Scouts, nonprofits navigate outreach

Scouts, nonprofit groups navigating fundraising and outreach

Placing flags on veterans’ graves, delivering food and care packages to shut-ins and starting a compost pile for a community garden were just some of the service projects accomplished by the Cub and Boy Scouts of Pack and Troop 595 since the coronavirus landed in Berks County last March.

They did it all while observing the recommended guidelines for helping slow and prevent the spread of the virus.

“It’s been a tough year,” said Cory Derer of Birdsboro. “But we were still out there trying to be active in the community.”

Derer has two sons in the pack and is leader of its Lion Den, made up of kindergarten-aged children.

The coronavirus pandemic and precautions, such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distance, made things a little different for the Scouts, but didn’t stop them, said Ann Brugger, development director for the Hawk Mountain Council, which oversees troops and packs in Berks and Schuylkill counties and parts of Carbon County.

“The Scouting program is resilient,” Brugger said. “Program delivery is volunteer driven, and the volunteers have been very creative in finding ways to continue Scouting.”

Though there were plenty of challenges, a number of positives came from the experience, she said.

One of these involved offering live-streamed merit badge instruction via the council’s website. Hawk Mountain’s online sessions

were open to Scouts around the country, a bonus for those living in more remote areas or with fewer opportunities for instruction, Brugger said.

One out-of-state Scout turned out to be from the Illinois town where some of Brugger’s relatives live.

The pandemic also forced Scout leaders to move more activities outdoors, Brugger said, and that turned out to be a plus for the program, too. Leaders found the emphasis on outdoor programming helps keep kids more engaged and active, she said.

The Scouts are hiking and taking part in other outdoor ventures while developing new skills for advancement, Derer said.

The outside activities became a priority for her unit, she said, especially because so many kids were stuck indoors in front of screens while schools practiced virtual instruction.

Some fundraising activities have continued outdoors,

too.

These include an annual golf tournament and a claypigeon shoot.

Even the annual Service to Youth and Community Breakfast moved outside with three tents and wellspaced tables set up on the grounds of Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation, the council’s campground near Summit Station in Schuylkill County.

“It was magnificent to sit outside and watch the sun on the lake,” Brugger said. “I would like to embrace this (as an outdoor event) on a go-forward basis.”

The annual popcorn and nut sale also was held with some accommodations, such as drive-thru and storefront sales rather than door-to-door canvassing and delivery.

“Again, ‘creativity’ was the word,” Brugger said.

The community was generous, too, she said, noting the public seemed to appreciate the normality of Scouting activities and were willing

to contribute.

The creativity, adjustments and accommodations that kept the program going through the pandemic were “a great reminder of why we do this,” Brugger said. “It’s for the kids.”

United Way

The Hawk Mountain Council is one of 34 agency partners supported by the United Way of Berks County. Through the partners, the United Way funds more than 80 programs and services, affecting the lives of more than 150,000 Berks residents each year.

United Way has been at the forefront of COVID-19 relief efforts in the pandemic.

“Taking a look back, we launched the COVID response fund at the end of last March,” said Tammy White, president. “Over $1 million was raised and 50 grants were given to 41 organizations.”

The grants helped about 290,000 people in Berks, White said, noting 70% of the funds went toward helping provide basic needs, such as food, personal and baby care products, shelter and utilities.

Virus protocols increased the costs of delivering services in some cases, she said, and some funds went toward buying specialized software, other technology and protective equipment, such as masks and gloves.

Costs also increased when some volunteers, particularly those in higher risk categories, opted to remain home. Agencies short on volunteer power had to hire extra staff to make up

PHOTO COURTESY OF CORY DERER Declan Larrimore, 11, of Bally, a scout in Cub Pack 595, chartered by St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Birdsboro, delivers the cupcakes he baked and decorated to those self-quarantining due to the pandemic. The Pack 595and the associated troop found ways to remain active through the COVID-19 pandemic.

COURTESY OF CORY DERER Members of Boy Scout Troop and Pack 595, chartered by St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Birdsboro, collected nonperishable foods for the annual Scouting for Food drive in November. The pack and troop found ways to remain active through the COVID pandemic.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CORY DERER Jacob Derer, 10, of Birdsboro, a member of Cub Pack 595 places flags on veterans’ grave last May. The Boy Scout pack and associated troop, chartered by St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Birdsboro, found ways to remain active through the COVID-19 pandemic.

COURTESY OF CORY DERER Members of Boy Scout troop and pack 595, chartered by St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Birdsboro, with the foods collected in November.