2015 Friends of Scouting Campaign BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA Mohegan Council, Inc. 19 Harvard Street Worcester, MA Office:

Slide 1-Introduction Good evening! My name is__________ and I am a volunteer for the Mohegan Council. In addition to serving as a Friends of Scouting presenter I am also involved with:_____ (insert unit or committee roles). Friends of Scouting is the one time each year that the Mohegan Council asks Scouting families, as well as businesses in the area, for a direct financial gift to keep the Scouting program strong in our community. Before we begin I would like to make sure every adult has a pledge card and a pen. Please raise your hand if you are in need of one.

Slide 2-Cost of Scouting Each year you as parents spend money to buy uniforms and books at our Scout shop as well as pay registrations fees for the many activities we offer such as summer camp, Webelos Woods, Spook-o-ree, camporees and other special events. You also pay a yearly $24 registration fee to our National office to cover liability insurance for your participation. These fees only make up about 20% of the full cost of Scouting. The other 80% of costs include: our service center, maintaining Treasure Valley Scout Reservation, program resources, background checks, professional and support staff, camp equipment, property insurance and support costs to help serve a growing number of at-risk youth just to name a few. The Mohegan Council will spend approximately $200 per registered Scout this year to cover all of those costs of operation.

Slide 3-ScoutReach Here in the Mohegan Council we believe that everyone deserves the chance to try Scouting. We have a growing number of low income and at-risk boys in our programs that we do not want to turn away for lack of funds. We are doing our best to deliver the traditional Scouting program to those boys in non-traditional circumstances. Do you remember how proud your son was the first time he put on his official Cub Scout/Boy Scout uniform? Each year we provide assistance to boys who would not otherwise be able to afford one as well as registration assistance for boys who could not even afford the $24 registration fee to become a Scout. Lord Robert Baden Powell, founder of Scouting, once said that, “A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room.” Last summer we awarded over $17,000 in camperships so that we can provide a summer camp experience to Cub Scouts, Webelos Scouts and Boy Scouts who could not otherwise afford it.

Slide 4-TVSR costs As many of you know from firsthand experience, the heart and soul of local scouting lies in the woods at Treasure Valley Scout Reservation. We are very lucky to have a 1,600 acre property to house our year round activities for the last 90 years. As we try to keep up with societal changes, building codes and permits for a camp whose geography covers four different towns we are finding the cost of operating such a large piece of property is growing every year. Many units have recommended that we need to upgrade our restroom facilities or offer more winterized buildings for year-round programs but those projects require a lot of funding and we cannot continue to upgrade our camp facilities without growing our Friends of Scouting Campaign.

Slide 5-The ask I would like to ask each of you to join me in making a pledge to Scouting tonight. It is not important how much you give. What is important is that you give what you can. Remember, it costs the Mohegan Council approximately $200 per Scout per year and tonight we are simply asking for a pledge, not necessarily a payment right now. If you are paying by check tonight please make checks payable to Mohegan Council. If you prefer to pay by mastercard or VISA, get billed at a later time, or breakout the payment up throughout the year those are also options on your card. Please submit a pledge card whether you are able to pledge a gift tonight or not. Simply write $0 and submit it to save our team of volunteers some time so that we will not call or send you mail through the remainder of the campaign. If you feel that you need to talk about the gift with your spouse we recommend that you simply put down a pledge that you know your family would be comfortable with. When the reminder notice comes you can make any adjustments you feel are necessary. Some employers will match financial contributions and/or make a donation on behalf of an employee for volunteer ours. You can find a full list of these local employers on our website! Please note that it is up to you to contact your employee and fill out the proper paperwork before the Mohegan Council can receive their gift. If you already designate a gift through your employer through the United Way or another program please note that on your card so that we can follow up and make sure that your unit receives credit for your gift.

Slide 6-Incentives As a small token of our appreciation we have some recognition items to give away this evening! For every pledge card collected we will give you a (hopping frog toy for Packs/TVSR sticker for Troops). After looking over tonight’s pledges we give your Scout leader an envelope containing a recognition item at your contribution level: Gifts of at least $200 will receive a special edition 90 th anniversary of Treasure Valley Scout Reservation Council Should Strip Patch Gifts of at least $400 will receive the patch and a special 90 th anniversary coin Gifts of at least $1,000 will receive a patch, a coin, and a special individualized recognition gift at the end of the year When deciding what to pledge, think about the resources that will help provide for programs in Worcester County. For example, you can support the cost of two scouts with a pledge of $400. A pledge of $400 dollars would buy: 510 shotgun shells for the Shotgun Shooting Merit Badge, 7 archery bows for Cub Scout Day Camp, 3 months worth of program supplies for our ScoutReach programs, a campership for a Boy Scout who otherwise would not be able to enjoy a week outdoors, and much more. Please take a minute know to fill out your pledge card before we start back up. We will be sending helpers around to collect cards and issue your (toy/sticker). If your pledge card is complete simply hold it in the air. We are asking to get all cards back tonight to help limit the follow up needed. Two Minute Break

Slide 7-Thank You If you are interested in finding out other ways that you can help us fund our programs please check out our website for gift in kind and service project wish lists! We will report the total amount of pledges your unit has collected later in the program. If you have any questions you can see me ____________after the program. Before we return to your program I would like to present your (Pack/Troop) with a Friends of Scouting ribbon for your participation. Thank you Pack/Troop #_____ for everything you are doing for your son and his friends through Scouting and thank you for having me as your guest. The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law and we cannot do what we do without your help. You should feel good about the gift you have made today to support us in that mission.