Fighting Global Economy on the Arms of a Community

In an era of economic turmoil and the bulk of people and businesses heavily assessing their financial integrity, it becomes very apparent that we as a community begin tightening our belts and prioritizing where our dollars are spent and what the outcome of those investment will be.

In recent weeks, I have noticed that a small sliver of media coverage has been dedicated to gracious byproducts of communities that have come together to share in such priorities. In one case, town finances forced a commission to shut down the local little league program. Recognizing the importance and value of the sport, the community bonded together and raised the funds necessary to continue the game.

In a similar fashion, just last week, a police department was forced to cut its lone K9 drug dog from the force. While it required a mere $6,000 to keep the dog in the program, the community recognized its importance and today that dog is still in service.

Scouting defines itself on just such community integrity.

We have seen that when the belt tightens and priorities align, Scouting prevails. Scouting is as much an integral part of the function of community as the roads, public works, and mass transit. And people and businesses recognize that.

Country wide, we are feeling that the value of our dollar is dwindling and becoming less impacting in our daily lives. At the gas pump, the grocery store, and the shopping malls, we struggle more and more to stretch our finances across an ever widening cavern of commerce.

Scouting is much the same, and from the perspective of professional Scouting, we work diligently to ensure that every dollar is valued when it comes in and valued when it is spent. The important role of the community in that equation is that the need for those dollars is recognized. We receive direct contributions from community members as large as Wal-Mart and Verizon, and as small as Joe’s Pizzeria.

While they may view their own donations in different ways and with differing perceptions of value, the bottom line is that they are part of a community rally; a surge in support of the philosophies and values of Scouting. The communities behind Friendship District, Jersey Shore Council, and Scouting nationwide, are amidst a movement and a collaboration that will guarantee the sustainability of Scouting for another 100 years beyond our upcoming anniversary.

This is a rally that, just like the little league team or the law enforcement canine; the people recognize the importance, and find ways to circumvent their own financial hardships to express support. And to give.

Sensationalist of today like to use words and phrases like ‘unprecedented’ and ‘never before seen,’ to describe what it’s like when a community bonds around a single cause to make a difference. In actuality, our Scouting community has been here before.

As an organization who has survived 100 years of world wars, great depressions, political shifts, and economic unrests, we have learned that our roots run deep in the ground we stand on. When critics begin to question relevance and unknown futures, we turn to the communities we know and trust and it has never failed that Scouting prevails.