Boy Scouts Fundraisers Help Promote Positive Youth Activities

I would just like to say thank you to everyone who purchased Popcorn from the Scouts over the weekend at our stand setup in front of . 

It was a beautiful fall day and in addition to the popcorn fundraiser it was great to get a chance to talk to so many people about the positive aspects of Scouting.  Many agreed that Scouting is more important today than ever.  It gets the Boys out of the house and away from the video games and computers. 

It truly is amazing sometimes when you get the boys to realize how much more there is to life and how much fun can be had in the outdoors.  When many of us adults were growing up the idea of spending the whole weekend in the house on the computer was unheard of.  Today it is more common then you could ever imagine.  I can remember my mom chasing me out of the house on a Saturday morning to spend the day with the rest of the boys in the neighborhood enjoying the outdoors, playing sports or just exploring. 

When the Scout troop goes on a weekend campout the boys are totally disconnected from the grid and it is great to see them enjoying the experience.  They learn to be self sufficent and to find fun in totally new ways that to many of them they never considered, but, to most of us adults we took for granted when we were growing up.  That is just one of the many reasons why Scouting is so important today. 

That is also why our fundraising efforts are so important as well.  In today's economy many parents just don't have the extra money to help get their sons out camping for the weekend.  The money we raise is always used to offset the costs for outdoor activities and camping equipment.  For example, this past summer Boy Scout troop 483 traveled up to the Ten Mile River Scout Camp near Woodstock, NY for a week of Camp.  The Scouts spend the entire week living off the grid, cooking and cleaning for themselves, working on merit badges, competing with other Scouts, and just generally having fun outdoors.  Normally it cost $370 per Scout to attend camp for the week, but, due to the success of last year's fundraisers, we were able to offset the majority of the cost and it only cost each Scout $100 to attend camp for the week.  This made a big difference and enabled the majority of Troop 483 to attend camp with us.  Without it we may not have even had enough Scouts to go to camp.  That is just one example of how we use the funds raised. It also helps keep the costs of all of our activities down.

Again, Thank you to everyone that helps support our Fundraising efforts. 

Have a great week!