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Valuable Skills, Beyond Popcorn

We all know that we can look forward to our Scouts selling popcorn in the Fall to help raise money to support their activities. Sometimes, we forget to look beyond the popcorn and the fundraising to see what valuable skills our Scouts are acquiring by participating.

It teaches our youth communication with adults. Not only do they need to walk up to a stranger’s door, but they learn to introduce themselves, start a conversation, and “sell” an individual on why they should buy popcorn from him/her.

They not only learn to look that person in the eye, but to speak clearly, and to dress professionally for success. They will also learn to accept rejection.

They create a plan to sell: when, where, and how they are going to sell.  They set a goal of how much they want to sell and figure out the best way to achieve that goal. Responsibility comes when they learn how to handle money and account for the popcorn sales to both their unit and to the customer.

It gives them great satisfaction, pride, and appreciation for earning their way through Scouting, to be self-sufficient.

Do these sound like skills you may need for life in general? These are traits among many others that Scouting brings to our youth in preparation to become leaders in our communities.

Every youth should participate in popcorn sales to have the opportunity to grow and develop.

We hope that you have had the opportunity to plan your “Ideal Year of Scouting” in combination with the popcorn sale. However, there may be opportunities throughout the year to consider participating in other fundraising events.

If you are thinking about additional options, please see the following link regarding the Boy Scouts of America’s fiscal policies and procedures.

Fiscal Policies & Procedures For BSA Units

This document includes to FAQ’s in fundraising with you unit. Also, please note that the Scout popcorn sale is the BSA’s nationally sanctioned fundraiser, all fundraisers other than popcorn need to have council approval.

If you are looking at other options, please see the following link that includes unit fundraising details along with “Unit Money Earning Application” that would need to be submitted to your District Executive prior to your fundraising event.

Please reach out to your nearest service center if you have any additional questions.

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