When someone in your unit looses everything to fire?

[moosetracker]

I have a co-worker who is a Webloes den leader. Just found out yesterday someone in his den lost everything to fire..

 

The kid is very upset about the lost uniform, it was his grandfathers' boy scout uniform, so irreplacable.

 

My co-worker went out though and bought him a new uniform, also it was Scout night at the local hocky game this weekend. My co-worker is giving them his tickets while he and his son miss the game, seeing that it might be nice to get out from where-ever they are temporily stationed..

 

I suggested the Pack might come together to get them some supplies (either new or pot/pans you are not using).. But they need to hold off until they have some place to stay..

 

I think my co-worker has gone out of his way, to help out.. But, any suggestions I can give him as to what the pack might do? I know it was a single mother not sure if this was her only son.. They lived in an apartment building.

[Eagle92]

HECK YEAH THE PACK SHOULD HELP OUT! ( yes i'm screaming, but in a polite way )

 

Find out details, and get together with leader to see what the pack can do.

 

remember: to help other people!

 

 

[bear dad]

Moosetracker,

Courious what state do you live in?

Where I live we have a scout night also this weekend, just wondering.

[The Blancmange]

I think it would be great to get the scouts involved in helping out, as far as making people aware of the situation and collecting donations. I hate to stereotype, but given the demographic, there is a pretty good chance the family did not have renter's insurance.

 

Who is your CO? A church? Maybe someone can discretely find out what their needs are. Maybe see if the Red Cross has someone assigned to them and ask that person.

 

Gift cards for restaurants might be a good idea. Eating every meal out can get expensive, even if they had insurance.

[clemlaw]

>>>>get them some supplies (either new or pot/pans you are not using).. But they need to hold off until they have some place to stay..

[eisely]

My wife was never involved in scouts, either as a child or as mother of our three sons, but several years ago she did something like this that clearly reflected scout spirit.

 

She was working at a local JC Penny store at the time. A young female co worker and her family were burned out of their house in an arson attack. My wife took up a cash collection among the other employees. My wife's action also shamed the store management into giving the employee a $2,000 shopping spree in the store to replace lost clothing.

 

Perhaps some of the other adults in the pack have connections with retailers who might be inclined to do something similar if asked.

[packsaddle]

We had something similar happen in this unit. The troop and pack and the CO all chipped in (other churches as well) to get them through the tough time until they were on their feet again. Took about a year of periodic assistance. That was in pretty good times so it might take longer today.

[moosetracker]

Thanks there are some very good ideas here..

 

Just a reminder - the Den Leader is a co-worker of mine, not in my unit nor even my district.. So I just wanted to get him helpful suggestions..

 

But the gift card sounds like a great way for someone like me who doesn't know the family at all to contribute something to the cause.. That is easy enought to give to my co-worker to pass on.

 

bear dad - we are in the NH state.. It is a Monarchs Hockey game..

[CalicoPenn]

Theblanc: And what "demographic" is that? I saw nothing in Moosetracker's post suggesting that this lad was in any particular demographic than "fellow human".

[Eagle007]

Moosetracker, if it was an apartment building complex, can they be moved to another apartment? Losing everything in a fire is a horrible experience. My heart goes out to them as I've had close relatives go through it.

[The Blancmange]

 

CalicoPenn wrote:

And what "demographic" is that? I saw nothing in Moosetracker's post suggesting that this lad was in any particular demographic than "fellow human".

A single parent in a rental apartment. Those facts are easy to glean from the original post. CalicoPenn just needs to read a little further. In my experience, which is far more than just superficial, many times people in that circumstance don't have money for things other than basic necessities. There is nothing improper or offensive about my observation.

[The Blancmange]

And in case my anecdotal observations aren't credible, someone actually took the time to research this:

 

fifty-eight percent of respondents indicate they do not have renters insurance

. . . .

Forty percent of survey respondents state that cost is the prohibiting factor behind the decision not to purchase renters insurance.

http://www.apartments.com/PressRoom/renters_insurance.htm

[dScouter15]

I agree that the family's immediate needs might be best covered by cash donations, or gift cards to department or grocery stores. Ideally, the pack might be able to do a fund raiser, involving all of the youth and adults, to supplement any offered donations. Unfortunately, the winter season kind of makes it difficult to do some of the fund raisers that can be put together quickly, on short notice (car washes, dunk tanks, door-to-door sales). And, of the fund raisers that are successful this time of year, many require too much planning or preparation to bring in an adequate amount of money quickly. Maybe browse through the "Fundraising" section on these forums to see if there's anything that can be put together quickly.

 

Beyond that, some ideas that come to mind are:

 

- Having the unit quietly and discretely offer to waive dues and program fees for the boy for the next couple months (if the unit's finances allow).

- While I guess its not very common for cub scout packs to maintain "scout accounts" for each boy, offer to apply any funding in the boy's individual account to the family's other financial needs.

- Have leaders offer to assist with transportation or child care while mom is out attending to other responsibilities.

- If leaders have pickup trucks/suv's/etc, encourage them to offer assistance in transporting new furniture or other large items.

- Encourage families to offer home-cooked meals to the scout's family - healthier, tastier and cheaper than trying to live off of fast food for the time being.

[CA_Scouter]

We had one family where dad almost lost his foot in a work accident. The troop ( and others outside the troop ) took up a donation and deposited close to $5K into their bank account. Quite a few people helped out with this and it involved GSUSA and 4H groups as well. This was a large undertaking.

 

We had another family where mom had major surgery and dad was on seasonal layoff.. we had families drop by a dinner 3-4 times a week for about 3 weeks to help out. This was of smaller scale and much easier to manage and organize.

 

 

 

 

 

[Scoutfish]

Gift cards are a great idea, and can be more useful instead of things they might not need/ have a place to store/or less important.

 

Remember top tos in a few for a drugstore too. For the more personal item you don't always think about such as prescriptions and toiletries, OTC meds, etc...