From: RAY.DYKE@omhbbs.org (ray dyke)
Subject: Exciting and Cheap

> I'm a little worried about springing the news on them that
> they're each going to have to spend ca. $50 right off the bat on
> things like membership, Boys Life, uniforms, insignia, handbooks, and
> dues.  This will be especially difficult since we live in a small,
> struggling mountain town in Oregon, where the mills closed down a few
> years back, and there's a lot of unemployment & borderline poverty.
> Does anyone have any suggestions on minimizing the initial costs
> for the boys?

This will probably upset some of the rulebook-thumpers around here, but
it may be what you need.  Instead of the "full" uniform, just do shirts.
Some folks in our part of the country (Tennessee) finish the whole BSA
program and never own official Scout pants (which don't fit anyway).
You may run into some criticism from the BSA,Inc (sales division) but
I imagine that the folks in your church will be glad to do it that way.

There is a lot of talk about "Class-A" uniforms, but that is not really
a Scouting concept.  I've been looking for YEARS for any reference to
"Class-A" uniforms in any official book published by the BSA, and have
never seen one or had one shown to me. Yeah, I know, I know, it's a
UNIFORM and they all need to be UNIFORM. But for less than $20.00 they
can have a new shirt, and you can deal with the other stuff later. And
look around for old used Scout shirts.  In many communities there are
amazing numbers of old Boy Scout uniforms sitting in closets.  If your
town has never had a Scout Troop (ever) you might check a nearby town.

Every boy needs a Boy Scout Handbook and those who have finished First
Class need a BSA Requirements Book.  The Boys Life magazine is a good
source of program material, but I would classify it as lower priority.
Maybe you can just buy a few subscriptions for your leaders and then
let the magazines get passed around.  Better yet, let the boys look at
a few issues and decide if they want them or not.

The registration fees (for boys and adults) might be paid by the Church
(as they are in our troop).  The only thing we use troop dues for is to
buy badges, patches, and awards.  We never ask a boy to pay individually
for any award he receives, since that might reduce his interest in
earning the badges if he cannot afford them.

You mentioned high-adventure activities.  These are going to be costly,
especially those at the official BSA high-adventure bases.  They are
well worth the cost, but you need to plan early.  A National Jamboree
can cost $500-$1000 per person, depending on travel costs.  Philmont
(the greatest place in the world) costs more than $250 plus transit.
For these trips, a lot of troops set up aggressive fund-raising projects
(BSA council approval is required) and raise thousands of dollars.