bsatroop30

Masked scouts collect 5,403 pounds — 2.5 tons — of food

Scouts from Troop 30 and Pack 30 combined forces Saturday to collect two-and-half tons of food for the Watertown Food Pantry.

In normal times, the Troop (BSA scouts age 10-17) and the Pack (Cub Scouts age 5-10) would solicit donations from customers at Stop & Shop as part of an initiative called Scouting for Food. This year, to keep contact at a minimum and taking Coronavirus precautions, Cub Scouts held a contest to see who could collect the greatest number of donations from neighbors. Cubs flyered their neighborhoods asking for help, and Watertown responded: Cubs collected carloads of groceries totaling 4,941 pounds.

The Cub Scout with the heaviest donation, Nathaniel Dourianof Bear Den 8, collected 670 pounds of peanut butter, pasta, canned beans and other groceries, but he wasn’t alone. Other Cub Scouts gathered 200 or 300 pounds of groceries delivered Saturday to the food pantry.

Other neighbors came and dropped off donations of their own. Dozens of bags of canned chickpeas, coffee, tea and tomato sauce were followed by carloads of jarred soups, jams and jellies, treats like Fluff and Jello, and of course that difficult-to-find commodity of 2020, toilet paper.

Troop 30 scouts, armed with food pantry bins and hand sanitizer, sorted the items on the lawn of 80 Mt. Auburn Street, the Watertown-Belmont UMC building that hosts both the scouts and the Watertown Food Pantry. Donations are distributed Tuesdays at 80 Mt. Auburn Street.

The need remains for families in Watertown as many are out of work due to the current Coronavirus pandemic. For services and information on how to support our community, find the Watertown Food Pantry on the town website.

Celebrating our new Eagle Scout

In an outdoor ceremony, Troop 30 celebrated our newest Eagle Scout, Michael McNamara.

Michael as been part of scouting most of his life, moving from Cub Scouts Pack 30 to Troop 30. As a Boy Scout, Michael served as Quartermaster — a big job making sure the troop has all the gear it needs for whatever activity the scouts need.

Then, Michael was elected senior Patrol Leader. As the senior leader of the Troop, he developed patrols that would later come in second in the Spirit of Adventure Klondike Derby (2018) and would win the entire Northern Lights Klondike Derby (2019).

To become an Eagle Scout, Michael needed to complete a service project for our community. He chose the Watertown Food Pantry, which shares space with the Troop at Watertown-Belmont UMC. He oversaw a project building a locked storage area so pantry workers could easily use and secure federally-funded foods.

Michael was celebrated in a ceremony witnessed by Troop 30 and Pack 30 scouts, and emceed by Scoutmaster Chris DeRocher, who Michael thanked with a mentor pin.

Everyone in Troop 30 wishes our new Eagle Scout the best as he now joins the U.S. Marines at boot camp.

Scouting for Food needs your help

Pack 30 and Troop 30 are supporting the Watertown Food Pantry again this year, but as with everything in 2020, Scouting for Food will be different.

Scouting for Food is a nationwide service challenge taken on by Boy Scouts of America, targeting food insecurity. In Watertown, the two BSA organizations have come together every November to get grocery lists in the hands of shoppers so they can help fill the shelves of the town-run food pantry.

This year, with COVID-19 precautions in place, Scouting for Food will look a little different. Scouts will be flyering their neighborhoods, seeking donations they can pick up on doorsteps Nov. 21. They’ll then bring it to the Food Pantry location, 80 Mt. Auburn Street, and the Cub Scout who collects the heaviest donations wins a prize.

This year, more families than ever are relying on support from the food pantry for basic needs during the pandemic, with businesses shut down and some families losing income as kids attend school from home.

You can help. Cub Scouts can collect contact-free donations from your doorstep on Nov. 21, or you can deliver shelf-stable food items to scouts Nov. 21, noon-3 p.m., at 80 Mt. Auburn Street — the oval driveway at Watertown-Belmont UMC. Masked scouts will happily accept and sort any donation you can give to support Watertown families.

The most in-demand items are those used every day in households:
✔ Cereal (This has been a great need with kids home from school)
✔ National brands of canned soup, corn, beans, chickpeas
✔ Pasta and Rice
✔ Old Fashioned Oatmeal
✔ Cooking Oil
✔ Tuna Fish
✔ Tomato Sauce, Canned Tomatoes, Tomato Paste
✔ Macaroni & Cheese
✔ Grape Jelly and Strawberry Preserves
✔ Peanut Butter

For more information, contact watertowntroop30@gmail.com.

Troop 30 meeting outside and masked

Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts meet outside in Watertown.

With the Coronavirus crisis still forcing school changes and mask mandates in Massachusetts, Troop 30 is meeting outdoors every week.

Outdoor meetings on Thursdays in October and November? Absolutely — Be Prepared is our motto, after all. Scouts wear masks, always, and when the weather is cool, they have jackets. Now that everyone is trained in setting up a lantern, we’re able to work on advancement, we’ve had an election of new leaders and we’ve even met with Cub Scouts who will move up to Troop 30 in early 2021.

Boys and girls age 10-17 can join Troop 30

So far this year, Troop 30 has had a campout — also with Webelos, the oldest of the Cub Scouts — where we’ve mastered orienteering, outdoor cooking and and the eating of chocolate cake made in a Dutch oven on the fire.

This year has been a very unusual year in the history of scouting in Watertown, no doubt, but we are continuing to serve the community. Since the pandemic hit, one scout took his family to clean up a section of the Charles River, filling an entire car with trash to haul away. One planted a tree at a state campsite on behalf of the family of a longtime camper who died of Covid earlier this year.

And, we have our Eagles. Michael McNamara received his Eagle rank this summer after building secure storage for the Watertown Food Pantry. Another Eagle project is currently under way.

Scouts take care of each other and our
community

Troop 30 has always had a strong outdoor program, but now that the safest place to be is outside, we’re doubling-down on those efforts. Any youth who has completed fifth grade is welcome to join us.

Scouts learn citizenship and leadership, but there’s so much more they do. Scouts learn to camp, to cook and how to build a campfire. They also have plenty of opportunity to make friends as they sit around a campfire — just in masks, this year.

Troop 30 is for boys and girls in Watertown, Allston and Brighton. Contact us at watertowntroop30@gmail.com to learn more.

Michael’s Eagle Scout Service Project

Michael, left, is a Life Scout enclosing a secure cabinet space for the Watertown Food Pantry. Fellow scouts Patricio and Deion, and Michael’s mom, are preparing the space by first cleaning and painting the cabinets.

In coming days Michael will lead a team of scouts who’s job it is to transform the space so Food Pantry volunteers can quickly and safely work in the space.

Troop 30 staying safe

Ian Mask Instructions With school out of session due to the Coronavirus crisis, Troop 30 has changed its meetings to online. Scouts are still advancing in rank, merit badges are being earned and public service is still a priority, it’s just being done with COVID-19 precautions.

Looking to make your own mask? Assistant Scoutmaster Ian Clark developed his own mask with a stiff nose bridge to keep you safe. Instructions are at the link.

Ian’s Mask Making Instructions

Troop 30 wins Northern Light Klondike Derby

BSA Troop 30’s Baconators Patrol took first place overall in the 2020 Northern Light District Klondike Derby this weekend. The competition, held in West Newbury, pits scout patrols of boys and girls from the region against each other in skills like knot tying and fire building. The Northern Light District Derby offered a day of skills and knowledge tests, followed by a competition to make the best single-serving meal at camp.

For the dinner challenge, Baconators put their love of pork aside for the night and made a dish of ostrich, complimented by onions, carrots and potatoes made over three camp stoves.

In 2019 the Baconators came in second in the Spirit of Adventure Council Klondike Derby held in Milton.

Troop 30 is composed of scouts age 10-17 in Watertown, Allston and Brighton. Scouts of all levels of ability meet Thursdays at 80 Mt. Auburn Street, learning cooking and citizenship skills in addition to a robust outdoor program. For more information about Troop 30, contact watertowntroop30@gmail.com.

Scouts collect $10K in canned goods for Watertown Food Pantry

Scouts sorting food In what may be the largest-ever one-day event to benefit the Watertown Food Pantry, scouts on Saturday collected $10,000 worth of food at the Watertown Street Stop & Shop.

That’s twice what was collected last year in the annual event called Scouting for Food.

Lift “I’m overwhelmed by the effort of all the boys and girls in the scouts,” said Kathleen Cunningham, Watertown Food Pantry Coordinator. “It’s amazing that all those parents and leaders make this work possible.”

Pack 30, with scouts age 5-10, and Troop 30, with scouts age 10-17, come together every year to collect donations for the Watertown Food Pantry. Last year, 200 bags of groceries were collected from Stop & Shop customers at 171 Watertown Street.

The this year, the response from Stop & Shop customers was so great, scouts needed to change how they collect goods. Twice they filled up a Boy Scout Troop 30’s trailer, collecting 400 cubic feet of food six hours.

Collections Scouts provided a shopping list for store customers to donate items needed most by clients of the food pantry — peanut butter, rice, beans, jams and pastas – to fill the pantry’s shelves. Customers handed items over to other scouts in charge of thanking customers. Then Webelos and Bear Scouts ran full shopping carts of canned goods to the sidewalk outdoors, where cans of cranberries, peas, beans and tomato sauce were sorted and packed in the Troop 30 trailer. The trailer was filled twice with a total of 400 cubic feet of food in the six hours scouts collected food.

Tiger Scout Jeremiah Rios said of all the jobs the scouts did, it was most fun sorting the food that was donated by Stop & Shop customers. He reported that while peanut butter was the most popular item, the grape jelly looked the most delicious.

Bears and shampoo When customers opted to give cash, those donations were turned into personal hygiene items like shampoo, soap and deodorant. When customers wanted to fuel scouts and their good work, they gave them chocolate and bags of Doritos.

Scouting for Food is just one of the community service projects scouts take on. Cub Scouts, age 5-10, clean trails, write letters to veterans and serve as an honor guard for local events. Boy Scouts, age 10-17, complete larger projects in service to veterans and the community.

BSA trains boys and girls in citizenship, conservation, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations. Both the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts share a home with the Food Pantry in the Watertown-Belmont UMC at 80 Mt. Auburn Street.

with truck

Troop 30 2019-2020 season starts now

Troop 30, serving youth age 11-17 through Watertown, Allston and Brighton, is starting its season Thursday, Sept. 5 — and you’re welcome to join us.

Scouts (boys and girls) meet at 7:30 p.m. at 80 Mt. Auburn Street any Thursday that there’s school. Youth are welcome to join as long as they’re seeking adventure — no matter their gender, orientation, nationality, religion or creed, or whether they prefer climbing or camping over canoeing.

Troop 30 scouts enjoy outdoor activities year-round, but it’s not just about camping and hanging out at a campfire. Scouts pick up skills that will help them later in life — how to cook, how use first aid, how to tie a knot — while learning conservation principles, citizenship and leadership. Troop 30 scouts also have the opportunity to learn how to paddle a canoe, how to defeat all opponents at water polo and how to rock climb, but participation in those activities is optional.

Scouts perform service projects supporting our community, and they earn badges — there are more than 135 badges demonstrating a knowledge of everything from archery to veterinary medicine. There are also a group of scouts — not many, but Troop 30 had one last year — who gain the highest rank in scouting, Eagle Scout. Earning badges and rank isn’t required by any scout, but they will be exposed to the opportunity.

The fee for this entire academic year is $100. Scouts are expected to fundraise to support their activities, and community support for these efforts is welcome — in the past, Troop 30 has raised funds with car washes, celebration dinners and wreath sales.

Anyone can join in scouts. Youth interested in learning about scouts are welcome to show up at any Thursday meeting to meet scouts and ask questions. (Youth attending may be asked to join in a game of steal the bacon.) Adults are welcome at meetings to learn about what we do, and offer their knowledge to youth. All adults who participate in scouting activities must allow a records check and be trained in youth protection before joining in official activities. We know scouts learn by doing so if you have a skill you can impart — how to build an engine, how to code, how to frost a cake — we’d love to hear from you.

Have questions before you can get to a Thursday meeting? Email watertowntroop30@gmail.com and an adult leader will respond.

Does all this sound awesome but your child is 5-10 years old? Check out our little brothers and sisters in Pack 30, the area’s Cub Scout program. They meet in the same space, just an hour earlier.

Troop 30 not slowing down this summer

Just because the troop doesn’t meet every week in the summer, don’t think there aren’t scouting things going on. Just a few activities in July:

Summer camp at T.L Storer has seen lots of swimming, zip lines, shooting and lots and lots of work on badges.
Cleanup at our sponsoring organization, the Watertown-Belmont United Methodist Church.
Beach cleanups as scouts get in some service hours while on vacation.
Lots more work on badges. Citizenship in the Nation and Communication are two Eagle-required badges with a lot of book work scouts are finishing up over the summer.

Looking for more up-to-date info? We update our facebook page regularly, and we’ll be having our first meeting of the academic year Sept. 5, 2019 at 80 Mt. Auburn Street. If you’ve completed 5th grade, you’re not yet 18, and you are looking for adventure in Watertown, Allston or Brighton, we’d love to hear from you.