Thrifty - Earning Your Own Way
| Category: | Scout Law |
|---|---|
| Notes: | For the kickoff of a fundraiser (popcorn, cookies, wreaths, car washes, or anything else your unit sells or does to earn money), or before summer camp payments are due. Works for any scouting program. See also thrifty-the-door-to-door-lesson and thrifty-honest-with-the-money. |
It's fundraiser season again. Popcorn, cookies, wreaths, car washes, whatever your unit does. And I know what some of you are thinking: "Why can't my parents just pay for camp? It would be a lot easier."
It would be easier. But here's why we do it anyway.
The Scout Law says a Scout is thrifty, and part of being thrifty is working to pay your own way. That's an old idea in Scouting, and it's still a good one. There's a difference between something you were handed and something you earned.
Think about summer camp. If your parents pay for it, it's a trip you go on. If you earned part of that money yourself, standing outside a store on a cold Saturday or knocking on doors in your neighborhood, it's a trip you made happen. You'll feel the difference the first night by the campfire.
Earning your way also teaches you things you'll use for the rest of your life. How to talk to adults you don't know. How to set a goal and work toward it. How to keep going when it's not fun. How to handle money responsibly. Those skills are worth a lot more than the popcorn.
So set a goal this year. Figure out how much you want to earn and what it's for. Then go earn it.
When you get to camp next summer, you'll know you helped pay for it. That's a good feeling.