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| Troop 708 Castro Valley, California |
Troop FAQ |
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The Troop meets every Tuesday from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. Our meetings are held at First Presbyterian Church on the corner of Grove Way and Redwood Road in Castro Valley (next to Trader Joes). During the summer the meetings occur every other week.
There is a monthly Parent Meeting held on the second Monday of each month. The meeting starts at 7:00pm and typically ends by 8:30pm. The meetings also are held at the First Presbyterian Church.
The Troop’s Online Calendar contains meeting information as well as camp out dates, fund raiser dates…. A map to the church is available here.
The cost of joining Troop 708 consists of costs for joining the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and those for joining our Troop. We also require one adult to register with the Boy Scouts of America. The cost involved with adult registration is just that associated with the BSA registration, there is no Troop fee. The breakdown of registration and dues costs are as follows:
Scout:
BSA Yearly Registration: $15
Boys' Life Magazine Subscription (optional): $12
Troop Yearly dues: $58
Total Scout: $85 / year
Adult:
BSA Yearly Registration: $15
Total Adult: $15 / year
Total Scout + 1 Adult: $100 / year
The above fees are pro-rated. The pro-ration for the BSA fees are included in a chart on those applications and that for the Troop would be as follows:
| Month Joined | Dues |
|---|---|
| Jan | $58 |
| Feb | $53 |
| Mar | $48 |
| Apr | $44 |
| May | $39 |
| Jun | $34 |
| Jul | $29 |
| Aug | $24 |
| Sep | $19 |
| Oct | $15 |
| Nov | $10 |
| Dec | $5 |
There are costs associated with camping trips. Camping trips typically occur once per month. The cost is $25 for one night trips and $35 for two night trips. Extra cost may occur if there are entry/tour fees or extra travel costs (e.g., ferry, bus, train, plane or distant destinations). The cost of the week long summer camp for 2012 is $395 plus the cost of travel at about $20.
The other costs associated with joining Boy Scouts are the cost of a Scout's uniform and camping equipment (e.g., backpack, sleeping bag, boots). The Troop may have pre-owned clothing or gear that a Scout is welcome to use.
The Troop participates in several fund raisers throughout the year. Some of the events are used to raise general Troop funds. Other events provide opportunities for the Scouts to earn money for their individual Scout accounts. The dollars in the Scout accounts can be used for any Scout related activity or equipment. Typically, if a Scout participates in the majority of the events that feed into the Scout account, they will be able to earn enough money to cover for summer camp and other Scouting related costs.
The paperwork consists of a Youth Application and an Adult Application. These forms are available from the Scout Council Office on Davis Street in San Leandro, or online here:
Youth Application: http://www.sfbac.org/files/images/youth_app.pdf
Adult Application*: http://www.sfbac.org/files/images/adultapp.pdf
Note, the form is multi-part, so, if you use the online version you will be filling out multiple pages with the same information, unless you have some carbon paper. You may be able to also fill out one part and make copies but you will need to check the pages as some parts don't copy through (e.g., the social security number on the adult form only appears on the Council copy).
Once you fill out the BSA application, you can turn it into the Troop Advancement Coordinator or take it to the Boy Scout San Francisco Bay Area Council office, 1001 Davis Street, San Leandro, CA 94577, along with a check or cash for the BSA registration and Boys' Life magazine payment. You would pay the Troop dues to the Troop Treasurer.
*adult applicants must complete the Youth Protection Training course, available online, and include a copy of the completion certificate with their adult application.
Since we try to keep the dues low, you will find that you will need to provide most of your uniform needs. You can check with the Troop Quartermaster as we do have some used uniforms that Scouts have outgrown and donated back to the Troop.
The Boy Scout uniform includes the following:
The Uniform Inspection guide pretty much goes over the above and can be found on the Troop website’s Library Tab, or directly here: http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34283.pdf. This guide also provides details on the placement of patches on the uniform. The Troop does not wear a neckerchief.
Other items a Scout must provide:
Here again, there is some used gear that may be available. Check with the Troop Quartermaster.
For New scouts, the Troop will provide the following:
Other items the Troop provides:
When you join the Boy Scouts of America you should be ready to make a sizeable time committment. The time and effort one puts into a great youth program like the Boy Scouts of America is payed back exponentially in future benefits. It's not drugery but a lot of fun, so, the time involved does not seem like a chore. We hope that a Scout is active in most Troop activities but understand sometimes other obligations will impact participation and are unavoidable. To understand the time commitment the following lists a typical month in the life of a Boy Scout and his family:
The below is a little more fluid as, for example, not every Scout's parent needs to attend every camp out. What we hope from parents is that they attend a couple of camp outs a year, help out with service projects and fundraisers and other Troop activities that the adults take on in a support role to ensure the Scout program is as beneficial to our sons as possible. The involvement of the parents pretty much mirrors that of the boys and looks as follows:
For an actual list of activities you may simply drop by the Troop Calendar and see what we've done in the past and what we have coming up in the future.
The Troop hosts a website, Troop708.org, where we try and provide a one-stop portal to all the materials a Scout or Parent will need to navigate their way through all things Boy Scouts. The site consists of the following areas:
You also can contact a Troop adult Scout Leader by using the Contact Us form.
The Troop will be attending summer camp the week of July 8 - July 14. This year we will be heading to Camp Chawanakee, located on Shaver Lake, just east of Fresno. Links to camp resources can be found on the Troop website's Library Tab.
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