Christmas in July

So I was viewing the local scout week email that is sent out to those signed up in our local scout council.  This email is full of information on upcoming events, council wide service projects and the like.
So I saw the section on Scouting for Food.  Not knowing when they would be doing it this year I decide to click on the link and view some more information.

Even though the event is going to be in October I noticed something that really caught my attention.

How much food will be collected in one day?

• In 2009, Scouts collected 144,013 pounds of food.
• In 2010, Scouts collected 163,079 pounds of food.
• In 2011, Scouts collected 113,617 pounds of food.

Can you see how little we collected this last year.  Almost a 1/3 less then the year prior.  The amount is still fairly impressive.  As of right now the economy in California is on the fritz.  It's not really getting worse per say but, at the same time you don't hear about to many bright spots.  You do hear about City councils wanting to ban the use of plastic bags at super markets and wonder how many jobs this might effect.  All in the name of some environmental cleanliness that may be blown out of proportion.  Not to mention those that kind of do recycle them as trash liners at home.  We'll just have to go and spend more money and not solve the problem.

So back to the topic at hand.  With the economy sputtering along it is no wonder the amount of food collected was not so wonderful.  I know our local cub scouts stood for a few hours out in front of the Local Albertson's and helped collect a few pounds of food.  But, it was not all that successful.  Money is just plain tight.

So I remembered that the local food bank Second Harvest  are the ones that receive the food and that they do tours.   Then I started to think about why not have our pack go on a tour of the food bank.  And in the process we can hold a local mini food drive and have something to deliver when we show up for the tour.
So I took a look at the tour schedule and saw they have one in the middle of July.  The tours are a bit early but, since school will be out by then we should have not problems attending.

And then that is when I remembered Christmas in July.   I guess Christmas in July is something that was developed in Australia.  They wanted to have Christmas when it was snowing or colder or something like that.  Though I'm not so sure on how much snow they get in Australia.   I also remember when I was on Scout Camp staff at Lost Valley they held some Christmas like gift exchange in July for the staff.  I think the main reason for this is the fact that the main caretaker/Manager of the camp was basically all by himself during the winter months and this was a fun way for him to celebrate and give the camp staff something to do.  The white elephant gifts were something else and the group large enough to make it fun.

So I began to apply the idea of Christmas in July to service.  Imagine as the holidays have long passed how low the food in the food bank must have gotten.  Many people feel touched around the holidays to help the less fortunate.  But, the less fortunate do not just disappear in July, or for that matter May or June or August.  They are there all year round.


In the past people with means would help more during the winter months and especially around Christmas and New Years due to the circumstances everyone found themselves in and the spirit of the holidays.  Now a days we have a more Urban and not so agricultural based society and thus we just head down to the local market and pick up a few things.  We have food that has been canned, produce and fruit that is available year round.  Things have really changed from just 6 generations ago.  What with modern refrigeration, and transportation that can move goods around the globe in a matter of days if not hours in some cases.

In the past the poor or less fortunate may have had the ability to go into the local forest and pick berries or wild herbs to help them get by in the spring and summer months.  They might even be able to glean food after the harvest has been gathered in.  But, with our more urban life style this is just not so easy to do.   He can in some cases plant ourselves a garden at home.  See the following link about other ways to live providently - http://www.providentliving.org/

So that brought the idea of having a mini food drive amongst the scouts and then delivering these food stuffs to the food bank when we go and have a tour.  Because as we well know  just a person or two doing something might not have a huge impact.  A handful of cans from 6-7 cub scout will not solve the problem or even make a dent in it but, if every group that came to take a tour showed up with 2 boxes of food stuffs think how quickly the problem could be solved.  It is like with fund raising.  Yes, the big fish do make things move but, collectively the smaller donations are what drives things.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints a very well oiled Welfare system has been put in place.  This program has been around since the early days of the church and was expanded or revamped during the great depression.   It is based on the Bishop's Store House.  The Bishop's store house evolved out of what was turned in for tithing.  It was not so easy to give the value of your increase in chickens for example so the local member would give the bishop his 1/10 in live chickens or related food stuffs.  The bishop would then redistribute this to those that were in need.  He might sell them if need be to provide the funds needed for the local meeting house etc.


Now a days there are local Bishop's Store Houses found through out the world.  These locations are staffed by volunteers and hold food stuffs (many of which come from church owned farms) to be distributed to those in need.  They cover the basics and there is not a lot of selection. Much less then a typical grocery store.  However, if one has been authorized by their bishop and had an order placed via the Relief Society president then they can access these food stuffs.  And it can sure be a help when your unemployed or the like.  For those items that the church can not source from one of their many farms the cost is defrayed by funds from Fast offerings.  Many of these store houses have been repositories that can quickly send emergency supplies to area effected by Hurricanes, Tornadoes, or flooding.  They have stashes of generators, hygiene kits and other necessary goods for right after a disaster.  And the church routinely ships good around the world to where ever there may be a disaster.  This is a great list of things they have been involved in over the last year

It's the Lord's system so it works pretty good.

So as we begin to get into the summer months think about having Christmas in July.  Make the day bright for someone that might be less fortunate.

Why not plan to hold your own food drive.  Contact your local Food bank and find out how you can help.  You might just be a God send to many of these people.


To find out more about Scouting for Food in Orange County check the link - http://www.ocbsa.org/events/scouting-for-food-2/

To find a Second Harvest Food bank in your area so you can volunteers or donate click here

I'd love to hear about your successes in hold your own Christmas in July.   So post your story in the comment section.  You might just be able to spark some more acts of kindness and charity.


Buaidh - NO - Bas

The Eagle Project

This weekend I had the privilege to participate in an Eagle Project for one of our Local Scouts.

The eagle project is the capstone and final element to acquiring your Eagle Rank in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).  It is what sets you apart from the other scouts and shows you have the stuff it takes to be a future leader and productive member of society.
See the history of the Eagle Scout Badge Here.

The idea behind the project is that the boy with some help and guidance from adult leaders and parents will go out and locate a service project which he then coordinators and manages to completion.
Depending on the location and what is to be done the harder part maybe just finding a project in the first place.  All projects have to be approved by a local BSA coordinator.  Upon approval the heavy lifting can begin.



I've seen, been involved in, or heard of projects that range from blood drives, building a bridge at a nature center, making beep balls for the blind to play baseball, finger printing children in front of a grocery store, making benches for a museum, clearing helicopter landing pads at a state park, and can food drives etc.  The possibilities are endless and only depend on what you have in your local area.

The main component of the project requires that the youth must line up people to help fulfill the project.  This might require people to show up to do the manual labor, or give blood. There is also the necessity to acquire the needed materials like wood or concrete, and tools to do the clearing or assembly.  Not an easy task depending on what you decide to do.



I ran into problems with my project that my labor (People from my scout troop and church) mainly did not materialize on my first weekend.  We had the local fish fry carnival that Saturday and my turn out was very slim.  The next weekend with little or no conflicts the turn out was more in the 20-30 person range, which allowed my to cover all the trails in the nature center in 1 day.  I had to adapt the first weekend and find a better use of my limited labor.



So our soon to be Eagle Scout had to adapt with one of the few rain storms we've had this winter.  He also had to deal with plan issues that were not clear.  Several of the pieces for the benches were not cut properly since there was confusion on the angles.  It turns out he has some issues with the benches sitting flat though he will fix this be adjusting the tightness of the bolts and other hardware.

The good part is he has people from various ages helping and has found suitable activities for each age group.  He has learned first hand what it takes to adapt your project, and to run it to completion.
Now many of the adults that work in construction of have some type of experience with assembling things were very helpful in get the task completed.   He also dealt with low quality lumber (full of knots, bowed and wet) that did not help when it was cut.  It actually bucked when being cut with the radial saw.  Thus the issues with the benches being level.

This young man really had to work on the fly despite his best laid plans.  He had to line up people to help, make sure there were proper tools available and that the right raw materials had been acquired.  He truly demonstrated leadership as he has worked to complete this project.   The Chino air museum will truly be blessed to have these bench available for use.









So the next time someone asks you to help out on their project, take a little time out of your day to help make a future leader of America.   And do hire those that are Eagle Scouts.  We know what it takes to get things done!


If your an Eagle Scout please tell us about your Project in the comments section.   It might help a scouting looking for a project.

Buaidh - NO - Bas