TROOP 79 CHRISTMAS TREE SALE FUNDRAISER

Click Here for a PDF version of documents distributed during the Kick Off meeting.

If you missed the Troop training, videos shown to help educate how to help during your shifts can be found at this link.

As many of you already know, Troop 79 was invited this year to participate in the Mountain Scouts Christmas Tree Sale in 2015. This is a 50-year old consortium of 10 troops in the Over-The-Mountain communities. Troop 79 is the first troop in twenty years to be invited into this well-established and highly successful program for scout fundraising. Our troop leadership recognized this as a tremendous opportunity to generate an increase of funding for both the troop as a whole, as well as the individual scouts, at a very manageable level of commitment and risk. This is our only fundraiser for the year, in lieu of wreath sales, yard sales and other strategies we’ve implemented in the past. This singular fundraiser is projected to provide

1. All scout dues (previously $150/scout). Dues historically covers:

• National BSA Registration
• Troop Software for advancement tracking
• Court of Honor expenses like badges, pins, refreshments
• Costs associated with local campouts (excluding grub money)
• Shared equipment such as tents, stoves, pots, pans

2. A fixed amount per scout EMA (Earned Money Account) credit to be used towards Troop activities. Historically these costs include:

• ‘Grub Money’ for any particular event
• Personal scouting/camping gear, such as boots, hammocks, sleeping bags, knives, etc. (submit receipts for reimbursement from account)
• High Adventure camp fees (all money carries over year-to-year, so you can accumulate)
• Any assessment necessary on a per scout basis for completing that activity

3. The opportunity to earn additional EMA credit  for any scout who works additional shifts above and beyond the baseline.

Basically, in order to earn this money, all Troop 79 families have to do is man the Mountain Scout Christmas Tree Sale Homewood lot at the Shades Cahaba Elementary School corner of Hollywood & 31 (the former Optimist Club Tree Lot location) for 3-1/2 weeks from the last week in November through the second week in December. The Mountain Scouts Christmas Tree Sale Association will manage the ordering, purchasing, and delivery of the trees (we have to help with unloading), lot setup, and lot maintenance. This year, Troop 79 families will work all shifts exclusively at the Homewood lot. We will have full access to the Christmas Tree Sale’s maintenance person, who has tons of experience handling these lots. We will also have some ‘basic training’ for scouts and adults alike to review safety procedures/precautions, and how to best interact with the customers.

Basic Responsibility:

The entire duration is broken down into shifts of 4-5 hours.  Weekend shifts include morning, afternoons and evenings.   Tree delivery days are also included and require lots of support from Troop 79 families.  During a typical shift there will be at least 2 adults and 2 scouts on the lot, except for some high traffic times when there will be more. Each scout family will be responsible for a base level of approximately five (6) adult shifts and four (6) scout shifts. We encourage you to make it a family affair and pair up parents and scouts as much as possible. You could lump your shifts together and get them out of the way, or you could spread them out over the course of the 3-1/2 weeks. Whatever works best for your family.

Also note that these are ADULT shifts, not necessarily PARENT shifts. If you have grandparents, friends, etc, who want to help out and be part of this Christmas joy, they are welcome.

RECAP

Troop 79 is responsible for manning the Homewood lot at Shades Cahaba Elementary School for 3-1/2 weeks from the last week in November through the second week in December.

• Each scout family is responsible for a baseline of 6 adult shifts and 6 scout shifts, to be chosen by the families on a first-come, first-served basis
• We will use Sign Up Genius to claim shifts, and we will send out an email with a link to the site
• Each family needs to sign up for their baseline shifts as soon as possible.
• After the base level shifts are covered, we will open up the sign ups for any scout family who wants to earn additional money for their scout’s EMA.

If you have any questions, please email our adult leadership and we’ll get it answered. Thanks again to the Mountain Scouts Christmas Tree Sale for this opportunity, and thanks to all of our scout families for your support this program. This is a great way to have some fun, meet happy people in the community (Think about it – who is unhappy shopping for a Christmas tree?), and raise money for the Troop.