Scout thread?

[waverly]

Anyone in Scouts?  I used to do a thread on special needs, but that was a few migrations back and now no one posts on special needs anymore.

Anyone doing the fall sale for girl scouts?  Can I complain that it is just candy and magazines, and we have a quota.  Have you put yours out yet?

Also, anyone doing popcorn sales on the trailblazer app?  I can't figure out what I will be doing at all.  Do I record storefront in wagon sales?  I have several totally clueless e-mails out to the popcorn chairs. 

Also, my life is feeling a bit out of control with all these events going on. 

Signed, confused in fundraising land

[CrazyLucky]

We have two in Cub Scouts. DD is 7, a wolf, in her first year as a scout. DS is 9, Webelos I. DH is Committee Chair. The Wolf Den leader just gave birth, so he's scrambling to cover the Wolf Den. He has not so subtly suggested that I do it, but I'm not willing to. It is the one thing in our life that he has to deal with and I don't. We're in the throes of popcorn sales now. DD is at the age where she is super cute and no one can say no to her. Then we just got a fundraiser for school, and it's like, what are we supposed to do? She just hit up every neighbor, family member, and person at church.
We're in the rural south and a lot of people seem to think I pushed her into Cub Scouts instead of giving her the opportunity to do girl scouts. That's completely untrue. The Cub Scouts make efforts to recruit at school, and the girl scouts just leave flyers on a table by the door. That doesn't get anyone's attention! She likes it so far.

[waverly]

I was totally going to bring the school fundraiser to work, but then when I realized I had a quota or would have to pay out of pocked for the girl scout one, then I guess that one gets priority. Which kind of stinks because the school one has way better products.

[phdmomma]

We are selling popcorn....and we have a quota or you have to pay. We sold a bunch last saturday, we live close to a football stadium, and I let people park on our lawn if they bought enough popcorn. We are selling to friends and family from the order form, but I also picked up a bunch of show and sell for the football games. DS is a Wolf. I dislike selling things...

[keh2oblue]

My son is in his second year of Cub Scouts. He’s a tiger and my H is a co-leader, so I try to stay out of things as much as possible 😂

[sandandsea]

We have a wolf in cub scouts. It’s his 3rd year so it’s easier now. We have 19 kids in his den (a few boys in cub scouts have made all their friends interested) so they are splitting the first year scouts into their own new den. But most of our meetings will be outside and combine the two dens. The fundraising and lingo and everything was so much to take in the first year. We didn’t sign up for the grocery store sales this year. We did last year and it’s not ds’s thing. He did online sales to family only and I’m okay with that.

[vasc]

DD is in her first year of Daisy’s. No fall fundraiser, but I did volunteer to be cookie mom for the winter sale.

[mustardseed2007]

My DS is a wolf too. We are selling off the flyer. He desperately wants the amazon gift card, but then he found out the prizes for raising pledges for the school fun run and those are better so now he's trying to figure out how to raise money after hitting up neighbors for popcorn.

[dixeedeluxe]

Girl scout mom here. I have two brownies in two different troops in two different councils. So THAT'S FUN. We are an early cookie council so we are in cookie sales now.

[mommyatty]

I’ll just throw out there that I won’t let my kids do scouts specifically because I refuse to sell shit to people. And I remember being in Brownies and being shamed because my parents and family weren’t willing to shell out huge bucks for gross, overpriced cookies.

[hocus2]

I have a kid in each (scouts and girls scouts). We just do the cookie sale and we have no minimum. I think we sold 35 boxes last year and we did soft pitch to family and a few neighbors we know. Our groups have dues so maybe that is why there is no real pressure to sell anything? I am fine with the dues which can be paid monthly (<25 per month) as they are far far less than any other activity we do.

Our school does a fundraiser and I hate it. I buy the minimum required to get recognition and I do not send it to family or friends.

[phdmomma]

mommyatty, I know that our troop will let you pay an "opt out fee" if you don't want to sell popcorn. Which is a nice option, although I don't know how much it is.

We sell to family, if they want popcorn, but they are a scouting family, and actually look forward to it. Otherwise we sell to tailgaters at the college football game, much like a lemonade stand, but for popcorn.

[waverly]

Sept 25, 2019 8:47:47 GMT -5 mommyatty said:

I’ll just throw out there that I won’t let my kids do scouts specifically because I refuse to sell shit to people. And I remember being in Brownies and being shamed because my parents and family weren’t willing to shell out huge bucks for gross, overpriced cookies.

We never had quotas growing up for cookies.  Yes they got more prizes if they sold more, but I sold very little and it was no big deal.  All that is asked is that they try.

I am shocked there is a quota for fall sale for girl scouts.  I might just turn in whatever we have whether it makes the quota or not and let them come back to me.  I missed the parent meeting, so I can always claim ignorance.  Are they going to come back and ask for more money?  I actually think they will because the council is super strict.  I've had some issues with the strictness of the council before.  I am glad I am not a leader dealing with that. But they didn't ask for any dues this year, and last year it was $100. 

[dixeedeluxe]

Only one of my girls' troops has a quota. 50 boxes for the first sale (happening now). The other troop is very laid back. Anything over the minimum goes to the non-quota troop. And I will make it SO EASY for that leader because I appreciate her approach. I will make that order even cases. And she does not have to get any of the GF cookies.

[sandandsea]

We don’t have any quotas for sales. I hate selling stuff and don’t push it at all. But, Some kids love it. One of the other wolf boys made $2k doing a 90 min stint at the grocery store. He loves it though so I’m super excited for him! It is not DSs strength or pleasure so I don’t force it. Scouts is great for other stuff he does love like camping and STEM projects.

[186momx]

DD has some friends outside of school that are big into scouts and have been pushing me to sign DD up with them. I keep telling them no mainly because they are constantly selling stuff. Right now it is beef sticks and candy along with popcorn. The scouts main hub is across from the college stadium so all home football games they are selling parking and selling to tailgaters. Then they do Christmas tree pick up and a whole lot of other stuff and I just don't have the time or outreach to deal with selling all the time.

[divanerd]

My son is in Scouts he is a Wolf we have a quota sort of for popcorn sale. There's prizes and discount on dues....
My son definitely has a future in sales😆
We do a ton of stuff besides selling, I love the family friendly group we have

[waverly]

Update:

1. DH took DS to the popcorn table to sell on Sat for 1 hour. It wasn't as busy as when we were in front of the grocery store, so they only sold $130. I am considering myself done for popcorn sales. Cub Scouts want everything online, so I give up on bringing an order form to work.

2. I put out the GS fall sale a half day early, and my boss ordered 3 products, so I only need one more to make my quota. I am considering myself 75% done there.

3. I am not participating in any school wrapping paper sales because of the other stuff, so I'm done there.

See you again at cookie time lol. Signed, doing the least.

[dixeedeluxe]

Y'all. I just failed the camping volunteer test BAD and that's pretty embarrassing since it was "open book". But I swear those answers were NOT in any of the HUNDREDS of pages of training materials.