Category: A Scout is Helpful

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. 

As we’re preparing for a Klondike Derby, where scouts show off their winter skills and compete in races where they’re the sled dogs pulling a sled, we’re bringing in Webelos who are old enough to join the race.

Who teaches the younger scouts the skills they’ll need for the competition? Here Michael, our senior patrol leader, shows Webelos Scout Tage how to tie together two branches.

The Boy Scouts lead the activity, working with adults who guide, not lead.

Our sponsoring organization, Watertown-Belmont United Methodist Church, asked if scouts could help celebrate the Christmas advent season by putting some skills to work.

Troop 30 scouts helped cut out creche figures for the church’s lawn, preparing a holy family, wise men, and barnyard animals to be painted by the church’s Sunday school classes.

Do you have a service project needing some scout help? Contact us at watertowntroop30@gmail.com.

What does the generosity of Watertown residents look like when combined with the hard work from scouts?

It looks like 200 bags of groceries for families in need in Watertown.

“We are so grateful for the contribution from the scouts,” Kathleen Cunningham, Food Pantry Director, said. “The hard work and commitment they supply to the pantry of food and service is overwhelming.  We are so grateful for the continued support of the Boy Scouts. The amount of food and personal products they have collected in just one day surpasses any amount we can imagine. Their donation will allow us to help our clients for many months to come, and allow us to use our financial donations to continue to provide fresh fruit and vegetables to our clients.”

This was truly a group effort. Boy Scouts from Troop 30 teamed up with Cub Scouts from Pack 30 to participate in Scouting for Food, a nationwide program of the BSA. Working with Stop & Shop at 171 Watertown Street, scouts asked store customers to donate items needed most by clients of the food pantry —  peanut butter, rice, beans, jams and cleaning supplies – to fill the pantry’s shelves.

Customers were given a shopping list created by Boy Scout Michael McNamara to use in the store. The result was amazing – families dropped off full shopping carts, couples dropped off full bags of groceries, and others gave cash so it could be used to get what was needed most. Boy Scoutmaster Chris DeRocher used cash to get cleaning supplies that are always needed but hard to find at food banks — $368.50 worth.

A few customers even wanted to support the scouts in what they were doing, buying them cupcakes to keep them going.

Troop 30 organizes a Scouting for Food drive every year with the help of Stop & Shop. Last year, scouts collected 126 bags of groceries to serve those in need in Watertown. Hoping to meet that same target, scouts organized the six-hour drive at the store. By 1 p.m., the target was surpassed and the Troop 30 trailer — usually packed full of camping gear for outdoor adventures – was nearly full of shelf-stable items.

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 10-18, take on larger projects to earn merit badges – including two from Troop 30 who are regular volunteers at the Watertown Food Pantry.

BSA trains boys and girls in responsible citizenship, character development, 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. For more information, see Troop30BSA.com and Pack30.com.

Baconators Patrol Leader Patricio, left, coached two younger scouts who were making breakfast for their patrol.

When scouts pick up new skills, like learning to set up a tent, they’re most likely to be found acquiring those skills from the scouts who learned them the same way — from other scouts.

Troop 30 camped out at Camp Sayre this past weekend, joining in the regular Saturday program of archery, swimming, axe yard skills and other sports.