Maboot38

yeah, we are in the same boat. Our troop MUST offer popcorn as a fundraising option for scouts who want camperships, but we do not require it of all scouts. The hangup I have is while we can do fundraising of other types when popcorn season is not going on....we are told that we can't do fundraising at the same time. Unfortunately, as popcorn runs pretty much ALL the nice months of the year, it leaves only the cold of winter or the mud of spring to do any fundraisers besides popcorn. That's where I'm stuck. I guess I'll just kick the tires when and if the scouts ask to do something. Don't wan

OH I totally wouldn't put it that way to the scouts. It just means I have to amend my previous statements. I told them "if you come up with a fundraiser you want to do, let me know and I'll get the committee to help." Now I need to amend it somewhat. In fact, anything that the PLC wants to do first needs to pass through me anyway as I wouldn't allow them to break rules or do something that goes against G2SS or YPT, so they know they can't do anything they want....but as it sounds...if the scouts said to me "We'd like to do a car wash in July", I'd have to tell them "no you're not allowed.

Great feedback everyone! The root of my question comes from the fact that I told the scouts "this is YOUR troop, and YOU get to decide what you do, it's up to us adults to remove roadblocks and make your plans achievable." However, now I have to backtrack and say...actually, you have no say in how you do fundraisers....grownups are going to tell you what to do.....again. Was hoping to avoid that. To be clear, I'm not trying to trash talk our fantastic council, just voicing my concerns about the realities I'm facing as a new scoutmaster. I'm sure they have historical reasons for

Indeed! This has been my playbook since I started just under a month ago! I've asked to submit an adult leader application for the girl troop and be added as an admin in their scoutbook. I've got all the position training and then some. I know the other SM has the in person training because we did it together. Not sure about the online position trained stuff, but I feel that's where the real meat is. For the physical distance of patrols...YES!!! I've already started acquiring a mobile patrol box from another troop, and we will be making copies to give each patrol mobile indepen

Compounding the problem, we have scouts who want to go to camp, but struggle with the cost. Our council does "Camp Cards"(little coupons with discounts to local businesses I think) that are sold by scouts interested in getting financial assistance for camp. I have been told that in order for our troop to be eligible to participate in the camp card program, we MUST participate in the popcorn program.

$$$$$$$$$$$$

In this case, when I was told this, I went directly to my Unit Commissioned, and he confirmed that it is a rule because too many units are not doing popcorn and they think selling meat sticks instead of popcorn is a good idea, so council banned sales other than popcorn. I'll see how it plays out, and if the scouts want to do something additional, I'll do my best to make the case.

I definitely don't want to fight council. So many great scouters in our council, and they are super helpful to me, so not looking to start a fight, just want to understand what is an actual "rule" and what is just a "suggestion"

Ah ok. Thanks for the clarification. (Inserting opinion - this doesn't sound very "scout led", and is opposing my messaging to the scouts "what do YOU want to do?". Instead, it's adults telling the scouts what the must do....kind of like saying...you MUST go to Klondike Derby, instead of asking the scouts if they want to go to Klondike Derby or would they rather go mountain climbing). End rant.

I think Skeptic is saying "they" (council) cannot forbid fundraising because it may not be popcorn sales. if so, are you saying THAT isn't true, or are you agreeing that they cannot forbid fundraising during "popcorn season"?

Does anyone else have a council that has said "Absolutely no other troop fundraising other than popcorn sales during popcorn season (which runs from June to November!!!!)? Ours says this, which flies straight in the face of letting the scouts decide what they want to do....and eliminates almost all possibility of car washes, food sales at outdoor events, or pretty much anything not directly around selling popcorn, which is highly unsuccessful once they ditch the cute little cub scout uniforms!

Yup, I get why they feel that way. I also get that it's not the way things are supposed to work. That's the tightrope I'm walking.

Resources in this case: Meeting Location/Meeting Night Trailer Outdoor gear (cooking gear, canopies, etc.) They are HEAVILY embedded in the boy trop, which would require an extraction....and I get the sense that the girl SM (who has agreed to follow my lead, but may now be second guessing now that I've highlighted that our current situation isn't sustainable) and the girls really don't want to be extracted from the rest of the scouts in our town. I'm working to see if we can introduce them to a neighboring troop 30 minutes away, but driving 5 minutes to scouts is more app

Yes and yes

Yes, the problem is that prior to my time here, this is how the troop was set up, and there are currently 5 girls in the girl troop, and they do not have their own resources, so they really are very embedded in the boy troop. I know this isn't what BSA wants, but I do know that the girls do not want to go 30 minutes away and merge with another troop, nor are they really able to be fully self sufficient, and I don't want to crush their passion for scouting. Currently working with our Unit Commissioner to fine a solution.

IH? I actually have the support of pretty much every adult in the troop but it is somewhat challenging because the girl Troop has a scoutmaster and therefore we have two scoutmasters and two senior patrol leaders and it’s kind of messy.

Good question. So it's a long story, but I'm going to try not to write a novel to describe it. Essentially, our Troop has a number of problems. The first is that there are 2 troops, a girl troop and a boy troop, and prior to my joining, it was decided that the two troops would function as one, with the girls being a single patrol in the boy troop, and that there would be TWO SPLs!!! So that's part one where the methods break down. The second problem is that the troop does everything as a troop, not as patrols. Patrols don't plan together, don't shop together, don't cook together....and rarely

Hi all! I recently became Scoutmaster of our Troop in Maine, and joined this forum because our Troop has some great strengths but also some glaring challenges, and I'm sure I'll need plenty of advice. I'm trying to repair the patrol method in this troop, and bring things back to being truly scout led. I'm looking forward to future collaboration and conversation on this forum!!!