Scouting for Food and Chartered Organization

[gwd-scouter]

Our Troop is chartered by a large Baptist Church with over 1500 members. Every Sunday they have three worship services.

 

Year-after-year we do Scouting for Food and year-after-year the guys tell me they don't like knocking on doors or putting out bags one weekend and picking them up the next. We usually get poor participation, both on the part of the Scouts and in the neighborhoods we visit.

 

This year we're trying something different. Tomorrow our Scouts will hand out flyers at the beginning of all three church services asking the members to bring food items back the following Sunday when our Scouts will be in attendance for Scout Sunday. Even if each member only brings one can, we could collect more for our County Food Bank than we've collected going door-to-door in the past few years combined.

 

Our Chartered Organization has not been very supportive of our Troop and most years don't even mention us when we attend on Scout Sunday. I doubt many people who attend even know the Church has a Scout Troop. We've asked if we could hold fundraisers at the Church and they've said no. We've asked for service projects we could do for the Church and they've never responded. So, it was with a bit of surprise and gratitude on my part when they agreed to let our Scouts conduct the SFF drive on Sunday.

 

What is even better? I've been contacted by the pastor and he said that not only will he recognize the Troop on Scout Sunday, but will, in fact, work his sermon around Scouting in general with particular attention to our Troop and it's SFF service project.

 

Good stuff all around. Troop gets recognition. Chartered Organization feels good about supporting the Troop. Church members feel good about helping the community. Food Bank receives much needed donations.

[evmori]

We have done this for years. We would pass out bags after the service one Sunday & collect them the next Sunday before the service. All the food stayed in the church food bank.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[scottteng]

Sounds like your latest plan hit the pastor's sweet spot. Somehow he never saw in his mind what scouts was all about, but when your scouts objections to door to door collecting prompted you to request his involvement in something that he perceived as good Christian charity he responded admirably. Maybe this is an opportunity to expand your service to this church something in similar vein food or clothes bank or service to elderly members. Its like any type of persuasion you must find their hot button.

[Eagledad]

Beautiful Saturday All

 

This really sounds great Gwd. I always look forward to your post.

 

I would like to throw out one thing. I think our culture today is struggling with personal one to one communication with each other. We dont seem to know our neighbors as well and our youth mainly stay in touch through all the latest in technology gadgets. Because one of our Aims is citizenship, I look at Scouting for Food and other opportunities for scouts to personally meet the folks in the community. Not only that, in a time when Scouting needs to put its best face forward, the community needs to meet and talk to these young folks while in the practice of citizenship. This is who we really are and it is the face our community needs to see when they think of boys scouts.

 

However you can and want to do this, figure out a way that your scouts and your church community, and even the surrounding community can meet each other in community service. When a parent comes to me and ask if I would by popcorn for their sons unit, I cant give quick enough. But I also tell them I would sure enjoy meeting their son personally. I know it is a pain to the scouts, but maybe they just need a little prompting of the value of personal communication with their community. Give the community a chance to actually shake their hand and say thanks. And if I could have just a couple seconds to brag about being a scout once myself in Bethany Oklahoma, it would make my day as well.

 

I love this scouting stuff.

 

Barry

 

[gwd-scouter]

What a great day yesterday. All but two of our Scouts showed up for Scout Sunday and Scouting for Food collection. That's the best attendance we've ever had.

 

The guys worked in rotations handing out flyers during all 3 services last week, then everyone on hand yesterday to receive the donations. We collected over 500 food items (cans/packages, etc.). Last year going door-to-door the guys only collected 140.

 

Hey EagleDad, I appreciate your comments about being seen in the community. At least this year, our Scouts made more personal contact with members of the community by being seen and greeting the over 1500 church members of our CO than they have going door-to-door (especially since more than half of homeowners weren't home or wouldn't come to the door). I watched and listened yesterday as many of the older men in the Church came up to our Scouts, handed them a cash donation for the Food Bank, told them about when they were Scouts in their youth, and thanked them for helping the community.

 

What a wonderful day.

[Eagledad]

>>What a wonderful day.

[gwd-scouter]

Speaking of food - an idea we've had floating around for the past year is doing another community service project involving food.

 

The plan is to grow vegetables as part of the "Grow a Row" program. There is a very nice area behind the building we use for our Troop meetings. I believe the CO could be persuaded to let us do this since they seem to be more responsive to our (their) Troop.

 

Guys would take turns tending the garden over the growing time, harvest what comes in, and then donate to our local food bank or soup kitchen. The guys are very interested in trying this year to propose the idea.