FUNDRAISERS
Fundraising! Yes it is that part of scouting that no one ever wants to talk about BUT it is vital.
Why do we fund raise? When each youth registers, most of the registration fees go to Scouts Canada’s head office and the Pacific Coast Council to pay for insurance and their operational expenses. Additional funds are needed for our group’s annual expenses such as gym rental, resource materials, supplies, camps and special events. Therefore, fundraising is a vital activity for the Group.
Fundraising has other benefits as well:
1) Youth become involved with the process. The children feel involved and have ownership of the program instead of it being another activity funded by parents;
2) Youth learn valuable skills - marketing, sales, entrepreneurial skills, communications and teamwork; and
3) Some families cannot afford to write another cheque.
What are the fundraising events? Each year we will be participating in the Fall Popcorn Program, Apple Day in October, and Christmas Tree Sales in December.
POPCORN SELLING is FUN: Popcorn selling is a fun program. Each Beaver Scout, Cub Scout, Scout and Venture Scout is asked to sell a minimum of $250 in popcorn. We pre-sell orders first and then deliver the popcorn a short time later. We also do "Show & Sell" events by setting up tables and sell popcorn at malls. While $250 in sales sounds daunting, many youth are able to sell $500+ with no difficulty, and still some others sell over $1000 each (the top seller in Canada in 2010 & 2011 sold over $17,000 on her own and she lives in the Edgemont Village area). There are great incentive prizes as well. And at the Scout & Venture level a portion of their sales goes directly into their personal fund that cam be used to offset Jamboree or Expedition costs in the summer. Information sheets on the popcorn program are given out in September. Please read the popcorn fundraising information when you receive it and follow the instructions carefully.
APPLE DAY is EASY. This event is for the Beaver Scouts and Cub Scouts. All youth need to do is show up in uniform, be polite and smile! This is an excellent community PR event and our locations at the Village, Suspension Bridge and Westview Shopping Centre are fantastic. The Beavers and Cubs offer apples in return for a donation. Youth work a one hour shift with a parent volunteer as the supervisor. Very easy - but we need the Beavers and Cubs to show up. You will be contacting you regarding the schedule of times for this event.
CHRISTMAS TREE SELLING is Easy and FUN: Christmas Tree selling is also an easy and fun event at Christmas time. Each Beaver Scout, Cub Scout and Scout is asked show up at the Christmas Tree lot in Park Royal for just a two hour shift. That’s it! Venture Scouts participate in a number of shifts. Youth along with a parent/guardian help customers select their trees. Sometimes customers also need assistance carrying the trees to their cars and securing them to the top. The schedule and additional information on this fundraiser will be provided near the end of October.
We realize that everyone is busy: work, music lessons, sports, homework, etc. but if everyone contributes 3 to 6 hours for popcorn selling, 1 hour on Apple Day, and 2 hours selling Christmas trees, that is all that is required to make our programs successful.
YOUTH JAMBOREE/EXPEDITION FUNDS: In addition to the above mentioned benefits, senior youth will have some of their fundraising earnings placed in their own "Jamboree/Expedition Fund" which can be used to offset jamboree or expedition costs in the future.
Scouts will have 22% of their total Popcorn sales go into their personal fund (plus an additional 8% of their earnings if they opt out of the popcorn prize program - to opt out you must click here and complete the form and request 8% be added to their personal fund).
Venturers and Rovers will get 50% of their popcorn sales (with no popcorn prizes) put in their fund along with $40 per Christmas Tree shift that they do during the Christmas Tree fundraiser.
To find out the balance in your child's Jamboree/Expedition account, email info@21capilano.com.