Arrow of Light Extras and Cost

[Eagle92 110]

Ok I know some packs give something "extra" when Cubs get their Arrow of Light and/or Cross over. I've seen personalized arrows, I've seen certificates, framed pictures, plaques, etc.

 

I'm curious as to how much other units spend on these extras,a nd what are they.

 

Thanks.

E92

[AnaMaria 10]

Our pack spends up to $20/scout. Last year's crossovers chose to get Scout handbooks. This year's group is going with arrows.

[Basementdweller 608]

We have a career arrow that shows their rank advancement and arrow points. We also give them a certificate.

 

Now we buy native american made arrows and they cost $20 each even before we start to add paint.

 

They are a really out standing keepsake.

[OwntheNight 10]

We also went with the career arrow mounted on a plaque. The arrow started at 16.00 and the plaques were an additional 9.00 or 12.00, depending on the size of the plaque. With the small one, the arrow hung off the edges, the large one, the arrow fit completely on it. We also had a trophy shop make a brass plate with the boys name, pack number and AOL date. They used flexi brass and charged us 6.00 for each one. That's a whole lot cheaper than real brass and looks just as good.

We went with Tatanka Traditions for our arrows. www.honorarrows.com

 

Our parents actually did the striping of the arrows themselves, but instead of paint, we used knitting thread. That made the arrows really stand out.

Our CM also gave the boys their AOL knot for when they return to Cub Scouts as an Adult.

We also did the certificates as well.

[Eagle92 110]

Ok thanks for the info. I was told my pack spend $48/plaque, and I was shocked. our budget is not the same as it has been in the past, and I was told there was an argument about the pack not buyin them this year like in the past. Apparently the parents are now going to buy them

 

What I have done for the Order of the Arrow, and thought it would be cool for AOL, was take the BSA's ceremonial arrow kit, woodburn name, pack #, and AOL date on the shaft, then redo the coup feathers so they are hand painted and more realistic than with just the dye, ( ok I am a feather snob and admit it,that's from dancing in the OA for way to long ), and use either yarn or embroidery thread to wrap the quills in the colors of their achievements, i.e orange= Tiger, Red= Wolf, light blue=Bear, navy= Webelos.

[Pack212Scouter 10]

Our Pack doesn't budget much for AOL outside of the presentation program. Each family chooses and pays for the plaque that they want and for however extravagant reception the families want.

[Frank17 10]

Our old Pack does scout handbooks and homemade arrows ($4 or 5 in supplies - Arrows and colored thread), so the total cost is about $15 per scout. Our Troop gives them unit numbers, shoulder loops, and a new neckerchief if they bridge to us.

 

As a SM, I would recommend to all that EVERY W2 bridging over be given a scout handbook as a gift. It encourages the uninterrupted transition, gets them something useful to have, and saves a trip to the council store.(This message has been edited by frank17)

[pchadbo 60]

Our pack does the career AOL and plaque for about 20-25 per boy.

Then when the boys cross over to the troop (same CO) they get a new necker and Scout handbook as a welcome to the Troop

[Eagle92 110]

Frank,

 

for those troops that don't do so, that's a GREAT idea. i know in my area, a BSHB is the standard gift from troops.

[AKdenldr 33]

Local arrow hobbiest makes arrows for us for $ 6. Using some leather lacing, leather scraps, and gromets I made some nice awards. Printed a certificate detailing the boy's scouting career in terms of the colors on the arrow. Boy's name and pack number, date of award, were written between the feathers. Arrow was ready to hang at home (from the lacing.) Paint, sealant, and all came to $8 / arrow. Cheaper next time when I can use the paint purchased earlier.

 

Parents could mount the arrow on their own if they wished.

[trainerlady 10]

My former pack did something differrent every year. Last year the DL made time capsules for each boy to open a year after crossover - they were rather cheap and chintzy looking. The year before the parents purchased the shadow boxes from Supply and re-created the boys blue Cub shirt. At the price of those boxes you could go to a frame shop and frame the real shirt.

 

This year I got each boy a hiking stick and medallions for each rank he'd earned in his career. My pack required the departing boys to pay their full year's dues even though we left in late Novemeber. As a result, as DL, I had a year's worth of dues to play with, we didn't spend anything on the couple of meetings we had (we were visiting troops for most of the fall). The combo ended up costing about $30 per boy.

 

It sounds bad, but I wasn't leaving any den dues unused - we paid it, we were going to use it. Some sour grapes on this topic.

[Eagle92 110]

Trainer,

 

No sour grapes, just a budget problem. We've had the pack run as "two man shows." with the CM and ACM being the only ones who knew what was in the account. Our committee was a paper one. When the original CM and ACM left, there was a substantional amount of money, mostly due to the generousity of the CO and their raffle to support the troop and pack (old CM figured out away around BSA's raffle and games of chance policy by letting the CO do it). Then they left and we got a new CM and ACM.

 

New CM and ACM kept on spending like in the past, as that seemed to be expected. So money was spent providing a great program. Problem is now the CO is focusing all their fundraising to build a new youth center. So instead of helping to support our program, they are focusing their efforts on getting the pack, troop, and crew their our own rooms in the new facility. So no more raffles to help the units. Pack now has have just the dues and popcorn sales, no other income.

 

I have no problem with spending the rest of your budget per Cub amount on a nice present for the Webelos. But if that money was all used up, and the awards were going to eat up all of your popcorn funds and more, that's a problem.