Greensburg Troop/Pack 211 Relief Fund Update "Scouts Helping Scouts" - Updated 7/11/07

To All,

I haven’t updated any of you for awhile – hope all of you are doing well . . . and had a safe July 4th holiday!

Currently, we have raised $3,175.05 in the Phase 2 portion of this Drive, bringing the grand total of Cash and Check donations to $10,475.05 (41.08% of Goal). We are currently $15,024.95 from our goal of $25,500.00. Unfortunately, the pace has really slowed down as of late, as this drive effort has received 2 donations in the past 10 days. With the exception of a few small items (and potentially one more trailer in late August or early September, as the other 2 have been donated to the Greensburg Units – are down there now and being used for storage right now and are jam-packed with gear), the equipment portion of this drive is over – so we must focus on the cash and check donations for the time being.

We are taking a different approach to the Collection Points, as the construction on North Oak Trafficway seems to hamper our standing by the road with our signage and buckets that are brining attention to this need. I will let you know what the new plan will be – as I am talking with Wal-Mart, Hy-Vee and other businesses for permission to set up shop right outside their entrances. Time is running out for Troop 1900, however – as we are preparing to leave for Camp on the 29th. After Camp (we will return on August 7th), we will resume the collection efforts.

We really need your help at this point. Most all of you have donated in one form or another, so I am not wanting to “go back to the well” - so to speak – but I am asking you to please spread the word. I cannot tell you how many “Thank You’s” the members of our Caravan Team received from the Scouts and Leaders of Greensburg – it was WAY TOO MANY TO COUNT! They were in tears, and so were we. If you could see and hear what we saw and heard, I think you would agree with me that this effort needs to continue and shift into overdrive. The equipment that we delivered on the 27th now allows them to go on monthly campouts – beginning with this month, and they do have one planned.

Please know that the residents of Greensburg are resilient – yet frustrated. As a story was told to me by our “tour guide” (a member of their Troop Committee and a member of the Greensburg School Board) – within hours and the first few days after the Tornado, so many relief organizations from the State and other places came in with promises for relief, etc. Some came through – but they are still waiting for the majority of the promises to be made into reality. Many of the relief organizations have come and gone – yet there is still major work to be done. They are especially appreciative of FEMA and the Salvation Army (both of which are STILL on the scene and will be for probably the next year to come), and from the Scouts: The Quivira Council (who has come through in a BIG WAY to financially help the families of the Scouts – with MUCH PRAISE going to Fred Meijering and his Council Staff – they have been remarkable!) and our “Scouts Helping Scouts” effort (which is designed to cover Scouting Equipment, Uniforming and Personal Equipment Needs and Scouting Budget Expenses for Pack 211 and Troop 211 for at least the next 3 years).

Those adults who took part in the Caravan: April Hale, Willy Mead, Mike Reddy, Larry Bechtel (along with his father) and Mike Costanzo – all can attest to what is written above.

I can tell you that I was hesitant at first when my SPL and I started talking about beginning this effort on May 5th (the day after the Tornado), because I wasn’t sure whether we should begin now, or wait until the rebuilding effort finishes. The problem with waiting is that (as we later found out), it is going to take a year or more just to rebuild over 50% of the homes that were destroyed, and another year to rebuild the rest. The downtown area won’t be rebuilt for another 12-18 months. They won’t even have electricity until at least this fall. To compound this, they have had record rainfall since May 4th. IF WE WOULD HAVE WAITED FOR THE REBUILDING EFFORT TO FINISH, THERE WOULD PROBABLY BE NOTHING LEFT OF TROOP AND PACK 211 TO ASSIST, REBUILD AND RE-EQUIP. ONCE WE FOUND OUT THAT THIS IS A COMMUNITY WITH A CONTINUED LEGACY OF SCOUTING SINCE 1913, WE DECIDED WE NEEDED TO START ASAP. Based on the hugs, tears, thank you’s, and looks in the eyes and faces of those we met, we did the right thing – AND PLEASE DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE! Please trust me on this one – WE SAW IT FIRST HAND, AND WE KNOW THIS IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, and we have to keep doing it!

Please remember that the PLC of Troop 1900 (along with their Scoutmaster (me), and the Troop Committee) has committed to raising every cent of the goal of $25,500, regardless of how long that takes. This is also a promise that was made to the Scouts and Leaders of Greensburg on June 27th. They are extremely weary of some promises of aide (as mentioned above) with nothing to show for it as of yet. This is a promise that we told them they could bank on.

So . . . WE NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE – PASS THE WORD!

If you are asked where to send donations, please give them this address:

Greensburg Scout Relief Fund “Scouts Helping Scouts”
5510 NE Antioch Road
PMB 311
Kansas City, MO 64119
Attn: Jeffrey Cook

Again – checks need to be made payable to “Quivira Scout Council” with the comment line “Troop/Pack 211 Relief Fund.”

Remember, the total monetary goal for this project is $25,500.00.

Thank you ALL for your help on this! I am PROUD of ALL OF YOU, and VERY PROUD to be Scoutmaster of Troop 1900!!! If you knew “my boys” (all 42 of them) - you would be too!!!

PS: If you do not wish to receive these periodic updates, please email me and I will remove you from the list. Thank you – it is not my intention to load up your email inbox . . .

Yours in Scouting,
---
Jeffrey A. “Yogi” Cook
Scoutmaster, Boy Scout Troop 900
North Oak Christian Church
9900 North Oak Trafficway
Kansas City, MO 64155
Heart of America Council, BSA
scouter@kc.rr.com
" . . . And a Good 'Ole Antelope, Too!" C-29-99