Paying Your Way?

[Eamonn 61]

There has been a lot of discussion about troop accounts and who owns the money.

While it has been a while since I ran a troop and maybe things have changed? Here is my take on it all.

I don't think that any fund raising that the troop does is needed to send a Scout to summer camp. While I know the cost varies from Council to Council. Our Summer camp fee is $165.00. While I'm aware that this is very low and I have no idea what the average camp fee is. I happen to think that most Scouts can save this amount over a year. We always had a camp bank. The Scouts deposited their money in every week to pay for the Summer camp or expedition. This money was always theirs If they quit the troop or moved to another troop a full refund was given.

All Fund raisers were done for the troop. To buy equipment or whatever. This money belonged to the troop. If there was a Lad who couldn't afford to go to camp the troop committee would look at the circumstances and deal with them as they saw fit.

The camp bank money was held in a separate account from the Troop account as this money was never the troops. Sure we emptied the account every year, but then we started to refill it.

Please don't tell me about some "Poor little Lad" Who can't afford it. The troop was an inner-city troop, with a lot in fact most of the membership coming from subsidized housing. Most if not all Scouts can afford to save what amounts to a few cans of pop a week. Then there are the gifts that they get at Christmas and birthdays.

Parents and Scouts will save and pay for a quality program.

We took the Troop all over the place with Scouts paying their own way.

Eamonn