Scout troops in low income areas

[boomerscout]

"I honestly do not want the boys to pay for there parents inability or unwillingness to pay thier ways. It is not the boys fault. But honestly if it cant be done i will accept that and continue to pay out of my pocket to help them."

 

neither the parents nor you should be paying the boys fees, even if it is commonly done. One of the tenets of Scouting is that a Scout pays his own way as much as possible. If the troop treasury can't cover council camp, then you use a private or state campground or even a friend's farm for summer camp.

Have you used Camperships in the past? What fund-raising do you do?

As to the full uniforms--of course it would be nice. But if the money isn't there, then it isn't there. Which means it's time for focused fund-raising. Having everyone earn Personal Management and Family Life merit badges now may stand the troop in good stead. Helps them learn how to budget and set goals

I'm having trouble picturing 11 year olds getting drunk and shooting up. I realize you are deeply frustrated. What does your wife say since she's done this prety much before?

Are you inner city or deeply rural? If you're needing an emergency donation, I suggest the two of you approach the local Lions, Eagles, Elks, Rotary, Pork Producers Assoc, Cattlemens, United Way...

As to your question about the kid asking for donations for uniforms--that was done as a church activity and not as a troop or council activity. Besides, we can always ask. We're just not supposed to beg. Let them know of the potential benefits of their donation for the long run.

[William862]

Thank you for your reply. We are deeply rural. As for the 11y/os drunk and shooting up, its not so much them as it is the 15+ kids. I am frustrated but not to the point of giving up on these kids. I can and will not do that. We have one big fundraiser which is setting up and helping keep maintaience at a local 3 day festival during the summer.

 

Im looking in to fundraising. My wife suggested something she did with her venture crew. It was a alnight dance at the moose club in mass. Kids paid to get in. There was pizza and drinks, they invited local bands to come and preform, which in most cases with local bands they will for free just to get stage time. they did really well with that. Being a rural area, selling fundraisers are hard to do.

 

But again thank you all for the info.

 

ps didnt united way pull away from the BSA due to the postest about gays and it being a privite organization. Dont have my facts stright on that so forgive me if i offend anyone by saying that. just bettering my knowledge of it.

[SctDad]

something that I am going to suggest, look into your local, state and federal surplus warehouses. Our state has a federal clearinghouse and they have a lot of stuff that is good for scouting. They have large tents and they also have shelter halfs. There is also sleeping bags and so much more.

 

Like someone said, a car wash is a good idea. You mamy pull $150 - $300 depending on your location. (I suggest major crossroads that get a lot of traffic) That may be only a little money but it is still money.

 

Also check with your council about help with awards and stuff. We have what is called a Tartan Guard unit. If you make quality unit and a few other requirements, then you get free cloth rank advancements at the scout shop. They amy also have so information about camperships for those who cannot afford camp.

 

Hope this helps

[Beavah]

Yah, I think we want to be honest about "a scout pays his own way" and fundraising and donations, eh?

 

We in da BSA all recognize that it's not possible for an average scout to truly pay his own way. At least not without violating da child labor laws in most states! In da present economy, where jobs that were traditionally held by teenagers are being filled by adults, it's hard even for a good teenager to pay a portion of his real scoutin' cost, let alone an expense like Jambo.

 

We can encourage a family to pay their son for chores, eh? But some families don't have money to do that. And other families don't believe in that - they feel chores are just part of being a family.

 

We do run some fundraisers, eh? Like popcorn. Simple reality is that while popcorn and car washes help a bit, they're really just a fraction of da total. Every sizable NFP everywhere relies primarily on donations, not fundraisers.

 

So we collect FOS donations to provide camp at reduced cost to all boys. Not a single scout anywhere truly pays his own way for camp. And we solicit money for camperships to pay even more for boys who can't afford it. And more money for Scoutreach in urban areas, where we even pay professional scout leaders to run units. Our troops everywhere receive discounts and donations on gear and all kinds of stuff.

 

There is nothing dishonorable about giving to charity or boys in need. And there is nothing dishonorable about accepting scholarships to college or camp or anything else that are provided through the generosity of others. If you've been to Philmont, you didn't pay your own way. Waite Phillips paid most of it. Receiving aid or seeing your friend receive aid is one of those mustard seeds that grows into a doggone big tree when the lads grow up and "pay it forward" a hundredfold over their lifetime. Yeh can bet your shoulder loops that goin' to Philmont has caused a lot of former scouts to be similarly generous with da BSA.

 

To my mind, not donating to charity is a sign of lack of character. And not accepting the generosity of others when a child is in need is naught more than selfish pride and ego.

 

William862, there are all kinds of organizations and individuals that can help, eh? Individuals are always the best bet. People are the most generous donors of all in da U.S. Your CO, your local community foundation, your friends and neighbors and church, and your DE and scouting contacts in your district are all good places to start. Ask. Ask lots. It doesn't take much money to have a big impact on kids, eh? That's da magic of Scouting. With just a few generous people yeh really could get all your boys to camp.

 

And that's a good and honorable thing to do.

 

For uniforms, I reckon just a request to scouting families in your district will net you all you need. Start there.

 

Beavah

(This message has been edited by Beavah)

[Eagle732]

We have a small troop in a small town with several boys who just can not afford Scouting. I recall a boy visiting a troop meeting and when he asked how much dues were he left and never came back. I promised myself then that no boy who wanted to be in Scouting would be denied because he couldn't afford it. Many just can't afford the cost which is about $500 - $600 a year including dues, summer camp and monthly outings. I don't have any problem with begging for donations from local businesses to help these boys stay in Scouting. To keep costs down we try to keep camping trips local and use private land and campgrounds that have youth group rates. We camp close to home to keep transportation costs down, and we camp at our council's camp which is 10 minutes from out meeting place. A uniform bank and donations of camping equipment also help to outfit these boys.

[boomerscout]

Selling fundraisers are difficult everywhere. There was a forum here on non-selling fundraisers.

At that three day country festival your Scouts help set up, can they get permission to sell bottled soda pop and water during the activities? Can the troop contract to clean up the town park once a year, and after any parades? Are any of the parents farmers? Would they help the Scouts plant a field of pumpkins in the spring for an autumn sale? Can the Scouts go door to door asking for cast-offs to be sold during yard sale week? Possibly help a local campgrounds re-open in the spring: clean & paint the picnic tables, wash the windows of the cabins, clean trash out of the firepits, remove downed limbs, etc. If you're in the South, selling boiled peanuts in front of Wal-Mart does very well. Cleaning out the stables after the county fair, the high school field after home games could also be contracted for.

Possibly the best bet is year-round Rent-A-Scout. Each Scout is his own business to do yard chores, babt-sitting, spreading FFA mulch, and so on. A stay at home adult will need to act as dispatcher matching jobs with Scout's preferences, availability & fees. Ea. Scout collects his own money when the job is done. He may give the dispatcher a fee for each job to pay for the dispatcher's time. Scouts should work in pairs.

[Eagle732]

We have a small troop in a small town with several boys who just can not afford Scouting. I recall a boy visiting a troop meeting and when he asked how much dues were he left and never came back. I promised myself then that no boy who wanted to be in Scouting would be denied because he couldn't afford it. Many just can't afford the cost which is about $500 - $600 a year including dues, summer camp and monthly outings. I don't have any problem with begging for donations from local businesses to help these boys stay in Scouting. To keep costs down we try to keep camping trips local and use private land and campgrounds that have youth group rates. We camp close to home to keep transportation costs down, and we camp at our council's camp which is 10 minutes from out meeting place. A uniform bank and donations of camping equipment also help to outfit these boys.

[Basementdweller]

Pumpkins are a great idea cost of seed and the boys can tend them.

 

I know of a couple of troops that have rummage sales, we do it as well. We also sell hot dogs and sodas at it as well. We have made some nice money doing them.

 

Bake sales work well. We have walked away from a couple of sales with $1k. Now we have a couple fantastic bakers.

 

 

Just check with your DE he is the person who has to approve your fund raising application.

 

What is considered appropriate is different based on the region of the country.

 

BTW uniforms are not required.

 

Short....the boys don't need a bunch of expensive gear to go camp or in the outdoors. The current trend in hiking is running shoes. Outdoor gear can be had for cheap at the Salvation army and Goodwill. I bought patagonia long johns medium weight for 2 bucks a piece.

[shortridge]

Basement,

 

Oh, I'm a big fan of thrifting and secondhand stores. I got most of my gear and clothes at Goodwill and via eBay.

 

But for a brand-new Scout and his family, shopping for stuff without guidance or knowledge, the pricetag can be extremely intimidating. Imagine going to the local Wally-World and buying one of everything. Winter camping in jeans? 'Nuff said.

 

Even in the richest troop, the emphasis should be on getting a new Scout outdoors as quickly as possible at minimum expense. Buying the full uniform kit right off the bat doesn't help with that goal much.

[bacchus]

Just a note: A couple of the adult leaders recently formed a "uniform closet" for the boys from the shirts on sale at the scout store. They are 75% off right now! So we picked up about a dozen.

 

At the checkout counter the clerk made an interesting comment. The adults had come in and cleaned out the adult shirts, but the shirts for the young men were relatively untouched. Kind of made me think...