CO with my new unit.  It's a church so it's not an issue.  But my first troop was sponsored by a conservation group and the boys worked the fishing derby, sold derby tickets which doubled as raffle tickets and there was a lot of beer served on the day of the derby.  Boys helped out with whatever on the day of the derby, but didn't work the beer tent.

 

Second CO was American Legion,  Well, the one end of the building where we held our meetings was the bar.  The big summer festival in town was organized by the CO and there was plenty of raffles, beer and such going on and the boys all manned the corn on the cob booth and sold water and soda on the parade route for the CO.  Boys got nothing specific for doing that.  But come recharter time, all the fees were paid in full and when the boys started raising funds for a troop trailer, one just happened to show up one day compliments of the CO.  After all the CO owned the trailer anyway.  

 

We aren't in a major metro area, but in the small towns around the area, that G2SS rule doesn't get much traction.

[ScouterAdam]

Anyone in uniform should not be around/supporting/helping with the alcohol part.  I would even say that the parents who drive the kids do not partake as well.  However, once the Scout support is done, then change into non-scout clothes and then join in.

[T2Eagle]

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS/gss04.aspx

 

Alcohol

The following statement was approved by the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America:

It is the policy of the Boy Scouts of America that the use of alcoholic beverages and controlled substances is not permitted at encampments or activities on property owned and/or operated by the Boy Scouts of America, or at any activity involving participation of youth members.

When I read that statement I see it as assuming that scouts, scouters, and scouting have control over the event.  It does not say that scouts cannot participate or be present when alcohol is being served.  To read it as prohibiting scouts from being anywhere where alcohol is allowed would be almost absurd.  

 

The example the OP uses is certainly a common one, think of all the others where scouts would be expected to be and to participate but somehow the provision of beer by someone having nothing to do with scouting precludes them.  As someone mentioned, professional sports where they have scout nights or scouts presenting  the colors: if that sentence really meant scouts weren't allowed to participate don't you think someone with the authority to enforce the rule would have noticed by now?  Do you really think that it's the intent of the National Executive Board to prohibit any scout group from ever attending a professional sports event?  Fourth of July parade ends at the town Fourth of July picnic --- sorry, no scouts allowed.  Local movie theater sells beer, sorry Tigers no Go See IT to the movie theater.  Lots and lots of COs like the VFW, American Legion, Knights of Columbus, they have a bar --- sorry, scouts can't go in the building.  Blue Angels coming to town --- there's going to be a beer vendor at the air show --- no scouts allowed.

 

Read the policy, think of its logic, it is talking about what scouting is prohibited from doing: serving alcohol on any scout premises, at any scout encampment or at any function where scouts are the participants.  It is not prohibiting scouts from being out in public just because somewhere someone at the event is doing something that has nothing to do with the scouts.

[NJCubScouter]

Every professional sporting event I have ever attended has had beer sold during the game, and all of them encourage Scouting groups to attend, and many of them (usually more at the minor league level) have "Scout night" or something similar. I have noticed that the Harlem Globetrotters have full-page ads in Scouting magazine encouraging Scouting groups to attend their games. I have to assume beer is being sold during the games.

 

I think the policy has to be applied with a dose of common sense. A leader (or parent) who is accompanying a Scouting unit at such an activity should not be partaking of the alcohol. The kids obviously cannot be involved in selling/serving it. But the fact that there is beer being sold somewhere in the vicinity does not violate the policy, in my opinion.

[Krampus]

We had scouts at an oktoberfest. It was great. They did several service projects to help out. 

 

No one batted an eye that they were in uniform helping. Everyone thought it was great....even saw other troops there too.

[SlowDerbyRacer]

I'm working with my 3rd CO with my new unit.  It's a church so it's not an issue.  

 

I'm going to assume by non-issue you mean alcohol isn't around at any activities.

 

If so, I think it's safe to say your church is not Catholic...