Tips for selling cub scout popcorn???

[bellebud]

Pack committee chair here with 2 Cub Scouts. The reason the popcorn is so "expensive" is because 70% of the sale goes to Boy Scouts, generally split between the Pack/Troop and Council/National. It says this in BIG print next to each item on the sales sheet. So, yeah you are paying over 3 times the price you would get in the store because it is a fundraiser. If you contribute to the troops then you are also donating the popcorn itself to hardworking soilders or sailers.
My oldest is rather competitve and has already sold $500 this year in the first 10 days of the sale. Last night we went door to door between 7-8pm and with only 1 saying "no thanks" sold $192 worth. His goal is $1,400.
In our pack we don't charge dues when a Scout sells $300, and pay for day camp at $600 and larger prizes at higher levels (son wants the nintendo 3DS, lol). This finances about 80% of our activities including our Blue & Gold catered banquet for over 200 attendees, an overnighter at a museum, a private pool party, 2 campouts, pinewood derby & rocket launch supplies, and orienteering event not to mention all the badges, pins, beltloops and patches the kids earn. The rest of the funds come from dues from those who chose not to sell popcorn.

My son's troop sells overpriced wreaths ($30 each I believe) instead of popcorn. We have stated numerous times that he will not be going door to door and asking neighbors to supplement his activities when we are capable of paying for it ourselves. We have been told that there is no buyout option and he has to sell 30.

We have no problem with him helping at a fundraiser where people go to him: spaghetti dinner, car wash etc. but they don't do any of that. Huge incentives (a great deal of the fund-raising money is used for them) for boys that sell a lot.

I have a DD who sells Girl Scout cookies and a DS who sells Boy Scout popcorn. I MUCH prefer the popcorn! It may be expensive, but the vast majority of the money goes directly to the scouts. Very unlike the Girl Scouts where the troop get 55 cents per box, and the boxes cost 3.50! The Cub Scouts have much better incentives also. One year my DD sold 900 boxes of cookies, and the prizes were trinkets! The ONLY decent thing she got was an ipod shuffle , for 900 boxes!!! DS on the other hand sold 1800.00 of popcorn last year (in about a third of the time DD and I spent selling cookies). For that he got vouchers to go to 2 summer camps for free (one day camp, one overnight), a voucher for 130.00 to use towards whatever cub scout expenses we would come across (we used it for the blue/gold banquet tickets for our family, registration for this year, a subscription to Boy's Life, and the packs' annual 2night/3day family camp in the summer), and he got 155.00 in Amazon gift cards (which he used to buy himself an ipod touch) He was beyond excited!!!

And for those who are saying that some are not buying popcorn because of Boy Scouts conservative stance, we have also run across those who want nothing to do with Girl Scout cookies because of their liberal stance! It's really too bad, the kids don't know anything about these issues, they're just trying to sell some food and earn some prizes

I came in here looking for help for my little scout.

You know, its a shame that people come into this thread JUST to express their dislike of the organization.

But just FYI,, ,you are not hurting the organization, it's the child. Boy Scouts is a NON PROFIT organization. EVERYTHING those boys make, goes back to the boys. Its for the BOYS! NOT the adults!

Summer camps, badges, belt loops, camps, etc is funded by POPCORN

They keep their policies among themselves not the boys, they teach those boys valuable life skills. AND, my troop has volunteers from ALL walks of life.

For those that posted ABOUT popcorn, thanks! My son appreciates all the help. He has been working really hard for summer camp.

Ans I'm done with this thread

Wow, the poster with only 4 posts dug deep to find this thread. For what?

Anyhow, now I will throw in my 2 cents. I also will not buy the expensive popcorn that is not near as good as the brand name we buy - why should we eat that stuff? And no, I cannot buy it and throw it away.

I think it is so rude of parents to hound their neighbors and co workers to buy things that their children are selling (no matter what it is). They also had to ban it at my DH's workplace also. If you didn't buy, it caused hard feelings and interfered with working relationships - same thing with neighbors. We just cannot buy everything.

I would not let my children sell *anything* (the parents usually ended up doing the selling anyway) and went straight to the source, told them so, and why. They never took it out on my children either. I think it's ridiculous and sad to *dangle* a trip in front of a child's eyes, then say but you have to sell X amount of stuff to earn it. No way, and I will tell them so.

We have only so much to give to charities, and it will definitely go to a better cause that fun activities that parents won't pay for their child. There are lots of causes that mean sometimes *life or death*.

to all the bolded posts!!

For the other posts I quoted... am I missing something?? I honestly cannot believe people are ok w/ asking others (friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, strangers) to buy OVERPRICED (as admitted by the parents) popcorn so their boys activity that they chose to do is funded. What about karate??? What about gymnastics??? What about dance classes??? These activities can be just as worthwhile to a young person. I don't ask my neighbors to help me pay for my kids dance classes.

I've read all the pages, hoping to come across a post that says "our troop used the money our boys earned by selling overpriced popcorn to buy and distribute items to dying kids in our local children's hospital (insert humane society, veterans hospital, senior citizen home, etc). Yes, I see that they send some to the troops, when someone they're soliciting donates the money for that. So the scouts themselves are not paying for the popcorn for the troops, they're simply asking others to pay for it.

All I've read is "my kid got an iPad". Wow... seriously??? How about the private pool party?? The overnight at a museum... I could go on and on.

And camping trips, and badges, and other things the parents of the child should be paying for. I'd rather see the scouts take that camping money and send underpriviledged kids to summer camps, not themselves. And if they themselves fall into that category, they can apply to go to that camp too, that they helped to support.

If the scouts want to earn money to buy themselves goodies, let them rake lawns to earn money. Do the pancake breakfasts, dinners, whatever. Let people come to you.

I'm SOOOO against fundraising this way. It's teaching kids to be little beggars for their own benefit, not to support a worthwhile cause. Yuck!

 

[sk!mom]

to all the bolded posts!!

For the other posts I quoted... am I missing something?? I honestly cannot believe people are ok w/ asking others (friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, strangers) to buy OVERPRICED (as admitted by the parents) popcorn so their boys activity that they chose to do is funded. What about karate??? What about gymnastics??? What about dance classes??? These activities can be just as worthwhile to a young person. I don't ask my neighbors to help me pay for my kids dance classes.

I've read all the pages, hoping to come across a post that says "our troop used the money our boys earned by selling overpriced popcorn to buy and distribute items to dying kids in our local children's hospital (insert humane society, veterans hospital, senior citizen home, etc). Yes, I see that they send some to the troops, when someone they're soliciting donates the money for that. So the scouts themselves are not paying for the popcorn for the troops, they're simply asking others to pay for it.

All I've read is "my kid got an iPad". Wow... seriously??? How about the private pool party?? The overnight at a museum... I could go on and on.

And camping trips, and badges, and other things the parents of the child should be paying for. I'd rather see the scouts take that camping money and send underpriviledged kids to summer camps, not themselves. And if they themselves fall into that category, they can apply to go to that camp too, that they helped to support.

If the scouts want to earn money to buy themselves goodies, let them rake lawns to earn money. Do the pancake breakfasts, dinners, whatever. Let people come to you.

I'm SOOOO against fundraising this way. It's teaching kids to be little beggars for their own benefit, not to support a worthwhile cause. Yuck!

My feelings exactly and you said it so well!

We are a family that believes strongly in donating time and money to the greater good but we are so against these sales that are just help ME go camping, to Disneyworld, or whatever!

If your child wants to go camping, to Disney , or wherever...pay for it yourself or get your kid busy mowing lawns, raking leaves, or shoveling snow. don't pressure friends and family to pay their way.

 

[Sadie22]

For those complaining about the price of the popcorn, you can go to the Trail's End website and see how much goes to Trail's End. The rest is split between council and selling unit (pack or troop). I recently bought some delicious, high quality popcorn in a quality keepsake can with a farm scene that reminds me of my childhood.

My sons were never required to sell popcorn, but we have bought some through the years. Their troops held annual fundraisers that were a service to the community and a means to help fund camping trips and maintain troop equipment. Funds also went to pay for uniforms and equipment for those families who could not afford these items.

 

[zoemurr]

My feelings exactly and you said it so well!

We are a family that believes strongly in donating time and money to the greater good but we are so against these sales that are just help ME go camping, to Disneyworld, or whatever!

If your child wants to go camping, to Disney , or wherever...pay for it yourself or get your kid busy mowing lawns, raking leaves, or shoveling snow. don't pressure friends and family to pay their way.

DS's scout master keeps saying, "It's their fun, so it's their fundraiser. They need to learn to sell themselves." No.. this is just begging and making neighbors feel guilty.

I was just talking about this with my co-GS leader. Last year girls voted to use their cookie money to go to a concert. Do you think this is what people are expecting when they donate $? I constantly wonder what people would say if we asked them, "what do you think we are using this money for?" I imagine most would say, "to help others" and this is really not (usually) the case at all, although our girls did do their Silver Awards which were great. I don't believe any of them used troop funds for this though.

As a leader we give the girls the forms and that's it. All the parents are fine with paying for what we need instead of dealing with this madness. If there is something they really needed to do that needed more $ we would find a better way.

One of DDs friends is on the student council at school. She told me the other day that if each 9th grader sold 2 tubs of cookie dough they would make 4k for the class. I asked her, "can't I just throw in $20?" I made her promise to see if they can make this an option. I don't want 2 big tubs of cookie dough. Why aren't people getting this?? Glad at least some Dis friends understand.

 

[DawnM]

This is not how we do it.

We sell $300 per scout ($100 to the popcorn company, $100 to the local counsel, and $100 to our troop for various items like awards, tents, etc....)

OR we can just donate the $100 and it goes directly to our troop.

Yes, you can donate.

Dawn

My nephews sell popcorn and I was asking my sister if I could just donate money. She said she thinks the money from direct donations goes to the general troop fund, while popcorn sales(or 1/3) goes to each boy's fund toward camping costs.

 

[DawnM]

We did that last year. The microwave popcorn was $18 for pack of 18.

So many complained last year about needing $1 bills for change than they just decided to make it $20.

It is very hard to tell people that each package is $1.11 and find enough change for them.

This year we didn't open the boxes.

I know this is an old thread, but if the boy scouts would sell smaller packages, I would buy some popcorn. Maybe a 3 or 4 pack. You could even break up the box and sell it by the pack. Most people would buy at least one pack just to help.

 

[okeydokey]

This year there is a 3 pack of microwave popcorn for $5.

 

[torinsmom]

DS's scout master keeps saying, "It's their fun, so it's their fundraiser. They need to learn to sell themselves." No.. this is just begging and making neighbors feel guilty.

I was just talking about this with my co-GS leader. Last year girls voted to use their cookie money to go to a concert. Do you think this is what people are expecting when they donate $? I constantly wonder what people would say if we asked them, "what do you think we are using this money for?" I imagine most would say, "to help others" and this is really not (usually) the case at all, although our girls did do their Silver Awards which were great. I don't believe any of them used troop funds for this though.

As a leader we give the girls the forms and that's it. All the parents are fine with paying for what we need instead of dealing with this madness. If there is something they really needed to do that needed more $ we would find a better way.

One of DDs friends is on the student council at school. She told me the other day that if each 9th grader sold 2 tubs of cookie dough they would make 4k for the class. I asked her, "can't I just throw in $20?" I made her promise to see if they can make this an option. I don't want 2 big tubs of cookie dough. Why aren't people getting this?? Glad at least some Dis friends understand.

Our PTA does not do individual fundraisers. They do the book fair and a spring carnival. Everything else comes from individual, tax deductible donations. I love this SO much better!

This is not how we do it.

We sell $300 per scout ($100 to the popcorn company, $100 to the local counsel, and $100 to our troop for various items like awards, tents, etc....)

OR we can just donate the $100 and it goes directly to our troop.

Yes, you can donate.

Dawn

I wanted to donate directly to help my nephews though. I told her I would just give them money when they are paying for their high adventure trip. They pay for it out of their own savings(my nephews, not their parents)

 

[DawnM]

Yes, this is fine too.

My oldest will be going to Philmont next summer.

We are having yard sales to raise $$ and doing some other projects.

Overall though, I set up an ING account and contribute a designated amount per month to save as we go.

I would rather cut out salmon and steak and eat only chicken to save then sell more popcorn!

Dawn

I wanted to donate directly to help my nephews though. I told her I would just give them money when they are paying for their high adventure trip. They pay for it out of their own savings(my nephews, not their parents)

 

[bellebud]

DS's scout master keeps saying, "It's their fun, so it's their fundraiser. They need to learn to sell themselves." No.. this is just begging and making neighbors feel guilty.

I was just talking about this with my co-GS leader. Last year girls voted to use their cookie money to go to a concert. Do you think this is what people are expecting when they donate $? I constantly wonder what people would say if we asked them, "what do you think we are using this money for?" I imagine most would say, "to help others" and this is really not (usually) the case at all, although our girls did do their Silver Awards which were great. I don't believe any of them used troop funds for this though.

As a leader we give the girls the forms and that's it. All the parents are fine with paying for what we need instead of dealing with this madness. If there is something they really needed to do that needed more $ we would find a better way.

One of DDs friends is on the student council at school. She told me the other day that if each 9th grader sold 2 tubs of cookie dough they would make 4k for the class. I asked her, "can't I just throw in $20?" I made her promise to see if they can make this an option. I don't want 2 big tubs of cookie dough. Why aren't people getting this?? Glad at least some Dis friends understand.

thank you for being honest and posting this.

this thread has really opened my eyes... I honestly was never sure exactly what the scouts (boys or girls) did with the money, but I always thought "it's probably something good for the community, after all, it's the scouts".

I'd buy, even though I'm very against fundraisers that go to people and ask them to buy something. I'd turn down other groups' fundraisers because I disagree w/ fundraising that way (maybe someone's little league, etc), but I always did the scouts. I definitely won't any more, because of this thread. I just am still flabbergasted that the money goes to *prizes* and concerts and overnights pool parties and badges and belt loop thingies and other personal things.

Still, not one person has commented on my post about exactly what *good* things the scouts do in the community (boys or girl scouts). If there is any good, I'd sincerely love to hear it, because the whole program is sounding horrible right now, but maybe we're only seeing one side.

In my homeschooling group, we have a community service program. Some things the kids and parents have done are... at Easter, we sent plastic Easter eggs w/ personal notes from everyone to troops overseas, we've cleaned playground equipment at a church, we made a walking trail at a local historic site, we've made homemade cards for a very sick local child, we made and distributed 'thank you' cards to a veterans hospital and spent time visiting w/ the veterans living there, we sent school items and basic gifts to underprivileged children in 3rd world countries, we've donated coats and food to local shelters, we've adopted families at Christmas, we've picked apples for a food pantry... all this with NO fundraising, no asking people who aren't in our group for financial support. This was all also done w/ very little money. Just some time helping others.

I know this thread has taken a turn from the OP's original intent, as do most threads on the DIS. Sorry OP - nothing personal... I'm just so surprised and can't get over it.

 

[zoemurr]

Now you're going to have the whole scouting community mad at me.

Anyway, I have read on here numerous times about troops using $ to go to Build a Bear, and there are lots of other examples on this thread. Clearly it is not just us.

That being said, we had that money left at the end of the year 'cause we hadn't spent it. The girls were busy working on their Silver Awards. Two of them set up a game center at a local elderly home and ran game nights for a year. Another created a DVD about a space center to encourage girls to be interested in science. DD collected over 2,000 books and set up a library at a local homeless shelter.

Non of these things cost us any $ though, and the funds have to be spent at the end of the year and we were running out of time. Another year we had used the $ to make dinner at Ronald McDonald House for the residents.

But yes, it is mainly used for overnights, badges, books, snacks and whatever "fun" things the kids want to do. That is why I am against it, even though I am a leader. We have 3 girls who are in HS and have very little time to sell anyway so we don't really worry about it. And as I stated earlier, DS will not be selling wreaths, even though we have been told repeatedly that it is mandatory.

"His fun.. his fundraiser" is the mantra. Not "we need this money to help the community."

You also need to realize that this is all run by volunteers. At least in GS we are given very little guidance and do the best we can.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

thank you for being honest and posting this.

this thread has really opened my eyes... I honestly was never sure exactly what the scouts (boys or girls) did with the money, but I always thought "it's probably something good for the community, after all, it's the scouts".

I'd buy, even though I'm very against fundraisers that go to people and ask them to buy something. I'd turn down other groups' fundraisers because I disagree w/ fundraising that way (maybe someone's little league, etc), but I always did the scouts. I definitely won't any more, because of this thread. I just am still flabbergasted that the money goes to *prizes* and concerts and overnights pool parties and badges and belt loop thingies and other personal things.

Still, not one person has commented on my post about exactly what *good* things the scouts do in the community (boys or girl scouts). If there is any good, I'd sincerely love to hear it, because the whole program is sounding horrible right now, but maybe we're only seeing one side.

In my homeschooling group, we have a community service program. Some things the kids and parents have done are... at Easter, we sent plastic Easter eggs w/ personal notes from everyone to troops overseas, we've cleaned playground equipment at a church, we made a walking trail at a local historic site, we've made homemade cards for a very sick local child, we made and distributed 'thank you' cards to a veterans hospital and spent time visiting w/ the veterans living there, we sent school items and basic gifts to underprivileged children in 3rd world countries, we've donated coats and food to local shelters, we've adopted families at Christmas, we've picked apples for a food pantry... all this with NO fundraising, no asking people who aren't in our group for financial support. This was all also done w/ very little money. Just some time helping others.

I know this thread has taken a turn from the OP's original intent, as do most threads on the DIS. Sorry OP - nothing personal... I'm just so surprised and can't get over it.

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are not community service groups, they are clubs for boys and girls to learn skills to better themselves. In doing so they do community service projects, but that is not their focus. You would learn this simply by looking up their websites. They are about empowering the kids to have better moral character and confidence. Boy Scouts frequently go camping, fishing, hiking, shoot guns and bow and arrows and use these activities to learn responsibility and gain confidence in themselves. Troops use money from fundraisers to pay for patches the boys earn doing things in their books and yes, some of those things are community service. But they also use the money for camping and other trips that should help them go further on their "scout trail". You can look up digital copies of their books online if you want to see what is expected of them. My son has learned valuable skills in his years of scouting.

Some things my son's troops have done in the past are cleaning up a section of highway, cleaning litter from a park, building a walkway through the woods at their host church and building a firepit at that church, collecting food for the food bank and singing at a nursing home at Christmas time. Next month they are hosting/serving a spaghetti dinner for veterans. If you ask a scout what they are selling popcorn for they should tell you their specific goal, mine was usually for camp.

 

[bellebud]

Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are not community service groups, they are clubs for boys and girls to learn skills to better themselves. In doing so they do community service projects, but that is not their focus. You would learn this simply by looking up their websites. They are about empowering the kids to have better moral character and confidence. Boy Scouts frequently go camping, fishing, hiking, shoot guns and bow and arrows and use these activities to learn responsibility and gain confidence in themselves. Troops use money from fundraisers to pay for patches the boys earn doing things in their books and yes, some of those things are community service. But they also use the money for camping and other trips that should help them go further on their "scout trail". You can look up digital copies of their books online if you want to see what is expected of them. My son has learned valuable skills in his years of scouting.

Some things my son's troops have done in the past are cleaning up a section of highway, cleaning litter from a park, building a walkway through the woods at their host church and building a firepit at that church, collecting food for the food bank and singing at a nursing home at Christmas time. Next month they are hosting/serving a spaghetti dinner for veterans. If you ask a scout what they are selling popcorn for they should tell you their specific goal, mine was usually for camp.

my bad then... I always mistakenly thought they were for the community more than anything. If it's about personal growth, that's lovely, along the same line as karate classes, little league, etc.

I've learned a lot in this thread... I'm glad I opened it.

And of course, we all want the best for our kids, but it just seems (and maybe it's just in my neck of the woods) that the "scouts" carries more weight than other after-school groups/classes. I'm just surprised at the amount of scouting parents who feel the community should financially support their kid getting a badge... I don't see karate parents feeling the community should support their kid getting a higher degree belt. And I say this from reading some of these posts that admit the stuff they're selling is crap or way overpriced, but they go door to door anyway with is. I just don't see other groups doing this to the extent the scouts do. And I'd never in a million years do this myself. It's just so rude to ask your neighbor to buy something that's priced 3x's its regular price so your child can have a pool party.

peace to all , and again, I know we're all just doing the best for our kids, but this is just so weird to me.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

my bad then... I always mistakenly thought they were for the community more than anything. If it's about personal growth, that's lovely, along the same line as karate classes, little league, etc.

I've learned a lot in this thread... I'm glad I opened it.

And of course, we all want the best for our kids, but it just seems (and maybe it's just in my neck of the woods) that the "scouts" carries more weight than other after-school groups/classes. I'm just surprised at the amount of scouting parents who feel the community should financially support their kid getting a badge... I don't see karate parents feeling the community should support their kid getting a higher degree belt. And I say this from reading some of these posts that admit the stuff they're selling is crap or way overpriced, but they go door to door anyway with is. I just don't see other groups doing this to the extent the scouts do. And I'd never in a million years do this myself. It's just so rude to ask your neighbor to buy something that's priced 3x's its regular price so your child can have a pool party.

peace to all , and again, I know we're all just doing the best for our kids, but this is just so weird to me.

Yes, you're right, it is along the same lines as karate and other classes. And I'm with you, I hate fundraisers, especially popcorn sales. That being said, they are absolutely not the only activity that fundraises. I have recently been asked to sell for or solicited for: the high school football team, a younger kids football team, soccer and chorus. I have been asked to sell raffle tickets for karate to help pay for uniforms. I typically opt out of these because as I said, I hate fundraisers, but whether or not a group does it depends on the group, it's not just the scouts. And in my experience most of the fundraising products are overpriced, not just scout popcorn, we're commenting on that specifically because that's what this thread is about.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the popcorn sales, I hate selling it and my DS is not going door to door doing it, but I just think it's wrong to say that it's only the scouts selling stuff to raise money.

 

[zoemurr]

(and I feel this way too) is that what makes the scouts different in a way is that people assume (and we know they do) that the money is going places it does not.

No one is lying here. But for karate, or football, or the marching band, or 8th grade trip, you know exactly what/why the kid is asking for. Money so they personally can do the activity.

Scouts is different. That is where the money is going, yes. But in 9 years, no one has asked my DD what the $ is used for, and each troop can use it differently. (parties, patches, incentives, etc.)

Scouting has often been seen as "more worthy" of people's money because they are out doing good for others. This is still very often the case, but as we have seen, may be more the exception than the rule.

Sorry Belle if I misunderstood.. and I tried to choose my words very carefully so not to offend anyone. As I said, I am a leader and both my kids are scouts. But we do very little fundraising 'cause I hate the hypocracy of it.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

Still, not one person has commented on my post about exactly what *good* things the scouts do in the community (boys or girl scouts). If there is any good, I'd sincerely love to hear it, because the whole program is sounding horrible right now, but maybe we're only seeing one side.

I think a big thing to remember is there is not one answer to what scouts do. Each troop is acts individually and makes their own decisions as to what to do with money and activities.

Troops my kids are in have worked at the local soup kitchen, stacked wood for a local eldery woman, planted flowers at the church where they meet and the local historical society, cleaned trails for numerous local parks, done food drives/pet food drives/winter clothing drives, visited nursing home residents... that's just in the past year.

I can tell you that neither Boy Scouts nor Girl Scouts will let a troop fundraise for another organization (be it the Red Cross, homeless shelter, National Wildlife, etc.) Both groups forbid having fundraisers to benefit another group. This sounds completely backwards (and I have danced around it with troops I lead)- but the theory is- Troop 123 says they are selling popcorn/cookies to benefit the Red Cross. They sell more, because everyone wants to help the RC, and then the troop keeps the money, only donates 1/2, whatever. Creates bad feelings and is a bad reflection on the BSA/GSUSA.

They CAN (and many do) chose afterwards to donate some of their money in some way shape or form. My son's troop held an all day bottle drive and donated all of it- over $500- towards a veterans memorial in our town.

That said- they have other bottle drives (we're all about popcorn-ed out) to pay for camping trips to Gettysburg or to remote places in Maine.

I disagree somewhat with the person who said scouts is not a community service organization. That isn't ALL it is about, but in my troops (I've led three), it most definately is about developing responsible young people who are mindful in their place in the community. They do have fun along the way, but they are also developing themselves and their leadership skills.

Six of my girls earned their Bronze Award last year. They each put in nearly 30 hours to a project they planned and executed almost by themselves. (Parental guidance, of course, but the girls were the ones talking with organizations and doing the work.) Two made pet beds for a local animal shelter and another two made 200 catnip toys for them. Two more wrote a singing and dancing show with costumes and a set that they put on at five area nursing homes. These girls were 10 and 11 years old. They are all chomping at the bit to start their Silver Award.

I don't know of too many other organizations that give someone that young the opportunity or encouragement to do such a major project. The badges, etc, along the way, are stepping stones to getting them to be able to do that. Likewise, the setting sales goals and delivering their goods, etc, shows them that if you want to do something, you need to work for it. It's all part of the process.

 

[Tink415]

to all the bolded posts!!

For the other posts I quoted... am I missing something?? I honestly cannot believe people are ok w/ asking others (friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, strangers) to buy OVERPRICED (as admitted by the parents) popcorn so their boys activity that they chose to do is funded. What about karate??? What about gymnastics??? What about dance classes??? These activities can be just as worthwhile to a young person. I don't ask my neighbors to help me pay for my kids dance classes.

I've read all the pages, hoping to come across a post that says "our troop used the money our boys earned by selling overpriced popcorn to buy and distribute items to dying kids in our local children's hospital (insert humane society, veterans hospital, senior citizen home, etc). Yes, I see that they send some to the troops, when someone they're soliciting donates the money for that. So the scouts themselves are not paying for the popcorn for the troops, they're simply asking others to pay for it.

All I've read is "my kid got an iPad". Wow... seriously??? How about the private pool party?? The overnight at a museum... I could go on and on.

And camping trips, and badges, and other things the parents of the child should be paying for. I'd rather see the scouts take that camping money and send underpriviledged kids to summer camps, not themselves. And if they themselves fall into that category, they can apply to go to that camp too, that they helped to support.

If the scouts want to earn money to buy themselves goodies, let them rake lawns to earn money. Do the pancake breakfasts, dinners, whatever. Let people come to you.

I'm SOOOO against fundraising this way. It's teaching kids to be little beggars for their own benefit, not to support a worthwhile cause. Yuck!

Some kids get to do scouting as their only activity because it can be low cost and/or financial aid is available. One source of financial aid comes from product sales. Girl Scouts are a non-profit organization, unlike karate and dance class.

Also Scouting teaches kids to earn towards their goals and not ask mom, dad or guardian for every dollar. GS troops are encouraged to have fun and service goals.

Selling products isn't begging imho.

 

[DawnM]

From Wiki:

The BSA goal is to train youth in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations. For younger members, the Scout method is part of the program to inculcate typical Scouting values such as trustworthiness, good citizenship, and outdoors skills, through a variety of activities such as camping, aquatics, and hiking.[4][5]

There are some other things listed in the Wiki article.

Yes, they do some outreach type activities. Eagle projects must better the community in some way and as each boy works towards his Eagle project, the other boys in the troop typically pitch in and work to help.

Our scout troop also does service projects quite regularly. This year we got community service hours for things like feeding the homeless, cleaning out a yard of a widow, helping at the Special Olympics, and building a trellis at a church.

My boys have gained self confidence, a good work ethic, service towards others, and skills that a "just a class" could not teach them.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I think a big thing to remember is there is not one answer to what scouts do. Each troop is acts individually and makes their own decisions as to what to do with money and activities.

Troops my kids are in have worked at the local soup kitchen, stacked wood for a local eldery woman, planted flowers at the church where they meet and the local historical society, cleaned trails for numerous local parks, done food drives/pet food drives/winter clothing drives, visited nursing home residents... that's just in the past year.

I can tell you that neither Boy Scouts nor Girl Scouts will let a troop fundraise for another organization (be it the Red Cross, homeless shelter, National Wildlife, etc.) Both groups forbid having fundraisers to benefit another group. This sounds completely backwards (and I have danced around it with troops I lead)- but the theory is- Troop 123 says they are selling popcorn/cookies to benefit the Red Cross. They sell more, because everyone wants to help the RC, and then the troop keeps the money, only donates 1/2, whatever. Creates bad feelings and is a bad reflection on the BSA/GSUSA.

They CAN (and many do) chose afterwards to donate some of their money in some way shape or form. My son's troop held an all day bottle drive and donated all of it- over $500- towards a veterans memorial in our town.

That said- they have other bottle drives (we're all about popcorn-ed out) to pay for camping trips to Gettysburg or to remote places in Maine.

I disagree somewhat with the person who said scouts is not a community service organization. That isn't ALL it is about, but in my troops (I've led three), it most definately is about developing responsible young people who are mindful in their place in the community. They do have fun along the way, but they are also developing themselves and their leadership skills.

Six of my girls earned their Bronze Award last year. They each put in nearly 30 hours to a project they planned and executed almost by themselves. (Parental guidance, of course, but the girls were the ones talking with organizations and doing the work.) Two made pet beds for a local animal shelter and another two made 200 catnip toys for them. Two more wrote a singing and dancing show with costumes and a set that they put on at five area nursing homes. These girls were 10 and 11 years old. They are all chomping at the bit to start their Silver Award.

I don't know of too many other organizations that give someone that young the opportunity or encouragement to do such a major project. The badges, etc, along the way, are stepping stones to getting them to be able to do that. Likewise, the setting sales goals and delivering their goods, etc, shows them that if you want to do something, you need to work for it. It's all part of the process.

I do agree that citizenship and community are an important part of scouting, but I just think that by definition I wouldn't call it a community service organization, like you said, that's just one aspect.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I'm curious, I'm on our Boy Scout committee (I did end up allowing my DS to participate this year) and I'm wondering what kind of fundraising people who oppose selling door to door would approve of. I mean, what would you support with your money if you wanted to support the BSA? Would you be more willing to support them if they provided a service such as a carwash? I'm not being facetious, I really want to know, I think it would be useful information.

This month our troop is selling water bottles at a booth at the state fair, they make a lot of money doing this and to me this is an awesome fundraiser. The water bottle prices are in line with what other vendors are priced at and something people need. We have also sold tickets for a pancake breakfast at Applebees which seemed to go over well, but that did involve selling door to door.