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It takes a fair bit of effort to bring a new Scouter on board. But there’s a good reason why that is!
Ken and Colin recollect their own close brush with a child abuser, a certain individual who once volunteered as a Scouter with their Troop, when they were both youth. This individual was recently released into the Edmonton area under no conditions or supervision, and is thought likely to re-offend.
Of course, back when Ken and Colin were Scouts, a lot of the youth protection and volunteer screening standards that are now strongly emphasized and strictly enforced by Scouts Canada either didn’t exist, or at least were not anywhere as comprehensive as they are today.
Ken also explains the connection between Waffle House and FEMA (the US Federal Emergency Management Agency) to Colin.
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Scouter John from Concord, North Carolina, wrote in with some thoughts about fundraising back in early September (yes, it’s been that long since we recorded last):
I am a scouter in North Carolina - former cubmaster and scoutmaster. In the southeast US (and probably elsewhere), the most success that our guys have is selling discount cards which are endorsed by various businesses. The sponsors of the cards are arranged on a district level (not by the individual units) - basically selling commercial businesses on doing deals to support local scouting. Some will be very 'local' (specific restaurants, tire dealers, etc) and some are regional (fast food and grocery stores).
My boy scouts find this to be an easier way to pay their way towards summer camp and some of my 'hard chargers' can sell 100+ cards per year. The unit keeps 50% of the selling price, the district keeps everything else above the cost of getting the cards made. The manufacturer gets only their cost of printing. I have attached an image of an Atlanta card which sells for $5. In my area, our cards are selling for $10. This is a value purchase for the buyer - they can see this as an opportunity to save money. We sell these door to door as well as setting up outside cooperative businesses. A typical card would have 'snap off' discounts used once with the main card being used all year.
They say 'camp card' on them since the premise is that the buyer (aside from getting great bargains) is helping to send a kid to summer camp
So, a shout-out to John for the comments; maybe some groups, councils, or districts can pull together something similar in their area!
And, as always, a big thank you to the folks at Scouting Radio for rebroadcasting Scouting Stuff episodes to their worldwide Scouting audience. If you're listening to us on Scouting Radio right now, let us know; reach out and get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.
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Slow Burn, by Kevin MacLeod
A few episodes you might want to get started with.
