Re: Boy Scout Activities and funds to achieve Eagle
Fred Webb (fwebb@DOLPHINICS.COM)
Mon, 27 Jan 1997 14:17:55 -0500
>What do you do when the SM asks why a scout is not going on all the
>activities and camp outs?
>Most of the scout trips are ranging from $100 to over $500 (summer
>activity) per trip per month.
That's WAY too much.
>Is this expense common in other scout troops?
Our troop has decided to have yearly dues, but to set those at a level that
doesn't support outings much, if at all. Outings are charged for separately,
but the typical outing is less than $20. Most "ordinary" campouts are
$10-15.
Once or twice a year we have more expensive outings - a trip to Nantucket
Island (where we rent bikes),a canoe trip (where we rent canoes), or a ski
trip.
However, even these usually cost under $100! Typically about $50.
Even summer camp runs less than $200 for a week, in our council. Once in a
while
we do have a high adventure outing for the older boys, where the total cost
might be $500 or more, but when we do that we do extra fund-raising events to
allow the troop to subsidize part of the cost. Even our ordinary fund raising
always has part of the money raised credited to each boy individually. The
boys
can use their share of this money to reduce the cost of any outing, or for
needed personal camping equipment.
My son also belongs to an Explorer post, and they usually try to raise enough
money to pay all of almost all of the cost of every outing they do.
>How many of these trips does a scout need to go on before he can obtain
>Eagle?
Well, there's no set amount, of course. A Scout who isn't attending quite
a few
events, however, isn't going to advance as fast as his peers, and thus is more
likely to get discouraged, and more likely to just simply run out of time -
Eagle has to be earned before he turns 18. In addition, the advancement
requirements state that he has to be "active" in his troop for a certain
number
of months for each hisher rank - Star, Life and then Eagle. This
requirement is
somewhat vague, and open to interpretation by the Scoutmaster. A Scoutmaster
could decide that a boy who doesn't go on outing isn't "active" in spite of a
good meeting attendance rate.
>I am after suggestions and ideas to help this young scout. He just made
>tenderfoot, and has his eyes set
>on Eagle. I would like to help him achieve his goal. He participates in
>all scout fund raisers and troop fund raisers,
>but it does not seem to help with the expense of the outing.
If the troop can't or won't make substantial changes, I'd recommend the boy
look
for another troop, and remember to ask questions about costs before he joins.
If the Scoutmaster is approachable, somebody should tell him he needs to do
somathing to bring down costs. He should look for ways to make at least
half of
the outings MUCH cheaper. If more than one or two outings a year are going
to be
more than $50, he should also do a lot more fund-raising, and use some of the
money raised to subsidize the outing cost on the more expensive ones. I'll bet
this will boost attendance noticably on all his outings.
Finally, lack of funds shouldn't EVER be the reason for a boy failing to
participate - some way should be found to (quietly) provide for any boy whose
parents can't afford to send him.
>Being a Cubmaster of a pack that has a many low level income families, we
>tend to utilize state parks that
>offer group camping (at discount rates), borrow canoes from the troop.
>We even make craft tables from scrap
>2x4's and find low cost ways to have fun and earn merit badges. Many of
>the parents of our scout families
>have two jobs or work 6 days a week to make ends meet. I would like to
>help the scouts of these families reach
>whatever goal they want and not have to worry about the family budget.
Want to be a Scoutmaster? - sounds like you have a good grasp of what's
important here.
>Any ideas would be much appreciated.
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
