Deseret News | Reader comments: Alpine man designs Scout patch

Reader comments
Alpine man designs Scout patch

really? | 5:36 p.m. Jan. 9, 2009

Do the scouts really have to have uniforms? I was so poor when I was a young fellow in Utah County that I never had the complete uniform. Never. Yet I was a scout, a good scout, and now I am a supporter of Scouting USA. But let's not be smug and make having money to have the uniform a critical matter.

Good grief. Talk about rank and economics having its privilege. Surely this badge has a loop hole for people without money to burn?????????

Good Point | 6:50 p.m. Jan. 9, 2009

I think that the uniform ought to be part of the Scout fee paid by the Church or group which sponsors the troop. Then you will have equality.

Uniform? | 7:06 p.m. Jan. 9, 2009

There are ways to get Scout uniforms without spending a fortune. Ever hear of the DI? My sense is that people appreciate more that for which they have to expend a little effort. The Scouts already receive a lot of stuff they don't pay for directly (merit badges and rank advancement awards, for starters). Your idea would just shift the costs onto the Church, which already spends a tidy sum on supporting Scouts.

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Uniform is part of the part | 7:55 a.m. Jan. 10, 2009

When you put your kid in football do you skip having to pay for the uniform? I just had my boy in football and it cost $150 for the uniform and registration. I think I could get a Boy scout uniform for under $150. It is priorities. Ebay and DI have great deals on uniforms.

dear rich people | 7:00 p.m. Jan. 11, 2009

There are families, good or bad does not matter, who cannot part with the grocery money to get a scout uniform, or two of them, etc. Not everyone is rich. Not everyone has the status, the money, the cars.

Yet their child or children would definitely enjoy and learn from scouting. Don't we want all kids to be in scouts?

I agree with above writer; we were a troop filled with kids who did not have a lot of money. Heck, we were poor. Wrong side of town.

Skip the need for the status symbol, the uniform. And don't push the DI on anyone, maybe just maybe the kid is not Mormon. Duh!!!

Not Your Mother | 9:50 p.m. Jan. 11, 2009

You don't have to be Mormon to shop at D.I. There's also Savers, Thrift Towne, lots of other thrift stores in the valleys. I got my adult leader shirt on eBay for $10 brand new with tags. I've also gotten other scout shirts on eBay for $10.

There are ways around buying a brand new uniform from the Scout Shop. Start a uniform bank in your pack; the uniform stays in the pack but boys get to use them till they graduate from the pack.

Do a fundraiser to raise the money for uniforms. If you're an LDS Church sponsored Unit - YES you CAN do fundraisers. There is a letter from Pres Dahlquist saying it's ok. It's also states in the Bishop's handbook scouts (including cubs) can do a fundraiser. We've sold popcorn and had a neighborhood pancake breakfast. It IS possible to get your Unit uniformed.

Phred | 5:16 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Another approach is to begin a uniform bank. Approach people in the neighborhood with the need and ask if they would be willing to donate any uniforms their own sons have outgrown. Then over time if you continue, it will be a commonly understood thing that when you reach 18 and no longer fit that shirt you bought when you were 11 it becomes a coming of age ceremony to donate it to your old unit.

If a boy takes up the cause and conducts such a drive in a substantial size area and then donates the uniforms to an inner city troop, they could use it as the seed for a uniform bank and it might qualify as an eagle project for the boy who started it.

Spoc | 5:18 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Isn't the intent of this patch covered by the Citizenship in the Community merit badge?

Missed the point? | 8:56 a.m. Jan. 12, 2009

Some may have missed the point that Alpine is promoting scouting values and are encouraging a sense of community.

By the way what use is it in earning a patch if you don't have a uniform to put it on?

Why critize a city that is striving to do good??

Re: dear rich people | 12:24 p.m. Jan. 12, 2009

If you had noticed before the blood shot out of your eyes that this is a program put on by the City of Alpine, you'd know that any kid who lives in Alpine can afford the Scout shirt. Thefore, promoting the wearing of the Scout shirt to Scout meetings is a good thing. When he says it's difficult to get the boys to wear their uniform, he's not saying they don't have one, he's saying they don't WANT to wear it.

You attend a court of honor, where the boys are receiving their awards, and they ALL have their uniforms on. Clearly, they have them, they choose not to wear them at other Scout meetings and activities. If earing a patch can help them WANT to wear it, I say good on ya, Alpine!

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