Friends of Scouting

Unit FOS Chair Resources

Friends of Scouting campaigns are conducted Pack by Pack, Troop by Troop. The key person in your pack or troop's FOS campaign is the Unit FOS Chair. The FOS Chair is a member of your pack or troop and works with the District FOS team to schedule a Friends of Scouting presentation for your unit. The presentations typically last 10 minutes and are not highly interesting to cubscouts (particularly tigers). FOS Chairs are recruited in the fall and the presentations are often held at Blue and Gold banquets or Courts of Honor.

The Buckeye District FOS chairman for 2007 is Steve Canini of Troop 123. Steve, or the current chairman, can be contacted through the District Who's Who page.

The following checklist was distributed to FOS chairs for the 2006 FOS campaign in Buckeye District. There are also resources in the links at the lower left.

FAMILY FRIENDS OF SCOUTING
CHAIR RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Enroll as a Friend of Scouting, in an amount that sets the example for the Unit.
2. Prepare an accurate Unit roster of active members include family names, address, telephone number and email address
3. Compile a list of former members who may have an interest in supporting Family Friends of Scouting The list may include former adult leaders and families of Arrow of Light recipients or Eagle Scouts. Be creative!
4. Arrange for support materials you will need, including paper, envelopes and stamps, for those in your Unit who do not have email capability.
5. Set a date for a Friends of Scouting presentation at a Unit Parent’s Night Meeting - Pack Meeting, Blue and Banquet Court of Honor, etc.
6. Distribute various educational and awareness support literature (that will be provided to you) starting about 30 days prior to the presentation.
7. Handle physical arrangements for the meeting and introduce the presentation team.
8. Follow-up on families not at the meeting to give them the
opportunity to enroll
9. Transmit cards, cash, and checks with the necessary Audit Report to your District Family Friends of Scouting Chairman, or your District Executive, within three days of Presentation
10. Understand the “bowtie concept” of the presentation.

The Bottom Line

I have no idea what the "bowtie concept" might be and it probably is not important as long as your FOS campaign connects the following dots for your parents:

FOS contributions help pay for Council facilities and programs like Camp Lazarus, District Daycamps and Council Resident Camps, Leader training.
If your child has camped at Camp Falling Rock or Camp Lazarus, attended daycamp, tiger day, beltloop bonanza, or a shooteree, gone to summer camp or a district camporee, then he (or she) has directly benefited from FOS contributions.
Simon Kenton Council spends $125 per scout to provide scouting programs and services in central and southwestern Ohio.
If you value the program provided by the volunteers in your unit and in Buckeye District, FOS contributions are an excellent way to recognize their efforts.