Events being cancelled? Or modified?

[FireStone]

We're also in NJ, nothing cancelled yet but I think we'll know more about what the schools are planning by early next week, and then we'll probably follow their lead. I think it would be weird if schools closed but we were still trying to get kids together for group scout activities.

A lot of local schools are doing half-day or full-day closures on Friday for teacher training on virtual learning.

[FireStone]

On 3/10/2020 at 11:18 AM, swilliams said:

I was thinking of starting a thread talking about suggestions for continuing the program while trying to deal with this.

I was thinking about doing video Den Meetings a while back, and now it seems like even more of a useful option to have. I've used free services like https://whereby.com for work, and  I think it could work for doing a virtual den meeting (with a small group).

Obviously some YPT issues come into play in a virtual setting. I'm not even sure if video conferencing services are allowed with scouts, need to research the YPT implications. But off the top of my head, if we used a service like this I was going to ask that a parent/guardian be present and visible on camera with their scout for any video meetings we hold.

[Jameson76]

We actually discussed this at committee meeting.  Our troop is about 75 Scouts, suburban setting.  

Decision was really no decision, just that we would keep on keeping on.  Our "do we cancel stuff" meter will be based on the local School system.  95% of our Scouts attend the public system locally.  If they were to shut down, we would follow along.  Not so different from weather stuff.  Also if the church (our CO) curtailed things, we would also pullback.

But, as I noted to the committee, our meetings and campouts are run by the Scouts with a great amount of attention to cleanliness, hand washing, and the highest levels of sanitary conditions.  Why the CDC could take lessons from the patrols on meal prep, food storage, tent tidiness, and general cleanliness.  Our camping areas are so clean the Scouts can and in fact do eat things that fall of the dutifully scrubbed tables.  The dreaded COVID19 would not stand a chance among our urchins.

Edited March 11, 2020 by Jameson76

[MattR]

15 hours ago, karunamom3 said:

Here is fine. I will see if I can update the title.

I can, and did. If it's not what you want let me know and I'll change it for you.

[Eagledad]

I think the choice is going to be made for the troops, and most youth organizations. My high school teacher son said their district is telling them to expect no school after Spring Break. Classes will likely go internet. Reasoning is that schools are the higher risk areas for spreading the virus and closing the schools before someone brings it there will significantly slow down the spread in the community. Parents will continue that reasoning into their family's other curricular activities. 

Barry

[karunamom3]

So we ended up canceling the trip mentioned in the original post. We put it to a parental vote and it was an overwhelming cancel response. 

Now we need do decide on our district PWD which we are hosting on 3/21 and expect 150-200 people to attend based on last years numbers. Ugh. I think I need to visit our towns health dept and check in since we have rented their space. 

For our meetings, both pack and troop, we are going to decide weekly if we will meet. We just had the first cases reported in our county yesterday.

 

[karunamom3]

16 hours ago, FireStone said:

We're also in NJ, nothing cancelled yet but I think we'll know more about what the schools are planning by early next week, and then we'll probably follow their lead. I think it would be weird if schools closed but we were still trying to get kids together for group scout activities.

A lot of local schools are doing half-day or full-day closures on Friday for teacher training on virtual learning.

I agree to follow the schools lead but we will also look to the parents and see how they want to proceed as well. I did see a list on NJ.com of all the schools closed for a "planning" day. Some are closed on Monday as well.

16 hours ago, FireStone said:

Obviously some YPT issues come into play in a virtual setting. I'm not even sure if video conferencing services are allowed with scouts, need to research the YPT implications. But off the top of my head, if we used a service like this I was going to ask that a parent/guardian be present and visible on camera with their scout for any video meetings we hold.

On a female BSA FB group I am in, there is a lot of discussion about virtual meetings. Both Zoom and Google Hangouts were mentioned.

[karunamom3]

14 hours ago, MattR said:

I can, and did. If it's not what you want let me know and I'll change it for you.

Thanks. I couldn't  figure out how to do it. 

[karunamom3]

13 hours ago, Eagledad said:

I think the choice is going to be made for the troops, and most youth organizations. My high school teacher son said their district is telling them to expect no school after Spring Break. 

Wow. That's a month away. I'm surprised they may keep them open that long. Here in NJ it feels more imminent.

[qwazse]

On the flip side, many of your scout alumni are on extended spring break. They've probably already stopped in and visited your troop.

Just something to let sink in.

[ianwilkins]

1 hour ago, karunamom3 said:

So we ended up canceling the trip mentioned in the original post. We put it to a parental vote and it was an overwhelming cancel response. 

On Saturday we had 50 Explorer Scouts and leaders go up to London and take part in a Monopoly Run (visit all the places on the UK (London) Monopoly board) with about 4000 other Scouts and Guides. Every single Explorer that was booked on came. Speaking to the organiser enough teams pulled out at the last minute that made him wonder if he'd made the right choice to carry on with the event, but govt advice here is basically "Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands". So we did.

Yesterday a large (10,000 participants) County run international Jamboree being held in July was cancelled as the financial risk was considered too great to commit to carry on.

[69RoadRunner]

We have our mulch fundraiser delivery Friday and Saturday of next week.  We have to deliver thousands of bags of mulch that people ordered and paid us.  Our concern is Council or BSA suspending all events.  If this happens after we place the order with the mulch company and before we deliver, there will be no choice but to have adults delivering the mulch without scouts.

We can't leave the mulch at the community pool and we have to pay for the mulch.

Any other event we could cancel, but it's simply not possible with this.

Edited March 12, 2020 by 69RoadRunner

[RememberSchiff]

Harvard University cancelled hosting a very popular on-campus Merit Badge University .  Spirit of Adventure Council is considering rescheduling  those merit badge classes to council facilities.

Related, FIRST robotic competitions have been canceled in MA and CT.

[Eagledad]

3 hours ago, karunamom3 said:

Wow. That's a month away. I'm surprised they may keep them open that long. Here in NJ it feels more imminent.

Spring break is next week here.

Barry

[qwazse]

15 minutes ago, Eagledad said:

Spring break is next week here.

Barry

So, before Pitt's spring break, any University programs bound for Europe (and, I suppose, other countries) were canceled. Unlike Harvard, we still have a few students on campus, and they aren't being kicked out of their dorms. Our work-study students feel "in limbo". They might be able to attend classes online, but they won't be able to do their jobs. If all you all have an odd job that needs done, you might want to ask your stranded college student neighbor if he/she would like to work a couple of hours for a little cash.

Also, keep in mind that flu monitoring (the actual work of sitting in an urgent care center asking for cheek swabs of anybody coughing in the waiting room) is often performed by students or college graduates working part time. Others are working in nursing homes. Those could be your erstwhile scouts. Drop them a line. Their jobs have just gotten 100x more stressful.