How to help deserving Scout pay his way?

[SSScout 1615]

What is the way to help a Scout whose family is hard up in these times? How can he (his family?) pay his fairly established dues?

Troop allows free ride?

Ask local service club to help?

Pass the Scout hat?

Does the Council have a "scoutship" program? I have been told that some GSUSA councils have such a thing. Does BSA?

Ask family to pay as they can? So much per month? I can remember when the dues were collected weekly at the Patrol meetings... History/nostalgia not appropriate?

Insist that the Scout participate fully in the fundraising program and apply more than the usual share amount to his dues?

What if the Scout has some difficulties emptionally/intellectually and the family really sees Scouting as a plus in his life, but those problems make it difficult for the Scout to fully participate?

 

Thoughts? Experience?

 

Thanks in advance...

[SeattlePioneer 144]

Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts?

 

 

My council offers "camperships" for Cub Scout and Boy Scout camps and day camps. Typically half the fee remitted.

 

Call your District Executive and ask what the council can do. They may remit the BSA registration fee or be of some other help.

 

My pack remits about 25% of popcorn sales to Scout accounts families can use to pay Scout membership and camping fees, uniforms, books or whatever. Most families made good use of that to reduce their cash outlays.

 

I'd talk to the parent and see what help they might need to avoid burdening the family unreasonably. I wouldn't have any problem with the unit treasury helping with that quietly.

 

I would see that a motivated boy had the opportunity to participate in the program one way or another.(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)

[KC9DDI 11]

All of the ideas you mention warrant some investigation.

 

How much are your troop dues, and what do they cover?

 

What other expenses that aren't charged by the troop are of concern (eg, does the Scout need camping gear, a uniform, etc?)

 

Many councils do have campership programs, but they are typically operated on a per-event basis (eg, camperships for summer camp, training courses, etc - rather than just a general year-round fund). This might be an option for getting the Scout to summer camp, if nothing else.

 

Asking for participation in fundraising is usually a good idea in these cases - but, remember, there are factors which can make effective fundraising difficult or impossible (living in a poor neighborhood, not having time for fundraising due to other family priorities, etc).

 

Having the troop subsidize or write off certain expenses for this Scout can be a good option, especially if this situation is expected to be temporary. But such things must be handled privately and with discretion, for obvious reasons. Also, such things can unfortunately be cause for drama and hurt feelings, so you may want to size up the dynamics and maturity of your adult committee before going down that road.

 

My advice - have a discrete meeting between the SM, CC and maybe COR and the boy's family. Get an idea of how high priority Scouting is for them, and determine financially what they can contribute. Determine what, if anything, the unit can subsidize. Come up with some options for making up the difference.

 

By all means, do everything in your power to keep the boy in Scouting. Some things do cost money, and may be out of reach for this family, and that's unfortunate. But I'd hope that you could at least devise a way to allow the Scout to continue to participate in meetings and at least some outings.

[Basementdweller 608]

I have had some very bad experiences with boys on full scholarships.....they rarely last a year.

 

A few questions to you.

 

How long has he been a member of your troop???? In my eyes it makes a difference.

 

New boy....our troop would require him to pay a minimum half of his fees.

 

A scout with a couple year history may get a free ride or significant help especially if he has a great record of attendance and a positive attitude.

 

Participation for both is mandatory in fund raising... No fundraising no help.

 

Far as mental or physical issues are irrelevant in my eyes if the first two requirements are met.

[Eagle92 110]

Honestly it depends.

 

I'm one of those who believes in a a little "sweat equity" in that the scout needs to do something to earn his way. My troop did 1 fundraiser a year, and I busted butt that entire weekend to earn my way for the year. We were responsible for sanitation at a county, ok parish 'cause LA is different, fair. It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it . My mom also helped by manning the booth we set up to sell food.

 

When I went to jambo and Canada, I spent 18 months doing all kinds of things, every single fundraiser the jambo troop did and then some, to get the money. I busted it and was about to back out about a month prior, and got a sponsor for the last $100. That may not soundlike much, but it was 1989 and minimum wage was less that $4/hour.

 

Now when I did BA22 training, troop put up money for 1 person to go. But the troop liked to send two of us, so I had a campership to cover 1/2, and I busted butt to cover the other half.

 

So depending uponw what the expected outcome is, you either make them earn it, make them bust butt, but help if short, or if the unit will be getting a benefit, subsidize.

[Stosh 3452]

I have often suggested the leaf raking, snow shoveling, odd-job kind of thing. There is nothing wrong with raising money on your own to pay for scouts. I did it that way and always had money in my pocket. I have held at least a part-time job since I was 12 years old. I went off to college in 1968 with $7,000 in the bank and came out 8 years later with a master's degree $1,500 in student loans and $7,000 in the bank. I also bought a new car during that time.

 

If a scout is thrifty, what makes anyone think the problem is with the parent's finances? In this day and age of parental entitlements, it is my opinion that if the parents can't afford it and the boy won't get off the sofa and contribute, he isn't taking the Thrify Law very seriously.

 

Stosh

[Basementdweller 608]

A case study......

 

Hispanic family of 8 both parents work. Grandma lives with them disabled....They do not drive new cars or have smartphones. Mom works at the corner hispanic market, dad does some sort of day labor. They claim an income of $24k. They have three cub age boys, they participated in popcorn sales at the storefront and sold door to door.

 

 

Do you help them out??????

[Tampa Turtle 1011]

We have had a few boys who needed help. The committee will float a few obvious cases but it is expected that the boy will be active. We may expect some serious service projects. And our uniform closet could cloth 8 boys at any one time. You could also outfit yourself with the old lost and found. Once the boys "dad" was an ASM so we kinda took it in trade.

 

I know a few SM's have paid the way for a boy or two. A couple more who "paid" him to help out working on the scout hut.

 

Sadly this usually does not work out for us. The boy's parents are usually too embarrassed, or holding down multiple jobs make taking the boys attendance difficult. We are a pretty affluent Troop and I think some boys feel uncomfortable if they do not have all the expensive camping gear, etc. (which is why I make a big show of my homebuilt or scavenged stuff) I know I personally have spent a lot of time trying to help some of these boys and it is always real sad when you lose one. Real sad. Economy in Tampa still pretty terrible.

 

I do not make a lot of money and Scouting is our family's major recreational expense. I have tried to be the voice of reason during our trip planning to include a mix of expensive and cheap trips so not to exclude boys all the time. That "Thrifty" really come in handy!

[Jeffrey H 25]

"Hispanic family of 8 both parents work. Grandma lives with them disabled....They do not drive new cars or have smartphones. Mom works at the corner hispanic market, dad does some sort of day labor. They claim an income of $24k. They have three cub age boys, they participated in popcorn sales at the storefront and sold door to door. Do you help them out??????"

Yes.  Gladly Yes.  The fact that they are active and showing interest would make it an easy "Yes" for me. 

[Basementdweller 608]

I forgot to add all three boys are very active and exceed their peers on everything we do. Rarely miss a meeting or event.

[Stosh 3452]

Ever consider the other boys working together to raise funds for all or maybe a deserving scout? Yeah, it's not fair and balanced financially, but then many service projects aren't. I would think the boys would find working to help others at all times, including their fellow scouts, might not be a bad lesson to stress in a financially stressed area. Maybe the deserving scout could set up a fundraiser in town, i.e. bake sale at Wal-Mart and his buddies show up to provide cookies and cakes and man the booth to help their buddy. I have known many instances where the older boys going to Philmont had fundraisers and the younger boys who weren't going showed up to help. Fits nicely into many of the Scouting principles we try to instill in the boys. After all, how many scouts' families might in fact be receiving some of the Scouting for Food collected? Never know, not important. It doesn't make any difference whether one knows the needy person or not, it's something one does to develop character.

 

This process also points out one of the pitfalls of individual scout accounts. It divides the boys into those who have and those who don't. It also means that an aging out scout can't designate his individual account to a deserving scout either. Too often they go out and spend their account before they leave so it doesn't go into the troop's general fund and get lost in the shuffle of paperwork.

 

Need to look at the system and see if it can't be modified away from much of the traditions that often revolve around troops, especially in difficult times.

 

Stosh

[CCbytrickery 10]

Our pack just started a Scout closet and Scholarship program this year. Our rules are pretty simple: the family must apply (questions like why do you need this and are you willing to do fundraising/be on committees--nothing financial or requiring documentation). Then they must meet with their DL, the CM and at least one of other Scholarship committee members, who then make the decision.

 

We are willing to help with recharter fees, pack dues, uniform shirts (we give out neckers/slides/books to new boys), camp fees for the scout and one adult. In return, the scout must attend meetings (and participate) weekly, as well as participate in all fundraisers (right now, just popcorn and camp cards). An adult from the family must work on at least one subcommittee (B&G, Pinewood, a camping trip, whatever).

 

The scout closet is free, but we ask that if they can, to either donate an item they aren't using or to donate so we can buy more items. We're hoping to expand this into items for camping as well, like tents their family may have outgrown, but may be perfect for a single parent/child.

 

We will set up payment plans for pack dues, but they must follow through with them. If not, then we will require payment in full for any camping trips; if they do, we can work with them on those as well.

 

 

[qwazse 4344]

I have bailed out individuals from time-to-time. But, one thing I've learned is that if a leader's wallet gets tapped too deeply, that leader is less available to provide program. Everybody looses! And that loss is worse than if every member of the group had to pitch in to make it work for those less fortunate.

 

Our troop has a discretionary fund for this sort of thing, and it doesn't take a whole committee to decide to use it. Just the SM CC and Treasurer. That way folks don't have to worry about a big public scenario.

 

The issue is, if we have several scouts needing help (a likely scenario this time of year) there might be a smaller percentage going into scout accounts for the next fund-raiser. That should be a non-issue because the point of the individual scout account is to give each boy a say into how they are going to add to the life the troop.

 

Now, on the rare chance that all of your boys have positive balances in their scout accounts, they might want to consider deducting $10 from each and add to the boys who need it.

[Tampa Turtle 1011]

For some reason our Pack scout closet never caught on like our Troop one. Too bad since the Cub Scout shirts were the old sturdy made-in-USA ones.

[boomerscout 35]

If the Scout shows good character and a willing spirit, many service clubs will spring for a Christmas present of a sleeping bag, or a shirt, etc. Even if they can't, they may know of an individual who likes to play secret Santa.

 

We have a Scout who pays some of his troop dues by coming in early to troop meetings to start the coffee and set up the chairs for the Geezer Patrol