The Latest
April 1, 2021 Issue #25
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COVID-19 Updates
The Twin Rivers Council volunteer leadership and staff strongly encourage volunteers at all levels of the Council to get vaccinated when it is appropriate to do so.
-March 17, 2021 update from Governor Cuomo's office
Effective March 17, public-facing government and public employees, not-for-profit workers who provide public- facing services to New Yorkers in need, and essential in-person public-facing building service workers and providers of essential building services are eligible to be vaccinated. Mar 17, 2021
National Statement on COVID-19
As always, the safety of our Scouts, volunteers, employees and communities is our top priority.
We expect that everyone in Scouting will follow the guidelines listed below, which are based on the CDC’s guidance. In addition, we have instructed local councils to consult with their local and state health departments, as well as local chartered partners, in order to implement appropriate protocols to help keep members, volunteers, and employees safe.
- Isolate if you are sick, and do not attend any activity/meeting/event if you, anyone you live with, or anyone you have recently been around feels unwell.
- Stay at least 6 feet apart from people who do not live with you. (properly executed Scouting cohorts at council camps may be an exception).
- Avoid crowds.
- Avoid poorly ventilated indoor spaces.
- Meet outside if you can.
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Wear a face covering or mask that covers your nose and mouth to help protect yourself and others.
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Wash your hands often with soap and water. Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
- Avoid international travel if possible.
- Do not attend any activity/meeting/event if you or anyone you live with has been tested for COVID-19 or another illness and do not have the results back yet.
Units should look to their council regarding whether/how to conduct in-person meetings and activities. If in-person gatherings are permitted, be sure to follow all applicable guidelines and use your council’s version of the Pre-Event Medical Screening Checklist before attending.
We are taking similar steps as a national organization as we continue to evaluate and adapt to the current environment with the best interests of our members, volunteers, and employees in mind.
Thank you for doing your part to ensure that young people continue to benefit from Scouting while protecting the health and safety of our families, friends, and communities.
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Day Camp
2021- Cub Scout Astronaut Academy Day Camp! Are you ready to soar across the galaxy with us?
Twin Rivers Council is offering Cub Scouts an opportunity to “Escape to the Outdoors” this Summer! We are excited to announce that Day Camp this year will be in-person and hosted at our 2 Council camps! So get signed up and join us this summer for an incredible camping experience with safe COVID prevention and health and safety standards. Register now to reserve your spot! Registration is open and LIVE, see you this summer! Please take a moment to read the Parent/Leader Guide on our website for additional information on Covid policies and required pre-registration days!
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Space station RSR @ Rotary Scout Reservation
July 19th – 23rd
8:30 am to 4:00 pm
Transportation is available for Day Camp at Rotary Scout Reservation
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Space Station WAK @ Camp Wakpominee
Aug 9th – 13th
8:30 am to 4:00 pm
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April Shooting Sports Day: April 24th
Register today for the Cub Scouts shooting sports day taking place at Rotary Scout Reservation! Cubs will rotate between three stations: BB guns, slingshot, and archery. At the end of the day, they will receive the “Shooting Sports Award” patch for their respective rank. Register soon, spots are filling up!
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Membership and Unit Service
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Membership
“Spring into Scouting” Membership Tips for a successful Spring Recruitment!
5 things you should do NOW!
- Plan a Summer Program- Remember to build a competitive program!! Day Camp/Resident Camp, Swim parties, Camp outs, Bike Rides, Hikes, Trips to the Park- The ideas are endless!!
- Work with your Schools- Yes it its challenging times, but make that call! See if you can send digital Fliers, Posters, Yard signs in the area, Videos- Scout talks, unit video’s (many to choose from on the BSA Brand Center). See if your unit can do a Flag raising ceremony in front of the school for them, Email to parents
- Be found on BeAScout.org! Make sure your contact is the “Tiger” of your unit and quickly responds to new potential families!
- Be Visible! Tell Your Story!! – Events at Schools, Community Service, Fire Stations Open Houses, Joining events, Hikes. Wear your Class A or B uniforms when your out! Remember it’s the Scouting Experience and not the Logo!
- Review your Webpages and Social Media Outlets- Can you easily find out how to join? Us your site information up to date? Is it Scout “jargon” free? If your concerned or not sure find a new parent and ask them to look at the site and get their feedback. Remember Feedback is a gift!
Which Unit would you choose?
“Welcome to our Pack, we’ll have a meeting to talk about what we might do” OR “Welcome to out Pack, Look at our calendar of fun group and family activities!! Let’s have FUN!”
Planning can make all the difference in the world when a family is looking at the Cub Scout program. A national pole was done and 44% of families that left Scouting was due to meetings not organized and no Program & 27% was due to poor untrained leadership.
Tip of the Month: So when planning also make sure there is a plan to help your leaders get trained in their positions. There are lots of fun courses that leaders can take to help enhance their knowledge of the program and give them some great ideas!! Remember a trained leader is going to feel confident and have fun!!! Trained Leaders=Successful Unit!!
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Paper Applications Now Available
New Applications available in Scout Shop breezeway!
If your unit is still using paper applications, please make sure you’re using the newest revised versions. Come to our Scout Shop to stock up or send me an email to mail you some. Check the following links for the latest versions. If the applications in the supply you have do not match these, PLEASE throw them away. Remember for every adult application we need to receive two pages back, Applicant page and Background Check Authorization page.
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Development and Sponsorships
For assistance contact Beth Bush Development Director |
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Scouts Can Attend Summer Camp at NO COST TO YOU!!!
Sign up your unit or your Scout for the Camp Cards Fundraiser to raise money for your Scout to attend camp. Scout commission is 50% ($5) per card sold!!! These are easy to sell and the discounts are great!
Plus, for each 20 cards a Scout sells, he or she will earn an entry into the weekly drawing for camp merchandise and the one time drawing for the GRAND PRIZE of a free week at camp.
What is a Camp Card? A Camp Card is a discount card with discounts from multiple local area businesses. Each card will have about 8-10 discounts, some are one-time-use, while others are able to be used multiple times.
How does the fundraiser work? Scouts will sell the discount cards for only $10 each. The Scout will earn 50% commission ($5) from each card sold. There is no limit to the number of cards each Scout can sell. The discounts are set up to encourage people to buy more than one card.
Will the discounts be for businesses in our area? We have created two separate cards for our Council. We have created one with businesses located in the southern part of the Council, and a different card with businesses located in the northern area of Council.
Will there be Scout incentives or awards for selling? For every 20 cards that a Scout sells, he or she will be entered to win a free week at camp. Other smaller prizes will be camp merchandise.
Sample card sales and commissions
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Scouts who want to sell, but your unit is not participating can sign up to sell here: |
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Check Out This Camp Card Sale Strategy. Want to sell more cards fast?
Check out this family’s Camp Card sale strategy that turned out to be very successful and rewarding!!
Last spring, Pryce, a Tiger, and his sister Asha, a Bear, prepared for day camp the best way they knew how: Fundraising. Summer 2020 was their second year at camp and the second year paying for it themselves through the Alamo Area Council’s fundraising opportunities. As excited as they were, the precautions of a pandemic demanded their strategy change from the previous year. As fairly new residents of San Antonio - where all their friends are also scouts - they sold only four Camp Cards. When a delivery driver dropped off a package at their house, the kids hatched a quick plan they named RAWR, an acronym for Random Acts for Wonderful Responders.
“It grew bigger than we expected it to, that’s for sure,” reported their mother, and Cubmaster, who took to social media with the kids’ idea. “Send some $10 love to our first responders and essential workers - this week only,” then listed all the promotions the card offered. With that one simple post to Facebook, money started coming in from as far as Alaska and Pennsylvania. By bedtime, the siblings sold 80 cards – more than they actually had on-hand. Over the next few months, whenever someone came to their house with a delivery, the kids gifted the card and explained how someone from another state wanted to thank them. It didn’t stop there. When their mom got groceries, she gifted the cashier with a camp card.
“We had to get creative to get them all out,” she confessed. “Our friends responded so generously, we’ve decided to do the same thing this year. We realized that people who couldn’t use a card for themselves, bought $20 worth to bless others. Our friends like to pay it forward and with Camp Cards, we have a way to help them do it. For a few dollars, they not only perform a random act of kindness, but support my Scouts’ earning their own way to camp.”
Let us know if you use this strategy and how it works for you. We may share your story in one of our future Camp Card emails/news stories.
We’re sure you will sell out of your current inventory of camp cards, so reach out to us when you need to restock!
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Trails End Popcorn Available at a Discount to Earn Money for your Unit.
We still have Trails End Popcorn still available for Scouts to sell with Wagon sales or Storefront sales. 50% commission (no prizes). We have available: buttered popcorn bags, Blazin’ Hot Bags, Caramel Bags, Popping Corn jars, and White Cheddar bags.
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Unit Accounts
Our “NEW” Council Website offers many more features than were previously available.
One of those “NEW” features are Unit Accounts or Unit Deposit Accounts (UDA).
What is a UDA? A UDA is an account used to facilitate the transfer money between a Unit and the Council. Units can upload money to their account. Then assign Trusted People within their Unit who are allowed to utilize those funds to pay for unit activities and event registrations, summer camp, Membership Registrations and Scout’s Life Fees. Likewise, when the Council needs to make a payment or refund money to a Unit, we will do so by depositing the money in the Unit’s UDA.
Unfortunately, at this time, Unit Account funds may not be used to make purchases from the Scout Shop. They may only be used for transactions with the Council.
The Committee Chair of the Unit is the default Controller of the UDA. The Committee Chair may assign a delegate in this role. The Committee Chair or Delegate can then authorize the Trusted People for the Unit.
The UDA’s will be fully transparent and managed through the Council Website. Just like a bank account, Authorized users of the Unit will be able to go online and view the activity in their Unit Account and download the transactions/Reports. They can see who authorized a transaction and for what reason.
To get started, Create your Account, log into the account, select your unit, choose View Activity, then select Unit Funds and Spending. Short Tutorials are available on each page of the website that will guide you through the options on that screen. These tutorials are accessed by clicking on the Orange Support Button located on the lower right of the screen.
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Eagle Scout Tracking
We handle numerous calls and emails each day at the Council Service Center that are concerned with the status of Eagle Applications. To facilitate the communication on the status of Eagle Applications, we have added to the “NEW” Council Website a Council Eagle Tracking Log.
To access the Eagle Tracking Log, go to www.trcscouting.org, hover your cursor over Volunteer Resources, hover your cursor over Advancement, the select Eagle Status Tracking.
The Eagle Status Tracking Log will be updated weekly.
At the Council Service Center we also handle many calls and emails with questions about the Eagle Process. Who to contact, what needs to be submitted and at what time etc. To help guide Scouts, their families and their Units through the process, we have posted to the Council Website a Steps to Eagle Checklist.
As the name implies, the Steps to Eagle Checklist includes a Checklist to guide you through each step of the process. Those steps are described in detail on the subsequent pages.
The Checklist may be downloaded from the Council Website following the same path listed above: go to www.trcscouting.org, hover your cursor over Volunteer Resources, hover your cursor over Advancement, the select Steps to Eagle Checklist.
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