Fund Raising Time of Year

Fall is in the air and so is the start to Troop 1’s annual fund raising activities.

Experienced Troop 1 Scouting families know that sign up sheets for the Christmas Tree Lot, kits for selling TrailsEnd Popcorn and Price lists and order forms for Christmas Wreath sales will soon be available at all Troop meetings.

New Troop 1 Scouting families may be asking, what is this fund raising all about and how does my scout and our family participate?

Let’s begin with a brief description of each fund raising activity and how it benefits our Scouts and Troop 1.

Popcorn sales are a district wide activity with the profits from popcorn sales benefiting the Scenic Trail Council and the individual Scouts selling the popcorn. Scouts selling popcorn earn money for their personal accounts and have the option of selecting prizes or having funds credited towards Summer Camp. There is no limit to amount of popcorn a scout may sell.

Christmas Wreath sales are great way for our Scouts to earn money for their personal accounts. Wreath sales average a 50% profit to the Scout! Wreath sales kick off with a grace period that allows Scouts to contact their customers from prior years. After the grace period is over, all customers are fair game. There is no limit to number of wreathes a scout may sell.

Our Christmas tree sale is the only fundraiser Troop 1 does for the benefit of the Troop. The Christmas tree fundraiser pays for all Troop 1 equipment, equipment repairs, scout awards, insurance, fees and trailer maintenance. Our tree lot opens the Friday after Thanksgiving and closes a few days before Christmas or when all the trees are gone. Scout families volunteer to man the Christmas tree lot for two-hour shifts. The two-hour shifts run from approximately 5pm to 7pm on week nights, 10am to 8pm on Saturdays, and 10am to 6pm on Sundays. We always try to have two families work each shift so everyone is asked to take 3 to 4 turns at the Christmas tree lot.


Troop 1 Committee members currently in charge of these fund raising activities are:

Mrs. Hancock is our fund raising Chairperson. She recruits fund raising coordinators and assists the coordinators in accomplishing the fund raising goals.

Mr. Marsh is our Treasurer. He pays our fund raising bills, is given fund raising receipts for deposit, and updates the Scouts accounts for their fund raising activities.

Mrs. Salem is our popcorn sales coordinator. She will attend Northern District popcorn meetings and obtain and distribute all the marketing materials and popcorn order forms for the annual popcorn sales drive. Mrs. Salem will compile popcorn orders, coordinate delivery of the Troop’s popcorn order to Gaylord, coordinate the distribution of popcorn orders to individual scouts, and receives all moneys collected for popcorn sales. Mrs. Salem may have the popcorn order forms at the September 24th Court of Honor.

Mrs. Sova is our Christmas Wreath sales coordinator. She compiles all wreath orders and coordinates the purchase and delivery of the wreaths. Mrs. Sova arranges for the wreaths to be temporarily stored in Gaylord and distributed to scouts. Mrs. Sova receives all moneys collected for wreath sales. Mrs. Sova may have the wreath sales order forms at the September 24th Court of Honor.

Mr. Neff is our Christmas tree sales coordinator. He obtains permission to use the K-Mart parking lot, files a solicitation Permit with the City of Gaylord, arranges for the purchase and delivery of 325 Christmas trees, recruits a cast of thousands to set-up and tear down the tree lot, and coordinates the tree lot volunteer schedule. Mr. Neff may have the Christmas tress lot volunteers schedule at the Court of Honor. The best times go fast so it is recommended to sign up early and sign up often.

Scouts or parents may contact any of these adult leaders, the Scoutmaster, or Committee Chairman with specific questions about our fund raising activities.