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[Wisconsin] State Employees Challenging Payroll Donation Policy - Guidelines Do Not Cover Sexual Orientation 1 2 3
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LATEST POSTS
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That’s some serious wishful thinking! Those “two hours in public view” are just the tip of the iceberg! From there, while noble coaches are trying to guide kids into a lifetime enjoyment of athletic pass time, the neighborhood predator, on the field or in the stands, is getting acquainted with hundreds of kids and ranking them by vulnerability. Sports and band camps are notorious for providing first exposures to pornography and worse. Some of the kids who are routinely assaulted at home:work their way up in the structure to where they can propagate assault. USA Gymnastics learned the hard way that large numbers of their athletes were extremely vulnerable because of inordinate trust in professional positions. The types of assaults that I became aware of as my kids advanced through varsity sports made me (and their coaches) nauseous. Moreover, because there is no national oversight of leadership in youth sports, we have no idea of the risks to participants. With what I’ve learned now, would I still allow my kids to participate fully in athletics? Yes. Do I believe that structures like Sandusky laws have helped mitigate risk to some degree? Yes. Do I believe we’ve had a net effect of protecting our nation’s youth from CSA? Jury’s still out, my hope is that one day overall risks to youth will be as low as BSA’s rate, but we have quite a way to go. -
By InquisitiveScouter · Posted
Recommend a different thread. I never retest the Scout. Yes, we discuss the experience. "How did you like the badge?" "Tell me about a challenge you had, and what you did to deal with it." "Did the Merit Badge Counselor require you to do anything more than the written requirements in order to receive the badge?" "Would you recommend this badge or counselor to your friends? Why or why not?" etc. The attitude here is not to play "gotcha", but to gauge the Scout's experience with the badge and counselor. So, if a Scout comes to me with a Hiking MB card, for example, I would love to hear about his 20-miler. That is no small feat! If the Scout says, "Well, we never did a 20-mile hike", then we have a problem, and I have a further conversation with the Scout along the lines of previous posts. Then I have a conversation with the MBC, or the Program Director at camp. I'm not being the Grand Inquisitor as you seem to think. But I do not turn a blind eye to unethical behavior, when it arises. That would only perpetuate the "dirty little secret". Over time, I am seeing more and more instances of Scouts not completing requirements as stated, and Merit Badge Counselors (or Camp Staff Instructors) signing off badges when they should not. "The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law." This includes the Merit Badge program... -
By SiouxRanger · Posted
So, a few observations: Comment 1: Back in 1969 and 1970, I was under age 18, and counseled merit badges both years. About a year ago, I asked my camp director, me being curious how it was I could counsel merit badges being under age 18, said, "we knew that you knew what you were doing, so if you approved a scout's completion of a merit badge, we (adults) signed off on the approval." Hmmm. On the one hand, I did know my skills dead-bang-cold, and I did not approve anyone who had not demonstrated that they could actually do the skill. (And, being a naive kid who knew his skills, I had no concept of "approving the unskilled" to get them out the door.) Camping, pioneering, knife & ax, fire-building, etc…camp craft stuff. AND, I was hired for the summer camp staff position by a middle level Council Scout Professional who well-knew my age. So, I was definitely hired to counsel Scoutcraft merit badges being under age 18. Comment 2: Having attended summer camps with my sons for over 20 years, I have been impressed (appalled) by the lack of knowledge of the summer camp staff regarding their merit badge assignments. I volunteer at the local camp to mentor summer camp staff to do what can be done to give them a head start. Many are barely knowledgeable. We do what we can. Comment 3: Our local summer camp has moved from 6 weeks of summer camp to 4 weeks over the last 3 years. Attendance has dropped significantly. Maybe by 30%. Our Camp Directors over the last few years have had a difficult time finding staff. A 4 week paid stint at summer camp does not fill a summer, leaving about half a summer unemployed. Summer camp salaries, being what they are, really low, don't make up for half an unpaid summer. So, potential skilled staff go elsewhere. So, our Camp Directors have hired under age 18 staff so that the "show may go on." I've read the Leader and SPL summer camp evaluations, and the number two complaint is that the staff were not knowledgeable. Food issues was number one. Our Council SE's salary and benefits is about 10% of the Council Budget. -
By InquisitiveScouter · Posted
@Alec27, He does not need the form. If you need confirmation from the "chain of command", have your candidate check with the District or Council Approving Authority AFTER he submits his proposal. See the Preliminary Cost Estimate section: "Note that if your project requires a fundraising application, you do not need to submit it with your proposal." Worrying about the form now is putting the cart before the horse. During the proposal phase, he only need answer the question: "Fundraising: Explain how you will raise the money to pay for the total costs. If you intend to seek donations of actual materials, supplies, etc., then explain how you plan to do that, too." You said, "The kid is building a deck and the whole thing is being funded by a private donation from one of our unit members who is also a parent who is also a friend of the family. " So, his answer is as simple as re-wording the instructions from earlier in the Workbook: "A member of my unit has graciously agreed to provide the funding. I will fund any supplemental needs myself. I do not plan to obtain money, materials, supplies, or donations from any other sources, therefore no fundraising application is required." And leave it at that, for the Workbook. As mentioned before, there should be an offer of a tax receipt from the beneficiary. This would be a good discussion for the candidate to have with the donor, AFTER project approval; "Would you like a receipt for your donation for tax purposes?" If the donor says "Yes", then the Scout should inform the beneficiary, provide the donor information to the beneficiary, and tell the donor he has given the beneficiary the info. This need only happen during/after project execution. Not in the proposal or planning phases. And the amount is immaterial, for receipt purposes. If a donor gives $5, the beneficiary should provide a receipt when requested. However, the amount threshold where the IRS requires a receipt in order to report the donation at tax time is $250. https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/charitable-contributions-written-acknowledgments As @T2Eagle stated before, this is between the donor and the beneficiary. And your Scout should make it clear to anyone giving money, the money is for XYZ 501 c (3) Non-profit Corporation, not your Scout. If a specific amount is given beforehand, any overage must either be returned to the donor, or given to the beneficiary. Happy Hunting -
You mock, but somewhere there is a kid sitting at home on his device that needs to start being physically active so he can train to participate with the troop on a day-long hike, a canoe trip, a long bike ride, whatever. We have some kids who struggle. Everyone is different. For some the requirements are easy, for others, some might take a little work. I watched my son complete the physical fitness requirements and MB as a young scout, and no, it wasn't difficult for him. But there was a sense of accomplishment. That the activities he participates in and effort he made has a difference in his fitness. So he can participate in the challenging physical activities with the troop. Remember we have volunteers at the unit level. They are not high-level professionals training for years to conduct the program. So we might have to spell it out for them. The point is to encourage young people to make moral and ethical choices. I watch kids at summer camp skip breakfast and go straight to the trading post to load up on candy bars. It might work for a kid in the first year program, but not so well for the ones spending all day on the ropes course, or training for the mile swim. Some have to be told about the food pyramid. While the mess hall food isn't always the best, it has the nutrients they need to get through their daily activities. So I see where the program goes askew. It is the focus on these seemingly mundane requirements. When the focus is really on going outdoors, having adventures, having fun. If you focus on the latter, the requirements will happen. It is not about checking boxes in the handbook. We need to give kids the "why" to complete them.
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