While the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on one local scout troop and pack, two others were out in their respective neighborhoods Saturday as the first step in this year’s annual Scouting for Food Good Turn.
Scouts, leaders and volunteers from Pinnacle 400 and Shoals 561 went into their communities, letting residents know that they’ll be returning this Saturday morning with hopes of collecting food for those with need in their neighborhoods.
Shoals Troop and Pack 561 reported a good turnout of participants as official Scouting for Food bags were distributed along 15 routes throughout the Shoals community.
According to Shoals Assistant Scoutmaster Bobby Key, 1,350 bags were disbursed. Print on each bag instructed residents to place non-perishable canned goods inside and leave it on their front porch by this Saturday morning. Those taking part were asked to omit glass and perishable items from their donations.
Pinnacle Troop and Pack 400 also reported a busy morning of leaving bags with printed instructions on porches throughout the Pinnacle community. Pack 400 Assistant Cubmaster Brian Fuertes asked that residents leave filled bags in a location easily visible and accessible to scouts.
Both troops and packs ask that all residents have the filled bags returned to their porch and ready to be picked up by 9 a.m.
“We’ll be picking up beginning at 9, and then we’ll meet back together at the Shoals Fire Department, with everybody wearing masks and gloves,” Key said. “We’ll bag any food we need to and then, when all routes have checked in, we’ll all head to the Pilot Mountain Outreach Center to unpack the food.”
“We’re hoping for a good morning, but with COVID, you don’t really know what to expect.”
In past years, Pilot Mountain Troop and Pack 545 have also taken part in the drive by focusing on collecting food from residences in and around Pilot Mountain. This year, the troop has been sidelined by circumstances related to the pandemic and will be seeking other ways to take part.
According to Troop 545 Scoutmaster Chad Riddle, the troop has at least one leader in quarantine and others are dealing with the pandemic. Troop and pack activities have been suspended for a two-week period, interfering with involvement in the food drive.
“But we will be taking donations for the food drive, and everything that’s collected will go to our friends and neighbors in Pilot Mountain and the surrounding communities,” Riddle said.
Checks for the food drive may be made payable to Pilot Mountain Boy Scout Troop 545 and mailed to PO Box 1714, Pilot Mountain, NC 27041. Include “Scouting for Food” on the memo line of donated checks.
“And later we’ll be doing other fundraisers and some of that will also go to help at the food bank,” Riddle said.
The Scouting for Food Good Turn program was launched in 1988 by the Boy Scouts of America and the Old Hickory Council to help meet the needs of the hungry. The program has since become an annual project for Scouts and Cub Scouts throughout northwestern North Carolina.
Each year the project is timed to coincide with the anniversary of Scouting in America. According to the Boy Scouts of America, the Boy Scout organization was founded in Great Britain in 1907 by British military hero Lord Robert Baden-Powell. Two years later, William D. Boyce, a Chicago publisher traveling in London, became lost in a fog. A young boy helped him find his way. When Boyce thanked the boy for his aid and offered him a tip, the boy declined, explaining that it was his duty as a Scout to help others.
Impressed with the boy’s actions, Boyce met with Baden-Powell and laid the groundwork to bring Scouting to the United States. With the help of Ernest Thompson Seton, Daniel Carter Beard and James E. West, the Boy Scouts of America was established on Feb. 8, 1910.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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