Join Scouts, get a free uniform via Goodwill and Council

[RememberSchiff]

Goodwill Northern New England and the Commissioner for K-Valley District of the Boy Scouts is working to make sure no Boy Scout goes without a uniform. 

Appears to be a combined uniform donation,  new scout registration,  uniform distribution on one night. 

More details at link:

https://www.wabi.tv/content/news/Free-Boy-Scout-uniforms-to-be-handed-out-next-week-in-Waterville-493191391.html

Edited September 14, 2018 by RememberSchiff

[mashmaster]

That is awesome!

[The Latin Scot]

I love it. I wish more centers would do something like this; I know there is a Salvation Army way up north in LA that always has big stockpiles of Scout apparel, but I haven't heard of them doing anything like this before. Some Council exec needs to read this and try it out in our area. 

[RememberSchiff]

Update 9/16/2019 ... a growing service provided by K-Valley District Commissioner Chris Bernier and Goodwill.

So far, Bernier (a commissioner for K-Valley District of the Boy Scouts) and Goodwill NNE has outfitted more than 650 children in Maine who needed uniforms. All year, the Waterville (Maine) Goodwill store sets aside donated uniforms for Bernier, who then washes every uniform and rips off every award badge by hand, according to a news release from Goodwill.

Bernier started by serving Waterville children, but now he gets calls from all over the state asking to help outfit Scouts in need.

“So far we have served over three dozen communities in Maine with some traveling as far as Topsham, Pittsfield, Bath and Bangor,” he said, according to the release. “There are many people who are deserving who can’t work or can’t afford a uniform for their child, and that’s what this is about. It’s about changing the future, changing the next generation, helping kids be better than they can be and building a better citizen.”

Bernier has approximately 200 uniforms that Goodwill NNE collected for his cause in storage, ready for Scouts. The only requirement for a child to get a free uniform is that they register for scouting or is already a registered scout. The program also allows for Scouts to trade in their uniforms when they outgrow them or change ranks — when they give back an old uniform, Bernier will give them a new one, according to the release.

Anyone who would like to donate a uniform can drop it off at the Waterville store. Parents should bring their Scout’s registration form as proof. Scouts also will be able to register at the store during the drive.

“I’m a one-man show,” Bernier said, according to the release. “But we’re just getting it started. We’re working on becoming a nonprofit, we’d like to expand it. We’re trying to make it needs-based. We serve kids who can’t afford to go to the council store and get a brand new uniform.”

More at source: 

https://www.centralmaine.com/2019/09/16/goodwill-bernier-to-host-boy-scout-uniform-drive-giveaway/

[Eagle94-A1]

Glad they  did not do this when I was in HS. I would not have been able to sell an th uniforms.

 

Seriously  though, EXCELLENT!

[thrifty]

Love this!  We have a few different thrift stores in the area that I enjoy going to and I've found over 40 uniforms in the past three years.   2 or 3 that still had tags on them.  takes time to get the badge magic off but not too important if someone is sewing new patches on top of it.  I wonder what will happen to the majority of the LDS uniforms of the scouts that quit?

[Momleader]

Glad to see that Goodwill is working with them cooperatively.

 

 I tried working with the 2 Goodwill Stores in my area and the manager says they usually toss scout uniforms out to the bins that go to the goodwill outlet (where you rummage around and pay per pound) or they wind up in the bin of Halloween costumes. I offered to bring a bin in for them to toss uniforms into but they said it wasn’t allowed. Kind of a shame because we could have recycled them into the pack and other packs in the area. 

I did leave a card at the kid consignment shops and smaller thrift stores for this reason though - I will buy them. 

One problem we have is kids join and their parents come asking for a uniform they can’t afford, if we have a uniform for them, we ask they return it for the next size or if they decide to not do scouts anymore. We NEVER get those back to pass along to another scout in need.  

Biggest reason I would love to see Cub Scouts move to a polo shirt uniform per rank (keeping it around $15-$20 each) - plus they would fit better.  

[The Latin Scot]

On 10/4/2019 at 7:32 PM, thrifty said:

Love this!  We have a few different thrift stores in the area that I enjoy going to and I've found over 40 uniforms in the past three years.   2 or 3 that still had tags on them.  takes time to get the badge magic off but not too important if someone is sewing new patches on top of it.  I wonder what will happen to the majority of the LDS uniforms of the scouts that quit?

I'm actually trying to keep two steps ahead of that by starting to address this NOW. I'm letting families and leaders know that I will be collecting any and all uniform items after December, and I'll collect and catalogue all of it for other units in the area to use as a resource until it's all be donated. I know it's only a small gesture, but I hope it will help alleviate some of the loss for our district going forward since we represented a significant portion of our area's population and funding. I estimate I'll be able to get enough uniforms to fully supply at least 40 - 50 Scouts.

[mrkstvns]

Just thought I'd point out that many councils already have a program in place to help get scout uniforms into the hands of kids whose families might struggle to provide them.  In the Houston area, this is called the "Uniform Exchange".  Info about how it works is here:

https://shac.org/uniform-exchange

Our troop does something similar.  We have a bin where scouts who outgrow their uniforms, or scouts who age out of the program, can toss their uniforms in a bin and they are made available to scouts bridging into the troop.  

I applaud the efforts of Latin Scot, Momleader, and anyone else who grabs the bull by the horns and helps rescue uniforms for re-use by those who need them.

[RememberSchiff]

Update Sep 17, 2025: 

For its 13th year, Scout leaders have set up shop in the Waterville (Maine)Goodwill to collect and distribute partially used uniforms for scouts in need. 

The donated uniforms are cleaned and have all patches removed, giving any aspiring scouts a clean slate to start their scouting journey. 

According to Goodwill Leadership, the Waterville Goodwill collects uniforms all year for this event. 

Kennebec Valley Uniform Bank coordinator, Chris Bernier, says the drive helps eliminate the cost of scouting for a lot of families.  

"It helps kids who can't afford get their uniforms. It helps them feel included," says Chris Bernier, Kennebec Valley Uniform Bank coordinator, "Especially next to families who can afford a uniform, and we want to make sure everybody feels included in this program, because, y'know, it's a great learning for life organization, and we want kids to be successful." 

Over the years, this drive has outfitted over 2,000 scouts with uniforms. 

Source with audio:

https://www.foxbangor.com/news/local/scout-leaders-hold-uniform-drive-to-help-with-cost-of-scouting/article_debb2581-a39a-4a28-b252-0823fb58bf0d.html

Scout Salute.

[skeptic]

National should partner with all of the thrift store chains, and other similar stores to have Uniform options for all scouts and even leaders.  We have a uniform closet in our church that helps our members, and we share it with other units if they ask.  Many of our members are vintage to start, and many stay that way.  Before we lost our camp, we always took a box of service caps and a few Smokey hats with us for flag gatherings.  Now we use them for occasional local events.

[jcousino]

National would never have it, as it would cut down on the sale of new uniforms. Great idea for the scouts, not sure the current cost of a new uniform plus patches.

[scoutldr]

A quick check of patches shows a new scout will need about $25 to put patches on a new uniform.  Why do they remove all the old patches?

[Tron]

6 hours ago, scoutldr said:

A quick check of patches shows a new scout will need about $25 to put patches on a new uniform.  Why do they remove all the old patches?

A lot of the uniforms I see in thrift shops here are from other councils. A lot of the used uniforms I see are also 1980s era with patches that are no longer part of the program. 

[skeptic]

Understand that none of the past uniform designs is ever disallowed.  Current patches can be added in place of old ones, though really old styles can be difficult.  But frankly, when the effort is made, they look really cool, and the youth tend to like them.