My district had the unique opportunity to work with
a local college fraternity in selling popcorn in the 2006
sale. The Zeta Chi fraternity at Lakeland College here
in Howard's Grove, Wisconsin participated this year for
the first time. The fraternity is registered as Crew 9845
to participate in our council-wide Venturing activities
and to register their younger members in Scouting, working
with their Cub Scout Pack. Yes, as of December, 2006,
we had a college fraternity that chartered its own Cub
Scout Pack. Pack meetings were held on campus in the student
gym. Several
of the members of the fraternity have become Big Brothers
to elementary age boys in the city of Sheboygan and are
now using the Cub Scout program as the outline for the
activities they do.The popcorn sale helps support their
Cub Scout program.
The fraternity sold $2,160 in their first try, mostly
in take order sales. About ten members participated, including
members of the fall pledge class. Most of the product
was sold on campus to other students in the dorms, as
well as going door to door in the administration building,
selling to professors and staff. In their small Show and
Deliver order they focused on selling individual packets
of microwave popcorn to the students in their buildings
and to other societies. The fraternity managed to raise
$886 to support their new Pack. We are encouraging them
to sell again next year, so any good PR you can put forward
with this story would be great.
Jake Kraus
District Director, Lakeshore District
Bay-Lakes Council, BSA
www.baylakesbsa.org
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From time to time we question the
value of popcorn when we consider the amount of work required
and the months over which the program runs, August
to December.
This past year there was no question
that Trail's End® Popcorn was a successful fundraiser
for our Scouts and for Troop 936.
The Scouts who participated in the
Troop-sponsored Show & Sells each earned a $45 profit
per hou r,
after the cost of the popcorn. That's $45 per hour each
Scout earned. What other work could an 11-year old boy
do where he would be paid $45 per hour?
Most Scouts worked one Show &
Sell for four hours, and one Scout worked two Show &
Sells for a total of eight hours. One of our Scouts even
worked a Show & Sell and volunteered his four hours
so that another Scout could earn all the Scout Dollars
from that Show & Sell. A Scout is Loyal and Helpful,
right?
If a Scout worked four hours at a
Troop-sponsored Show & Sell and earned $45 per hour,
he earned a total of $180. From the $180 the Troop kept
the first $117 for the Scout's Fair-Share fundraising
fee. This left a balance of $63. This was divided 50/50
between the Scout and Troop. So the Scout received $31.50
in Scout Dollars and the troop received $31.50.
In addition to the money earned through
the Troop-sponsored Show & Sells, almost all of our
Scouts also sold popcorn through their Starter Kit and
by taking orders from friends, neighbors and family, thus
earning additional Scout dollars for themselves.
Is popcorn a good fundraiser? You
decide. Collectively the Scouts of Troop 936 earned:
- $1,095 in Fair-Share Fees for Troop 936
- $2,995 in Scout Dollars for the Scouts to use to help
pay their Scouting expenses
- $293 in Show & Sell profits for Troop 936
- $2,859 of profits which went to our local Boy Scout
council to support Indianapolis Scouting
Is popcorn a good fundraiser? We think so
and the numbers don’t lie!
Scouts and their parents who worked
hard at the Troop Show & Sales and worked hard at
selling popcorn on their own should be proud of their
accomplishment and their contributions to their Scout
Dollar account, their troop and to the Crossroads Council
of America of Boy Scouts of America.
We are very proud of all of you! In
2007, Troop 936 will again sell Trail's End Popcorn. The
2007 program may differ in small ways from the 2006 program,
but until we are shown another fundraiser where Scouts
can earn more than $45 per hour and are fairly rewarded
for their individual efforts, we will keep on selling
Trail's End Popcorn.
Yours in Scouting,
Sandy & Kevin Aldrich
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this story ]
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