The Cub and Boy Scouts of Marion Troop 32 held a raffle over the weekend, with winners walking off with a brand new girls’ bike and boys’ bike, junior size set of new golf clubs and six generous gift certificates to local restaurants and businesses.
“We will use the money raised to support the operations of the pack and troop,” said Scoutmaster Doug Breault, “100 percent of the money goes into doing things for the scouts.”
The new year will include a Pinewood Derby, where Cub Scouts carve a car out of a block of wood and race them on a downhill track. The track, in use for over ten years, was built by students at Old Colony Vocational Technical School in Rochester.
Other upcoming events include an overnight on the USS Battleship Massachusetts in Fall River. The event includes viewing the museums many artifacts, presentations on the ship’s use during wartime and sleeping in bunks overnight.
A spring and fall campout is planned and possibly a trip to see a Providence Bruins hockey game. The scouts also march in the July 4th parade. A special trip to a rock climbing gym with a sleepover is also planned.
“The one unusual thing is that family are included in many of these events,” said Terri Villa, troop treasurer, “even the girls join in every scouting event that is open to family and siblings.” Ms. Villa’s daughter, Peyton, participates in scouting events and helped with the raffle held over the weekend on both Saturday and Sunday. The scouts sat behind a table collecting money and filling in raffle tickets for the customers who came by to purchase their Christmas trees from a local landscape and garden store, where the raffle was held. A fishbowl held the tickets. A chimera with burning wood, brought by Ms. Villa, helped keep the children warm and created a cozy atmosphere.
“Scouting teaches the boys a lot of things they might not otherwise learn,” said Mr. Breault. “We are strict with the boys, so they learn autonomy and self-reliance… and the flipside is that we also allow them to do things that they might otherwise not get to do, such as use pocket knives, paddle canoes, go on difficult hikes and campouts.”
Over the past year, the scouts, under Mr. Breault’s direction have focused on community service, volunteering at Gifts to Give, collected blankets for the Homeless Veterans Shelter, participated in the Veterans Day Service, held a sock drive for troops and ‘adopted’ two soldiers overseas.
Currently Cub Pack 32 and Troop 32 have approximately 40 Cub Scouts and 13 Boy Scouts. The Cubs range in age from 7 to 11 while the Boy Scouts are age 12 to 18.
The scouts meet at Sippican School, Camp Hadley and various other places depending on the event. Cub Scout dens meet at Sippican School or various church facilities. For more information, go to www.marionscouts.com.
By Joan Hartnett-Barry