I first came across the Caledonia Patch when they covered an event for my son's Cub Scout Pack 141. We were celebrating the 100 year birth date of scouting with our annual "Blue and Gold dinner" and the Patch was there in full force, taking pictures and talking to our families.
The boys were so thrilled to be "famous" and get their picture in the news. The Patch has covered several other events from our scouts as well, as we encourage the boys, ages 7-12, to be actively involved in their community. We have adopted Quarry Lake Park and keep it sparkling clean. We visit with our local fire and police department, often bribing them with cookies to allow the boys to climb in their trucks... :)
Each March, the boys and leaders spend two weekends collecting food for the local food pantry, last year filling an entire 15 foot trailer with non-perishable goods. I could brag for hours and hours about the wonderful group of boys that we have. But now our boys need help from the community. We are a non-profit group and any money that we do make is used to send the boys to summer camp and outings. Our budget is tiny, yet we do huge things.
In today's economy, many of our families struggle to make ends meet and we try to do everything we can to make sure every boy that wants to be a part of our program can. As February approaches, so does the birth date of scouting. Last year, the local Moose Lodge graciously donated their hall for our celebration. We had an amazing time eating the giant pot luck dinner brought by our families, celebrating the boys achievements over the past year and just having fun all together. But, we have grown to a point where we won't fit in the Moose Lodge anymore!
Our group of boys grew from 45 to 75 this year, so including their families, we have close to 300 people in our Scout family. As I said, our budget is small and most halls that can accommodate a group our size won't allow us to do our pot luck feast, most halls that size require that you use their catering services or charge a large fee for the use of the space. I'm reaching out to the community that we do our best to serve to ask if anyone would be willing to help us out!
Do you know of a space that is reasonable priced that could accommodate 300 people? A place that would allow us to do our pot luck? We don't need a fancy kitchen, we don't need a fancy hall, just a nice place to celebrate our boys. If anyone has any ideas, please comment on my blog and let me know! I'll take any suggestions!
Or come see our scouts in action this Saturday and next Saturday outside the Walgreens on 4 mile and Douglas, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army, the boys will be there all day both Saturdays, looking cute in their little uniforms and collecting money for those less fortunate. Make sure to stop and say hi and thank the little guys for doing their part for the community.
